Scavenger Girl: Season of Toridia

by Jennifer Arntson

  I tried to ignore Marsh and answer Calish instead. “When it was obvious Kash wasn’t going to recover from his injuries, he relinquished his title. With Kash’s blessing, Salik ate both of their portions to regain his strength. When they released him, he exited as the new Kash.”

  “So Kash is Salik?” Marsh rattled his head.

  I didn’t think I could simplify it anymore, “Sort of. Kash isn’t a person’s name, it’s a title. When Salik dies, a new Kash will rise.”

  Calish marveled at the revelation. “That’s why it seems as if he lives forever. The name is passed on.”

  “The successors have already been chosen,” I added.

  Marsh propped himself up against a wooden crate. “Why wouldn’t they just kill Kash and take control for themselves?”

  “Because there are five possible candidates at any given time. When Kash dies, the surviving members come together, and somehow, they know who the leadership has been awarded to. That person is then named Kash. In Salik’s case, he was the last survivor,” I said, fidgeting with my fingertips.

  “He told you this?” Calish asked.

  “No, I saw it.”

  “Who are these five men?” Marsh asked.

  “I saw shadows of them. One, obviously, has been removed from the ranks, but three other men remain.”

  “That only accounts for four men,” Marsh said, counting them out on his fingers.

  Calish stood, the color draining from his face. “That’s because the fifth one isn’t a man.” He gasped. “The branding…”

  Marsh lowered his hand. “Wait. Una, are you the fifth candidate?”

  A single tear ran down my cheek. “Kash knew I was a Scab, but he also knew Reinick looked after me by giving me that stupid brown tunic. He misinterpreted my motivation behind feeding the inmates in prison. He thinks I sympathize with criminals and have no trouble defying the Authority. He truly believes I’m one of his flock, even though I’m protected by the Authority.”

  “‘Trading favors,’” Calish quoted.

  “He said we were ‘playing the game.’ I’m pretty sure he thinks my disgust for him is just an act.”

  “Is it?”

  “Marsh!” Calish barked. “Go outside.” Marsh stood there for a moment longer before submitting to Calish’s order.

  Calish sat next to me.

  “I saved him, Calish. I let Kash survive, twice.” I softly shook my head. “I gave him the opportunity to be who he is.”

  He took my hand and kissed it. “If it wasn’t him, it would have been someone else. You said so yourself. For now, I’m going to see this as a good thing.”

  “How is this a good thing?” I pulled my hand back.

  “Because I believe in you. He doesn’t know you’re aware of the rules to your mark or how you know him. He thinks you’re afraid of him, he knows you wish to avoid him, but he also feels indebted to you and thinks of you as trustworthy. He wants to protect you, and he’s doing it in a way I cannot.” He ran his thumb across my cheek. “Don’t lose hope, Una.”

  “I didn’t want this, any of this.”

  He lay next to me and kissed my forehead. “I know, my love.” He held me tightly for a while as we both let this soak into our already tired minds. I wanted to sleep and put this day behind me.

  “I need you to do something,” he said, stroking my hair.

  I groaned. “What?”

  He pulled away and smiled softly at me. “You need to get up and get presentable. We have company coming for dinner, remember?”

  “Calish, I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Do you know how I know?”

  I shook my head.

  “Because these children need a house, and they need you to get it for them.”

  Why argue? We invited them, and it would be rude to avoid them. Still, after everything that happened, the fact that Calish wouldn’t make an excuse for me made me angry. He didn’t have to tell them about Kash, the hand, or the tongue. I was pregnant! That alone should give a justifiable reason. “Can’t you tell them I’m in labor?”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we don’t need more rumors or reasons for people to visit. Besides, it’s a lie.” He kissed me one last time and left.

  The light coming through the door told me the sun hung low in the sky. Soon, it would set, and our guests would arrive, if they hadn’t already. I didn’t want to move until the nightmare of the day ended. At this point, I didn’t care who won the battle, the Authority or the Woodsmen. Nik wanted me to search Reinick to see if he conspired with Kash. How would he feel knowing I held a spot among the Woodsmen’s highest ranks?

