“Does that place exist?”
“I don’t know. We never made it there. We were attacked one night as we slept. We weren’t prepared to fight back, and they robbed us. The next day, another group attacked us, but we had nothing. The men were so…so angry. My sister and I ran…” He looked away from me and closed his eyes. “They swarmed my parents, and before I knew it, they were dead. I didn’t know death could be so swift. But my sister, she is…was not as fast as I was. We are twins, were…anyway, they caught her but didn’t see where I hid. There was nothing I could do…” His voice left him. He folded his lower lip between his teeth, and his tears carved their way through the dirt collected on his face in the days before.
“Here, take another drink.” I held the glass to his lips and helped him.
“Thank you.” He sniffled.
Wanting to know more, I spared him from recounting the details. “You were alone, then what?”
He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I guess you could say I found a new family. I had no skills, no family, and like everyone else, I was desperate. Hearing the rumors of the Woodsmen, I came to the gate and offered my loyalty. At the time, it was the only option.”
“Tell me about this herb you’re so interested in.”
“You mean candy?”
I nodded.
“It’s like currency to us…them,” he corrected himself. “After initiation, we’re assigned a brother, someone to show you the ropes, you know. I hurt pretty bad after my circle-rumble—”
“Circle-rumble?”
“Yeah. Um, you tie the new guy’s ankle to a post so he can’t run, then you chase him around the pole until he can’t move at all. Then, well, you beat the shit out of him.”
I didn’t see that in his memory, not that I looked for it. Trying not to judge the event, I apologized for my interruption, “So, your brother gave you candy after?”
He nodded. “I was in pretty bad shape, and he said it would help with the pain. Not knowing what it was, I stashed it away. I quickly realized its value, and to be honest, it scared me. Anything that sought-after seemed untrustworthy, so I didn’t smoke it, I traded it like the superiors did.
“It won me favors from a few guys. I learned a lot carrying water. One of the teams lost a guy and offered me a spot. It paid better because those guys earned a reputation for filling odd requests for our ranks. They didn’t always need me, but when they did, I had to go with them. The runs were brutal. I had become the type of man that robbed my family…” He stopped.
And there it was. The truth.
I assumed the rest. “And killed innocent people.”
Tenor shook his head. “I’ve never killed anyone.”
“Did you prevent it?”
He looked down shamefully. “In time, I found the herb helped to suppress the guilt I carried. I tried to erase the memories.” He stared blankly into the trees. “It worked for a little while. I used to trade it away. Now I trade to get more.”
“Why did you and your men come here yesterday? You have food. Why would you come here for broth?”
“We were sent here to see what you were serving, figure out what you were getting out of it. We suspected you were recruiting for the Authority, but everyone who came left. There must have been a catch; we came to find out what it was. It seemed like an easy mission, so I volunteered. When we got here, Mordi heard you stopped serving at dusk. He didn’t want to wait in line like the others, though that was our original plan. We figured if we lined up and acted like a normal Citizen, we probably wouldn’t reach you in time. Believe it or not, the marked ones fight among themselves to be the favorite. Mordi wasn’t about to be turned away, let alone return without any new information. The marked ones always get their way, until today.”
“What is a marked one?” I offered him more of the carrot root.
His eyes widened. “You don’t know?”
I waited.
“Well, I guess that explains why you didn’t grovel.”
“I don’t grovel.”
“It’s special. Really special. And rare. There are five at any given time. At least, that’s the rumor. Some flaunt it; others don’t, so you never know for sure.”
“How does a person get the mark?”
Tenor shrugged. “I don’t know. Kash chooses them. What I do know is you don’t piss them off. You only get one chance.” He refused the last bite I offered him.
“One, eh?”
We locked eyes.
“I’m afraid they’ll be coming for you, my Lady.”
“Then why come back here?”
He sighed and smiled a nervous smile. “I’m not a coward. Not anymore. I figure I’m just as dead as you are. Seeing the sunrise is a gift from the gods for choosing the right side of things. You see, yesterday I decided I’d rather die defending good people than die killing them.”
His words made my stomach turn.
“We’re not dead yet,” I reminded him, not wanting to hear anymore. If this Mordi person wanted to make an example of me, then he would find a way. If not today, it’d be tomorrow or the next day. It didn’t happen the previous night, so I assumed he wanted an audience.
I stood up to him, only to be made an example for it.
* * *
Very few Citizens came to eat that morning, fewer than the first day we served. Word must have traveled fast about the threat against my life. I busied myself as I waited, just as the others of my volunteer crew. This wouldn’t have felt so final if we weren’t so alone. By midday, our pots had only been turned once. The lack of visitors angered me. Kii lowered the flames and covered the simmering broth to keep it from evaporating.
How much power does Mordi have?
Calish, as smart as he was, was wrong. The Citizens wouldn’t protect me, not that I held them accountable for anything to do with my safety. It was not their battle. It wasn’t their war. I’d heard the chatter of the people over the last few days. They grasped for some hope the Authority had plans to take down the Woodsmen. Of course, they themselves didn’t want to join the fight; they’d lost too much already. “There must be plenty of strong men enlisting daily,” they’d say.
