by Jordan Rivet
“The Dentist won’t mind?” Esther asked, reaching out to help him.
Bole shrugged. “He said to keep you folks busy. Gotta earn your keep and all. Too bad your dad couldn’t come.”
Esther didn’t answer. The story of her father’s injury had gone over well enough at breakfast that morning, but she was feeling more anxious than ever about making a move soon.
The water rippled around them as they sped across the lake. It was so calm compared to the sea, with barely any wind. It was good to have water beneath her again. Esther felt healthier than she had in days. On land she constantly had the sense that she was being held down, pulled toward earth, caught in quicksand. But on the water they swept forward, skipping free across the surface.
The lake was quite big, and it was an odd shape, like a cross or a starfish. It settled in the cracks between several hills, so the water spread outward, long fingers reaching into the contours and crevasses of the hills around it. The hills cast strange reflections across the surface of the water.
Sunlight danced over the ripples around them. Esther leaned over the side of the boat, allowing the spray to coat her face. She opened her mouth, and water landed on her tongue, clear and unsalted.
Near the center of the lake they slowed. Thompson cut the power to the motor and allowed the boat to drift, rocking a bit from the movement of the fishermen.
Everyone chose a fishing pole, and someone handed around a tin can full of dirt-covered, wriggling worms. Esther pinched one between her fingers and studied it closely.
“What are those?” Cally squealed. “I’ve never seen anything so gross in my entire life.”
“It’s an earthworm. People use them for bait on land,” Esther said.
“Ew. Do I have to touch it?”
“It’s not nearly as slimy as an eel.”
Cally took the tin can and peered at the worms. “Fish eat these?”
“Fish eat anything,” Esther said.
She poked her hook through the worm’s body. It continued to writhe. She quickly dropped it into the water and allowed the line to unravel.
“Here. Use this one instead, Cally.” Cody had come over to their side of the boat. He held his fishing rod high above his head to avoid poking anyone in the eye with it. “It has a lure. The captain says to be careful not to lose it. I’ll use the one with the worm.”
“Thank you,” Cally said as she exchanged fishing poles with Cody and examined the lure made of bright yellow and white feathers. “This is pretty. They should do this for all of them.”
“You have to keep it moving,” Cody said. “That way the fish will think it’s a bug.”
Cody put his arm around Cally to demonstrate how to reel in the lure so it looked like it was skipping on the lake. As he did, he lost track of his own line, and soon it was tangled up with Esther’s.
“Watch it, Cody!” she said.
“Gee, sorry. Let me fix it.”
“I got it. I’m going to the stern.” Esther disentangled her line and moved back beside the outboard motor, where it was less crowded.
She dropped her hook again. Her line sliced the water. Gentle ripples coursed away from the fiberglass hull of the boat. Being on the water reminded Esther of that weightless floating feeling the sea provided. She felt homesick.
Her line twanged, and something tugged on the end. She jerked the tip upward and began reeling in her catch. Several people shouted around her.
“I got one!”
“Me too!”
“Looks like we found the school, kids,” Bole shouted.
The fish on Esther’s line had plenty of fight in it, and soon she was sweating. She was still a little weak from her illness, but within a few minutes she had reeled in the fish and pulled it up to the boat.
Esther had seen a lot of fish in her life, but this was the ugliest she had ever encountered. It had very thick gray lips and a mottled brown and green body. She brought it over to the bucket, where it joined two others swimming in tight circles in a bit of water.
“That’s a nice bass,” said Thompson. He stood at the helm, one hand on the wheel. He carried his shotgun slung across his back even here.
“Do they taste any good?” Esther asked.
“The uglier they are, the better they go down,” he said.
“If you say so. Can I get another one of those worms?”
“Here.” Thompson handed them over.
“Thank you.” Esther hesitated. It was now or never. “Thompson?”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you help us last night?”
“Told you it never happened.”
“But do you and the Dentist—?”
“I know what you’re getting at,” Thompson said. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. My beef with the Dentist is my own business.”
Esther didn’t know what “barking up the wrong tree” meant, but she got the gist. She doubted Thompson would join them in acting directly against the Dentist. But would he give them away? They were running out of options, and Naomi was running out of time.
They had filled three buckets with bass by the time the sun began to sink.
“The lake must want to welcome you to our town,” Bole said. “Just like it welcomed us. We got a ceremony tonight to thank it.”
“Is that some kind of religious thing?” Cally asked.
“Yup. We’re making an offering to the lake.”
Esther froze. “What offering?”
“I don’t want to freak you out,” Bole said. “Remember the sacrifices we talked about a while back?”
“You mean executions,” Esther said.
“They’re killing someone?” Cally looked horrified.
“Don’t worry, they only execute criminals,” Bole said quickly. “When people break the Code real bad, we offer them back to the lake. It’s better than doing it to an innocent person. We’re advanced like that.”
“But why?” Cally said.
Panic swirled in Esther’s stomach. She wanted to throw up. Naomi was going to be killed. They had to do something. She judged the distance between their boat and the shore. Too far to swim. They had to go back. Now.
