Chapter 11
The three of us stand at the end of the entrance road, just outside Notting territory.
‘If I get myself kicked out before you’re back, this will be our meeting spot,’ I say. ‘I’ll lie low here until you return.’
Sam stares off into the trees, face tight. He hasn’t handled the new plan any better than Levi, but they’ve both accepted it. We’re on borrowed time – our hydro dam could fail any day. And yet we’re not desperate enough to lock into any costly deal without looking at everything on the table.
‘What’re you going to do about that throne rot in charge?’
I shake my head. ‘I don’t know.’ The Commander is a wild card for sure, but I have a feeling Marian is the crack in the boat I need to deal with first, or this ship, along with any chance of a trade deal, is going down. ‘I have an idea, but it still needs work.’
Now would be the perfect time to tell them that Marian is the raider. Except, I’m less sure than ever that they can handle a secret like that.
I pull out our trader’s map and point out the dots a couple of days’ ride east of here, just before the Rockies.
‘These are the two places you’ll be hitting.
There’s nothing in any other direction, except maybe here.
’ I drag my finger south. ‘But Fitzgerald said Atlas’s coal makes him pretty powerful in the area, and he basically controls the trading post. That said, it’s not in Notting’s interest to tip us off on another source for coal, so we should confirm that.
Ask lots of questions. Maybe there’s somewhere else we’ve missed. ’
Samuel grunts. ‘We’re already at least seven days from Kingsland if we’re dragging trailers of coal. Finding a mine any further means more chances we don’t make it home.’
I exhale. He’s not wrong.
‘I think we’re in good shape,’ Levi adds. ‘We’ve found coal, so our biggest problem is over.’ His face turns cocky as he smiles. ‘Just don’t screw up the deal.’
Right.
Sam claps me on the back, then squeezes my shoulder with his big, meaty hands. ‘Stay safe, brother, and don’t starve.’ A playfulness dances in his eyes. ‘This isn’t Kingsland – there’ll be no special treatment for having the connection out here.’
I resist an eye roll by searching the trees for vagabonds.
‘Special treatment?’ Levi asks.
Sam snorts. ‘It’s like a nonstop parade outside our house – people with gifts, trying to convince him to come over for dinner.’
I sigh. ‘I don’t ask for it and if anyone takes advantage of it, it’s you – requesting pies.
Inviting yourself to the meals.’ I actually appreciate that part.
It’s nice to have Sam there to diffuse the attention, since it’s a lot of pressure to find the right person to share the connection with.
This gift may be my destiny, but it’s also incredibly permanent once it’s triggered.
Partners – lovers – to the end. And as for people desperate for my attention, that doesn’t bother me.
Who wouldn’t want a security net for survival?
I know I do.
You understand, they just want to use you.
I look away, ignoring Mum’s past words of warning.
‘Nice,’ Levi says a little wistfully.
I eye him, pretty sure he knows exactly what we’re talking about. At sixteen, I was already in over my head.
‘Yeah, whatever,’ Sam grumbles. ‘Let’s get moving.’
‘Hey, Sam,’ I say. He turns back. ‘Don’t kill Wonder Boy. Sound good?’ I fix him with a serious look. ‘Through honour we prosper.’
He inclines his head. ‘Through trials we earn our name,’ he says, finishing our elite guard creed. ‘And no promises.’
I watch their backs as they ride away, hand on my bow, until I can’t see them any more.
‘The Commander said I can move you to the guard barracks,’ Fitzgerald says, approaching my camp. ‘They’re the bunkhouses east of the compound. Most guardsmen and their families live there. There’s another couple for the farmers and kitchen staff.’
I pour the dried meat and vegetables into the pot of boiling water and stir with my nine-inch blade.
The Commander’s trying to soften me up? Or does he just want me close?
Probably both. ‘Thanks, but I’m fine here for now.
’ Slipping away to talk to, or investigate, whoever I want won’t be as easy if I’m surrounded by guards.
Fitzgerald shrugs. ‘Suit yourself,’ he says, turning to walk away.
The strum of a guitar floats through the air. It’s a sound I’ve been hearing all evening. ‘Wait. Is there some sort of party going on?’
‘It’s Sunday night,’ Fitz says. ‘The Dresden like to gather around their fires, some of them sing.’
‘Do you ever go?’ I ask.
‘Not usually. But some guards sneak into the New Moon celebrations. They have lanterns and dancing. I’ve heard the music’s pretty good.’ He waits, raising a brow. ‘Anything else?’
I glance in the direction of the Dresden houses.
‘One more thing. I’m looking for a middle-aged man who’s missing a hand.
