The Fire Sisters (Brilliant Darkness 3) (6 page)

Peree leans close. “We’ve got a good view now. It’s a lot bigger than the Myuna, and even wider than our water hole at home, although I can still see the other side. The water’s muddy, definitely not as clear as the Myuna. And it runs fast.”

I hear it—a constant rushing sound, like a storm blowing in through the forest, frenzying the leaves. My nostrils flare, catching intriguing new smells now. There’s the mildew I’d expect around any body of water, but also florals, bitter greens, rotting wood, and an unpleasant gassy stench. My nose wrinkles.

He goes on. “It curves, like… like… a shed snake skin or something. Have you felt a shed before?”

“I had
a little brother, remember?”

A painful jolt runs through me. Eland brought Aloe and me his finds in the forest all the time: perfectly round birds’ nests lined with a soft, feathery fuzz; live frogs, smooth and still wet from the water hole, their bodies expanding and contracting with each anxious breath; the fragile perfection of an egg; the undigested fur and feathers of owl droppings; fresh greenheart seed pods of all sizes. And snake sheds. He was fascinated by it all.

I blink back a few tears as we start forward again. “How much of the river can you see?”

“A good amount. The forest lines both sides, though, so when the river turns, the trees block the view.”

The rushing sound grows as walk, eventually drowning out the soft flow of the stream next to our hunting trail. We leave the shadows of the forest, and walk up and over one last mound covered in tall grasses that tickle my knees.

I know we’re close when my feet begin to squelch with every step, sinking into soggy ground.
Aloe’s cane guides me
 to the edge. I move cautiously, remembering the underground river in the caves. If I fall in, I have a feeling I’d be well downstream in an instant. I stoop down to trail my hand in the water. It’s cold enough that my fingers start to numb.

The Restless murmurs to itself, inarticulate but determined, as if it has urgent business downstream and grave secrets to keep. Did Kora and the other children stand here, too? I wonder again how the Sisters control them—how they keep them from crying or screaming or running away. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. I sniff the air, trying to catch the Sisters’ harsh scent. All I get is damp earth.

“So we’re here. Which way now, Kai?” Moray raises his voice to be heard.

“The Sister took me along the path on this side.” Her voice is low and rough. “Then we swam to the other side.”

“Swam?” Peree asks. “Across
this
? Wasn’t there any other way?”

I dry my wet fingers on my dress and reach for his hand.

“They must have some other way to get the children to the other side,” I say. “Not all of them are old enough to swim well.” Thrush, a Lofty like Peree, likely can't swim at all.

“We will search for it as we go,” Amarina says.

I grit my teeth. Something else I can’t help with.

We start out again, keeping the Restless on our left, walking quickly to take advantage of the dwindling light. Weeds, rocks, and waist-high bushes trip me up, but the ground seems clear of trees beside the river. The forest sits to our right now, from the birdcalls and creaking of trees.

The earth here is soft, and after eight other people tramp on it before me, marshy. Water soaks my shoes, squelching between my toes, and my stick keeps lodging in the ground. After a while, Peree holds my elbow, guiding me so I don’t have to use it.

“Hey, look—” Bear says.

I freeze and listen, but I don’t hear anything out of the ordinary.

“Shelters,” Peree tells me.

Shelters mean people, possibly hostile ones, but the others don’t sound alarmed. Peree guides me to the right, into the forest, following the group. My arm brushes tree trunks; their unruly branches catch in my hair.

“There are two of them,” Peree says. “Abandoned.”

It’s hard to imagine people lived out here, all alone. Was it a family? The others wander forward, their feet rustling through downed leaves and underbrush. Peree takes me to one of the shelters, and I run my fingers lightly along the side. The boards feel dry and loose.

“Here’s a small wood pile,” Conda says after a minute. “Looks like it’s been here a while.”

“And an old refuse pile back here,” Amarina says. Her voice comes from the other side of the shelters.

Bits and pieces of the people’s lives emerge—a rotting blanket, a moldy sack of beans, what might be a few rows of a very old garden—whoever lived here hasn’t in a long time. Which might be for the best, for us.

