The Black Road, Eganene
The carriage didn’t stop for lunch, but it did stop before the sunlight disappeared. No one came for the longest time. They all stood there quietly, waiting for their chance to get out and relieve themselves. The minutes trickled by, one after another. Bekka squeezed her knees together, counting to sixty over and over again. When the door opened, she was surprised to see three young boys accompanying Tonelle. The woman herded them into the carriage.
“You lot, stand here,” she told them, the sweet syrup back in her voice.
Bekka tried not to show her disgust.
“Now,” Tonelle said to everyone assembled. “These boys will be traveling south with us,” she waved her hand towards the outside. “Some fool merchant thinks we are in for snow and doesn’t have a place to keep them.”
“Martin got a good price,” she smiled. “They will need some shoes, Ceril. They’ve been walking all the way from…” She paused, thinking. “Oh, well… it doesn’t matter. Get them some shoes and make them feel welcome.”
She pointed at Bekka. “She was the newest before you three arrived. She’ll fill you in on my expectations.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bekka agreed, thinking about Lenold.
If he was right and Tonelle was disappointed in her, then Bekka needed to get on her good side. The new boys were emaciated and dirty. As much as it disgusted her to think it, at least Tonelle was feeding her and letting her ride in the carriage.
“The rest of you, make them feel welcome.” Tonelle was saying. She put a hand on the first boy’s head and ran her fingertips through his hair. Bekka watched him try not to recoil.
Tonelle patted the second boy’s blond head. It was like they were her little ducklings. “This one is Addi,” she said. “Which bunk will be his, Kat?”
“Back left.”
“This one is Mika. He should be able to cook some.” Tonelle pushed the child forward. He had a fresh scar along the side of his face. He didn’t look up.
Kat nodded. “He can have the bunk in front of the other one.”
“This last one is Usif.” He had hair as black as Addi’s, but his complexion was darker. Tonelle caressed his back possessively. The boys couldn’t have been older than twelve and all of them were smaller than Lenold.
“He can take the one above Addi.”
“Good,” Tonelle smiled. “Jaks find them proper clothing. Ceril you get their shoes. Bekka you can sit with them while the others go to the woods. Once they are back and Kat has the water on, she can fetch you.”
Her smile got bigger. “We also bought some fresh meat, so we’ll eat well tonight. We’re going to share a meal and fire before we move on for the night.”
Safety in numbers, Bekka thought, feeling a thrill of expectation. If she got a chance to meet the merchant, she might be able to get him to help her.
“That doesn’t make sense,” the voice in her head disagreed.
No, Bekka thought, it didn’t make sense. The man had just “sold” Tonelle three children. He wasn’t going to help her escape.
“Hop to it,” the woman said, exiting the carriage.
Jaks and Ceril were already in the back. Bekka looked at the three children standing in front of her and then at Lenold. He gave her a half smile and followed Tonelle and Kat. She wasn’t going to get any help there.
Thanks for nothing, she thought.
She didn’t really blame him. The kids were her responsibility. He had other things he needed to do. Bekka looked at the boys again, at their dirty, disheveled clothes. Addi and Usif, the two dark-haired ones, had tear tracks marking their faces. Mika was staring at the ground, hiding the pink scar on his face.
“Umm…” she started. “I’m Bekka.”
No one looked at her, but Addi started to cry, the tears slipping silently down his cheeks. They had burlap tied to their feet.
Jaks and Ceril were talking in hushed tones in the back, but besides that, no one spoke. “Look,” Bekka said. “I don’t really don’t know what to tell you. I’m sure they want me to give you some welcome spiel or something, but they have this crazy idea that we are all owned…”
They didn’t react to that, and just stood there sniffling.
Bekka felt bad for them, but wished they would say something. “So, I’ve been here for a few weeks, as close as I can tell. As for being kidnapped, Tonelle is… I was with this other guy…”
She coughed, deciding that she really didn’t want to talk about Billy after all.
Uncomfortable, she sat back down on her bunk. “I don’t know what the merchant you were with was like, but Tonelle and Martin aren’t too bad, considering…”
The boys still hadn’t looked up at her. She couldn’t see beneath their longer hair, but Usif’s shoulders were trembling. “Please don’t cry. I…so…” she faltered.
What was she supposed to do?
She frowned. What could she say? Their new reality wasn’t so great. No matter the words she used, they were still prisoners here. And why had Tonelle been petting them that way?
