10. A Misunderstanding #2
The Kafteinn walked around Larissa, then stopped between her and her parents.
Larissa focused on the spot behind his right shoulder, staring at the shards of ceramics and glass on the floor.
She knew what “ Kafteinn” meant. He was a high-ranking official in the Empress’ army.
He seemed more reasonable than the sentry, but if Halla was discovered, he would be far more dangerous.
“I am Kafteinn Calder,” he said. His voice was calm, as if he were a friend discussing produce prices or the weather. “I’ve examined every inch of your allotted land this afternoon, yet you were nowhere to be found. Where were you, Larissa?”
It was an innocent enough question, but Larissa heard the accusation underneath and the way his tongue lingered over her name.
The inquisitive look in the Kafteinn ’s eyes did nothing to assuage Larissa’s fears.
The answers he sought could lead to her family’s destruction.
She clenched her teeth at the thought of him roaming their farm, counting the produce instead of admiring the beauty of the vines.
Tempering her displeasure, Larissa recounted the same story she’d told the sentry, careful to repeat the exact details.
The Kafteinn considered her story, his arms crossed against his chest. “My sentry was not wrong. Your place is on this farm, producing your quota for the city of Safír, but that is a minor infraction. One I can easily overlook given your family’s nearly impeccable record.
There is something else, however. Rumors that require answers. ”
Larissa suppressed a shudder at the turn in his voice. Something about the way the Kafteinn regarded her with genuine interest, the way his voice remained soothingly soft, scared Larissa nearly more than the gun had. Nature taught her that the beautiful animals were the most deadly.
Kafteinn Calder tipped his head to the side as he dropped his arms. With a single step toward Larissa, he caught her glance, forcing her eyes to hold his.
“Are you harboring second-born fugitives on your farm?”
Something snapped in Larissa’s brain, a quick switch from fear to anger. She did her best not to think of Halla, to keep her face as expressionless as possible. The Kafteinn was guessing, as the sentries always did.
But that did nothing to ease her resentment of these men who came into her home, abusing and manipulating her family for their own agendas. Accusations flooded Larissa’s mind, but she held them back. What would they do to Halla if she misspoke now?
“No, sir, we are not,” she spoke through gritted teeth.
The Kafteinn stepped closer. Too close.
Larissa held her ground, although her mind screamed a warning to step back. Larissa had never met this Kafteinn before, but a wave of familiarity washed over her nevertheless. He reminded her of the day she’d slipped from the top of Smarlfoss Falls, submerging herself in its icy waters.
Kafteinn Calder rubbed his jaw, his fingernails scratching the shadow of a beard. “I would like to believe you, Larissa Daldóttir. You seem like a trustworthy young woman. Yet rumors abound.”
Larissa remained silent, but her mind whirled. What rumors? What could she say to convince him to leave? She thought of her sister, hiding only a mile away from the farm. Please, Halla, please stay where you are .
Calder continued, “We have discovered a rebellious organization beyond the Wall that seeks to smuggle out second-born children. They hide children in barns and cellars. All citizens outside of the Wall have become suspects. You tell me you know nothing about this, yet you have been gone for hours. Supposedly in the woods. Supposedly alone .”
“But I was,” Larissa protested, the confusion in her voice authentic. A rebellion? She’d never heard of anyone helping the second-borns. Could they help Halla if it came to it?
“Perhaps you would be willing to prove your loyalty?”
Larissa’s attention shifted back to the Kafteinn , thoughts of Halla faded from her mind. Honey laced his voice, dripping into her ears and clouding her thoughts.
“This group is inconsequential,” the Kafteinn continued.
“Nothing more than a small nuisance for the Empress. But she is concerned that their way of thinking will disrupt the peace. We need someone beyond the Wall to check on the other farmers without raising suspicion. To keep an ear to the ground, so to speak. This person would let us know if others became susceptible to this group’s dangerous way of thinking.
