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"Just that she spent her first years on New World in the hills," I lie, swallowing. "Out west of town past the waterfall. I thought it was just idle talk."
He's still staring deep into me and there's a long silence while he looks and looks before starting his walk again.
"The most important issue," he says, "is whether the second bomb was a mistake, part of the first bomb that went off later by accident?" He comes round again to read my face. "Or was it on purpose? Was it set to go off later deliberately so that my men would be surrounding a crime scene, so that there would be maximum loss of life?"
"No," I say, shaking my head. "She wouldn't. She's a healer. She wouldn't kill-"
"A general would do anything to win a war," he says. "That's why it's war."
"No," I keep saying. "No, I don't believe-"
"I know you don't believe it." He steps away from me again, turning his back. "That's why you were left behind."
He goes to the small table next to his chair and picks up a piece of paper. He holds it up so I can see it.
There's a blue A written across it.
"Does this mean anything to you, Viola?"
I try to keep any look off my face.
"I've never seen that before." I swallow again, cursing myself as I do. "What is it?"
He looks at me long and hard again, then he puts the paper back down on the table. "She will contact you." He watches my face. I try to give him nothing. "Yes," he says, as if to himself. "She will, and when she does, pass along one message in particular, please."
"I don't-"
"Tell her that we can stop this bloodshed at once, that we can end all this before it even begins, before more people die and peace is forever put aside. Tell her that, Viola."
He's staring so hard at me, I say, "Okay."
He's not blinking, his eyes black holes I can't turn away from. "But also tell her that if she wants war, she can have her war."
"Please-" I start to say.
"That'll be all," he says, gesturing me to my feet and toward the door. "Go back to your house of healing. Treat what patients you can."
"But-" He opens the door for me. "There'll be no hanging this afternoon," he says. "Some civic functions will have to be curtailed in light of recent terrorist activities."
"Terrorist-?"
"And I'm afraid I'll be far too busy sweeping up the mess your mistress has made to host the di
I open my mouth but nothing comes out. He closes the door on me.
My head spins as I stagger back down the main road. Todd is out here somewhere and all I can think of is how I can't see him and won't be able to tell him anything about what's happened or explain myself or anything. And it's her fault.
It is. I hate to say it but it's her fault. All of this. Even if it was for reasons she thought were right, it's all her fault. Her fault that I won't see Todd tonight. Her fault that war is coming. Her fault-
I come upon the wreckage again.
There are four bodies lying in the road, covered in white sheets that don't quite conceal the pools of blood beneath them. Nearest to me but behind a cordon of soldiers guarding the site is the sheet covering the soldier who accidentally saved me.
I didn't even know his name.
And then all of a sudden he was dead.
If she'd just waited, if she'd just seen what the Mayor wanted her to do - But then I think Appeasement, my girl, it's a slippery slope-But the bodies here in the road-But Maddy dying-But the boy soldier who saved me-But Cori
I hurry along the road and before I even realize it, I'm ru
I return to the nearly empty house of healing out of breath and slam the front door behind me. There were yet more soldiers on the road, more patrols, men on rooftops with rifles who watched me run very closely, one of them even whistling rudely as I went by.
There'll be no getting to the communications tower now, not anymore.
Another thing she screwed up.
As I catch my breath, it sinks in that I'm the only thing even resembling a healer here now. Many of the patients were well enough to follow Mistress Coyle out to wherever she's gone and, who knows, might have even been the ones to plant the bombs, but there's still at least two dozen in beds here, with more coming in every day.
And I'm just about the worst healer New Prentisstown has ever seen.
"Oh, help," I whisper to myself.
***
"Where'd everybody go?" Mrs. Fox asks as soon as I open the door to her room. "There's been no food, no medicine-"
"I'm sorry," I say, bustling up her bedpan. "I'll get you food as soon as I can."
"Good heavens, dear!" she says as I turn, her eyes widening. I look at the back of my white coat where her eyes have gone. There's a dirty smear of the young soldier's blood all the way down to the hem.
"Are you all right?" Mrs. Fox asks.
I look at the blood, and all I can say is, "I'll get your food."
The next hours pass in a blur. The help staff are all gone, too, and I do my best to cook for the remaining patients, serving them and asking at the same time which medicines they take and when and how much and though they're all wondering what's going on, they see how I must look and try to be as helpful as they can.
It's well past nightfall when I come round a corner with a tray full of dirty di
I throw the tray on the floor and run to her. She holds up her other hand to stop me before I reach her. She winces as I get close.
And I see the swelling around her eyes. And the swelling in her lower lip. And the way she's holding her body up too straight, like it hurts, like it really hurts. "Oh, Cori
"Just," she says, taking a breath. "Just help me to my room."
I take her hand to help her along and feel something hidden in her palm, pressed into mine. She holds up a finger to her lips to shush the wonderings about to come from my open mouth.
"A girl," she whispers. "Hidden in the bushes by the road." She shakes her head angrily. "No more than a girl."
I don't look at it until I've got Cori
It's a note, folded, with V written on the outside. Inside, it's only a few lines, saying almost nothing at all.
My girl, it says. Now is the time you must choose.
And then there's a single asking.
Can we count on you?
I look up.
I swallow.
Can we count on you?
I fold the note into my pocket and I take up the bandages and compresses and I go to help Cori
Who was beaten by the Mayor's men.
But who wouldn't have been beaten if she hadn't had to speak for Mistress Coyle.
But who was beaten even though the Mayor said she wouldn't be hurt.
Can we count on you?
And it wasn't signed with a name.
It just said, The Answer.
And Answer was spelled with a bright blue A.
15 LOCKED IN
***
[TODD] BOOM!
-and the sky tears open behind us and a rush of wind comes up the road and Angharrad rears back in terror and I tumble off her to the ground and there's dust and screaming and a throbbing in my ears as I lay there and wait to see if I'm dead or not.