Torturing them. Interrogating them.
My body shivered at the memory of Graken questioning me. I wasn’t trying to hide anything, and he threatened to whip me with his belt. His assignment at the prison must have required several of his skills. Getting people to confess information must have been one of them.
Graken’s eyes met mine, and I looked away.
According to Calish, the Woodsmen continued to gain momentum. Anyone willing to prove themselves was accepted. The Woodsmen created their own laws and enforced them, and given the nurse’s reaction to my branding, even the Citizens obeyed them. Calish said it started when they claimed possession of the shade. I never considered shade as a tradable commodity, but when most people lacked food and shelter, the woods became the last dependable resource.
“Reinick’s furious he didn’t think of it first,” Calish admitted.
But Reinick didn’t want to camp in the woods, he wanted a palatial estate to protect his way of life from ruin. The Woodsmen were hidden, while the Authority sat fully exposed. While that might change during Talium, it was a worry for another day. Survival depended on one day at a time. The benefit of the seasons can only show favoritism to one of them at a time.
As far as I saw it, the Woodsmen were racing against time. The woods would be suitable for a while, but by Talium, it would be the worst place to be. If the Authority could hold power that long, the favor of the seasons would shift, and I was sure both sides knew it.
No wonder Calish has been working so much.
At least he wasn’t completely on his own. He’d learned to rely on Graken for almost everything. Born and raised with status, he knew so much more about Ashlund, its people, and its problems than we did. He was obviously loyal to the Authority, but I got the impression he preferred to work under Calish’s rank, though he knew Calish was underqualified for the position. Still, he served under him, offering his knowledge and skill but never attempting to lead Calish on with unsolicited advice. Graken’s assignment to our house proved more valuable than any other tool Reinick lent him.
Even though Graken is an ass at times.
I studied the profile of the guard’s face as he drove the wagon. If I hadn’t seen so many aspects of his personality, I might think him handsome.
Maybe.
“Problem?” he asked, keeping close watch on the Citizens on either side.
“No. I’m just thinking.”
I half expected him to make a cutting remark in response, but he was too focused on our surroundings to be troubled by it. Graken’s posture made him appear larger and more angry than normal, and though he sat, his feet were positioned to leap at any given moment. His level of intensity made me anxious. When I saw the hilt of his blade sticking out from under his outer thigh rather than in its sheath, I felt my heart beat faster.
Oh, I wish we were already at the property.
I kept my eyes cast down at my feet, not sure if I wanted to see an attack if it came. We made our way slowly, staying in formation to ward off any would-be trouble from the ditches on either side of us. Our presence disrupted the Citizens, and the more people who took notice of our little caravan, the more Graken seemed to be on edge.
His paranoia was contagious. Once I sensed movement in the shadows beyond the trees, the hair on the back of my neck stood erect, and my breathing slowed.
“Woodsmen.” I gasped.
“They’ve been there since we turned onto this road.” He let his eyes drift to my side of the wagon. “Don’t bait them.”
Despite my attempt to look in a different direction, I couldn’t take my focus off the tree line. The more I concentrated, the more prominent the faces freckling the shade became. My fingers gripped the edge of my seat.
“Do you know what bait means, woman?”
“I’ve fished my entire life. What do you think?” I growled. “Hey, isn’t that the gate?” Other than iron rods and freshly cut boards, the fence was bare.
“Yep.” He continued to survey the area.
“They removed the rest of the bodies. I wonder what they did with them.”
He smacked my knee with his. “Would you quit staring?”
“If someone were going to attack, don’t you think they would have done it by now?” I inched away, putting more space between us.
“Perhaps they don’t want to host you again.” He claimed the extra legroom for himself. “Or they could be waiting for you to call them into service now that you bear the mark.”
My hand curled into a fist, ready to punch him in his smug face. But I hesitated.
What if he’s not joking? If they saw me assault him, would they run out to assist me?
They could slaughter us all.
I’ll admit, not an appropriate response for a bad joke.
Regretting not riding in the back of the wagon with the children, I focused on Calish on his horse ahead of us. With one hand holding the reins and the other resting on his hip, he looked as though he’d been riding for years. Occasionally he waved or nodded a greeting to the Citizens he passed. I had been so lost in my own thoughts, I hadn’t noticed the odd behavior of the people along the road. “What are they doing?”
“They’re bowing.”
“I see that.” I shook my head. “Why?”
Graken offered an awkward smile. “Where have you been the whole time?”
I didn’t answer him. My eyes were fixed on the crowds.
“You don’t know, do you?”
“Is it normal to bow to the Lords?” They never came to my house; maybe it was customary.
“I’ve never known Citizens to bow to people as they travel. They’re bowing for you.”
“Me? Why would they do that?”
“Because you’re the Mother Una.”
“That is Kash’s name for me.”
“You’re wrong, my Lady. He knew you by that name because that’s what the people call you.”
That’s ridiculous.
His voice softened. “You’re a lady of status, yet you tried to help that boy with the thistle.”
“Alux,” I said. “His name was Alux.”
