He knew me all too well.
But I held back. I wanted to tell him about Cam, about the library, about the life-altering offer that every Jadan dreamed of, but I wasn’t quite ready for the idea to become real.
Going with Cam would mean I’d have to leave Abb behind. To leave my family in this time when things were only going to get worse. When they needed me more than some drunken Inventor did.
I didn’t crack, so after a while, Abb got up and made his way over to my side of the room. He bent down, gave me a very serious look, and then swiped the boilweed across my forehead, dragging a thin layer of sweat away with it.
I tried not to react, but a laugh escaped me. ‘What are you doing?’
Abb scrutinized the sheen in the dim light, giving a nod. ‘Bleeding skin is never dry when you stitch it. No point in practising unless it’s realistic.’ He gave me a respectful nod, almost as if addressing a Noble. ‘Do carry on.’
He returned to his blanket, diving back into silence, poking the boilweed over and over. It irked me that Abb was always so certain he’d outlast me.
‘That Tavor Noble offered to buy me today,’ I said, wanting to slap myself for giving up so soon. ‘To set me up in the tinkershop in his Manor.’
Abb went still, leaving the needle poked halfway through.
I didn’t move from the blanket or turn in Abb’s direction, instead I looked over at my tinker-wall. I’d worked hard every night since returning from our journey with the bucket to try to recreate some of what I’d destroyed, gathering up my scraps from the sands. Most of my creations were dented, looking a bit on the sickly side, but they existed once again.
I hadn’t got too far, but there was at least one of each. I’d finished a crank-fan, a gear flyer, and a colourscope. I’d rescued a few carvings, a scorpion trap – both spring- loaded and bait designs – and an hourglass. My Claw Staff. Sound stretcher. Syringe. And half a dozen other little things I’d be leaving behind.
And if what Cam said was true, I’d never have to worry about scavenging for materials again. I’d get to assist a real Inventor, and maybe in time to become a real Inventor myself.
I just wished Abb would say something.
I finally looked his way, trying to process the devastating idea that I might never see him again. Abb was still, staring up at the starlight through the slats.
I must have broken his heart.
‘I’ll sneak out at night,’ I said quickly. ‘It’s not like I won’t see you again. I’ll even steal from their gardens and bring you and Moussa food.’
Abb still said nothing.
‘I’ll bring everyone food,’ I said. ‘I’ll bring figs. And dates. Orangefruit, if they have them to spare.’
Nothing.
The sweat had returned to my forehead. ‘I know you want me to stay here and figure out how to fight back with you and the rest, and I know I said I would, but I think I could do some good at the Manor. A little while back I had this idea—’
Abb finally shifted, sitting up straight and staring directly into my eyes. ‘Did you say, in their tinkershop?’
I nodded, ready for him to shout at me that I was a fool. That Nobles didn’t just buy you and give you your dream. That Cam was just toying with me, playing some elaborate new game the Nobles had created since traditional torture had got so old.
‘That sort of tinkering?’ Abb pointed to my wall. ‘Like what you did with his music box?’
I nodded with a gulp.
Then Abb got up and his body started tensing up. I thought at first maybe he was going to hit something, or that he was having some sort of spasm, his body rejecting the idea of us parting ways, but then I realized the truth of what was happening.
‘Are you kidding me?’ I asked, smile breaking. ‘That’s your reaction?’
Abb clapped his hands and started swaying awkwardly in the worst display of dancing I’d ever seen. ‘Don’t be mad that your old man moves like the wind!’
I slapped my forehead, the smack wet and loud. ‘You’re the most embarrassing father in the entire World Cried.’
‘Lucky you, Little Builder!’ Abb threw his hands up and hopped over his blanket, nearly tripping over his healing box.
‘Stop!’ I said. ‘By the Crier’s name, I take it back. I won’t go. Just make it stop!’
Then it got worse.
Abb started singing, clapping his hands to a jagged rhythm.
‘The Jadan’s work upon the sands
Those who need the Cold
Family forever
Older than the old’
‘How do you even know the “Jadan’s Anthem”?’ I asked, trying to slow him down.