She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. Kat was going to be back for them as soon as she started the soup. Tonelle wanted them changed and ready. Bekka glanced back at Ceril and Jaks, but they were still busy. It was up to her to get kids moving.
“So…they have been feeding us. Most of the time, anyway. And we sleep in here. There’s not much to do, but whenever we stop, you have to line up at the door there,” she gestured towards the front of the cabin.
“We all have to be ready. With our shoes on…” she glanced at their feet and then back towards where Ceril was looking through a crate.
She bit her lip. Why had Tonelle picked her to do this? She didn’t want to be the one to convince these kids of their new reality. She didn’t know if she believe it herself.
She felt a knot form at the base of her stomach.
Despite everything, Lenold and Ceril had been convincing. She’d even gone so far as to ask Jaks if he agreed with everything the other two had said.
Usif, was looking at her, his black eyes wide. She decided to introduce herself. “I’m from Philly,” she said him, extending her hand. “Where are you from?”
The boy backed away from her.
“It’s OK,” Bekka assured him, sticking her hands in the pockets of her dress. She tried to make her voice calmer, “I won’t hurt you.”
The boy stopped inching backward, but now he wouldn’t look at her.
“Please,” she said. “I…I’m not like them. I…”
She choked on the words. “I’m here, too.”
She hurried to continued, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I don’t really even know what’s happening.”
They huddled together, their thin shoulders pressed close as if seeking reassurance. “Have you seen the news lately? Anything about our kidnappings?”
Nothing.
“I…I know this is scary, but, please. Do you know where we are? How long ago were you taken? It…” She sighed.
None of them were going to talk to her, not yet.
“It’s OK,” she breathed. “We can talk later. You need to get dressed.” She gestured for them to follow her. “Come on. Back here. I can show you where you’re going to sleep.”
Jaks was laying out clothes on one of the bunks. The children followed her to the back, their feet soft against the wooden floor. Thankfully, Ceril took charge as soon as they were within range, “You three. Sit here. I be needing to check your sizes.”
The boys complied, sitting silently on the bench Ceril was pointing at.
“Good, now let I see those feet.” She knelt down beside the smallest boy, Addi.
He didn’t pull away, but seemed to shrink from the tall girl, his little body curling into itself.
“Well,” Ceril said. She didn’t touch him, but just peered closely. “I think these should be doing for you.” She grabbed a pair of worn shoes and handed them to him. Bekka couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy. They were definitely in better shape than hers.
When Ceril was done distributing the rest of the shoes, she turned to Jaks, “I be by the fire when you be finished.”
Jaks smiled and Bekka couldn’t help feeling a twinge of emotion. The way he looked at Ceril was filled with love. “Wait, I’ll only be a minute,” he said, handing the boys their clothing. They would be wearing the same thing as the rest of Tonelle’s collection-- grayish pants with a drawstring waist and a thick, blue, wool shirt.
“I’ll leave them with you, then,” he said to Bekka. “I’ll make sure Kat comes back for you. Don’t worry.”
She couldn’t believe how calmly he was taking all this. Couldn’t he see how upset the children were? He wasn’t even really talking to them. Neither was Ceril. Why were they being so mean?
Maybe that was just how they are, she thought. They hadn’t said much to her either the first few days she had been with them. Jaks was holding Ceril’s hand as they left. They didn’t look back.
Bekka turned to her charges, “All right. Um…so you guys need to get dressed. There isn’t a bathroom or anything, but these are your bunks.” She pointed to each of the beds and listed their names. “If you want to, you can change under the covers. There are sheets on all of them. But, you need to get changed.”
None of them said anything. They just sat there with their clothes on their laps, staring at the floor. Bekka tried again. When Kat got back, they had to be ready. Otherwise, it was going to be her that got in trouble. “I’ll go up to the front and wait a few minutes. Just get changed.”
Walking to the front of the carriage, she sat down. What was she supposed to do if they didn’t get dressed? Kat would be pissed. And if she was angry, then she was going to tell Tonelle. Bekka had been doing a good job of staying off of that woman’s radar and she had no desire to get back on it. Keeping her head down until she had a chance to run was her best plan.
She sat there wondering where the kids were from and how they had ended up in this horrible nightmare. Who was the merchant? How was it possible there were so many people operating under the delusion that there were for sale?
“You know the answer. Why do you keep asking?” the voice asked.
Bekka ignored it, squeezing her knees together. She really had to go.
Hopefully, Kat wouldn’t take a long time to make the fire. It was usually Kat’s job, but Bekka hadn’t seen her do it yet. It was something she wanted to learn. She had to know how to build a fire if she was going to have a prayer of surviving in the woods.