After a few minutes, we head back to the riverside, and I think about the people as we walk. Who were they? What were they doing all the way out here, living alone? I’ve heard stories of survivors of the Scourge all my life, but we never had proof they existed. That’s what made finding Koolkuna and the
anuna
such a shock. It was like the legends came to life.

And the Sisters seem even closer to characters from an elder's story. The kind told while we clustered around a campfire late at night, jumping at every crack and pop of the flames.

The sun sinks, and we’re forced to stop and make camp. We move back into the forest, and Derain finds a spot among the trees clear enough for all of us to sleep. Amarina gets a fire started quicker than I thought possible; it’s burning, compact but bright, by the time the rest of us return from filling our water sacks in the Restless. Derain offers to gather wood to keep it going, and Conda joins him. Their voices move away from the campsite, into the darkening trees.

“Help me pluck the ground fowl for dinner?” Bear says, touching my arm.

“You caught one?” I never thought to ask after my humiliating tumble down the hill.

“Two. Fat ones.”

I sit down with him, thrilled with the thought of fresh meat for dinner.

“I’m going to set some rabbit snares,” Kai says. “Do you want to come, Peree?”

My smile falters. Why does it always have to be
him
? Then again, I can’t imagine Moray or Cuda jumping at the chance to help, and Peree knows a lot about snaring and trapping. It was how the Lofties caught much of their meat in the trees: birds, squirrels, and other small tree-creatures. Branches and bushes crack and snap as they go into the forest.

“Looks like Kai hasn’t given up on your man,” Moray says. “What are you going to do about it, sweetheart? Fight her for him?”

“No contest. Kai wins,” Cuda says.

I try not to yank
 out
 the feathers overly hard.

“Do you still have that knife Peree gave you?” Bear asks me.

I pat my pocket. I’ve grown accustomed to the weight of it against my thigh.

“Remember how to use it?” he says.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Wait until Moray and Cuda are asleep, then go for their throats.”

We all laugh—even Moray and Cuda. Bear always knows how to cheer me up.

Night falls as the birds sizzle over the flames. The smell gets my mouth watering. Derain and Conda, then Peree and Kai, come back to camp as Amarina begins to pass our dinner around. Peree hands me a plate and sits beside me. He doesn’t speak.

“How did it go?” I ask.

“Good. We found some rabbit trails leading away from the Restless. Set a few snares along it. I shot a goose for breakfast, too.” He sounds distracted.

Did Kai say or do something to make him uncomfortable? Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I can’t shake the feeling that maybe she did. I picture her standing too close, her hand on his back, whispering in his ear…

Stop
.

I have no reason to doubt Peree. If Kai did anything like that, he’d set her straight. Tell her he’s not interested. Right?

Distracted by my imagination, I take a bite of the ground fowl without testing the temperature first. It sears my tongue, and I snatch it out again.

Someone passes around a leather sack. From the astringent smell, I’d guess it’s plum wine. I take a pull.
No
—it's something harder. After only a few passes, my body sags and my thoughts grow sluggish. I don’t drink any more. Instead, I snuggle against Peree, enjoying our shared warmth.

As the night tucks in around us, conversation moves to the children. Everyone has a favorite story to tell. Amarina shares how proud she was when Ellin won a hard-run foot race against older children this past summer.

“She’s as fleet-footed as a rabbit.” Her voice teeters between pride and heartbreak.

We laugh at Peree’s story of how Petrel let Thrush hang by his ankles in the trees after the boy caught himself in a snare he had no business messing with. Bear remembers Darel fastened to one leg or another as he moved around Koolkuna. I recount my last moments with Kora and Darel, the two of them cavorting through the room as Arika arranged my hair for the partnering ceremony. It’s hard to breathe, thinking of the children so carefree, compared to how they might feel now.

Conda goes last, telling a story about Frost. A Lofty arrow nicked his calf as we ran for Koolkuna, and she
 bandaged it
. I was in such a stupor after learning that Eland was killed that I didn’t even know Conda was injured. There’s a surprising yearning in his voice as he talks about Frost.

I’d assumed Conda had come with us because Moray and Cuda were going, but now I wonder if there’s more to his decision. Does he have feelings for the mother of his brother’s child? Does Moray suspect? Would he even care?