Do you have anyone here like that?’ Helping Kingsland wasn’t the only reason I stepped up for this mission.
I trained with the best and became an elite guard because of my father’s murder.
I want to help people. Protect the innocent.
And ultimately, end these nightmares by searching for my father’s killer – even if it’s like finding a sliver in a scrap pile.
That makes him laugh. ‘You’re going to have to be more specific. I can think of … at least a dozen.’
‘Really?’ I say, surprised.
‘Yeah, accidents happen. So do hangnails. You know how it goes – sucks to lose your arm from a stupid infection, but better that than dying.’
Right. Except in Kingsland we have actual medicine we’ve scavenged, preserved, and in some cases even replicated, like old-world antibacteriums and medicinal tinctures from herbs.
Not to mention there’s a surgeon and trained nurses at our hospital.
I stretch my neck, feeling a little disturbed and a lot less optimistic about my chances of chasing down a murderer. At least on this trip.
But I’m still going to look.
Fitzgerald backs up. ‘Don’t be late for your meeting with the Commander tomorrow, or this’ll be your last night here.’
After eating, I make my way towards the light of the fires burning in the centre of the ring of Dresden homes. As I get closer, I find the source of the music: a woman sits on an upside-down bucket, playing a guitar.
‘No militia guardsmen allowed!’ a kid yells with a lisp. He suddenly runs at me, holding a foot-long stick. His red shirt is torn, showing a swathe of brown skin. He lunges and swings, and I barely jump back in time so he doesn’t tag me.
‘Whoa!’ I say, confused. ‘Then it’s a good thing I’m not a guardsman.’
He lowers his weapon a second. ‘You look like one.’
‘Well, I’m not. I’m Ryland. And I’m staying over there in the trees.’ I point, but it hits me that he’s shaking, so I squat to appear less threatening. ‘But … can I tell you a secret?’
‘No.’
Damn. That usually works. Well, then I’ve got nothing.
Suddenly he winds up again and with a two-handed grip, cracks me on the knee with his stick. I grunt in pain as he runs off to a woman by the fire.
His arms flail in my direction as he speaks to her.
I force a grin and wave. The woman leans into the man beside her. The gestures pointing me out seem contagious. Wonderful. Now I’m probably going to have to fight somebody.
The balding man approaches me. He’s older. Could he be the kid’s father? I check for weapons, but don’t see any – which is good because he’s tall and looks strong, although a little thin.
‘Hello,’ I say.
‘Greetings,’ he says, eyes cautiously curious. ‘I’m Tom, but people call me Brother Thomas.’
‘Ryland.’ I hold out my hand.
He takes it with a firm grip. ‘I see you met Little John. His mum’s Clara over there. She asked me to apologise for him.’
So, he’s not John’s father. We talk a bit about why I’m here, then he asks why I’m alone. I wince a little. ‘The Commander wasn’t very impressed with my friend, so my other team member went with him on the road.’
Something shifts in Brother Thomas’s eyes. ‘Ah,’ he says. ‘The Commander’s known for his … negotiating tactics.’
I can’t lie – now I’m intrigued. ‘Do you mind if I join you?’
Brother Thomas hesitates before escorting me into the crowd, away from the table he was sitting at before.
An hour later, I’ve met a number of coal dust-covered men.
The black soot is under their nails and seems tattooed into the creases under their eyes and around their hairlines.
Everyone I meet looks like they could use a sandwich – or five – and a nap.
I keep my questions surface level and answer theirs without revealing any more than the Commander already knows.
The only time I bend that rule is to ask if there are any other coal mines in the area.
A bearded man gives a wheezy laugh. ‘You are new. Sooner you realise the Commander’s got a stranglehold on everything, the sooner you surrender.’
By sheer luck, Brother Thomas introduces me to a blue-eyed man missing his left hand – Kenny. He’s about the right age to be my father’s murderer. My muscles tighten at the possibility.
A raised scar goes from his temple into the hair of his scalp, which I don’t remember seeing, but it’s been sixteen years since the attack on my family.
Brother Thomas explains to him that I’m a traveller, but before he gets too far, Kenny re-introduces himself.
I roll with it, but when he introduces himself a third time, Brother Thomas pulls me aside.
‘Kenny’s brain was injured in a mine explosion years ago,’ he says, voice lowered.
That does complicate things. ‘I see.’
Brother Thomas shrugs. ‘They happen all the time. He still works. Has to. We all do.’
‘Wait. Why do you have so many explosions?’ In Kingsland, we’ve had a single unplanned blast. Some idiot thieves tried to raid our mine with lit torches but hugged a pocket of methane instead.
The resulting explosion set off a landslide that buried our mine in seconds – the whole reason I’m here.
