Nova's eyes widened. "You're the one that was looking after Orion?"
The woman scowled. "The dishonourable one. It's a shame he didn't die, even though I did my best. At least now he's not my problem."
"You what?" Nova took three quick steps forward until she was leaning over the woman, her fingers splayed on the desk.
"Nova, not now," Meeka said.
"Do what Misfortune says," the woman squawked. "And maybe she'll smile on you."
Nova's teeth ground together. "You tried to kill Orion?"
"Bloody bastard wouldn't die," the woman said. "I don't know what demons he's made a deal with, but I wouldn't want to meet them."
"You ugly—"
"Nova," Meeka warned. She grabbed hold of Nova's arm and tugged her towards the door.
Nova let herself be led away but she kept her eyes on the woman. The woman glared after her, not blinking.
As soon as they were in the daylight Nova wrenched her arm free of Meeka's grip. "She tried to kill my friend!"
Meeka nodded, her eyes darting around the street.
"She was supposed to be helping him! Did anyone else know? Did Omi tell her to do it?"
"I don't know," Meeka said. "But please, here is not a good place. She has an important place in this village and if you speak badly of her they might take it out on your friends."
Nova's mouth snapped shut. She couldn't imagine such a foul woman holding any kind of power, but this was a strange place. She hoped that the woman tripped in her store and was impaled on a bear claw.
"I don't know how much more of this I can handle," Nova said.
"There's only a couple more stores to go. Then Omi can tell Toro that you saw everything and everyone is happy."
"Yeah, okay," Nova said, following Meeka towards the next store.
She kept her mind open in case Cal or Crusader could reach her, but so far she'd heard nothing. It was as if they'd completely disappeared. A sickening sensation sunk through her stomach at the thought that something bad must have happened. She couldn't think of any other reason why Cal and Crusader hadn't come to save her yet.
A bell jingled above the door as they walked into the next store. An open window let in a gentle breeze and lit the store with warm sunlight. Herbs and flowers hung from the ceiling and dangled above the window while little clay jars with tiny labels filled hundreds of shelves, more sturdy than the walls of the building.
A wizened man hunched over a workbench at the back of the store, using a mortar and pestle to crush green herbs. He glanced up as they came in and then went back to work without acknowledging them.
Meeka leaned in close to Nova's ear. "He's the village healer. He's the one looking after your friends now."
"Is he trying to kill them too?" Nova asked, instantly on edge. She'd already taken a step towards the man before Meeka could reply.
"No!" Meeka said and tugged her back. "Doctor Yana is ok, he's a traditionalist but he takes his work seriously. He won't let them die."
Nova nodded, staring at the man for another five seconds before returning her attention to the jars. There were so many things here that she'd never heard of; essence of Murtlap, dried Grosens, pickled Quib brains.
On one shelf, pink embryos floated in amber fluid, their overlarge eyes stared, unseeing, at Nova. Next to them was a jar of eyeballs and a box of talons.
Nova's face twisted and she took a step back towards the door. If these were the ingredients the healer was using on her friends, then she didn't hold much hope for them. She backed out of the door and relished in the sudden brightness of the afternoon sun.
From there she moved as quickly as she could through the rest of the town and then hurried after Omi towards the mansion. She'd seen more than enough of the village to know that there would be no help from them. Even the fruit she'd got at the first stall looked wrong, like she'd find the insides rotten, and she handed them to Ree as a gift as soon as she could.
Ree's eyes lit up. "Surely I can't…"
"Take them," Nova said, leaving Ree gaping after her in front of the kitchen.
***
Nova sat with Meeka in her room, both of them eating from a tray using the small tongs. Nova had become somewhat more accustomed to the food although she'd do anything for a plate of chicken and chips.
"I can't believe how they looked at us today," Nova mused.
Meeka nodded and pointed to her eyes. "It's the curse."
"It's ridiculous."
"You have no idea. They would rather die of starvation than take anything from us."
"You're exaggerating."
Meeka dropped another white tentacle into her mouth and shook her head. "I give food to the poor," she said in a whisper. "But I have to do it in disguise because otherwise they'll throw the food out."
"No!"
Meeka nodded. "The first time I did it I didn't think they could be so foolish. There was a woman whose husband had been killed by Omi. They had seven children and they were all starving. I thought the least I could do was give them food. When I arrived with a basket she looked at me with disgust. I handed her the food and she tipped it into the dirt right in front of me."
"That's disgusting," Nova said, the food turning to ash in her mouth.
She forced herself to swallow the mouthful but placed her eating tongs onto the tray, unable to face another bite.
Meeka hung her head and also discarded her tongs.
"If I were you I wouldn't feed them," Nova said. "If they're going to be so stupid, then let them starve."
"They only know what they've been taught. I can't hate them for believing what they see."
"How can they see it?" Nova said. "There's no such thing as cursed eye colour!"
"But don't you see?" Meeka said. "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since I was born with blue eyes I was given the worst of everything. I was banned from school and I'll never get married. Doesn't that sound unlucky to you?"