  He needs to know.

  The mirror in the corner all but mocked me. I pushed myself up and stood in front of it begrudgingly. Anu looked down at herself, somewhat disappointed by how we looked.

  “You’re right, we do look terrible.”

  She nodded.

  “I don’t want to go.” I sulked, but she didn’t give me any pity. I grabbed a hairbrush in an attempt to untangle my hair. I hadn’t brushed it in days, and the clothes I wore were certainly foul. I banded my hair back in a loose bun and changed my outfit in preparation for our dinner guests. I pulled back the ties of the shirt to fit my ever-changing body, accepting the look couldn’t get any better for the evening. Once I made myself proper, I forced a smile—one of those fake smiles I perfected.

  I must admit, it is pretty convincing.

  Chapter 38

  “My Lady.” Qarla opened the door of the tent. “Your guests have arrived.”

  “I’m ready,” I said, pushing the last hair in place.

  “I took the liberty to set out a blanket and some lanterns in the field across the road, now this area is secure. I figured you’d rather entertain without being interrupted by the children.”

  Her intentions were good; however, they were not the source of this evening’s distraction. During dinner, I tried to pay attention to the conversation, follow its flow, and participate where appropriate, but I had trouble doing it. Calish publicly excused my lack of participation as the result of being overworked in my delicate condition.

  “You do work so very hard.” The woman patted my hand. “You are an inspiration.”

  “Thank you,” I said, putting a cooked carrot root in my mouth.

  The men chatted about business, and eventually our guest revealed his skills in the building trade. Calish acted shocked and questioned him about the nuances of constructing a structure large enough to house the children. For me, most of it went in one ear and out the other; still, Calish seemed captivated by his information. The more questions he asked, the more the man decided we shouldn’t build as much as a fire without help. Eventually, he offered to assist and oversee the project we wished to attempt. In exchange, Calish invited him to construct a home of his own on the property.

  “I’m sure we could always use skills like yours.”

  It was about that time that I excused myself. “I wish I could stay, but I fear I’m going to simply tip over and snore if I don’t go to bed.”

  “Let me help you, sweetheart.” Calish stood, offering me his hand.

  “Lord Bartold, we’ve taken up much of your evening. We should be going.” The man gave a signal to his wife to get up as well.

  “Tell me,” Calish asked. “Where do you spend your evenings normally?”

  “There’s an area just behind the Temple site we’ve made up,” the woman volunteered. “The men work all night, and the activity seems to keep us fairly safe.”

  “Why don’t you stay here for the night?” Calish offered. “We don’t have an extra tent, but we have plenty of blankets. We can set you up out here, away from the children and animals.”

  “We’ve been too much trouble already,” the man declined.

  “Sir.” I took his hand. “We don’t offer what we don’t have to freely give.”

  He glanced at
his wife and bit his lower lip. She batted her eyes, silently begging him to change his mind. “We don’t intend to be a burden.” The builder hesitated.

  “Nor do we.” Calish patted him on his shoulder. “I’ll send someone over to get you set. Good night.”

  “And to you, my Lord, my Lady,” the woman replied, both her and her husband bowing deeply.

  When we crossed over the bridge, Calish made sure they would have what they needed for the evening as I slipped into the tent. Trisk and Marsh were absent. I figured either they wanted to give us a little privacy or desired some of their own. It didn’t matter to me; I was happy to be alone and hoped they would be out for the remainder of the night. I noticed the mirror still leaned up against the tent wall and tossed a throw blanket over it. I felt too tired emotionally and physically to consider a visit to Nik tonight. If he wanted to see me, he’d have to wander in the dark without me.

  Calish came in and began to undress for the night. “You did well.”

  “Don’t lie,” I said, trying to get comfortable.

