Chapter 12 Hanne #4
“And that garden has fed our people. And that knowledge has spared my son a painful death. Knowledge of the surface has provided us with a weapon that our people have long forgotten. Your contributions may feel small to you, but they’re immense to us.
Humility is not an admirable trait among the Obsidians. ”
“I’m not being humble—”
“Then you’re being na?ve,” she snapped. “Your potential is bright like the apricum that still burns in my memory. I can see it burn in you. Share your mind.”
I struggled to form words, unable to accept praise that still felt undeserving.
Morco spoke. “Hanne can identify the poisonous flowers. She says we can coat the tips of our arrows and fire them into our enemy. She can also recognize sedatives. We can use that to our advantage as well.”
The muscles in her face shifted, her reaction distinct. “Intriguing.”
“But those flowers will grow in the line of apricum,” I said. “So, it’ll take careful planning to harvest them.” No one could go in my stead, not when I was the only one who knew what flowers would work.
“I have no doubt you will prevail, Hanne.”
“When I harvested the Pedalium, one of the Knives was there. He was in my way. I only got past him because something flew across the sky…something huge, with wings. Like a dragon, but different.”
Morco continued his hard stare.
“It roared and distracted the Knife. That was how I made it by him unnoticed. What was it?”
“Basilisk,” she answered. “Flying serpents that were here before us. They used to be our greatest predator until the Knives invaded.”
I wished I’d gotten a better view of the flying creature, but perhaps it was best that I hadn’t. A flying snake? No thanks.
“As long as we stay out of their way, they won’t harm us,” she said.
“This island has been a sanctuary for us for years. It’s been good to us.
But this settlement was always temporary.
The root vegetables have elevated the stew and staved off the hunger, but it’s been so long since I’ve had a piece of fruit that I can no longer recall the sweetness.
Once the babies are born, we’ll be unable to relocate for many years.
I believe we should head for Stonework now, while it’s still possible.
The Knives have settled near the current apricum.
We can retake our fortress, return to our home, and prepare for battle in a way we didn’t before. ”
“I disagree.” Morco turned his gaze on his mother.
“It’ll take time to prepare the many bows and arrows we’ll need.
It’ll take time to train us to use them.
Time for Hanne to harvest enough poison for the attack.
I admit that new children will make a move far more difficult, but we can’t rush a move when we’re unprepared.
What’s more, we have no idea when the apricum will switch—and it could easily shift to Stonework.
They’ll come for us, and if we aren’t prepared, they’ll destroy our line completely. ”
His mother didn’t fire off with a disagreement right away. She seemed to take the time to absorb what he said. “Perhaps. But strategically, we’re in a very vulnerable place. If the Knives ever become aware of our presence, they can surround this land and come at us from all sides.”
“They’ll never find it—”
“And what if the apricum comes here?”
Dread dropped like a stone in my stomach at her words.
“Because if it does, it’s over,” she said. “None will survive.”
Morco pulled his hand from mine and sat forward, arms on his knees, and slowly rubbed his palms together as he bowed his head, deep in thought. “There’s no way to predict the apricum. We can’t make rash decisions based on its possible movement.”
“How often does it move?” I asked.
“It’s different every time,” Morco said.
“When it was at Stonework, it was there for thirty years. The Knives arrived and claimed it for themselves. Within less than a year, it moved to a new location, happening to choose where we’d settled.
We had to move before the Knives arrived.
Since then, it’s moved at least five different times.
And every time, it’s resulted in death and loss. ”
“So it’s never lasted as long as it did in Stonework?” I asked.
“Correct,” his mother said.
“I wonder why…” I said it more to myself than aloud. I’d never encountered a flower like the apricum, a root system so extensive that it could capture the sunlight from the surface and shift to different bulbs beneath the soil.
“We’ll never know,” she said.
“If only all the apricums could be lit, that would fix everything.” If all the area in the Depths could be illuminated, the Knives would stick to their fortress, and the Obsidians would stick to theirs.
They would no longer have to fight over the one resource that mattered most. All plants needed the same ingredients to thrive, but since the flowers were on the surface, there was no way I could study their properties.
“Killing the Knives would fix everything,” she said. “And we will.” She turned to Morco again. “What shall we do?”
Morco didn’t seem to have an answer because he sat in silence.
“You’re Chief of the Obsidians, King of Stonework. The decision lies with you.” When she spoke to her son, it was full of reverence. Like she recognized her son as a man rather than the boy she raised, trusted his leadership and how far it’d taken them thus far.
He continued to rub his palms together, his mind so deeply retreated it seemed like his mother and I weren’t even there anymore.
After a moment, he sat back against the chair, his muscular thighs apart, his heavy shoulders drooping under an invisible weight.
“We stay and prepare. With the few men we have left, we only have one shot to succeed. Most of the mothers are so pregnant that a long journey would compromise their health, and if they give birth on the way, that could have dire consequences. There’s no way to know where the apricum will travel when it moves, and as far as I’m concerned, it has an equal chance of traveling anywhere—or remain in place for the next thirty years.
” He stared at his mother like he expected her to disagree.
“When we’re ready, we’ll return to Stonework.
We’ll prepare for battle, lay down lethal traps to reduce their army before they arrive, and from an advantage, we’ll make our final stand. ”
His mother was quiet before she gave a slight nod. “The island is the safest location we’ve found through this journey. Hopefully it remains that way until we’re ready.”