Nova's reply died in her throat and she snapped her mouth shut. In a way Meeka was right; when she said it like that it did sound like a cursed life. Nova shook her head and glared at the ground; the sooner she got away from Chindo, the better.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The weeks dragged on. After Nova's trip to the village she was confined to Omi's household, forced to endure endless hours sitting in the garden or staring at the walls of her room. Meeka taught her some of the games of Chindo but they brought little distraction to Nova who could think of nothing else but getting free.
Four weeks after her visit to town she sought an audience with Omi. She entered the main room and bowed low before the platform. A sense of déjà vu turned her stomach as her forehead touched the wooden floorboards.
"What do you want?" Omi said, peering down at her from his pile of cushions.
"I wish to see my companions," Nova said.
Omi snorted. "After what happened last time, what makes you think that I'll let you?"
"I'll do anything," Nova said. "I'll even tell Toro that you deserve to be made elite general."
She'd gotten the idea from Meeka. Omi's sister had said that he'd always dreamed of being promoted to elite general and being allowed inside the Capital. It was the one thing he wanted above everything else.
Omi paused and stared down at her. "Elite general?"
"Yes," Nova said, raising her eyes from the floor to look at him. "I will vouch for you. I'll tell Toro whatever it takes."
Omi stroked his chin and his tongue flicked out to lick his lips. "Very well then. You may visit your friends. Be warned though; another incident and I will have them killed."
"I understand," Nova said.
She bowed her way out of the room and into the garden where Bitami met her. Six guards went with her into the village. This time they led her to a different house, a bigger one with smoke curling out of the chimney. The two guards at the front stood aside as Bitami approached.
"Two hours," Bitami said as he nodded Nova inside.
She nodded back and slid the door open.
This time when she stepped inside she was greeted with dancing orange light from the fireplace. The room smelled of burning wood and freshly cooked food, unlike the rancid scent of disease that had assaulted her last time.
When her friends turned to face her their skin shone, healthy, instead of the pallid shade of the near-dead.
"Nova!" Tanguin said, from her position leaning against the far wall. She still looked far too skinny but at least she was conscious.
Tyra sat beside her with a bowl of soup cradled in her hands. Aart stood near the fire stirring a large pot over the flames. He managed a grin at her and ladled out a new bowl of soup.
"Well look who it is," said Gus, sharpening a long knife in the light of the fire.
Nova's eyes slid to Orion. A part of her didn't want to look; she didn't want to stare into his dying face and know that there was no hope. When her eyes finally came to rest on him, her mouth dropped open. He smiled up at her from a mountain of pillows, cheeks glowing red. The bandage around his ribs was clean and the bruises on his face were gone.
"You're better!" Nova said.
"Getting there," Orion said in a soft voice.
"He's been milking it for weeks," Aart said. "I'm convinced that him and the doc have got a scam going on."
Nova chuckled and sat on the floor. Aart handed her a steaming bowl.
"What's this?"
He shrugged. "Aart's famous soup."
Nova looked at the bowl and sniffed. There were chunks of something floating in it.
"It's actually pretty good," said Tanguin. "Better than anything they give us anyway."
Nova shrugged and brought the bowl to her mouth for a tentative sip. A zingy flavour flowed over her tongue and left a pleasant burn. It tasted like chilli-stew and if she closed her eyes she could almost pretend the chunks were beef.
"How'd you make this?" Nova said. "It's better than anything I'm getting!"
"Their first problem is they don't cook anything," Aart said. "It was no wonder Tanguin was getting sick. So I figured we should cook it. Then of course I wasn't sure that we should trust the water so that had to be boiled too. I've been working on the flavour with some help from the Doc."
Nova grimaced. "You wouldn't be so keen if you saw some of the things he's got in his shop."
Aart shrugged. "If it looks like chilli and tastes like chilli…"
Nova nodded and had another sip. The warm broth was exactly what her stomach needed and she gulped it down. She frowned when she looked down to find an empty bowl. "I wish I had that up at the mansion."
"Tell 'em to make it for you," Aart said. "You seem to have their attention, although I have no idea why seeing as I'm the most handsome."
Nova rolled her eyes. "I don't know either."
"So have you worked out a master plan to get us out of here?" Tyra asked.
Nova's smile vanished and she shook her head. "They've got this place locked down tighter than a Confederacy prison."
"Nova, you just broke out of one of those," Aart said.
"Yes but look how much planning that took! I was prepared for that. This is just one giant bowl of crap."
"Hey! I worked hard on that," Aart said with a smile, taking the bowl away.
Nova allowed a sad smile to flash across her face.
"But you are working on it, right?" said Tanguin. Her face had lost some of its colour.
"Of course. I will find a way. It's just taking longer than expected. I haven't seen any ships and I can't get hold of Cal or Crusader."
"Make sure it's soon," Gus said, hoisting his knife. "Or I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
Nova nodded. "I know. I know. But we'll get out of this, we always do."
They stayed like that talking for the next two hours until Bitami slid the screen aside and waved at Nova that it was time to leave.
She walked away from her friends with her head hung low. She was glad they were getting better but she could feel their frustration. In a way she had it easy; at least she wasn't living in a single room with four other people.
