Chapter 17 #3
As the footsteps faded, Hallie relaxed a little, and felt the trembling next to her ease up.
She pressed the shoulder again, and stepped out of the shadows, beckoning the others forward.
Girard gave her a brief nod as he moved out into the light, an acknowledgement of some kind.
There was no time to wait or talk. Hallie had no idea whether the patrol might come back or whether there were any other gunners walking the streets.
They needed to get the children back to their families.
The secret door into the building opened silently, as a testament to the builders. Before Hallie could lead the children inside, the small, chilled fingers wrapped around her hand tugged, drawing her attention. She turned to the boy who was holding on to her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, voice low and soft. She didn’t think there were any gunners in earshot, but she didn’t want to risk discovery. Not now, not so close to their current goal.
“Are you sure they want us?” the boy asked.
Hallie felt a crack in her heart at the simple question, and found herself wishing Nicholas was here so she could unleash some violence on him.
“Yes,” she said, with no hesitation, crouching down so she was eye-level with the child.
“Your family wants you very much. And they are just in there. Ready?”
His eyes scanned her face, as if searching for a lie, which also hurt her chest. Then he nodded. She straightened, seeing that everyone else had stopped, too. She nodded to Girard, not trusting her voice, and then stepped through the secret door into the store room.
The room was empty, which meant that she and Girard could get all the children inside and close the door behind them in silence, reducing the chance of discovery, before heading into the main part of the building.
Coming into the main room from the back, Hallie found the room almost the same and yet completely transformed.
The doors out to the street were still closed and most likely locked and guarded.
Someone had lit a single oil lantern inside, kept it turned down low, so there was barely any light available.
The Reunion settlers were spread out around the room, but the air of despair had gone and instead there was an almost visible sense of expectation and a trace of hope.
As the children came in, the room erupted into movement and suppressed noise - low sounds of amazement and laughter and tears - as the parents swarmed out of their seats, rushing towards their children.
Even though everyone was being very careful not to make too much sound that might carry outside the building, the emotions made Hallie’s eyes sting.
Her body felt heavy, lethargy creeping over her, and she took a seat on the nearest stool.
The little bit of magic she’d used to hide the children had pulled more energy from her than she liked.
The zauber felt weakened as well. Neither of them were fully recovered from combating the warrimel.
The lack of rest was not helping, and Hallie had a feeling it was going to be a long time before she got a decent sleep.
But she couldn’t help smiling as she looked around the room as the reunited families.
The heaviness had been worth it to bring them back together.
Her arms wrapped around Nixie as though she was never going to let go, with Donall somehow wrapped around them both, Sylvie looked up and across at Hallie and Girard, more tears on her face. “Thank you. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Where were they?” Donall asked in a low, harsh whisper, almost choked with emotion.
“Nicholas had them in a cage in a warehouse down by the shore,” Girard said, voice hard and flat.
“Looks like it was used to process fish,” Hallie added.
“I know it,” Donall said. He put a hand out and brushed his trembling fingers against Nixie’s head then turned to Girard and Hallie. “Thank you.”
“I don’t know what Nicholas said to them, not precisely, but they were truly frightened,” Hallie said around the lump in her throat. She looked around at the family groups. “I think they want to go home.”
“Ay. As do we,” Donall said. He glanced across at Rhodda, who was still sitting at the table. “No matter what Nicholas might think.”
“He will try to stop us,” Rhodda said. There was something that looked like pain in her face as she looked around the room at the reunited parents and children.
Almost as if there was something missing for Rhodda.
But no one had mentioned anyone else having been taken or held by Nicholas.
Hallie kept her eyes on Rhodda for a long moment, remembering the sideways looks that Donall and Sylvie had given Rhodda when the subject of missing people had come up.
Hallie had forgotten that brief, silent exchange when Sylvie had spoken about Nicholas taking the children.
But now that look lingered in Hallie’s mind.
She still had the strong sense that Rhodda was hiding something, and that whatever it was could be important.
From the expression on Rhodda’s face, that she was trying to mask, it was something awful.
“Let him try,” Sylvie said fiercely, breaking Hallie’s train of thought and pulling her attention away from Rhodda.
Despite the tears on her face, Hallie could clearly feel the determination she’d sensed earlier.
Even though Sylvie had been held captive, separated from her daughter, there was a core of strength in her that had not broken.
Hallie had a sense that if Nicholas sent more gunners after the Reunion settlers, trying to drag them back to New Hope, trying to make them submit to his will, he’d find it impossible.
He’d threatened their children, kept them separate, and the settlers had still held out against Nicholas’ will.
With a bit more time, Sylvie and her neighbours would have Reunion set up to withstand not just the warrimel but also Nicholas and his men.
But first they had to get out of New Hope and get to safety.
“Nicholas will find out the children are gone soon enough,” Girard said, glancing around the room. “And he’ll come here first. I assume that he’ll have the gates guarded. Is there another way out of New Hope?”
