by Kate L. Mary
“I did.”
“It’s something new the Sovereign have come up with. I don’t know all the details, but I’ve heard they will be quarters. For Outliers.”
I blinked as if the action would help me understand what he was telling me, but everything remained as jumbled as it had before. “What? Who?”
Asa hesitated before saying, “For the people who work in the city.”
It took me a moment to register this, but when I did I had no clue how to respond. They were building quarters. For Outliers. In the Fortis village. My mind went wild, wondering if we would have a choice in the matter and if they planned on locking us inside at night. I found myself torn between the hope that we would be locked in, and the hope that we would not. If the doors were locked it would mean we were prisoners, which I had no doubt was Paizlee’s plan. She did not want servants, she wanted slaves, and this got her one step closer. But if the doors were kept unlocked, it would be easier for the Fortis to get inside whenever they wanted. It would be easier for them to take whoever they wanted in whatever manner they wished.
Then a much more terrifying possibility occurred to me. Who would be allowed to live in this building? There was no way it would be large enough for entire families, meaning they expected us to leave our family behind. Our parents, siblings, husbands, and wives. The thought of living without Bodhi was inconceivable. This might mean choosing between him and my job, an impossible decision, but no job meant my family would struggle.
“Are you okay?”
My head jerked up at the sound of Asa’s voice. I had become so lost in my own thoughts that I had completely forgotten he was standing in front of me.
“No,” I mumbled as I shook my head. “I need to talk to Saffron.”
I passed Asa and headed into the kitchen. Mira was there, already preparing lunch, and she shot me a worried look that I ignored. I should have been heading upstairs to strip the beds so I could wash the sheets, but I was unable to. Not until I knew what was going to happen.
Saffron’s office was empty, and so I headed to her study. There I found her drinking a glass of wine and reading. It was still early morning, but it was a normal sight to see her with a drink at this time of day. When someone had no work to do, there was no reason not to indulge.
“Mistress,” I said, stopping in the doorway so I could curtsy. I left my head down, waiting for her to respond.
“Yes.” She snapped her book shut much harder than necessary. “What is it, Indra?”
“I wanted to ask you a question if you are free.”
Saffron let out a long sigh, but I glanced up to find her gray eyes shimmering with curiosity. “Go on, then.”
“I have heard that they are building quarters in the Fortis village and that the Outliers working in the city will be expected to live there. Is this true?”
This time when she exhaled, she also got to her feet. “It is. Stateswoman Paizlee proposed the bill last year but it failed. I’m afraid that the stunt your little friend pulled was enough to scare people, and this time when she put it through, it passed. By a landslide.”
She over pronounced the last word, but it was not her tone that made me feel as if a pile of dirt were falling down on my head. It was the next question that popped into my head.
“What about families?” I whispered.
Saffron frowned. “Speak up, Indra.”
“What about my family?” I said louder.
“You can’t expect us to make room for all of you.” I opened my mouth to speak, but Saffron cut me off by saying, “This will be a good thing, Indra. Mark my words. I’ll admit I had reservations about it, but Paizlee is right. If we give you what you need there will be no need to steal. This will mean you have food and a roof over head when it rains or snows. It will mean you won’t have to walk so far to work.”
“But I have a husband,” I said. “I am married now.”
Saffron shook her head, and despite the sympathetic smile she gave me, there was no emotion in her gray eyes. “It’s new. You’ll get over him and find someone else. Someone who also works in the city.” Her eyes rolled a little but I could tell she was trying to stop them. “Trust me. Men are more trouble than they’re worth.”
She must have considered the matter closed, because she turned her back on me and picked up her glass. “Now go to work before I have to reduce your rations.”
I did as I was told, but my mind was only half on my work. All I could think about was the choice I would soon face: leave my job or leave Bodhi. Leaving my husband was impossible, and losing my position meant having the job that had been in our family for generations ripped away from us for good, as well as losing the medicine my mother depended on. My decision would affect everyone in my family, and everyone who would one day be in my family. It would affect Anja and my mother. It would mean that I would have to find some other way to pitch in so we did not starve.
Maybe Bodhi had been right.
The thought hit me halfway through the day, right in the middle of remaking the beds I had already stripped. I thought back to the first day he had taken me to the cave, how he had suggested we leave. I had scoffed at him then, but if there was nothing keeping me here, if I was going to lose the only real security we had, why should I stay? My mother was the only real reason I could come up with, and even though she was a big one, I told myself there had to be a way to make it work. It would be impossible for her to walk far, but if we had a cart or something we could pull her. Maybe.
I thought about the cliff Bodhi and I had stood on, looking down over the city ruins. About the debris from hundreds of years ago that was no doubt littering the streets. Would there be a way to survive out there? Was there anything beyond it? Another city? Perhaps one that stood in a green area much like the wilds. It was impossible to know for sure, but I knew I had to figure something out by the time that building was finished. However long that took.