“You guys done yet?” she called back.
No one answered her. She wasn’t surprised.
“Hello? Guys?” she tried again. “Hello? We’ve got to hurry up. They’re going to be back soon. You need to get changed.”
Again, nothing. “Well, I…if you need more time, just give a shout.”
Silence. Bekka swallowed and turned around. The three boys were where she left them, their clothes on their laps and tears in their eyes. Bekka breathed slowly and walked back. She was frustrated, but it wasn’t their fault. She understood they were scared.
Crouching down beside Addi, she said, “Look. You guys don’t understand how it is around here. I get that, seriously, I do. I told you. I’m new, too.”
“But,” she continued, “the one thing I know is that when Tonelle tells you to do something, you do it. If you don’t, she hurts you. That’s what happened to me, anyway.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
She grimaced, remembering the bloody rabbit, “So, please. For yourselves as well as for me, you got to get changed.”
Mika looked up. He had intelligent, grey eyes and would have been handsome if it hadn’t been for the pink scar. His eyes were narrowed, not with anger, but something else. If Bekka had stopped to think about it, she would have called it calculating. “We will change,” he said.
Bekka sighed her relief, “Good. Thanks. I…I’ve had enough of that woman to last me a lifetime.”
He nodded and elbowed the other boys, “Go.”
Addi and Usif stood up.
Bekka smiled at them, trying hard to sound comforting, “No one will beat you without a reason. I know I sound like I think these people are great. I don’t, I swear, but at least there are rules to follow.”
The boys nodded. Only Mika looked her in the eyes.
“OK,” Bekka said, “get those clothes on and bring all the old stuff up front with you. I think Tonelle will probably give it back to the guy who sold you. That’s what she did with me.”
This time, they changed and came to the front of the cabin holding their old things. Their new clothing was an upgrade. She motioned for them to sit, “Good. Now, we just need to get those rags off your feet so you can put these shoes on.”
Mika frowned. “You are going to need a knife.”
“What?” Bekka asked.
“The ropes Howel used are strong and knotted. We’ve tried to get them off before, but they won’t budge.”
Bekka realized he spoke the same way Lenold did, kind of running his words together like he was trying to talk too fast. “May I look?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, his voice deceptively calm. He was looking at her like she just asked to chop his leg off.
Bekka knelt down and gently touched his foot. The burlap bag he was wearing was worn and wet. There were small holes in the sole and beneath the pad of his foot where she could see his skin. He drew back sharply when she touched him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said. “You have cuts?”
He nodded, watching her and slowly putting his foot back into her hand.
“I won’t touch them again,” Bekka assured him. “I’m going to lift up your pant leg and see about the rope.”
He nodded again, his eyes on her hands.
Carefully, Bekka lifted up the edge of his pants. Thick rope encircled his ankle, wrapped round and round, again and again. It was holding up the burlap, but it had another function as well. Laced through the rope, was a black ring. The rope was so tight that it had bit into the boy’s skin. Rough scabs covered the area and the rope was stained black with blood.
“Holy hell!” she exclaimed, drawing back. She sat back on her heels, a sudden wave of heat washing over her, “I…I’m so sorry.”
The boy grimaced. “Yes. I will be very happy to get rid of these.”
“Of course,” Bekka agreed, putting his foot down gently and standing up. “Let me get what we need.” She rushed to the back of the carriage and knelt beside Jaks’ bunk. Quickly, she searched his things until she found his carving knife.
“Here,” she said, handing Mika the knife.
He dropped it on the floor, shock registering on his face. “I can’t!”
Bekka picked it up. “No, it’s fine. I promise. You can use it. You won’t get in trouble. I just don’t want to cut you.” She knelt beside him again, lifting his pant leg, “The rope is wrapped so tight. I don’t know how to cut it without hurting you.”
The boy took the knife. He held it in his hand a moment like he wasn’t sure what he should do. Then, he put the blade against the ropes and started sawing. The motion must have hurt him, because he scrunched up his face and tears dripped down his face.
Bekka held her breath. She knew he had to get the rope off. He had to do it before Kat came for them, but she was terrified he was going to hurt himself.
What if the blade slipped? There weren’t any hospitals out here.
His hand moved slowly back and forth. She held his pant leg for him. The boy smelled, the scent of sweat and body odor permeating the air around him. His fingernails were worn to the quick and the jagged edges were caked with dirt. She wondered when he last bathed. She almost closed her eyes. The idea of a shower was the single greatest thought she’d had in days.