I’m ready to sleep, but between the water and the alcohol, I need to relieve myself. I grab my walking stick and stand.

“Back in a minute,” I whisper to Peree.

Sweeping my stick from side to side, I step between the trees. I don’t want to go too far. Getting lost now is all I need—the brothers and Kai would have a field day. Peree would come with me, but this is where I draw the line on togetherness.

As soon as the firelight fades behind me, I stop and do what I need to do. As I stand, ready to return to the campsite, I smell that irritating acrid scent again.

Heart thudding, head swiveling side to side, I try to pinpoint where it’s coming from. Is it a lingering scent trail, like before? I can’t get a fix.

This isn’t safe. I’m alone and possibly beyond where the others can hear me. I turn to go back, and a sound seizes my heart: footsteps sliding fast along the forest floor, coming right for me.

Pure energy shoots through my limbs. I shout for help and start running, pushing through bushes and branches, colliding with a tree, and jamming my outstretched fingers.

A hand grasps my shoulder from behind. Fingers dig into my collarbone. The powerful scent hits me full force, and icy fear bursts over me. I writhe, trying to free myself.

Like the sting of a bee, my neck is punctured with pain, followed by a burning sensation that tears up into my head. I gasp and cry out.

“Your children belong to the Fire Sisters now,” a female voice growls in my ear. “Stop following us. Tell the others to turn back. Go home, or you will be killed.”

“Fennel!”

“Where are you?”

“Are you hurt?”

I try, but I can’t answer. I can’t move. I’m frozen, and not only with fear. This is something else. My heart rattles my ribcage, and sweat gathers on my brow and under my arms.

“Fenn! Tell us where you are!” Peree yells.

Did the sting at my neck paralyze me? My thoughts swirl in one confused direction, then another, like the torches, but I can only stand absolutely still. What’s happening? What’s wrong with me?
What did the Sister do?

The torches gather somewhere between the campfire and me.

“Form a line,” I hear Derain say. “Leave five paces between you and walk in step, watching the ground. Keep your weapons ready.”

The others’ footsteps spread out. In an agonizingly slow march, they push through the trees. Thankfully, it’s in my direction.

Air rips in and out of my chest and my hands tremble. I’m aware of my surroundings, my body, my thoughts and feelings, but I can’t make myself
act
on them. I can’t even move my lips to form words. What the Sister said echoes over and over in my head.

One of the group sounds very close to me now. They’re so near… if they move a little farther forward, they’ll see me—

“She’s here!” Kai yells. The others rush to us; their torches dart in around me.

“Mirii?” Derain says. I stay still.

Peree’s hands cup my face. “Fenn? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“The children belong to the Fire Sisters now,” I say. “We must stop following, turn back, go home, or we’ll be killed.” My voice sounds unrecognizable, stripped of all emotion, but a rush of relief fills my body. I did as I was told.

“What’s she talking about?” Cuda asks. “Why does she look all stiff?”

“Do you smell that?” Bear says. “It’s that scent Fenn was talking about.”

“The Sisters must be near.” Amarina drops her voice. “Look for the
guru.
Go in pairs and be cautious!”

Their torches leave again, except for one. I’m sure everyone’s doing the best they can to be quiet, but their movements are thunderous in the otherwise silent forest. The Sister moved like a ghost. Light comes close to my face. I can’t flinch away.

“Can you hear me, Fennel?” Peree asks.

I repeat what the Sister told me to say. It’s all I can do.

“What the hell did they do to you?” he whispers. There’s a pause, then his torch dives to the ground and goes out with a stamping noise. “The light makes us a target. We’ll stay here for now. Come sit against this tree.”

He wraps an arm around me. I shuffle along with him and sit. Why can I move now when I couldn’t before? Panic shreds my gut.

“I’ll be right here with you.” His voice is by my ear; he must be crouched beside me.

His breaths are quick, in and out, in and out. He shifts his weight, and an arrow slides against his bowstring. He’s staying to protect me. I want to tell him what happened, or at least hunch closer to him, but I can’t. I can only sit up perfectly straight in the dark, waiting, sweat creeping down my back despite the cool night. The torches of the others glide back and forth through the forest.