No mother or wife wanted to sacrifice their husband or son. Because of fear, they did nothing. Thousands of men, women, and children suffered in the hot sun because a single madman ruled the shade.
The mere thought caused a growl to roll in the back of my throat.
I faced Kash. I faced the Authority. I faced the wolf. I survived them all and had scars to prove it.
Let them come.
Ignoring the warnings of my guardsmen, I walked out to the road and thanked the few brave Citizens for coming this morning. If I expected them to rise up against the Woodsmen, how would I justify my own hiding?
Inviting women who made the trek up the hill into the yard, I taught them how to make the soup starts. Why not? I had enough time. While presses were more efficient and made the processes easier, they weren’t necessary. Marsh and I showed them how to mash up the thistle with rocks and strain the sap through a piece of fabric. We’d brought plenty of it with us from the basement of Calish’s house, so we cut pieces large enough for everyone to use.
We taught them every step from harvesting on. “Put the cuts in the center of the fabric, then twist the ends, making the pieces lock inside the resulting bulb. Like this.” I demonstrated. The Citizens watched intently. Putting the bulb in a bowl, I hit it repeatedly with a stone. “The more you mash it up, the tighter you can twist and force the sap out.”
Marsh added, “Make sure you always use the fabric in the same direction. Don’t flip it over, or you risk getting the juvenile thorns in the broth. If you ingest those, you’ll die a slow, painful death.”
“It tastes horrible, but if you don’t have a way to cook it, put a few drops in your mouth, and that will sustain you,” I said.
“If you don’t vomit it all back up.” Marsh laughed.
I cut a few more swatch
es of fabric and handed it out to everyone who participated in our impromptu workshop. “Please share this with your friends, although I would suggest only sharing this technique with women.”
“Why, Mother Una?”
“Because the Woodsmen are collecting men and boys whenever possible,” I replied. “I’d rather not give them any additional tools of survival, especially if the boys are stolen from their families.”
The ladies agreed, an empowered smile pulling at the corners of their mouths.
We trained more than sixty women and girls that day. I counted only because I expected Calish to ask for a number. Even if we had no more visitors come, the people might survive—as long as they shared with each other. Father used to say, “Excuses are easier to learn than skills but far less effective when you use them.” Until being threatened by the Woodsmen, I didn’t understand what he meant. Sure, we could have given up; the Woodsmen certainly gave us a good excuse to. But that’s all it was: an excuse. Their threat did good in the community, despite their attempt to reign terror over it. Making people dependent on us was a faulty plan. We learned that lesson early. Unfortunately, for the Citizens, I learned it a little too late. We should have been teaching people what we knew from the start.
At least we are doing it now.
* * *
Calish returned with the sheep and seeds he promised two days ago. I knew from the moment he set down his reins that he wasn’t happy. His eyes glued to Tenor, he slid off the saddle and snapped his fingers to call a guard over. Marsh intercepted him, pulling him off in a different direction, still unable to divert Calish’s eyes from the obvious trespasser.
I pretended to watch the children playing while keeping the men in my periphery. I held my breath as Graken joined their conversation. They spoke in agitated whispers, while Graken’s stare bored a hole in the side of my head. I reminded myself I had no regrets. As such, I wouldn’t allow them to talk me into having any.
When Calish finally came to me, he did so calmly with two bowls of thistle soup. “The men say there’s been no sign of a bounty hunter. Have you seen one?”
I stood. He followed me away from the children so we could talk more freely. “I’ve not had a vision, if that’s what you’re asking, but someone will come.”
“Are you sure?” He handed me a bowl. “Can you put a hit out on another marked person?”
“Why not?” I sipped the broth.
“From what I understand, you should have been dead before sunrise,” he said nonchalantly, “but here you stand, very much alive.”
“You think there’s a reason for that?” I asked sarcastically.
“I think there might be.”
I saw one of the guards mount a horse and run him hard out from the property. “You’re sending for more men, aren’t you?”
“It would be foolish not to be prepared.” He gently turned my face toward his. “You should have sent someone for me the moment that man threatened you.”
I pulled my chin from him, not only to avoid his chastising gaze but to stop his thoughts from flowing through his touch.
His demeanor was a mask to hide his true feelings about what I’d done. I took Kash’s children, then I took on his men. In the air of Ashlund, I singlehandedly called war against the Woodsmen.
A war Calish knew we’d never win.
Chapter 36
Calish’s men spent the entire night putting up barricades and defensive wire from the bluff at the south side of the property, across the road, and through the field where the scout hid. There, they fell trees all the way to the cliff’s edge where the landslide broke free and hid more protective cabling within the branches of the downed evergreens. What would have taken our family seasons to accomplish was done overnight.
More Citizens came today than did the day before, although their passage to get to their destination became more difficult. Those who wished to approach the residence did so through a secured area. People were thoroughly searched for questionable items of any kind. Rocks and thistle were left outside, and the Authority collected whittled sticks, flint, and sharpened stones as contraband. When offered the choice between primitive weapons or food, the tendency was to pick the latter. I considered it an extreme effort to use so many of the Authority’s officers. In all my life, I’d never seen such measures taken for one person. Given the number of armed and uniformed guards present, no expense would be spared for the Lord of the Authority and his endangered, pregnant wife.