She had to find a way off Chindo; if not for herself then for her friends.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Nova awoke to the sound of screams.
She leapt out of bed and ripped her door open to find people running down the hallway in various states of undress. They pulled on their clothes as they belted swords around their waists.
Nova sprinted away from her room to the guards' quarters where she heaved a sword off the wall. Her heart raced in her chest and her fingers shook. This could be her chance for escape, she just had to grab hold of it. If she could get down to her companions and free them then they'd be one big step closer to freedom.
She jogged from the guards' quarters towards the gardens. The screams grew louder and new voices joined in. The garden was alight with the flickering glow of a fire, casting flickering shadows against the walls.
Nova burst into the open air and slammed into a wall of heat. She backed away from the flames that licked the thin walls, raging towards the house.
"Put it out!" bellowed Omi, tussled hair hanging loose over a silk nightgown. He held his sword in hand and sweat dribbled down his face. "Put it out, you good-for-nothings!"
Omi's soldiers sprinted in every direction with wicker baskets leaking water that they hurled at the flames. The fired hissed and leapt in defiance. Shadows danced up the trees and across the walls as the household desperately tried to put out the flames.
More screams came from the village. Nova ran to the unguarded gate and looked down.
The town was aflame.
Figures darted between the buildings and metal glinted in the flames. Nova watched as a man sprinted out from behind a burning building and slashed his knife across a running woman's neck. She collapsed to the dirt, convulsing.
Nova's stomach dropped. Her friends were down in the village, almost weaponless.
"The village is under attack!" she yelled.
The soldiers and Omi ignored her, focused on putting out the flames overrunning the mansion.
Nova took her chance and sprinted out of the garden, down the winding path. She bounded down the hill with all the speed she could muster, her eyes scanning the chaos for any sign of her friends. She ignored the flaming houses as heat licked up her arms. She raced to the edge of the village where Aart and the others were held. The guards outside their door were nowhere to be seen.
Her heart fluttered.
This could be the chance that she'd been waiting for. She dashed for the door and ripped it open. Gus jumped on her the second the door moved, his knife pressed against her throat.
"Nova!" he said in surprise, dropping his hand to his side.
"What's going on?" Aart said, dashing to the door, peering at the chaos.
"The village is under attack," she said between breaths. "Now's our chance. We can break free." A part of her felt bad for leaving Meeka behind, but she was safer on Chindo than the Hunters.
"Hell yes," Aart said.
He darted back inside followed by Gus. They returned a second later with Orion held between them. Tanguin and Tyra were right behind, make-shift knives clasped in their hands.
"We head to the forest," Nova said. "Once we're away from this damned place we can come up with a plan to find our ships."
The others nodded. They moved as a group away from the small hovel and towards the closest edge of town. The fire leapt between the houses, sweeping through the village faster than anyone could put it out. The paper screened houses made the perfect kindling.
The Hunters made it to the shadow of the next building when three hooded men sprang at them from the shadows. They wielded sharpened swords and inexplicably, guns. The glowing plasma pistols were unmistakeable in the gloom.
Nova darted forward and swung her sword.
The man in front of her could have blown her head off three times by the time she reach
ed him, but instead he raised his sword.
She swung her blade at his head, but it was blocked by his own and the ring of metal on metal echoed through the night. He ducked and thrust his blade at her belly. She rolled to the side, and came up in a low crouch. She risked a glance at the others, the two attackers circled the other Hunters. Gus had his knife ready.
The sharp blade swung at Nova's neck and she had to roll again to avoid being decapitated. She lunged to her feet and pushed forward; swinging left and right with her blade. It sliced through the air with a satisfying whoosh that sent her attacker stumbling back. From beneath his hood she could make out a leering smile.
He lunged at her. She tapped his blade away. He lunged again; this time she stepped to the side so that he sailed past and kicked him in the back. He stumbled forward. She dove after him and with all her strength she drove her sword into his back, severing nerves and muscle.
A fountain of blood spewed out of the wound and coated Nova's arms and face. She rolled out of the stream as quickly as she could, taking the man's gun with her. She struggled to her feet, wiping the blood from her eyes. The other two hooded figures were locked in close combat with Tyra and Gus. Aart didn't have a weapon but he was doing his best to punch, kick and disarm Tyra's attacker.
Nova darted in while they were distracted and dispatched the men with two quick shots from the pistol. They crumpled to the ground at her feet in a pool of their own blood.
Aart looked up at her, eyes wide. "Nova, we—"
"Halt!" Aart's words were cut off by a sharp bark from behind Nova's left shoulder.
She turned slowly and came face to face with Bitami.
"Omi thought you might try to use this to your advantage," Bitami said. "I've been instructed to bring you back to the house."
Nova's hand tightened around the gun. Bitami had six guards around him. While she'd been fighting, the battle raging around her had changed. The cloaked attackers had disappeared and instead of running and screaming, the villagers were calmly throwing buckets of water on the flames. The fire at Omi's house had died down to a soft red glow and his soldiers walked the streets, helping the villagers.
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