Housemaid was a coveted position inside the walls, and one my family had held for generations. Only the most trusted people were given the positions since it required close contact with the family and their belongings, but for Outliers it had more to do with where it kept you. Inside. In the artificially cool air when the heat from the summer sun pounded down on the city, away from the dangers of the streets and the threat of getting caught outside during a grizzard attack. It was an extra safety cushion in an uncertain world.
It was a position I had enjoyed, as much as I could enjoy anything in the city, but since Ronan’s punishment, Saffron had taken to sending me on random errands throughout the city. Something she had rarely done before. The new post would not have bothered me quite as much before—the threats outside were all very real and dangerous, but the dangers inside the house were just as real. Now though, with everything in the city that had changed, being out in the open was unwelcome. Especially on my own.
Warmer weather had arrived, and even though the wilds had not yet reached the scorching temperatures of summer, and the same could probably be said of the Fortis village, it took very little for Sovereign City to heat up. The high walls, the houses packed in tightly, and the narrow streets all worked together to trap in the sun’s heat. I knew from experience that it would get much worse when spring moved into summer, but the streets were already stifling when I left Saffron’s house after lunch. The roads were crowded with Outliers who, like me, were running errands for the Sovereign house they worked in, but there were also plenty of Fortis guards around. An occasional Sovereign could even been seen in the crowd, always with a guard just in case and always covered by a robe to protect their pale skin from the dangers of the sun, and the people were packed in so tightly that by the time I reached the end of the street my dress was sticking to my back.
In the distance I heard the crack of a whip, as well as the cry of agony that followed it, and the sounds bounced off the walls around me as I moved. A Fortis guard bumped me as I walked faster, hoping to escape the sounds, and I found myself shoved
to the side as he grumbled under his breath about clumsy Outliers. Through the crowd I caught sight of two Fortis women laughing at a man. He was from the Mountari tribe, and his shirt had been removed to reveal dozens of lygan teeth decorating his arms and chest. Why he had been forced to strip I was unable to say, but just before I looked away, one of the Fortis women yanked a tooth from his flesh.
I walked faster, keeping my head down in the hope that it would protect me from having to witness anything else.
My first stop was the bakery, which was a relief not just because I wanted to escape the sights and sounds on the street, but also because the building was cool thanks to the artificial air. A small crowd was already waiting to get bread when I stepped through the door. It only took one scan of the group to see that no one from my tribe was present. A Huni woman caught my gaze for the briefest of moments before she looked away. Sweat glistened on her shaved head, which was a blistering pink from the sun. What appeared to be several teeth from a lygan pierced the top of her right ear, and the talon of a rawlin was stuck through the lobe of the other. The brief glimpse I had gotten of her face showed other piercings, through her nose and eyebrows and even her lip. The Huni, like the Mountari, associated with other tribes as little as possible, but I knew enough about them to know that each of the woman’s piercings represented a moment in her life in much the same way that my passage markings commemorated mine. Still, the thought of having a lygan tooth shoved through my skin sent a shudder shooting through me. I much preferred our passage markings.
Even though the Trelite woman at her side was more welcoming, her only greeting for me was still a simple nod. Our two tribes were at least on good terms even if we rarely intermixed. The Huni avoided everyone other than their own people as much as possible, and the Mountari were not much better. It was a waste in my opinion. The Outliers outnumbered the Sovereign and Fortis put together, but together was something we had never considered.
Behind the counter another Huni woman took orders from the Outliers crowded into the store. In the back, one of her coworkers was busy baking more bread, which would be sold by the woman behind the counter to other Outliers. Except all of it was for the Sovereign. The bread was baked by Outlier hands and sold to other Outliers, but all the money exchanged and all the bread bought went to the Sovereign. They collected the money and they ate the food we prepared, and yet we did all the work. This was the way it had always been, and unless something changed it would always be this way.
When it was my turn I found that Saffron’s order was ready and waiting for me—two loaves that were still warm—and I took them gratefully before returning to the street. The heat of their crusty goodness only added to my discomfort and I was anxious to get home, but the crowd was just as thick as it had been on my walk to the bakery and I had two more stops to make. The butcher to get a roast for dinner, and the tailor to pick up the dress Saffron was to wear for Lysander’s wedding.
The screams were the first sign that something was wrong. They started deep in the city, a street or more away from me, and were so muffled that at first I wondered if I had heard them at all. Then the sound rippled through the crowd, making people around me slow or stop and even a few run faster. That was when it hit me what was happening.
The first grizzard came out of nowhere, screeching through the air as it swooped down the street only a foot above the crowd. The bird was colossal, with a wingspan that barely gave it room to fly between the buildings and a long neck that allowed it to scan the street below as it flew. Its black feathers were iridescent in the light of the sun, reflecting blues and greens and purples, and as it soared above the crowd its long tail swished behind it. The worst part, though, was the bird’s massive beak, which ended in a point sharp enough to pierce a man’s skull.
And that was exactly what it did.
