Elemental Hunger (22 page)

I took a step forward. “Nothing.”

She studied me, a thoughtful expression on her face. I smiled, trying to ease the fear out of her eyes. “I need your help,” I said.

She folded her arms. “My help?”

“Yes.” I snapped my fingers, and a tiny flame erupted along my thumb and forefinger. “I’m looking for a Watermaiden. A girl by the name of Cat.”

“Cat?”

The way she said the name with so much familiarity made my heart jump. I held out the apple, positively grinning. “Yes, Cat. Do you know her?”

The girl looked over her shoulder, as if Cat might materialize right there in the orchard. I glanced around too, suddenly realizing that indeed, Cat might be here.

“How do you know her?” the Watermaiden asked.

“She’s a friend of mine from Crylon.”

That seemed to erase any doubts the Watermaiden had. “She’s here somewhere. Sometimes we get assigned the same section, but I was late today.”

“But she’s here. In this orchard.” I studied the fruit trees surrounding me, desperate to hear Cat’s voice, see her face.

“She’s here,” the Watermaiden confirmed.

“Thank you,” I said, barely refraining from hugging the girl. I didn’t think a boy would do that to a complete stranger. I started down a line of trees.

“This is a big orchard,” the girl called. “You might not find her.”

“I’ll find her,” I said over my shoulder, determination landing in every footstep.

Hours later, I hadn’t found her. The lunch bell had rung a long time ago, and the sun was dipping lower with every step I took. I couldn’t decide if I’d searched this part of the orchard yet, and with Cat moving too, I had no way of locating her.

I’d encountered only four people in my search, and none of them knew a Cat. I didn’t dare reveal that she was a Watermaiden, and I’d moved on quickly after each visit.

I’d climbed at least a dozen trees, searching for people from above. I set my hands and feet on another trunk and balanced in the branches as I looked for any movement.

Nothing.

Tired and hungry, I slumped in the nook where branch met trunk and pressed my eyes closed. My chest shuddered with the first inklings of my desperation. But I would not allow myself to dissolve into tears.

I dropped to the ground and brushed off my pants. I looked up into the eyes of a tall man. “Hello,” I said.

“Hello,” he said.

“I’m looking for someone,” I said, edging around the tree as the man stepped closer. He blinked, causing me to focus on his eyes. Something wasn’t right with them. The brown color felt too light, and hinted at a shade of unnatural orange.

“Someone who?” he asked, bending over and rustling through the undergrowth in the orchard. I flinched when he brought his arm up, only to find him holding a hose. Water drizzled from the end and he held it closer to the tree.

“A girl,” I said.

“Seen lots of girls.” The man stepped to the next tree, stretching the hose as he went.

I breathed easier with him a few paces away. “This one will be wearing a dress. Long, dark hair.”

He didn’t look at me as he worked. “Seen someone like her in the north tenth.”

“Which way is north?” I asked.

He pointed over his shoulder, back in the direction I’d come. “Thank you,” I said as I sprinted away. The man said something I didn’t hear, but I didn’t care.

As I ran, people moved in front of me, all heading toward the center of the orchard. It must be time to go home. I pushed my legs faster, hoping to arrive before Cat joined the crowd and got lost again.

Several yards in front of me, a girl passed through the trees. Her long, dark hair streamed from a ponytail. Her clothes hung in tatters, her once-green dress dirty and torn along the shoulder. She wore no shoes and no coat. She must have been freezing.

“Cat!” I called.

Miraculously, the girl stalled, swinging her head toward me. Her round cheeks and penetrating brown eyes held beauty that I knew matched the loveliness of her voice. I stopped a few feet from her, my chest heaving and a smile stretching my face.

“Cat,” I repeated. My heart leaped to my throat at the sight of her.

She glanced around, nothing but naked fear residing in her eyes. She shook her head and backed away slowly.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She stopped, her eyes filled with tears. “How do you know my name?”

“You know my name too,” I said.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. After careful scrutiny of my face and body, her eyes widened. “No.” She pressed one hand over her mouth.

“Yes.” I held my hand up, palm forward and let my fire race between my fingers.

Her eyes grew wider. “Gabby?”

Somehow, the hole she’d left inside had been instantly filled when she spoke my name. I nodded, tears filling my own eyes.