‘That doesn’t seem … normal,’ I say cautiously.
‘What’s normal?’ Brother Thomas mutters. ‘Anytime you’re bringing fire into the mine, it’s a risk.’
‘You use open flames?’ I bite back a curse. Back home we only use miner’s safety lamps, which don’t ignite any trapped gases. ‘Isn’t fire …?’
‘Dangerous? Foolish?’ he finishes for me. ‘Yes. I suspect the Commander doesn’t see it as a problem because the explosions can also open up parts of the mine.’ His jaw tightens as his gaze skates over the crowd.
I stare, speechless.
Another man missing a hand passes by. I keep an eye on him.
He’s alone and heading towards one of the small homes on the perimeter.
He’s middle-aged. Tall. But then he turns to look at me, and it’s like lightning strikes clear through my skull.
Something is familiar about him. ‘Who’s that man? ’ I ask.
‘Brother Thomas follows where I’m pointing. ‘Oh, that’s Rufus. He was a trader for many years and still hawks stuff – only he does it with us now.’
Kingsland has its own traders to minimise the stranger traffic, so that’s probably not where I’ve seen him. Or is it?
‘Would you excuse me?’ Brother Thomas asks, suddenly interested in something over my shoulder. He walks swiftly in the direction of a dilapidated shack among the trees.
I casually glance back to see him sliding into the darkness and spot a person with a hood before they both disappear.
Is Marian connected to Brother Thomas?
I leave for my camp, tipping my head in farewell at the people I met tonight. But once the light recedes and I’m in the trees, I cut back to where I last saw them. It’s dark here, but the fires give just enough light to –
A figure lurches at me from behind a bush, pushing me against a tree.
I react fast, locking on to their wrist, stopping their blade from reaching my exposed throat.
My heart kicks into a healthy rhythm. The person is shorter than me and wearing a hooded cape.
But even if I were deaf and blind, I’d know exactly who this is.
‘Hello, Marian.’
She exhales in frustration at being named but doesn’t pull back. ‘You’re as noisy as a horse crashing through the trees.’
‘Maybe … I wanted to be found.’
That’s not even close to the truth. I really need to stop underestimating her.
The lack of hostility in my tone surprises me. This woman’s accusations could have got me kicked out of Notting, or something worse. I should be livid.
That’s not at all what I feel right now.
I’m a little breathless, actually.
‘That’s not very soldier-like,’ she says. ‘I thought you had some training.’
‘I never said I was a soldier.’ My scalp tingles at her fishing for information. I have a sudden compulsion not to disappoint her, so I wiggle the knife I’ve drawn with my other hand, letting her feel the point of the blade I have aimed at her liver. ‘What made you think that?’
She inhales sharply.
To be fair, how my knife got there was pure muscle memory. The part of my brain that should be focused on defence or something useful is distracted with questions and … awareness of the angry girl still pressed against me.
Get your head together.
‘Maybe we don’t need weapons right now. Maybe we just talk.’ And back up a few steps so I can think. Except she doesn’t move. ‘Or … is this you wanting another opportunity to touch me?’
She leans into me even harder, and her knife breaks my skin. I bite back a hiss at the sting. ‘Or maybe I should gut you,’ she says soft and deadly.
I grit my teeth, and finally a half-decent thought arrives in my head. ‘Then we’ll both bleed out on this grass. I’m not here to hurt you, but I will if you go any further down this path.’
Her grip wavers. ‘I don’t like being followed.’
‘And I don’t like being accused of things I didn’t do. Things I know someone else did.’ Her hood has shifted, and in the low light I can just make out the curve of her lips. ‘Why do you steal from your own father?’
She tenses and for a second, I think she’s going to open up my artery, but then she finally pulls away. She doesn’t go far, holding the knife out at arm’s length between us.
I try another angle. ‘Why meet up with Brother Thomas?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Her voice is angrier now. ‘But you’re going to leave. In the morning.’
I drag in a breath. ‘I can’t do that.’
‘You will.’
I slowly shake my head.
‘Then you’ll regret it.’
I eye her, warily. ‘Give me a reason not to turn you in.’ So much for finesse.
I flinch as her knife suddenly flies by my head, pinging off a tree. Anger slams through me – at her, but also at me, for letting her have the chance. Anyone else, and I’d have them tied up and kissing the ground. Begging for their life.
‘You have until morning, and then all bets are off. Stay and you’ll find out what other raids I can convince the Commander you’ve done.’
I’m breathing hard, anger pulsing in my blood as she runs off. She wants to play dirty with lies? Fine. But it’s black and white – she’s stealing. Let’s see how the Commander handles the truth.