“Then upon his death, you gave him a remembrance of the highest status as if he were your own son. Do you expect anything less now you’ve freed these children from the Woodsmen?”
I didn’t free them all.
“Might I remind you another boy ended up dead and the ones I ‘rescued’ were branded?”
And the ones I didn’t cut free had their throats slit.
“Good point,” he said, facing forward. “Maybe you should tell them when you’re handing out soup.” He finally looked directly at me. “That is your plan, isn’t it?”
I didn’t like the attention; it’s not what I was after. If Graken was right, I would only draw more eyes to myself and my family in the coming days and moon cycles. If the people felt this way about us, Reinick also knew about it and would find a way to exploit it. His choice to make Calish the new Lord of the Authority would be one more political move to keep the Citizens in line and renew the Authority’s presence and power.
Was Reinick using the Woodsmen to reestablish some sort of structure? Was the Governor’s death necessary for the greater good? Maybe. While I hoped Reinick had one small, virtuous bone in his body, somehow, I knew I was being overly optimistic. The only difference between him and the Woodsmen was a title and a badge.
If I was right, there was a war brewing. I didn’t care about titles; frankly, I’d never liked them. I couldn’t care less about status or power. If this was going to be a battle for control over the people, then I was prepared to fight for the people. I knew who the players were and the talents they possessed. If Kash or Reinick wished to exploit my family for personal gain, they had another thing coming.
There was no way the two groups would merge. Reinick didn’t like to share, even if Kash was willing. If Calish and I had the people’s hearts, both the Authority and the Woodsmen would want to claim us as their own. C
ould that be why I was marked? I had so many unanswered questions.
Forget the titles, the marks, the scars, the gifts I’d been born with or had earned along the way; I was still the girl raised with integrity, faith, and an unwavering sense of right and wrong. I may be from a family of Scabs, but we weren’t naïve as many would assume. If anyone believed us to be their puppet, they’d find themselves very disappointed. If they didn’t believe me, I’d suggest they ask Calish.
Chapter 27
Home.
The house, now in shambles, looked as though it had been thoroughly picked over. Around the property, nothing but debris remained. The materials Marsh and my father had begun to sort were gone as if never there.
I stepped off the wagon with Graken’s aid, seeing the rubble pile that once was our house.
“Nice place. I can see why you wanted to move.” Graken slipped his blade firmly into its sheath.
Trespassers may have gotten away with things on the surface, but given how much remained, they gave up on it pretty quickly.
Amateurs.
There were plenty of good usable items there if you knew what you were after.
Marsh helped the children off the back of the wagon, most of them showing the same confusion Graken voiced.
“Welcome home, my love.” Calish laced his fingers in mine and kissed the back of my hand. “As you can see, they’ve been busy.”
An archer stood at the far corner with an unobstructed view of the property and gave Calish a wave as we neared. “Good afternoon, sir.” One of the three uniformed patrollers offered me his hand to cross the gulch.
“Trisk, Qarla, and her youngest son, Alkin, set up the tents. Sterle and her two schoolmates, Acia and Torence, organized the supplies they brought,” Calish bragged. “They’re still settling in, but it’s progress.”
When Trisk saw me, her face lit up. We were only delayed two days, but she greeted me like she did the first time at the Resistance Camp. “Is Marsh here, too?” She peered over my shoulder to where the wagons were parked.
“Yeah, he’s—”
Her face sagged into a troubled expression, and her eyes widened. She pushed past me, sprinting toward the entrance. She stopped at her side of the gulch, lifting her hands to cover her nose and mouth.
Marsh, still battered and bruised, encouraged the children over the plank before painfully moving across it himself. Trisk’s shoulders heaved until my brother brought her into his arms. I was sure the embrace both hurt his body and healed his heart. He kissed the top of her head while tenderly brushing her hair away from his unshaven face.
Calish left me to get field reports from his men, while Marsh tried to convince Trisk his wounds were all superficial. The servants and their families came to make proper introductions.
With them all surrounding me, I attempted to be discreet about the children, but it didn’t work. The youngest ones, eager to impress, held nothing secret.
“We were all tied up for sitting in the shade—”
“No, not me, I took a roll, but he offered, how’s that stealing?”
The stories came faster than we could catch them.
“—then Mother Una cut us down!”
“The bad man said we have to stay with her forever or he’ll hunt us down and chop us into tiny little pieces!”
The children shouted out a long list of ways to die, some laughing, some swearing by the method.
“Oh, my!” Qarla looked up at me, horrified.
I laughed nervously. “All right, everyone, why don’t you go explore? Just don’t cross the berm or go out the entrance. Other than that, you are free to roam, got it?”
Eager to run freely, they scattered out in all different directions.
“Una—” Qarla touched my shoulder, and I jerked away from her.
“Before we left, the Woodsmen branded us.” I rolled up the cuff of my shirt. “As you can see, it’s still healing.”
“My gods, my Lady!” Sterle gasped. “What were you thinking?”
“They were telling the truth?” Alkin asked.