She flung herself at me and gripped me in a fierce hug. “What are you doing here?” She stepped back and ran her hands over my head. “What happened to your hair? And how are you a Firemaker?”

I shrugged, unable to explain my genetic abnormality.

“Where’s Jarvis?” she asked.

“Where’s Isaiah?” I countered.

Cat smiled, but it held a sadness I’d felt before. The kind that lingered in my soul when Educator Graham disappeared. When Patches cut me out of his life. When Jarvis kissed me but didn’t choose me for his Council.

A fountain of water bubbled in her palm. “I wrote to Isaiah in Tarpulin last week. I haven’t heard from him yet. I hope he survived.”

“Survived?”

She flipped her hand over, and water cascaded to the ground. “Word in the underground is that Davison sent for any willing Councilmen to come to Gregorio. They were going to hold a council to find out what they could do with their combined powers, what manpower they each could provide for an attack on Tarpulin, and to discuss new policies going forward.” She sighed in a very defeated way.

“About a week ago, Councilman Davison declared open war on Tarpulin. He sent sentries to evict Alex. No one’s seen him or heard from him since.”

The way she spat out the Supremist’s name didn’t go unnoticed. I studied her round face. “What about the other Councilmen? Are they still here?”

“I haven’t seen anyone. The streets are overrun with thugs. The only sentries that are visible are from Tarpulin—and they’re best avoided.” She wandered a few feet away, looking through the orchard. “It’s like they’ve deserted us.”

“But surely they haven’t,” I said. “Maybe they’ve just gone underground.”

“Maybe,” Cat conceded. “Alex is ruthless. She’ll stop at nothing to protect herself and keep her appointment.” Cat brushed her hands together, as if she were dusting off the unpleasant topic. “So you’ve seen Isaiah? Talked to him?”

“Yeah, he’s here.” I frowned. “But I thought he was on that Council with you. Why did he have to try out for another Council?”

“Alex ordered the execution of our entire Council when our Firemaker wouldn’t use his Element to murder innocent Unmanifested government leaders. Rebellions have been springing up in the near villages for the past fifteen months. She sends sentries or goes herself to eliminate the dissenters. Did you know she’s a woman?”

“Yes.”

“Word is spreading all over the Territories.” Cat focused on her hands, wringing them around each other. “She’s killed a lot of people,” Cat finally continued. “She sent sentries to kill our Firemaker, but the rest of us were spared. One of the negotiated points was that we all had to register for the Supremist’s Council openings. It’s better to have a Council than to be a rogue Elemental.”

I nodded, taking her hands and squeezing them. “He’s blind, Cat. Did you know?”

“Of course. The Supremist has quite the temper.”

Disgust clawed at my stomach. My fire burned cold.

“Isaiah said it was an accident, but we know it wasn’t. Somehow, Alex took his sight during his trial. I wasn’t there when it happened, as I’d already fled to Cornish.”

My brain needed time to process everything she’d said. First: I wondered how the Supremist could take someone’s sight. That didn’t mesh with any stories or rumors I’d heard.

Second: Cat was an extremely experienced Watermaiden. If she didn’t make it…what kind of talent did the Supremist have at her disposal?

“When I heard of the Elemental uprising in Gregorio, I came here,” Cat said. “Cornish is an Unmanifested village, and I thought maybe the Councilman here would offer sanctuary for displaced Elementals, but I haven’t been able to get in to see him.”

I brushed her hair off her forehead. “I’m so glad I found you. I have a Council. Well, almost. Isaiah found me, and I have an Airmaster and an Unmanifested. With you, we can be a Council. We can charter.” I said it like it was true, but I still didn’t know if it could be. Adam had said Davison
might
be able to help us charter until the political and civil unrest settled down, but if Cat hadn’t been able to see him…. Maybe not.

She smiled, that glorious smile that could erase time and distance and pain. “Sounds good, Gabby. Sentries from Tarpulin have been pouring into the city to deal with the increasing Elemental unrest, but I haven’t seen Alex yet. The Unmanifested are either underground, have already fled, or are neutral. It’s dangerous.”

“They’re looking for me,” I said. “You know, because I’m a female Firemaker.” I conveniently left out the fire I’d been accused of setting in Crylon. “But if we have a chartered Council, we’ll have that bond that comes from our powers. We can protect each other.”