  “All right,” he unbuttoned his shirt, “you were terrible. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”

  “Thankfully you’re a good host and are quite trained to compensate for your wife’s shortcomings.”

  He sat next to me and put his hand on my back. “It’s been a rough day, Una. You just need some rest.”

  As if it’s that easy.

  Calish kicked off his pants and crawled under the blanket with me. I turned over so my back was to him, and he snuggled up against me. He reached around my waist and spread his hand wide against my pregnant belly, kissing the back of my neck.

  “Are you leaving in the morning?”

  “No. I’ll stay one more day. I’ll have to go back after that,” he whispered. “I know you’re scared, my love.”

  “I’m not anymore,” I corrected him. “I don’t know if there’s a word for how I feel, but it’s not scared.”

  I enjoyed falling asleep in his arms. It seemed like it had been ages since I had done that. In those moments, when I closed my eyes and imagined us in a different world, my spirit centered. I daydreamed of a place where he wasn’t the Lord of the Authority and I wasn’t Mother Una. I pretended we were just two people who loved each other, excitedly expecting our first child. I tried to imagine what it would be like to prepare for a baby rather than preparing for battles or to make a blanket instead of forming plans to outwit our enemies. If we had run away when we had the chance, would we have found that life together?

  That was the dream I wanted to experience; however, the night does not allow people like me the privilege to make requests. It decides what is seen despite my pleading attempts.

  Like flipping through the pages of a book, I saw my mother and father dancing at the Atchem Festival, then I could smell the scent of the rolls in Blue’s kitchen. I felt the mane of Rebel in my hands and felt his muscles between my legs as we raced down the road toward an unknown destination. I woke up briefly at the thought of my old friend yet was able to force myself back to sleep. At least I thought I did.

  This time, I didn’t try so hard to conduct the directions of my dreams. That single moment of fatigue left me weak and vulnerable to the visions of the night.

  “Take the shot,” I whispered to Marsh.

  Calish ordered him not to.

  I focused on Marsh, who was struggling to decide, and kept repeating, “Take the shot.”

  He delayed.

  “Take the shot!” I yelled. “Take the shot! Take the shot!”

  “Una!” Calish yelled.

  “Take the shot! Take the shot!” I sat straight up in the dark. “Take the shot! Marsh!”

  I panted, my head searching my surroundings, getting bearings on where I was.

  I’m not in the darkness of the woods.

  “Una, wake up!” Calish lit a lantern, and I felt the third eye of the wolf snap open, blinding me as soon as it did.

  Marsh ran into the tent with his bow and arrow drawn.

  “My gods, Marsh, put that down!” Calish yelled.

  “She ordered me to shoot something.” Marsh aimed his arrow at random objects, squinting in the lantern’s light.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I was just having a nightmare. I’m fine now.”

  “That was some nightmare,” Marsh said, lowering his weapon. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  I nodded, trying not to look at the sad state of Marsh’s unders.

  Calish wasn’t buying it. I knew it by the way he was looking at me. “You’ve said that in your sleep before, Una. You’ve had another vision, haven’t you?”

  Marsh propped his bow up against the wall of the tent. “I thought you were going to tell us if you saw anything.”

  I pushed my hair from my face and tucked it behind my ears. “I don’t know exactly what I’ve seen. It’s only the same part repeatedly.”

  “Spill it, Una,” Marsh demanded, sitting down on his bed next to Trisk, who came in armed behind him.

  “Like I said, I don’t know much.” I knew I’d have to tell them, though I didn’t have a full understanding of the vision. They waited, determined to make me talk, so I gave in and gave them what they wanted. “It’s either dusk or dawn, and Marsh draws an arrow on me.”

  “Whoa! I shoot you?”

  “I don’t know!” I held my arms out. “Remember when we left the neighborhood and we were in that brush pile? Well, that’s where we were when I first saw it. I saw you draw on me like you were going to shoot me with it.”

  “Then what happened?” Calish asked.