Abb stopped his horrifying movements long enough to shake a finger at me. ‘You forget; I was there when it was written! Now where was I …?’
His voice got louder and I was desperately glad no one was around to witness my shame.
—‘Blessed be the forgotten
Who still bleed for the lands
So maybe the World Crier
Might release their hands.
They never fall to Sun
Dooby dee and dooby dun’
Catching the look on my face after the last verse, Abb clenched me in a hug and ruffled my hair. ‘Maybe I forgot a few words,’ he shrugged, pulling back and giving my cheek a light smack. ‘Micah, this is it. This is the greatest day in both of our lives! This is the Crier proving everything we hoped. Apparently we should all be touching Frosts in the Patches.’
‘Don’t even joke about that.’
‘Who’s joking? I break a holy rule, and now years later you’re getting the best fate a Jadan can receive. House Jadans have all the shade they want, and you’ll only have one family to worry about instead of serving every nasty Noble on the Street. And, oh wait, that’s right, you’re going to be working in a tinkershop!’ Abb’s smile was so bright it seemed to be sucking up the starlight around us. ‘I’ll tell you what, if I were as strong as Slab Hagan, I’d burst into the Pyramid and rub my dirty Jadan hands over every single Frost if it meant you’d get to stay in that Manor.’
I shook my head. ‘Please don’t.’
Abb flexed, kissing the muscle on his arm. ‘Good thinking. All the women in here would be so disappointed if my body looked like Hagan’s.’
‘It’s not fair though,’ I said, ignoring a strong desire to roll my eyes. It was a tad upsetting that the finest mood I’d ever seen my father in was because I was leaving. ‘You all need me here.’
‘Micah,’ Abb put a hand on my shoulder. ‘What in the Crier’s name made you think that anything about this world is fair? You don’t like the way things are, then use your new life to change them. Drop that bucket.’
‘There you are with that nonsense again,’ I said, a bit of heat rising from my chest to my face. ‘I don’t know what you expect of me. It’s not like I can Sun-damn tinker us to freedom.’
‘Maybe not.’ Abb looked up at the holes in the roof, kissed his finger, and then held it to the sky. ‘But I’ve seen it.’
‘Seen what?’
Abb gave me a devious look. ‘There’s something back there. An idea. You haven’t been able to stop staring at the stars all week; it’s written all over your face.’
It never failed to unnerve me, how well he could read me. Telling him about the Manor was one thing, but telling him about my new Idea would make me feel truly foolish. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
He started the song and dance again, and I got up to head for the boilweed door.
‘Tell me, and I’ll stop!’ Abb laughed between verses. ‘It’s the only way!’
I grunted. ‘Fine! But it’s so insane that you’ll want to break out your healing box and try to spread some salve on my brain.’
Abb bowed, dipping back down to his blanket, a huge smile across his face. ‘Good thing Gramble just gave me a new vial. Now spill, kiddo.’
I took a deep breath. ‘Okay, it’s more of a concept than an ac
tual idea. I was thinking—’
Just then, a soft rattle came from the side of the room, the loose panel shaking against the casing. We stopped talking for a moment. ‘Must be the wind,’ I said. Abb nodded at me to continue.
‘I was thinking—’
The panel rattled harder, angry almost, ready to burst inwards.
Something was out there.
I bent down, snatching up my reassembled Stinger from its hiding place on the bottom shelf, tucked behind Matty’s game. The weapon wasn’t full, but I’d gathered enough scorpion venom for its capsule that I knew it could take down the Vicaress herself. No one besides Abb or myself used the loose panel – anyone else sneaking in or out of our barracks would go through the fake wall in the uniform closet – unless it was a last resort.
Then there was another violent shake of the metal, this one including a thump that sounded like a foot. The panel had to be slid, not forced. Someone unwelcome was trying to get in.
My knuckles went white around the Stinger. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t use such a weapon unless it was a last resort, but with how things were headed in Paphos, I was glad it was in my hand.
The panel finally slid across and fell to the ground, revealing a shock of dark, braided hair and pointed cheekbones I knew all too well.
My tongue tasted dust and my heart raced. ‘Shilah.’