“We have to find Councilman Davison first. Or someone with Council authority.”

“Right.” We needed to find Adam, Isaiah, and Hanai too. Moments passed with only the wind sighing in the trees. I tried not to feel like the situation was hopeless, but it felt like getting the sky to crack would be easier than finding a Councilman who didn’t want to be found.

“Okay.” I wiped my hand on my disgusting jeans, suddenly feeling the twelve silent months we’d been apart. “My Unmanifested can feel souls. Let’s see if we can help him find us.”

We both stood there like statues. See, I had no blazing clue how to channel my soul into the universe.

“I have to report back or I won’t get my tokens.” Cat stepped to an unwatered tree. I followed along, lost in the peace of Cat’s voice. But it couldn’t completely erase the uneasiness inside. I needed to find some measure of safety before the air would stop suffocating me. Maybe we’d never find Adam, Hanai, or Isaiah. Maybe we should head for another city, and sneak a charter in under Alex’s nose while she was busy dealing with the uprisings here in Gregorio. I swallowed the doubt about whether chartering would happen at all.

I pulled up my hood when Cat led me back to the man in the blue hat. When I buried my Element, I felt the biting wind for the first time that day.

“Any debris?” the man asked. I recognized the voice as that of the foreman, Rev.

Cat shook her head and held out her hand. Rev dropped three tokens into her palm.

I kept my eyes on the ground as I opened my hand. I gasped at the shock of hot metal when the coins landed in my palm.

I looked up, right into another Firemaker’s eyes.

“Cold today,” he said, seeming to gaze into my soul.

“Yeah,” I answered, trying to sound cold and masculine at the same time.

“Be back tomorrow?”

I shrugged, shifting my feet so they weren’t so close together.

Rev stepped closer. It took everything I had not to reach for the knife at my belt.

“Come back tomorrow, Firemaker. I’ll make sure you get the best section.” His eyes burned golden with his Element. “Maybe an extra token for you and your girlfriend.”

I nodded and swallowed hard.

“Have you registered?”

I laughed nervously—it almost escaped as a giggle. I pulled in a deep breath to gain my composure. “Of course I’ve registered.” I watched Cat round the corner without looking back. I wanted to run to catch her. I couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not again.

Rev nodded, and I forced myself to shuffle forward without lifting my feet all the way.

I half-expected a flaming hand to drop on my shoulder and an order to go to some dungeon office where Felix would be waiting with Elemental cancellers. When nothing happened, I shoved the tokens in my pocket and hurried to catch up to Cat. “Hey,” I hissed as I matched her stride. “That was close.”

Cat gripped my forearm, her fingernails digging into my skin. “Did he sense your Element?”

“Yes.” Her tone and wide eyes didn’t offer comfort. “I told him I’d already registered. What does that mean?”

“You ‘register’ with a man named Felix and he says he’s taking names to protect the Elementals. He’s really a—”

“Sentry,” we said together. She gaped at me.

“I’ve met him,” I said. “He works for the—for Alex and his job is to find me.” Saying Alex’s name out loud sounded strange in my mouth.

Cat and I walked along the dirt road until it turned to cement. Dark, industrial buildings crowded close to the street, standing as silent guards.

“Wild tsunamis,” Cat whispered. She gripped my hand as we approached a group of men loitering in a pool of orange light at the corner. Cat held her head high and forced her eyes straight ahead.

“Gotcher self a boyfriend, sugar?” one of them called. I stepped closer to Cat and glared at the man. Two men stood up and moved into the street behind us. I walked faster, but two more blocked the road in front of us.

“You know you can’t pass without paying the toll,” a man said. Greenish bags sagged under his eyes. The man next to him grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

“What’s the toll?” I asked.

“Your tokens…or your body,” Yellow Teeth answered.

I glanced at Cat. No wonder she was so hungry.

“How about you get the blazes out of the way?” I said with as much masculine force as I could muster.

Laughter echoed off the dark buildings. My fire jumped, licking its way along my throat.

“Are you gonna make us?” someone asked. “I think I can take you by myself.”

I thought so too. My heart thumping, I pulled the knife from my waistband. I balanced it the way Adam had taught me as I raised it. The sight of the knife cut off their laughter.