Calish was cautious. He worried there may have been travelers hiding out long before the barricades. Still, his efforts would keep new threats from coming. “Protect her at all costs,” he made his demands publicly. “I will grant Kash’s assassin and their immediate family a retirement with lifetime benefits and pay.”
Lofty promises for a failing government.
Privately he showed more concern. “Don’t hesitate to rip out their throats.” I agreed to his strong suggestion only after he agreed to let me continue to visit with the people who’d traveled here for a meal.
As the Citizens cautiously wandered into the secured area, I made sure to speak with as many women as possible, especially the ones who came without men. I invited them to stay and learn how to make the soup for themselves. None of them refused my offer. Sterle proved herself a wonderful teacher, making sure everyone received similar instruction to what Marsh and I had given yesterday. At the conclusion of the tutorial, she said she gifted each woman three extra squares of fabric. “With the mission to teach three more women how to make the starts for themselves.”
While she taught, Marsh and I were freed up to tend to other matters. My brother spent most of his day transporting the rocks and thistle the Citizens brought from the new checkpoint into our yard. It was still our plan to make a foundation for the new house, and it would be easier to do if the stones weren’t down the road.
I met with visitors, reassuring them of our commitment to providing for the community. While speaking to a couple visiting for the first time, they noticed Marsh offloading the rocks from the wagon.
“What is he planning on doing with all those?” the man asked.
“Our plan is to build a home for the children.”
“And how are you using the rocks?”
“For the foundation somehow.” I shrugged.
His chin shifted, and his eyebrows moved higher on his brow.
His wife spoke up, apparently seeing the same expression and understanding its meaning. “Have you ever built a house before?”
“No, but we need to get started if we’re going to be prepared for Talium and Hytalia. We’ve got a lot of people to care for, as you can see.”
The man’s wife tugged on his sleeve. “Tell her,” she whispered.
He smiled as if he didn’t hear her, so she nudged him again. Judging his reaction, he didn’t want to be rude, yet he didn’t want to comply with her suggestion either.
Let’s see what’s on your mind, shall we?
A thought in process could be easily seen, at least for me. I wouldn’t have to go digging through his memories; it would be laid out right on top—if I had an excuse to touch him.
“Come! I’ll show you where we intend to build.” I touched his elbow to lead him over the bridge. In a flash, my question was answered.
He’s a contractor.
I did my best not to beg for his help. He had knowledge of plans, materials, and structures; he knew what would work and what would fail. His wife volunteered him, but he didn’t want to. She did that too many times in the past, and look where it got him. All those friends he helped before the slide would just as soon rob him for a loaf of bread today.
My brothers and I didn’t know how to build houses. Though Calish had a fancy title, we didn’t have much in the way of materials or resources either. Ashlund’s mills were all but destroyed, and whatever supplies were made were being used for the new Temple. The only thing we’d ever built was the horse stall and the small hay storage.
Technically, our father constructed those. My brothers just helped, and I did my part by staying out of the way.
My father would help us, if he wasn’t at the Resistance Camp. Bringing him here would be too risky. Once he left there, he wouldn’t be able to return, at least not for a while. As useful as he was, my brothers and I liked making our own decisions. People treated us like adults. Father would always treat us like children. Besides, we had Calish, the Lord of the Authority, and he was bad enough.
I gave the couple a tour of the property and pointed out where we were planning on putting the structures. My odd activity caught the attention of my husband. He excused himself from his business to investigate what purpose I had for giving these two strangers so much of my time.
“Good day.” Calish bowed.
“My Lord!” The woman bowed deeply as did her husband.
“Thank you, both of you,” he said, giving them permission to stand. “Welcome to our home. Can I assist you with something?”
“I was about to offer them a tour.” I smiled.
“It’s so green and lovely here. The gods have blessed your family,” the woman gushed.
Having Calish so close made her nervous in the same way the Disciples got all giddy when Noran entered a room. It was entertaining to witness, but evidently not a new thing for Calish.
“I was just telling this fine couple what our plans were for the children’s house,” I said. “It’s too bad there isn’t anyone who can help us with this since we really don’t know what we’re doing,” I said innocently.
Calish looked at me strangely. “We are still collecting supplies,” he said slowly. “I’m sorry, Una, can I talk to you for a moment?” He bowed to the couple, pulling me away from them. “What is going on here?” he whispered.
“That man is a contractor. He’s got ideas for our building, but I can’t search him long enough to figure them out. Maybe he’d be willing to help us.”
Calish sighed. “There you go again.” He took my hand and led me back to the couple waiting nervously for us to return. “I’m sorry to have interrupted you. My manners fail me when I’m seeking the input of my wife on more personal matters. Una has always been a good judge of character, and she seems to have taken a liking to you. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to get to know you better; there’s always something pressing for my time. I’d love it if you came for dinner tonight. We can talk properly then. We were going to roast a chicken, weren’t we, sweetheart?”
Scavenger Girl: Season of Toridia Page 42