“Ay. I know a place,” Donall said, a hint of surprising mischief in his face.
“We built a few secret spots into the walls.” The mischief grew.
“No one seemed to feel Nicholas had to know about all of them. There’s at least two we can use.
The closest one is around the back of an empty stables that Master Nicholas wanted.
Stables.” The derision in his voice was clear.
“As if any of us could afford to bring in horses or any big livestock. Anyway, it should be safe as no one uses it.”
Hallie smiled back, pleased to hear about the little bits of rebellion against Nicholas’ rule.
“We’ll go with you. Make sure you’re safe,” Girard said, then glanced at Hallie, “although we may not come all the way back to Reunion with you.” Hallie wondered what Girard had planned, and made a note to ask him when they had a moment.
“You’ve done plenty,” Donall said to Girard, as if he was going to refuse.
“Honestly, I don’t think we’ve done enough yet. And having a guide to get out of New Hope would be useful,” Girard said.
He was telling the truth, but not all the truth. Hallie knew he could probably find the hidden ways out of the settlement with his tracking magic. Having a guide meant he could use all his senses to keep watch for trouble on the way out, as Hallie planned to do.
“And before I forget, I think this is yours,” Girard said, pulling a book out of his pocket. Hallie recognised it as the neatly written ledger they’d found in the Reunion radio room. He held it out to Nixie. “This was extremely helpful.”
“Thank you.” Nixie took the book and held it close against her chest. She looked up at Girard, doubt and hope on her face. “Did it really help?”
“It really did,” Girard said in a serious tone no one could doubt. Hallie added her own nod and saw a rare, pleased smile bloom on the girl’s face. A little bit of brightness after the awful past days.
“You’ll have a lot more to write when we get home,” Sylvie said, voice choked, giving her daughter another hug and mouthing thank you over her head to Girard and Hallie. She then turned away and in quite a different tone asked the gathered settlers. “Aren’t you ready to go yet?”
As the settlers stirred, ready to leave, Girard crouched in front of Hallie. “You alright?” He kept his voice low, barely audible.
“Fine. Tired. I used a bit of magic to hide us in the street. But I’ll be fine,” Hallie told him, matching his quiet voice.
“I can see if there’s any food around,” Girard said.
“No, please don’t,” Hallie said, and put a hand out, touching his wrist. “They don’t have anything to spare. I’ll survive a while longer.”
“Alright,” he said, although he didn’t sound convinced.
He straightened and Hallie got to her feet as someone turned off the oil lantern so the room was plunged into dark, with the only light the faint trace of moonlight through the small windows high on the walls.
In the dark and the quiet, Donall led the group out into the night again.
Hallie stayed at the back of the group, not surprised to find she had Girard for company.
They didn’t speak as they followed the silent settlers through the still and quiet streets of New Hope.
The size of group - ten adults and five children from Reunion, as well as Hallie and Girard - meant that there was no prospect of moving in silence, even though everyone was doing their best to be quiet.
As they moved, Hallie saw some movement behind darkened windows in the houses they walked past and braced herself, waiting for one or more of the residents to cry out in discovery or alarm, to alert the gunners that Nicholas’ captives were walking free.
No such cries happened. Instead, as they walked along, a few doors opened and a resident in dull, worn clothes stepped out and handed a packet to one or more of the walking group.
Hallie caught the scent of fresh baked bread, a sweeter trace that suggested cake, a more savoury scent that might be a pie.
Food. The residents of New Hope were quietly sharing food with the Reunion settlers, giving them provisions for the night and for their journey home.
The kindness made Hallie’s eyes sting. It was one thing to bring food to the captives when they were in the town hall, and they could gain access by a side door, out of sight of the guards.
This was something different. Every opened door was a risk of discovery if a gunner patrol happened by.
It made Hallie wonder just what it would take to have the people of New Hope rise up and overturn Nicholas Rigg.
Even as that thought crossed her mind she shook her head.
This wasn’t her town. These weren’t her people.
She was going to be gone in a few days - assuming she and Girard could survive that long - but the people here had lives to lead here.
They had to make decisions for themselves, not because she thought she knew what was best.
By the time they reached the stables Donall had mentioned, every person in the group was carrying at least one packet of food or a bottle of water.
The stables turned out to be much more than a simple barn.
Instead, there was a wooden structure in the shape of a U around a small open space.
The sides of the building that formed the legs of the U shape were open at the front, reminding Hallie of the workspace at Reunion.
The central part was a taller building with a pair of large doors held closed by a heavy wooden beam.
Hallie could see the looming bulk of the town wall behind the stables as they approached, stretching in either direction.
Donall led them along the outside of the nearest wall.
As Hallie and Girard, still bringing up the rear of the group, crossed into the shadow of the building, she heard another sound. Faint, but unmistakable. Footsteps. Someone was on their way here. More than one person.
Hallie’s pulse quickened. They’d been found. The gunners were on their way.