“How else would we deal with criminals?” Bole was saying. “Keep feeding them in lockup when they’re not contributing anything to the town? It would be too dangerous to keep them around.”
Cally was growing distraught. Cody put a hand on her arm to try to calm her, and she clutched his hand.
“Can’t you just send them off somewhere? You know, maroon them?”
“This way’s guaranteed to keep everyone safe,” Bole said. “And the lake still gets its sacrifice.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Hey, the lake saved all our lives,” Bole said. “It gives us sustenance. I know it sounds lame, but it really is our promised land. We need to show our gratitude.”
Esther felt dread spinning and spooling within her. How could he be so nonchalant? They had to get back to town. She hurried toward the cockpit.
“Thompson? We need to go back.”
Thompson didn’t answer, but he was already firing up the motor for the journey to shore.
They crept toward the dock at a deathly slow pace. Esther wished she could commandeer the helm.
“Can you show us how fast this thing goes?” she said.
Thompson grimaced, but he throttled the engine, and they shot across the lake. The sunset had turned the sky a dark-golden yellow like burnt corn. The trees stood sharp against it, reminding Esther of how far from the sea they were. The sun would sink below the tree line long before it met the actual horizon as she was used to thinking of it. She forced down the panic, contained it like a fire in a fuel cell. She had to stay focused.
When they finally reached the dock, the townspeople were already streaming toward the shores of the lake.
“Where’s everyone going?” Esther asked.
“We’re back a little late,” Bole said. “It’s almost time for the ce
remony.”
“The execution?”
“The offering, yes,” he said, giving her a cautious look. “Don’t you want to thank the lake for the bounty it has provided today?”
“Of course,” Esther said. “I need to go find—”
“Hold on,” Thompson said. “This isn’t a vacation. You need to clean the fish like everyone else.”
“But the ceremony—”
“Won’t start without us. Those people are going to get good seats. You’ll be able to see well enough. Come on now. We’ve got fish to gut.”
Bole had already started off toward the town, mumbling something about Elder duties. But the rest of the men remained, standing around the Lucindans in a loose, too-casual circle. Esther bounced on the balls of her feet, preparing to make a move.
Then Thompson took a few steps closer to Esther and said under his breath, “Pick your battles. Trust me.”
Esther nearly hit him. This was her battle! But there were too many men around. Even with Cody’s and Cally’s help, there was no way they could get through these guys without sending up a warning. They’d never even get close to the execution site.
Jaw clenched, she set to cleaning the fish. It was torturous to sit there bent over the dock with a fish knife in her hand while the moment of the execution ticked closer. Each time Esther drove the knife into the belly of a bass to remove its entrails, she imagined a knife going deep into her sister. She stripped the fillets off the brittle, translucent bones, seeing the tender flesh of her sister’s arms, still the size of an eight-year-old girl’s. Esther cut her own thumb twice as she rushed through the cleaning. She ignored the pain and the blood.
After she was done, Esther rinsed her hands and the fish knife in the lake. When no one was looking, she tucked the knife into her pocket. She would be ready when they brought out her sister. She would not allow Naomi to die.
Chapter 31—Sacrifice
THE WHOLE TOWN HAD already gathered by the time Thompson let Esther, Cody, and Cally go. They ran toward the cleared part of the shore where the Lake Day feast had been held the week before. The picnic tables were full. The Dentist stood at the podium with his band of Shepherds. The Elders and other guards surrounded them. Esther’s heart pounded, rapid like a machine gun. The ceremony had already started.
“The crime is confirmed. The Code is clear,” the Dentist said. “Let us purify our community through this act.”
No, no, no! We’re too late! Esther scanned the crowd, desperation making her vision blur.
All heads turned toward the town. Some of the townspeople’s faces seemed lit with an inner glow, near rapture. Other people in the crowd, however, maintained carefully neutral expressions as they went through the motions of the ceremony. Not everyone was fully committed to this, but they didn’t try to stop it either. The lake had given them enough that they were willing to put up with human sacrifices in order to stay.
Someone was going to be killed tonight, dumped into the lake like bycatch. Fear wrapped itself around Esther’s heart. Her hands found the fish knife she had stolen. Please don’t let it be Naomi. She stood at the edge of the crowd. She only had Cally and Cody with her. The others from the Lucinda were on the opposite side of a long aisle leading straight to the Dentist’s podium. They were too far away. She needed their help.
Four men marched through the town, approaching the assembly by the lake. They formed a box around a fifth figure. A large canvas bag covered the prisoner’s head. The group wasn’t close enough for Esther to tell whether it was Naomi, but the prisoner was definitely the shortest in the group.
The four guards were big and beefy, their muscles straining under their camouflage shirts. Could she take them? Even if they were unarmed, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get through all four in time. And then there’d be the rest of the town to face. She needed backup.
The five people started down the aisle between the tables. Esther gripped the knife so hard her hand ached. As soon as they were past, she darted across the aisle to join the Lucindans at their table right in the middle of the crowd. There was no sign of David, but her father was there, his legs swathed in makeshift bandages. He too had his eyes fixed on the figure being led down the aisle.