‘Hey, Micah.’ She began to slip through the space. ‘I heard singing,’ she said in a toneless voice. ‘Figured it was a good time to come in.’
‘That would be my father,’ I mumbled, blushing furiously.
Abb relaxed, raising his eyebrows at me. I decided not to respond; my face was already flushed.
Shilah stood up, as though she sneaked into random barracks all the time. From the corner of my eye, I could see Abb noting the way she stood, so rigid it was almost like she was bending backwards.
My fingers ached to reach out and touch her. As if I could try to guide her posture back to normal.
Abb’s smile broke open and he gave a small wave, so embarrassing that I felt like diving outside and hiding in the sands. ‘Hi! I’m Abb. I’m Micah’s father. Are you his girlfriend? He didn’t tell me about you.’
Shilah didn’t seem to find this amusing. Then, after a moment of reflection, a hint of a smile slipped onto her lips. ‘Your son would have to be quicker on his feet. I need someone that could keep up.’
Abb looked over to me with a wink. ‘She’s great. You’d be lucky indeed!’
I thought my cheeks might explode from embarrassment. ‘Abb!’
He threw his hands up in defence and then started towards the boilweed door. ‘Don’t mind me. I’ll give you both some space.’
I gave him a pleading look. ‘But—’
Abb waved again. ‘You can tell me about your idea later. I’ll leave you two alone.’ He paused, giving me a wry look. ‘You should definitely ask her to be your girlfriend.’
If my father hadn’t been so much bigger than me I would have tried to clamp his mouth shut. The door flapped shut behind him, but not before he’d given me another exaggerated wink. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll snap before I come back in.’
I picked up a wad of boilweed and chucked it at the closed door, careful not to trigger the Stinger.
When I looked back, I found Shilah’s eyes flitting across my tinker-wall, her face still expressionless. I’d hoped she might look impressed.
‘Seems like there should be more,’ she said.
‘I’ve had a strange week,’ I said.
‘I know,’ Shilah said, the corners of her mouth upturned. ‘I watched you destroy all of your stuff.’
I raised an eyebrow, my heart still thumping fast. ‘You watched me do that? You couldn’t have come to say hello, and maybe stop me?’
‘That was your business.’ She shrugged, shoulders tossed back. ‘And then you had your father ask me to be your girlfriend. Bit of a desperate move.’
I felt my stomach clench, my mortification growing. ‘I didn’t tell him to do that. I didn’t even tell him about you.’
She sauntered past me, giving off hints of sweat and dirt, yet for some odd reason I felt my nose following her, finding it impossible not to inhale. She smelled like the deep sands.
‘Sure,’ she said, bending down to the bottom shelf and touching my Dream Web. ‘What do you call this, a Sand Sifter?’
She used the same sarcastic tone as before, and it made me think about the night I tried the Cold Wrap, and how so much had changed in such a short time.
‘Why’d you draw all those symbols on the walls?’ I ventured, having a strong feeling that my guess was right. ‘They got some Jadans killed.’
She stood up, her face so close to mine that I had to step back.
‘What makes you think it was me?’ she asked.
I looked at her incredulously. ‘You’re telling me it wasn’t?’
‘I drew some, yes,’ she said, gesturing at the wall. ‘But do you think I’m the only one in Paphos who believes in the Opened Eye?’
‘I—’
‘Is that a weapon?’ she asked, stone-faced, pointing to my Stinger.
I almost forgot I’d been carrying it, and I went to tuck it back on the shelf before I hurt someone. I hadn’t had enough time to gather the amount of scorpion poison that I’d lost the night it had been destroyed, but the dose in the chamber now was still hefty enough to keep someone out for days.
‘Wait,’ she said, putting a hand on my arm. I felt a jolt travel through me at the unexpectedly soft touch. ‘Can I trade you for that? I could use a weapon.’
‘It’s kind of dangerous.’
She gave me a harsh look. ‘That’s the point of a weapon, isn’t it?’
Our faces were so close together that I could smell her breath, with a hint of Khatmelon. It brought back a flood of memories and I had to retract. ‘Trade for what?’