Prove their loyalty to the Empress by finding information on any sympathizers . ”
An informant. They were recruiting her.
A lot of effort over one inconsequential group , Larissa thought bitterly . Kafteinn Calder watched her, waiting for an answer as if she could give him any answer but one.
“Whatever the Empress needs.” Larissa masked her apprehensions with a false smile. “Please, just let me stay with my family.”
“Of course, Larissa. I knew we could rely on you.” He flashed her a brief smile then adjusted his sleeves, nodding in Pappa’s direction.
“The Empress thanks you for your cooperation today. We will return soon. When we do, I hope you have something worth sharing with me, Larissa.” His eyes held hers, then narrowed. “There’s something familiar about you.”
In her mind, Larissa’s thoughts stilled, held captive by a foreign compulsion that demanded she reveal her most intimate secrets.
There was a voice in her mind, his voice, Larissa realized.
The Kafteinn gazed at her, curiosity warring with confusion as his voice in her mind probed for whatever she was hiding.
The pain in Larissa’s head increased, along with the sudden impulse to tell him about Halla and the trap door in the barn.
She bit her tongue, hard. Why on Evrópa would she want to tell him any of that?
Without warning, he broke her gaze. Like a puppet with cut strings, Larissa slid to the floor.
“I must be mistaking you for someone else.” His footsteps thudded against the floor, followed by the slam of the screen door.
Then Pappa and Mamma were sitting beside her, their arms wrapped around her.
Mamma was saying something as she brushed back Larissa’s hair, but Larissa couldn’t understand Mamma’s words as she struggled through the wave of guilt that crashed around her.
She’d almost told Calder everything. Why? What could have caused her to even consider that? Mamma’s words came back to her, Not magic. Galdr.
Truck engines rumbled to life. Larissa hugged her arms around her chest, digging her nails into her skin. If Pappa was right about humans possessing the power of the gods, what else had he been right about?
Mamma’s small hands lifted Larissa’s face. “Are you alright?”
“I don’t know. I thought I was going to tell him everything.” She gulped; her words came out as a whisper. “I almost told him about Halla.”
Pappa’s eyes widened right over the bruise that was forming on his cheek. “You would never do that, and you didn’t.”
“But I almost did,” Larissa insisted. “Pappa, you said that some people have the power of the gods. But those were all royals? And the Empress killed the royals, right?”
If Pappa’s eyebrows raised any higher, they would surely disappear into his hair. “I thought you didn’t believe the stories.”
“I thought I didn’t either,” Larissa muttered.
“Lara.” Mamma broke the following silence. “Where’s Halla?”
“We heard the gunshot; I couldn’t just stay out there. Halla’s safe though. I left her in the woods about a mile in. She swore she would wait for me there until it was safe. I should go get her.”
“No, not yet.”
Larissa’s nails deepened the crescent-shaped dents in her skin. “You think someone is watching the house?”
“If they really think that you are part of some group of people smuggling second-borns, they would wait and see where you run off to once you thought you were safe.”
Larissa released her arms. “But we can’t leave her out there all night, Pappa. It’s going to get dark soon.”
“There’s no moon tonight,” said Mamma, looking at her husband and daughter with meaningful eyes.
Pappa nodded. “Right you are, my dear. We’ll have to wait until the darkest part of the night to retrieve Halla. I have faith in her. She’ll be alright until then.”
“But Pappa,” Larissa started, thinking of Halla sitting alone in the woods. She would be waiting for Larissa to come back, wondering why she was taking so long. Her mind would go to the worst places.
“No, Larissa, this is what we must do.” Pappa’s voice was unusually stern. “Go to your room. We’ll wake you when it's dark enough. Your mother and I have much to discuss.”
“What about what the Kafteinn asked me to do? He won’t let us go with another warning if I have nothing to give him when he returns.”
“We’ll figure it out. Larissa, please, go to your room. Trust us.”
“Where’s Onkel?” she asked, unwilling to abandon the conversation.