  Suddenly they were hanging on my every word. “Nothing,” I said sharply.

  “Do not lie to me, Una.” He turned my face toward his. “Look me in the eyes and tell me what you saw.” I avoided his stare, but he met my eyes again. “Tell me. Now.”

  My voice cracked. “I tell him to take the shot.”

  Marsh shot off his seat. “What?” His mouth dropped open. “I shoot you? With an arrow? That’s ox shit, Una! I would never do that to you!”

  “Calm down,” Calish hushed him.

  “No. There’s no way. You made a mistake, sister. There’s no way I’d ever shoot you, do you hear me? Never!” He shrugged off Trisk, who was trying to settle him.

  “Whatever it is, I know in my heart it’s the best decision,” I tried to explain. “You have to believe me.”

  My brother grabbed his bow and threw it down at my feet. “Well, I’m going back to the thistle spears. I can’t draw an arrow on you if I don’t ever touch a bow!”

  “Marsh,” I whined.

  “No!” He held his hands up. “Not happening.” He backed out of the tent, and Trisk chased after him.

  Calish rolled his head around his shoulders and let out a deep breath of air. “For god’s sake”—he took a normal posture—“no more secrets. You find out something, you say something,” he growled. “I’m losing my patience, always being behind on important information.” He stood.

  “Where are you going?” I asked as he thrust one leg in his trousers then the other.

  “You try to go back to sleep. I’m going to go check in with the security team,” he said, fastening his belt sharply.

  While I appreciated his efforts, I knew once again, I wore on his patience.

  “No more secrets,” he said.

  As if I tried to hide anything from him.

  He left, and I lay back down. Sleep did not come. Instead, I waited until dawn for Calish to come back. He never did.

  We all deal with stress in different ways. Calish needed silence and strong tea. Marsh needed physical work, and I needed warm blankets and a soft pillow. I guess we all took what we needed until the sun came up. We certainly weren’t prepared to support the needs of anyone else. Hopefully the moments we stole would be enough to sustain us another day. Of course, our chances would be better if we didn’t have any other unexpected visitors. Somehow, I doubted the gods w
ould let us catch a break as lovely as that.

  I hate the gods.

  Apparently, the feeling was mutual.

  Chapter 39

  Calish worked with the builder to design the foundation for the house and start sorting supplies. Together with Marsh, they dug into the site of the new construction. While we considered the trees to be the safest spot, the builder suggested we rebuild where the house had been. His wife, who wandered around uncomfortably, ended up recruited by Kii to help with the food service. Both parties seemed pleased to have the woman put to work.

  I decided to take a break from meeting with the Citizens today. We had enough guards on the property that they ended up helping make and serve the broth, allowing the rest of us to do a different task for the day. Everyone needed one now and again, and I felt the children and I earned the right to take it. Of course, Qarla and her staff insisted on doing the cooking as usual.

  “Those men cannot cook, and I refuse to let good stock go to ruin.”

  Who was I to argue?

  Knowing the threat of an attack had passed, I gave permission for Davin and Graken to go check their traps while I taught several of the younger children how to plant the seeds Calish brought. Considering the talents of our resident Grower, I could have put a single seed on a fence post and it would grow overnight. The youngest boy, Kort, who preferred to put his seeds on top of rocks rather than in the dirt, might even prove me right. I was certain we would find an instant harvest no matter the technique. If not, the wind would roll it off, and we’d still benefit.

  “Don’t plant the seeds too close together, Cazret,” I warned loud enough for the others to hear. “You don’t want them fighting for nutrients.”

  Tali knelt, holding her seeds in a tight fist. “How far apart should they be, Mother Una?”

  “I would say about two hands’ worth,” I answered.

  “Like this?”

  “Very good! Now, put your thumb in the dirt as far as it will go and drop one seed inside.” I smiled. “Good, now cover it with a little bit of soil. There. You’ve got it, Ky! Now, do another one.”