Mika was working carefully, but even so, Jaks’ blade was sharp and on the last stroke he nicked himself, the knife-edge slicing deep. The rope instantly separated and unraveled, dropping to the ground. Mika yelped, covering the wound with his hand.
“Oh!” Bekka squealed, jumping up and dashing to the front of the cabin. She grabbed the pot of drinking water and the a clean cloth from the crate beside her bunk and ran back.
How would she explain this to Kat? To Tonelle? They would be furious with her. And what if he was badly injured? What if he cut a vein? She hadn’t seen how deep the blade had gone. What if he needed stitches or a hospital? She didn’t even have a Band-Aid.
Mika had his hand over the wound, but little rivulets of blood were leaking out from between his fingertips and dribbling down his leg. His face was white, his lips pressed together in pain. Usif and Addi rushed to him, but Bekka shooed them out of her way. “Here,” she said, kneeling down beside him once again. “Let me clean it.”
He did as she asked and moved his hand.
Bekka’s breath caught in her throat. It was worse than she expected. Not the cut, that was minor, but the wound from the ropes. The knife had nicked a scab, that was why there was so much blood. The poor kid’s leg was covered with several inches of heavy, red scabbing. From his ankle up, he hardly had skin.
The raised scabs glistened with moisture, the area around them irritated and raw. Crusty, black skin flaked the outside of the scabs.
Bekka retched, trying not to throw up. How could someone have done this?
“I’m fine,” he said, taking the cloth from her hands and dipping it in the water. Gently, he wiped away the blood and pus. “Do you have other rags I could use to bind it? I don’t think your Mistress would be pleased if I stained the clothes she gave me.”
Bekka brought him some from the crate. She was breathing shallowly, but holding it together. She was not going to panic. She couldn’t have another asthma attack.
“Good,” the voice, agreed.
Bekka sat down on the bunk and watched. Mika took the cloths from her and bound his leg. He did it dexterously, like the boys on the basketball team who wrapped their ankles every game.
After he saw to himself, he cut the ropes on Addi and Usif’s legs. He ended up nicking both of them, too, but they didn’t bleed as much and neither boy complained.
“Why did he do that to you?” Bekka asked.
Mika was wrapping Addi’s leg. His limbs were too thin, the bones visible beneath the skin. Her insides twisted. These boys had been abused. “It looks like he didn’t he even feed you,” she observed.
Mika shrugged, “Not much.”
Bekka didn’t push him. She could understand if he didn’t want to talk about it. “Where are you from?” she asked instead.
“Baltine. We all were.”
“Where’s that?” Bekka asked.
Mika didn’t reply, but looked at her oddly.
“Come on. All of you,” Kat called, interrupting the moment.
Bekka hurried to gather the boys together and get them out of the wagon. She was so flustered she didn’t notice Mika slip the knife into his pocket.
Kat led them over to the fire. Jaks and Lenold were just dropping the piles of wood they collected. “You three. Sit here,” she said, indicating a log beside the fire. Then she turned to Bekka. “Come on,” she muttered, taking off towards the woods. “I’m your chaperone.”
Bekka followed, dragging her eyes from the wagons. There were three now, surrounding the fire just like cowboys. The horses were already unharnessed and asleep. She didn’t see Tonelle, Martin or the merchant, but that didn’t mean they were unsupervised.
A younger man stood guard outside the carriage. She’d seen him before, although never close up. He didn’t interact with captives and he slept in the carriage with Tonelle’s family. Bekka thought he was probably too old to be one of their children. When she asked Ceril and Lenold about him, they knew as little as she did.
He stood inside the ring of carriages, his back straight. He had a bow in his hand and an arrow knocked. She couldn’t see his face clearly, but he was keeping an eye on her, turning his head slowly as she and Kat made their way towards the forest’s edge. Obviously, Tonelle and Martin were taking the monster seriously.
“Where’s Franc?” she asked Kat, stepping over a rotten tree that had fallen at the border.
“He’s finishing up.” Kat was moving quickly. Bekka had to take two steps for every one of hers. “This is good,” she said, pointing behind a larger tree. “We’re in deep enough that no one will see you.”
Bekka looked around, night was coming on fast and the woods were grey and silent. She didn’t see any lights. There were no homes and no businesses. There was nothing but trees. “Aren’t you afraid of the monster?” she asked.
Kat’s golden eyes widen. “Of course.”