“Another sentry was interrogating him in the barn, I’m sure he’ll be in soon.”
As if summoned by Pappa’s words, Tucker strode in through the door, heading straight for Pappa. “Njorer’s beard, what was a Kafteinn doing here?”
“Vern and I will explain later.” Pappa rubbed his eyes. “For now, we are all going to our rooms.”
Tucker’s eyes grew sharp at Pappa’s words, as if he understood something that Larissa did not. He nodded to himself as he strode down the hall. “I wouldn’t mind a bit of rest.”
Larissa hesitated. Mamma laid a hand on her eldest daughter’s cheek. “Trust us, Lara.”
Against her better judgment, Larissa spun on her heel and went to her room, slamming the door behind her. She needed to be alone anyway. Was that really galdr she’d experienced? If so, Calder was more than just a Kafteinn under the Empress’ command.
Pappa’s and Mamma’s footsteps sounded in the hall.
Then came the creak of their bedroom door shutting.
If Halla were here, she would beg Larissa to help her eavesdrop.
They would already be sitting in the hallway as quietly as possible with their ears pressed up against the solid wood door.
They could never hear anything, but they had fun guessing anyway.
Larissa considered it but dismissed the idea.
Without Halla, there was no point.
Larissa’s hands shook. If Halla were here, she would pester Larissa endlessly about Calder, but their vacant bed only stirred the unease in Larissa’s stomach.
Her encounter with Calder had left her weak, her bones aching from the inside out.
The shaking in her limbs increased. She fell upon the bed, clenching the blankets but forcing her eyes to remain open.
She would rest, but she refused to fall asleep until Halla was safe at home.
What was she going to do? Even if she were to ignore whatever Calder had been able to do, it didn’t change what he had asked her to become.
A spy, a hunter of the rebellion smuggling out second-borns.
How on Evrópa was she supposed to learn anything?
And if she did, could she bring herself to reveal the rebels to the Empress’ Kafteinn ?
Her mind circled back to Halla. Where were these second-borns being taken?
The whole of Evrópa was under the Empress’ control.
There was no place for the resistance to take them.
But if there was, could Halla go too? Larissa groaned, covering her face with her pillow.
Halla would never leave her family; even her wanderlust could not separate her from Pappa and Mamma. No, it wasn’t an option.
Larissa fought to keep her heavy eyes from sliding shut as she watched the sunlight fade from the window.
“ You must find her. ”
Larissa turned so quickly that her blankets slid to the floor.
A woman sat at the end of Larissa’s bed.
The woman’s hair was as bright as starlight and woven with braids that wound around her head and bunched together at the nape of her neck.
She wore a long white ceremonial dress embroidered with the many-limbed, long-rooted tree of life.
Larissa glanced at it only momentarily before staring into the startling green eyes that had so recently plagued her dreams.
Recognition flared up within her, even though Larissa did not understand how she knew to ask. “Queen Stjarna?”
“You must find her.” Stjarna’s voice was soft and strong. “She is lost without you.”
Anxiety rose in Larissa’s stomach; she clenched her fists at her side. “Halla? Did something happen to her? Is she okay?”
“She is not harmed, but something is coming.” The Queen paused, a troubled look passing over her face.
She raised her hand to her nose and pulled away fingertips splattered with blood.
A crimson trail leaked from her nose, thickening.
She took what appeared to be a steadying breath and rose to her feet.
“Something is coming. Only she can stop it, but you have to find her. You have to wake her.”
The former Queen of Perle moved toward Larissa’s bedroom door and placed her hand on the handle. Dread smothered the air around them. There was something on the other side of that door—something that should not be let out.
“Don’t open that door!” Larissa shouted, gripped with fear.
The woman turned the knob. Beyond it was utter darkness. Within the black, creatures with pure white eyes leered, gnashing their teeth in eager hunger. The woman collapsed to the floor, and the darkness swallowed them both.