Qarla flicked the arc of his ear. “Show some respect!”
“Sorry, Mother. Please forgive me, my Lady.” He bowed, rubbing the sting.
“First order of business, this is my house, or at least it was,” I rolled my sleeve back down, “so I will have no more of this my Lady nonsense. I like Una, that’s what my parents named me, that is how I prefer to be addressed. If you absolutely must, you may call me Miss Una, but that is the only compromise I’m prepared to make.”
It took a while for them to give in to my request. The hardest to break would be Qarla and Sterle; still, the others ended up calling me Mother Una like the children did. It was strange to answer to that, but anything was better than my Lady.
* * *
Despite the need Calish felt to stay with us, he had more pressing matters to attend to. “Time is of the essence,” he claimed. News of the Governor’s passing would not remain a secret for long, so the bogus announcement of the Governor’s retirement and the promotions of Reinick and Calish would need to happen today. “The coronation will follow, most likely in a couple of days, to make it official.”
“Tell me, will you get to stay then?”
Unable to tell me the truth, but having too much integrity to lie, Calish said nothing. The way he squinted in the sun from under the lowered edge of his hat’s brim said enough.
I nodded my understanding.
“We have a lot to plan for in a short amount of time.”
My hands rubbed my round belly.
“Things have to happen quickly for any rumors of the Governor’s death to lack credibility.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t want the truth to be known,” I mumbled.
He sighed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Do what you need to do. We’ll be fine, Calish.”
He laid his hands on mine. “I wish I didn’t have to leave so quickly.”
The baby kicked and lightened our heavy mood. He laughed, and his candidness reminded me he was trying to do the best he could.
I straightened his collar, not that it needed it. “We both have a job to do. Go do yours so I can do mine.” I pulled him by my hold on his shirt and kissed him.
“Promise me you won’t start serving until I get back.”
“We have a lot to do here before we’ll be ready for that. I’ll send Marsh for the animals tomorrow. Can you let the gate guards know to expect him?”
“I’ll tell them. I’ll have one of the officers here travel with him just to make sure there’s no problems. Give them a list of what you’ll need, and we’ll send it back with the livestock.”
Graken waited atop a horse for Calish. The guard never spoke a word to rush him, but his presence on the road made sure his dwindling patience was known. A few orders to his men and a final kiss for me satisfied every reason Calish had to stall until he succumbed to the pressure. I watched as he mounted his horse and adjusted in the saddle for a comfortable ride. Calish glanced at me and mouthed, “I love you,” before kicking his steed forward.
* * *
We didn’t get much done during the heat of the day. I didn’t mind. I needed some time to figure out exactly what we should begin doing anyway. When the sun hid behind the trees, our little army of children and volunteers began to pick through the remains of the house. With the amount of people we had, we made quick work of it. Marsh separated out all the reusable lumber from the rubble with help from the officers. Initially our guards were less inclined to do any physical labor, but the guilt laid on by excited children proved to be a powerful weapon.
Everyone had something to busy themselves with. Even the smallest ones found a calling; they stacked the loose stones separated from the foundation and the fireplace into a pile of its own.
We worked until sundown, ate some of the provisions Jeorge had packed, and laid the children’s bedding out under the stars. Marsh had yet another lively tale before b
ed. He told a new one involving rabbits and mice who fought over a treasured tree hole protected by wolves and rain. He entertained the children while I put another bit of salve on each of their wounds. Once they were settled, Marsh and I climbed up on the wagon’s driver’s seat, congratulating one another on surviving another day. We watched the children gaze at the stars until, one by one, they fell asleep.
“What next?” I asked him.
“I’d just keep taking that pile down.” He pointed to our old house. “When I get back tomorrow, Qarla’s son and I can start digging a vault in the corner over there for an outhouse. There’s so much to do. Honestly, we’re going to have to build some sort of shelter for those kids soon.”
“How long do you think it’ll be until the first rain comes?”
“A couple of moon cycles at least. It’ll be a warm rain like it always is; still, their bedding will get soaked. You can’t have kids sleeping in wet linens.”
“Is there going to be enough lumber good enough to rebuild?”
“Not even close. I was thinking we could build a foundation and use the reclaimed planks for flooring. I’ll need good, long, strong pieces for a roof, not that there are any. Maybe we can fell a tree or two for beams. Even so, that will only get us through Atchem. We’ll need walls to keep the heat in during Talium and a waterproof roof for Hytalia.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, Una.”
“Maybe Noran will loan us some of his volunteers,” I joked, trying not to be discouraged. “In the meantime, can we use those stones to make firepits for the soup?”
“Sure,” he said, “and we’ll have enough kindling once the larger pieces of the house have been cleared.” He picked something out from between his teeth. “You gonna let Nik know we’re here?”
“How would I?” I leaned back to see the stars above.
“That mirror thing,” he whispered.
I looked at him, shocked.
“Yeah, Nik told me all about it, so don’t say you can’t do it. I packed a big one with the soup and stuff, and Trisk has it in her tent.”
Scavenger Girl: Season of Toridia Page 31