She stood up and grabbed the new pair of Rope Shoes that I’d fashioned. ‘Put these on. I left mine outside.’
‘Why?’
She smiled, and for a moment, her sarcasm faltered. ‘I make things too. Different things, but I think you’ll want to trade. Come on. And try to keep up.’
‘Welcome to my home.’
‘So,’ I said, heart sinking as I realized Shilah was truly insane. We’d come to the last of the rocks, the only thing waiting at our feet being a large drop from the cliff to deadly water below. ‘You live in a boiling river.’
‘Yes,’ Shilah said, hand gently wrapped around the Stinger. ‘All my life. Born in the Hotland Delta, and I swam all the way here. Did I mention I can breathe underwater? I find it best to sleep on the hot clay at the bottom of the river, and sometimes I make friends with the bubbles.’ She pointed off into the distance. ‘That’s Shem. And that one is Michael.’
I started to back away from the edge of the cliff, now slightly nervous about the fact that Shilah was armed and I was not. Luckily enough my Rope Shoes were a lighter pair than hers – this time made with thinner metals – so I could probably outrun her back across the dunes if need be.
She looked at me with a grin and then turned back to survey the Kiln, the current steaming and fast and hungry. ‘Also, if you’re going to be my partner, you can’t be such a gullible idiot.’
‘Who says I’m going to be your partner?’ I asked, glad that she was just playing around, and that the Sun hadn’t baked her head full of false visions. ‘I don’t even know you.’
Shilah smirked, keeping her focus on the water. ‘That’s the part that bothers you, huh? Not the idiot thing.’
‘Seriously,’ I said, annoyed that I’d agreed to come. I should have been spending these last few nights with Abb and Moussa, not traipsing around the sands with a troublemaker like her. ‘Why are we out here?’
Her smile faded, and her cheeks became as rigid as her back. If there were still wars in the Khatdom, she’d suit being a warrior. Her face was stoic and poised, and I wanted to reach out and touch
the angles of her cheeks, just to feel what such a thoughtful face was like to touch.
‘You shouldn’t trust him,’ Shilah said. ‘That Noble who keeps pulling you in.’
‘Cam?’ I asked after a moment, shaking off the trance.
She gave me an impressed look. ‘No title or even a full name? Maybe there’s hope for you yet.’
I shrugged. ‘It’s what he asked for.’
She stared across the River Kiln at the empty sands beyond. ‘Why did he take you to the library?’
I smirked in turn. ‘You’ve got to stop following me, you know. It’s very creepy.’
‘Not following,’ Shilah said, annoyed, slipping out of her Rope Shoes and flexing her toes against the rocks. ‘Judging. You think I would just bring anyone here?’
I gestured to the raging waters. ‘Okay. To your home, right? I imagine it’s a lovely place to spend—’
She jumped off the cliff.
My stomach clenched and I darted to the edge, looking over in horror. The Kiln would cook her alive in a matter of minutes, and I felt my head go light thinking about how loud her screams were going to be.
But she looked up at me from a long ledge jutting from the rock face below, shaking her head. Then she slipped inside some sort of cave underneath where I stood, the angle making it impossible to see inside. I placed a hand against my chest, feeling the thumps reverberating across my palm.
And then I smelled something impossible.
My nose wrinkled, knowing it couldn’t be true. The only time I had smelled anything like it was when I had crawled near the Garden Quarter. But this time it was much heavier, more potent, tickling my nose with its earthy bitterness.
I peeked over the cliff further and saw the edges of dark greens and even darker browns.
Impossible. It couldn’t be what I thought it was.
Shilah popped her head back out, pointing to a series of rungs she’d hung down the cliff’s edge. ‘Try and keep up. You can use them if you’re scared.’
‘I’m not scared,’ I said, heart beating. ‘I’m shocked. Is that—’
‘Soil,’ she said, rubbing her finger along an exposed leaf, which was attached to some sort of creeping vine. ‘Welcome to Little Langria.’
I could scarcely breathe, winded worse than when Thoth had driven his rod over and over into my stomach. ‘Did you say Little Langria?’
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