“What was it?”
“A Creeling.”
“But what is it?” Bekka asked again.
“She already told you,” the voice in her head replied.
Kat shook her head, the beads dancing. “How do you know nothing? You don’t seem like a stupid girl.”
“I…” Bekka started, but Kat had already turned and was walking back towards the fire. She finished what she was doing and hurried after her. “Kat, I really don’t know what it is,” she called, but the other girl didn’t turn back.
At the fire, Lenold was serving the stew. Tonelle and Martin were eating in the carriage with the merchant. Kat and Ceril took them bowls of food, Jaks and Lenold following with more for the kids. They came back for another helping. While they were delivering dinner, Bekka was placed in charge of the new children again.
“I don’t think we have enough bowls,” she told them. “But don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll all get a chance to eat.”
She watched Addi swallow. The poor kid looked like he was about to starve to death. His eyes on the Kat’s stew pot. Bekka had never seen anyone so hungry in her life. She was hungry, too, of course. The last thing she remembered eating was a hunk of stale bread that Ceril found in one of the crates. That had been yesterday.
“What’s in there?” she asked Lenold when he returned.
He was hurrying, the empty bowls stacked up in his arms. He passed them to her, “Hold these out. I’ll fill them.”
She wondered if she should clean them first, but it was only a momentary thought. She would rather eat now in dirty bowls.
Bekka held out the first. “So, what’s for dinner?”
“Deer, I think,” he replied, ladling up the contents.
Bekka saw chunks of potato and onion swirling around the brown broth, in addition to the darker lumps of meat. She handed the bowl to Addi who started drinking the broth before she could give him a spoon.
“Really?” she asked Lenold. The stew sure smelled like beef to her. Not that she knew what deer smelled like.
Ceril, Jaks and Kat returned, along with Franc. The bigger boy looked exhausted, dark bags, like bruises, beneath his eyes. He accepted the next bowl from Lenold and left for the carriage.
“He doesn’t look good,” Bekka said to Ceril.
“No, he be tired,” she agreed, taking a bowl from Lenold. “It be a difficult job driving through the night. Especially since the horses be tired, too. They be more like to make mistakes, injure themselves.”
Bekka nodded. She had never driven a wagon before, but that made sense. If the horses ran the sled into a rock or tree trunk, the wooden sled-legs would be ruined. “Did you see the merchant?” she asked Ceril, handing Mika his food.
“Just for a moment. He be eating with Tonelle and Martin.”
“What’s he like?”
Ceril grimaced, “He not be a kind man.”
Bekka handed the last bowl of soup to Usif as her stomach growled angrily. She would have to wait until one of them finished. She sat next to Ceril, “You should see what he did to those kid’s feet.” She used her chin to point towards where the three boys were noisily slurping down the remainder of their food.
“It was horrible, Ceril. He had ropes tied around their ankles. They’re covered in scabs.”
Ceril finished her food and passed Bekka the bowl. Serving herself quickly, she decided she didn’t care what it was. Deer. Rabbit. Pigeon. Someone’s pet. Well, that wasn’t true, she probably wouldn’t eat someone’s pet, but she was hungry. She noticed Addi looking at her from beneath his black hair. “Go on,” she told him, “you can have more.”
Dinner was delicious; the hot, rich broth, instantly warming her belly. The potatoes were steaming on the spoon as she ate them, burning the roof of her mouth. It felt so good to be eating hot food again. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed it. She tried some of the deer. Maybe it was a little chewier and gamier than beef, but she decided there really wasn’t that much difference. Especially not with all the strange spices they put into the pot.
Mika and Usif were now on their second helpings. Ceril watched them, her dark hair dotted with the white snowflakes that had begun to fall. “Poor little children,” she said. “They be better off with we. He be a cruel man to hurt them.”
“How could he do that?” Bekka asked.
Ceril shrugged, wiping at a snowflake that landed on her nose, “I wonder if this be the snowstorm the man be worried about.”
“How does he know there’s going to be a storm?” Bekka asked. “I thought you guys said no one had a phone.”
Ceril looked at her strangely, “You be telling me a phone be something you be using to speak with people far away. It also be predicting the weather?”
Bekka couldn’t help grinning at the incredulous expression on her face, “You really have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
“I be from far from here. It be not strange that I don’t know your customs.”
“Yeah,” Bekka said, getting up for seconds. “I know what you mean.”