The bird dove into the crowd and a scream of pain ripped through the air. Then it was flying again, soaring away from the city with a man’s body dangling from its beak. Blood dripped down on me as the bird flew over, its tail swishing at my head, and I ducked instinctively, but it was a worthless gesture. The grizzard had already disappeared.
“Are there more?” I asked no one in particular.
A man at my side, a Huni whose face and ears were pierced with dozens of teeth and claws, called back, “There will be. We must run.”
A beat later, the siren sounded.
After that it was a wave of chaos as people charged down the street, screaming and running. Another grizzard appeared, diving into the crowd, and carried a woman off who was still twitching even as she disappeared from sight. I ran, desperately trying to keep up with the crowd, but I had no idea what to do or where I would be safest. I had never been outside during an attack before, and there were still three streets separating me from Saffron’s house. I was unsure if I should keep running or try to hide in an alley when I came to one. They were typically narrow, probably much too small for the large birds, and might protect me, only I did not know when I would come upon the next one.
The crowd pushed me forward, and as I ran I caught sight of a few Fortis men wielding spears. The streets were so tight that I had no idea how they would ever manage to take the birds out, but for the first time ever, I was happy to see them.
I managed to make it to Saffron’s street but safety was still more than ten houses away. The crowd had thinned as people ducked into homes and buildings and other places I was unfamiliar with, and with each passing second I felt more and more exposed. The grizzards were still flying over the city, I could hear their shrieks, but none were in view as I ran, and I had to hold onto the hope that it would stay that way.
So I kept running, sweating and out of breath, I pumped my legs harder and harder, my skirts swirling around me with each step. My legs got tangled in them and I stumbled, letting out a cry of frustration when it happened. I managed to stop myself from falling, but the relief was short lived. Only a few steps later it happened again, and this time there was nothing I could do.
I hit the ground so hard that it knocked the air out of me. The bread I had been clinging to was smashed under my body and my wrist throbbed from hitting the pavement when I tried to brace myself from the fall. People ran past me, but I was trembling and disoriented for a moment, and I was still down when fresh cries rang through the air around me.
The shadow of the large bird moved over the street, heading right toward me. I pushed myself back on instinct, but only got as far as the wall. There was nowhere to go, and getting up right now would only mean drawing attention to myself. Plus, to get back to Saffron’s house I would be forced to run toward the grizzard. So I stayed down, praying that the bird would fly over me.
It swung its neck toward me as it flew. The bird’s eyes were a bright yellow that looked unnatural against the black feathers, and when they zeroed in on me, I knew it. I put my hands up, trying to cover my head in hopes that it would do something to protect me, but deep down I knew there was nothing I could do to change what was about to happen.
The bird was right in front of me when it opened its beak and let out a shriek. I barely had time to blink before it slammed into me. The impact knocked me on my back, and I swung my arms and legs wildly, trying to knock the animal off, but it refused to give. I braced myself for the pain I was certain would come, but it never did. The bird’s beak never pierced my body, it did not lift me into the air and fly away, it never even moved.
As suddenly as when it had slammed into me, the corpse was ripped away and I was set free. Rays of sunlight shone down through the buildings, blinding me when I looked up, but they were blocked a second later when Asa stepped in front of me.
“Indra.” He knelt and the sun once again blinded me. “Are you okay?”
I held my hand up to shield my eyes and found him looking me over. He acted as if he wanted nothing more than to pick me up and carry me to safety, but he stayed where he was. He held a spear in his hand, the tip of it stained red, and I reali
zed that he had saved me yet again.
“I am okay,” I gasped.
Asa’s head dipped once before he looked back over his shoulder. “The way is clear now, but the birds are still attacking. Come with me and I’ll get you back to the house safely.”
I pushed myself up off the ground, taking the loaves of bread with me even though I knew they were ruined. Asa only looked my way once before charging down the street, and I ran after him, staying close. The shrieks of the birds echoed all over the city and every other Outlier had now taken cover, leaving room for the Fortis to do their jobs. Eight houses away a group of them charged toward a bird as it swooped down, spears flying as they went. One hit home and the grizzard careened to the right, slamming into the wall at its side in a burst of feathers and shrieks.
Asa turned into the alley that ran beside Saffron’s house and I followed, and only moments later he was shoving the door to her house open.
I took one step through, but paused so I could turn to face him. “Thank you.”
His intense brown eyes held mine for a split second before he gave me a quick nod, and then he turned and ran back out into the street.
16
My wrist was more injured than I had originally thought. Adrenaline had kept me from feeling the pain right away, but after I returned to the house and Mira helped me clean up, it began to throb. Even though Saffron was not pleased that I had smashed the bread, she had chosen not to punish me in light of the grizzard attack. She did inform me that I would need to return to the bakery as soon as the streets had been cleared, though.
“She cannot send you out after this,” Mira said as soon as Saffron left the room.
“The streets will be fine by then,” I told her. “Safer even. The Fortis will be busy cleaning up the birds.”
“They will have a feast tonight,” Mira said grudgingly.
“Yes,” I replied, unable to keep some of the same bitterness from my voice.