Esther perched on the edge of the outer bench beside him, her feet facing the podium so she could launch herself forward when the time was right. There was no time to plan, no time to coordinate their attack. But if she rushed forward the Lucindans would follow. They would keep the Elders off her back for long enough.
The townspeople began to drum rhythmically on the picnic tables. Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Esther held her breath. Ba-bum. She was ready. She’d kill the Dentist and anyone who got in her way before she let them hurt her sister. She had to pick the right moment. There could be no mistakes.
Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum. She drew the fish knife and held it against her leg, where no one could see it. The wooden handle warmed in her palm. Almost time.
Then one of the guards shifted out of the way as he adjusted the sack over the prisoner’s head. The prisoner had very broad shoulders and a strong, narrow waist. That was definitely a man. It wasn’t Naomi.
Esther’s father put a bandaged hand on her shoulder.
“Not her,” he whispered. “Don’t.”
Esther sucked in a breath. She forced herself to relax, shuddering as the aftereffects of dread hit her. She had been seconds away from launching herself at the Dentist.
The pace of the drumming picked up as the group moved slowly up the long aisle. The prisoner shuffled along with his covered head down, but he didn’t try to run away. If Esther was being led to her own execution like that, nothing would stop her from going down fighting. But the man seemed almost calm in the face of this madness.
The group reached the front of the crowd, right beside the lake. A tall pyre of fresh wood had been set up where they’d had the bonfire on Lake Day. Please don’t tell me they’re going to burn him to death, Esther thought wildly. She imagined the biting terror the man must be feeling right now.
The Dentist raised a hand and the drumming ceased. Silence spread through the crowd.
“This man,” the Dentist said, “has disobeyed our most solemn laws. He has caused the fall of an innocent. He has forever ruined one of our sisters. Tonight he will pay the price.”
The men moved the prisoner closer to the cold pyre. Esther felt Simon’s hand tighten on her arm and realized she had begun to stand without thinking. She glanced at him and he winced, no doubt from the pressure on his injuries. She sat back, shaking. The only thing that kept her from running to save the man was the knowledge that it would doom Naomi for good. And probably the rest of them too.
A rowboat appeared on the darkening waters of the lake. It was a simple vessel manned by two figures. It pulled as close to the shore as it could get. The four guards pushed the prisoner out into the lake. At least they weren’t going to throw him onto the pyre. They splashed forward until they reached the boat, where they lifted the man into it and then removed the canvas bag covering his head.
Esther wasn’t close enough to see the details of his features, but she guessed that he was young, perhaps in his late twenties. His head had been shaved close. His beard—if he had had one like the rest of the townsmen—was gone. The men in the boat lifted something up and placed it around the prisoner’s neck. It was heavy, judging by the way they strained to lift it. The prisoner hunched over as the object pulled him closer to the bottom of the boat.
“It is better,” the Dentist intoned, “to have a millstone tied around the neck and to be drowned than to cause one of my children to sin.”
The rowers pulled further away from the shore. Then they reached into the bottom of the boat and pulled up a large stone with a rope looped through a hole in its center. This was what had been tied to the prisoner’s neck. They pushed him close to the edge of the boat.
“Whatever you do, don’t react,” said David’s voice from Esther’s other side, calm
and firm. She hadn’t even noticed when he had arrived and sat down beside her. “This isn’t our fight.”
She couldn’t tell if he was speaking to her or to himself. His words echoed Thompson’s earlier: Pick your battles.
The Dentist looked out over the crowd, an almost feral expression in his eyes. There was something here. A personal grudge against the prisoner perhaps?
The Dentist raised both hands and said, “We offer this man to the lake in penance for his sins and for ours. May we always uphold the Code.”
“May we always uphold the Code,” the people repeated.
“May the Lord grant it so.”
“May the Lord grant it so.”
Then the rowers pushed the stone and the man into the lake. He sank without a sound.
There were no cheers. Esther was grateful for that at least. A few bubbles rose where the man had disappeared. Ripples spread out across the water.
Esther knew the fear of drowning well. It was synonymous with the fear of death for anyone who lived at sea. They had all pictured it: the sudden silence, the panic as whatever had pulled you beneath the water held you down. She had imagined those moments of struggle a thousand times. And then silence.
The bubbles stopped rising. The ripples dissipated. Triumph bathed the Dentist’s face for an instant. The sacrifice was complete.
Afterwards the Lucindans gathered in a tight knot as the bonfire was lit for another barbecue. Esther breathed quickly and shallowly. It took all her willpower not to launch herself at the Dentist, who was now chatting with a few Elders by the fire.
David tried to distract her by asking about the fishing, but that only made it worse. Bole and Thompson had kept them out on the water so they wouldn’t hear about the preparations for the sacrifice. David had been out with a hunting party, and the leader had taken him on a long detour, so he arrived back even later than Esther. She scowled at the people around her, these seemingly open-faced and innocent townsfolk who danced and farmed and played soccer. They had allowed this to happen.
“Would it help if you knew his crime?” David asked. “It’s possible he deserved it.”