Jaks and Lenold went to offer more food to Tonelle and Martin’s family. Once they returned, they finished what remained in the pot. Bekka and Ceril cleaned the bowls and pot and hurried back to the carriage.
“Who’s that?” Bekka asked Lenold, pointing at the young man who was still keeping guard.
“I think he’s related to Martin,” the boy shrugged, scratching behind one giant ear. “I’m not sure though. He doesn’t talk much.”
“But what is he doing here?”
Lenold shrugged, following her up the steps and placing his shoes next to hers. “Don’t know. Maybe he has nos in the business. Maybe he’s hired help. I didn’t see him until after Tonelle bought you.”
“So he was hiding before that?”
Lenold shook his head, “I don’t know. I thought they hired him in…Phipy.”
Bekka dropped into her bunk. “Philly,” she said, but she didn’t have her heart in it anymore.
The three new boys climbed into the carriage, pursued by Kat who seemed annoyed to have to tell them what to do. “Take your shoes off!” she spat. “No, no. Put them there. With everyone else’s. Yes.”
“I thought they were your job,” she muttered at Bekka before pulling herself into her cot.
“Go on and get in bed,” Bekka said. They were standing at the door, looking lost and confused. “The carriage will start moving in a moment and then it gets hard to walk. We won’t stop until morning.”
Mika nodded and headed to the back.
Bekka couldn’t believe how thin their shoulders looked. “Don’t forget!” she called after them. “When you hear the whistle, you need to be ready. That means we are stopping. Just get in line behind me and make sure you have your shoes on.” She lay back on her cot, feeling strange and out of sorts.
What was she doing? Why was she telling these kids what to do? Tonelle had told her to tell them the rules, but was she taking it too far? Bossing them around, just like Kat did with her?
She shook her head. No, she wasn’t like Kat. She was trying to keep the kids out of trouble, trying to help them. She glanced towards the back of the wagon. No harm and going to talk to the boys now. There certainly wasn’t anything else to do.
Bekka still wasn’t good at walking while the wagon was moving. She stepped slowly, keeping her hand against the wooden bed frames or storage containers. Mika’s eyes were open when she drew close.
“Do you mind?” Bekka asked, indicating the side of his bed.
Fear flashed in his face and he recoiled, bringing up something sharp in the moonlight.
“No, no!” Bekka exclaimed. She stumbled back a few steps, realizing what the boy thought she wanted. “I’m not…that’s not what…” Candle light reflected off the metal as the carriage swayed. She realized what he had in his hand.
“Is that Jaks knife?”
Mika’s face hardened, “It’s mine now. I’ll not let anyone touch us no more.”
Bekka felt her stomach twist, “That’s not why I came back here. I only wanted to ask you some questions. And help explain things.” She pointed at Jaks, who was now hanging out of his cot along with Ceril. Both of their faces were curious, although they hadn’t spoken yet.
“That woman Tonelle isn’t good people,” Usif added, his eyes bright white against his dark face.
Lenold, of course, took that moment to hurry over and shush them. “You can’t say things like that about her,” he admonished. “She always knows.”
Mika didn’t react, but kept his attention on Bekka. “You cut the ties off our legs.”
She nodded, “Yes, but we’re still stuck here.” She took a step forward and this time he didn’t back away. Lenold and Jaks had started arguing about what exactly Tonelle could hear when she wasn’t in the room. Bekka pitched her voice low. “We’re stuck here, but I don’t want to stay.”
Mika’s eyes widened, “There’s a storm.”
Ceril had now joined in the argument, her lilting words flowing over both the boys as she tried to regain some order.
Bekka frowned, taking another step closer and kneeling down, “And we need supplies. Your legs are wounded.”
Addi sidled closer, his blond hair a coppery gold in the lamplight. She had all their attention now. “I don’t want to be here. And I know you don’t either. I don’t know when, but we’ll figure out a way.”
Their eyes were huge in the firelight and Bekka couldn’t help but make comparisons with a host of Charles Dickens novels. No, this wasn’t some sad story. She’d find a way out of here. And she’d take them with her.
“Give Jaks back his knife, Mika,” Bekka said. “I promise we’ll get something better than that.”
The boy turned, revealing the wicked scar along his face. Bekka schooled herself not to react as he smiled slightly. That smile did not touch his eyes.
Mika handed the weapon to her and she placed it in Jaks hand, effectively ending the older kids’ argument. “Anyway,” Lenold said. “We all ought to be in our beds and getting some rest. If there really is a storm coming, there’s no way to know what chores she’ll be needing from us in the morning.”