Water & Storm Country

“We killed the king,” I say, nodding. So farI don’t disagree.

“No,” Dazz says. “I captured theking.”

Gard suddenly strides forward, his expressionwide. He grabs Dazz by the top of his shirt, turns his face towardthe light. “Wait…I know you.”

Dazz’s eyes flash with recognition. “And Iyou,” he says. “You’re the one…” He trails off.

“Who saved your ass and left you with thegirl,” Gard says. “Your sister.”

“And the king,” Dazz says. My eyes dance backand forth between them, trying to make sense of a story I wasn’t apart of.

“The dead king,” Gard corrects.

Dazz shakes his head. “No, you’re wrong.”

“I know when I’ve killed a man,” Gard sayssternly, but there’s no anger in his voice, only certainty.

“Oh, the man was dead,” Dazz agrees. “But hewasn’t the king. He was only a puppet figurehead—the captain of theguard. I injured the real king and saved my sister. The sister whoyou”—the word shoots from his mouth like a knife—“wanted toforce to marry your son, using my life as leverage so she’d obeyhim.”

“No,” Gard says. “I swear that’s not true.”Not a lie, just not true. There’s been a change inGard’s tone over the last few minutes. He’s no longer accusing theintruders; rather, trying to get to the truth. “I would never…It’sthe Soakers who were taking the children from Goff, trading forthem. They must’ve been the ones who wanted your sister.”

“It’s true,” I say. “The Riders only went toyour country to stop them. We were against the slave trade from thebegi

Dazz stares at me, his expression heavy withconfusion. He tries to raise a hand to his face, but when heremembers it’s tied behind him, he settles for knocking the back ofhis head against the pole.

“I knew it,” the guy next to him says. “Iknew it when you only burned the empty houses, when you only killedthe castle guardsmen.”

“So it’s the searin’ baggard Soakers who tookmy sister?” the strong girl says on the other side of the pole. Hervoice is deep and raspy.

I nod, and then realizing she can’t see me,say, “Yes. I swear it on the souls of my parents and brother, mayMother Earth keep them.”

“And what of the Cure?” Feve says evenly.

“The cure for what?” Remy asks.

For the first time, the unmarkedbrown-ski

“The Plague,” I whisper, the word becomingbigger and bigger in my head, pushing on my skull. A headachethrobs just above my nose. “My father…”

“The Plague,” Dazz whispers back. “It killedmy father too.”

“And my mother,” the ski

“Who was my mother, too,” the muscly girlsays. So they are sisters after all.

“You say you have a cure?” Gard asks.

“Not us,” Dazz says. “Whoever trades it tothe Icers for the children. The Soakers, you say?”

“Yes,” Gard says. “But we’ve seen it. It’snothing more than dried sea plants, plucked from the shores andgathered in bags.”

“You can get it?” Dazz says sharply.

“Yes, but it’s nothing. Just plants.” Gardcrouches next to me, as large as a bear. “You mean you think it’s acure for the Plague?”

“Yes,” Dazz says, nodding vehemently. “Whyelse would the Heaters and Icers go to so much trouble to tradechildren for it?”

“Are you sure it works?” I say.

“It must,” Dazz says. “You say you’ve seenit. Surely you’d know if it had healing properties.”

“We don’t consume anything that comes fromthe sea,” Gard says. “It’s not clean.”

There’s silence for a moment as everyoneprocesses what’s been said so far. Remy breaks the silence with aquestion directed to Dazz. “You say your sister was to be taken andmarried to—well, you thought it was me, but it could only beAdmiral Jones’ son?”

“You’re his son?” Dazz says, motioning toGard.

“Yes, but I swear—”

“I know,” Dazz says, forcing a smile. “You’renot the one who was supposed to marry my sister. Otherwise you’d bedead already.” His smile hangs for a moment, but no one returns it.“Who’s this Admiral Jones fellow?”

“The leader of the Soakers,” Gard says. “Hecommands their entire fleet.”

“I’ll kill those baggard Soakers,” the oldersister says. Suddenly I’m starting to like her a lot more.

But then, looking at the pale face of theIcer sitting in front of me, my thoughts turn back to my mother,bloody and dying. “Did you fight the Riders when they came?”

“No,” Dazz says quickly. And then, “Well,yes, but not because we wanted to. The Riders were fighting thecastle guards; we were only trying to get to the king, to get to mysister. We only fought those who tried to stop us. There wereRiders who mistook us for their enemies.”

Cold fingers run along the back of my neck.He might’ve been the very Icer who killed your mother, theEvil says. Honor her! AVENGE HER!

I once more raise my sword, which had fallenloosely to my side, to his throat. “Did you kill any of them?”

“I—I don’t know,” Dazz says. “Maybe. I can’tbe sure. We were protecting ourselves.”

“Sadie,” Gard says. “I was there. It waschaos, Icer guardsmen streaming from every nook and cra

My fingers are sore from their firm grip onmy sword. My teeth begin to ache from the grinding. I shake theEvil off my back, drop my sword once more. I know Gard’s right.

“Your mother was a Rider?” the ski

“Yes,” I say. “She died from wounds inflictedduring the raid on Goff’s castle.”

“I’m…sorry,” she says. “So searin’ sorry.”It’s not an empty apology—there’s real sadness behind it—and Iremember her saying how her mother died from the Plague.

“What now?” Feve growls. “Must I die? Becausethe anticipation is killing me.” His tone doesn’t match his wordsand I realize he’s being sarcastic. This is not a man who fearsdeath.

“You killed our guards. They had families.”Gard’s words are unforgiving.

“He didn’t want to,” Dazz says. “We justwanted to talk to you.”

“I am not a tyrant,” Gard says. “I know yourexperiences with tribe leaders have been…severe…but I’m notlike them. What would you have me do?”

I’m surprised he’s asking for suggestionsfrom his prisoners. I’m about to object when the unmarked Heaterguy says, “A life for a life is the only choice. But not Feve’slife. The lives of the Soakers. They’re the ones who deserve to bepunished, who have brought terror and sadness upon all of us. Wewill stand with you and risk our lives alongside you; we will fightwith you.”

My heart races as I watch Gard absorb theoffer. What will he do? My father’s prophecies roar through me.

There will be a great battle with theSoakers.

“Thank you for your honesty,” Gard says.

You will fight magnificently, maybe more sothan your mother.

“I believe that you’ve been through a lot,that you’ve been harmed by the Soakers as much as we have.”

You will see him, the high-ranking Soakerboy in the blue uniform.

“And you shall fight, for war is uponus.”

You will kill him, the voice says, butthis time it’s not the memory of my father’s words. It’s thewhispered shadow-voice in my ear. The Evil has spoken.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Huck

I awake to a foot onmy chest, pushing the air out of my lungs. I can’t breathe—Ican’t.

I gasp, clawing at the foot, feeling onlydead air and embarrassment.

No one’s there.

I expel a hot and angry breath, rolling overonto my stomach. I pound the pillow, once, twice, three times.