Chapter 15

I was furious. I could deal with my mother abandoning me. I’d already had a lifetime of dealing with it. But kidnapping other kids? And then lying about it? To my face? The only thing stopping me from skewering Niralessa with my fury was Kibi, who still held the limp hand of a now-dead Bolden. Determining that we were no longer in danger, I sat in the dirt next to her, pulling her close to me with one arm, while she cried silent tears. “He was my uncle,” she whispered. “He came to help me.” She wiped her snotty nose with the sleeve of her dress. “He always helps me.” Not anymore, I thought grimly, and glared at the green woman who now slung her bow behind her. “I guess you’re not completely useless,” Minocken tossed at me as he walked past. That was probably as close to a thank you as I was going to get from him. But I didn’t care about that. These people were kidnapping children, from families who were willing to die to rescue them! “Kibi, did you want to leave home?” I asked. She shook her head, her lower lip protruding. “The green lady made me sleep.” I gritted my teeth. I knew that trick all too well. “You were happy there, at home?” “It was okay. Bolden made sure it was okay.” “Do you want to go back home? I can help you.” “I don’t want to go back without him.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. The lump returned to my throat. I wanted so badly to make things right for this innocent little girl, but had no idea how. My attention turned back to Niralessa, who was now helping the others drag dead bodies into the woods. “Come with me,” I said to Kibi, taking her hand. She yanked her hand away and draped her arms across the dead man’s torso, pressing her cheek against his bloody shirt. “Okay,” I whispered, and stood. She needed time to grieve. Which gave me time to give Niralessa a piece of my mind. I did my best Minocken impersonation and stalked over to her, nostrils flaring. “You take kids away from their families!” She dropped the arm of the corpse she’d been dragging and laid cool eyes on me. “Aberrations belong with their own kind, where they’re appreciated.” I pointed to where Kibi lay limp across her uncle’s body. “Does that look like a happy child to you?” Niralessa glanced briefly at the child. “In time, she’ll understand why this was necessary.” I crossed my arms. “And why is it necessary to rip children away from their loving families?” She shook her head. “You could never understand.” I looked over to where Kam and Resh each gripped a dead man’s arm, slowly dragging the body away from Camp. “You think this is a better life for them?” Niralessa’s brown eyes flashed. “Have you ever had a fingernail ripped out?” Taken aback, I could only shake my head. “Kam says that’s what it felt like when the chieftain of his tribe tried to remove the spikes on his head. To fix him, like he was broken.” Her lip curled with disgust. “Have you ever been beaten until you could barely walk?” My mouth dropped open. What kind of cruelty was this? “Minocken has. On more than one occasion. By his own father.” Hatred radiated from her like heat from the sun. “Have you ever been mocked and shamed by the very people who were supposed to love you?” I swallowed, unable to imagine such a thing. But I could tell from the pain in her eyes that she knew very well what that was like. “That’s right. You haven’t. And I’m glad for it. No one should have to suffer the way some of us have. So if I’m able to spare any child that kind of pain, I will do everything in my power to do it. Even if it causes a little sadness at first.” I glanced at Kibi, still clinging to Bolden. I wouldn’t call that a little sadness. “What happened here is unfortunate,” Niralessa went on. “But if they would have just come here with respect and talked to us, instead of attacking us, this wouldn’t have happened.” I finally found my tongue and spoke up. “This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t kidnap the girl in the first place.” “Do you honestly think she was happy in that tribe?” “Did you ask her that?” She pursed her lips and stared at me, but didn’t refute my logic. Hope surged through my chest. Did I get through to this woman? Was she actually listening to me? Maybe— “NOOOOO!” The word was almost a howl as it pierced the stillness. Niralessa’s head jerked toward the sound, and in an instant she was running toward it. I followed her through some foliage, barely able to keep up. She nearly tripped over Minocken, who was crouched over a body. “Minocken, what—” The question died on her lips when she saw the body. “Oh no. No, no, no.” She dropped to her knees. “Corin?” She placed a hand on the body’s bloody chest. “Corin, wake up.” He didn’t move. His gathered twigs lay haphazardly around him, like he’d been taken by surprise. She shook him gently. “Corin, my love, you need to wake up.” The silence was eerie, as Minocken and I stared, unable to speak. She shook him harder. “Corin! Wake up, damn you. Wake up!” Her voice broke. “You will not leave me like this!” She wrapped her arms around him, lifting his torso and propping him against her own body. His head rested on her shoulder, and I could see the blood matting the hair on his face now. I pressed a fist against my mouth. This was my father. He’d been happy to see me when I’d arrived, and now he was dead. My stomach clenched. Niralessa rocked his body like she was soothing a child. I stood frozen in place, too shocked to say anything, too angry to comfort her, and too sad to leave. Minocken remained kneeling where he was, squeezing Corin’s hand, eyes wet with grief. My throat constricted. Fen had said Corin was like a father to him, to Minocken, to most of the young residents here. What would they do now that he was gone? This was Niralessa’s fault. If she hadn’t gone around stealing other people’s children, this would never have happened. Corin would still be— The wail she emitted was so unearthly it seemed to still even the wind. “This will never happen again,” she said in a voice so low I barely heard it. “Ever.” A cold knot of dread formed in my stomach. “We will wipe that accursed tribe from the face of these lands. You’ll see.” She stroked Corin’s back as she continued rocking back and forth. “You’ll see.” I took a step back. The quiet fury in her voice unsettled me. She was talking about killing an entire tribe of people, innocent or not. But those were just angry words, right? She wasn’t being serious. Minocken watched her rocking Corin’s body, worry etched on his face. That made me worry. *** I found Tessia huddled against the boulder she’d previously been sitting on by the stream. Her forehead was pressed on her bent knees, hands wrapped tightly behind her neck. She didn’t notice my approach, even when I stood right next to her. “Tessia, are you okay?” She jumped at the sound of my voice, startled eyes almost wild. Pain. Too much pain. I can’t—she covered her ears with her hands—I can’t make it stop. I crouched beside her, alarmed. “Are you hurt?” She shook her head. Niralessa is so full of sorrow and rage. It’s a huge, scary storm. I can’t block it out. It’s too much. I rubbed her back, hoping to comfort her. “Corin was killed.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. I know. I could have stopped it. I should have known. Should have sensed it. I could have— “Shhh.” I gathered her into my arms, not caring if my touch might freak her out again. She was already in so much distress. “There was too much going on. You couldn’t have known. There was nothing you could have done.” Her thoughts are so dark. “It’s okay. It’ll pass,” I said, hoping it was true. She wants to kill everyone. All the Plainsmen. All the tribes. Starting with Kibi’s. That dread returned, knotting my insides. “But she doesn’t really mean it, right? We think crazy things when we’re angry.” She’s already thinking about her war party, the warriors she’ll take. She wants to leave as soon as her best scout returns. “She can’t be serious.” She wants blood. I shook my head. “I can’t let this happen. It’s not the tribe’s fault. She started this.” I stood up, ready to march back to Niralessa and tell her a thing or two. I don’t think that’s a good idea. “Why not?” She’s blind with rage. She won’t listen to reason. Especially not from— Tessia stopped, probably to spare my feelings, but I knew what she meant. “Especially not from me, an outsider.” She nodded sadly. I blew out a breath. “What a mess. When do you think that scout will come back?” She squinted in concentration. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after. I began pacing around. “Then I don’t have much time.” What are you going to do? “I don’t know yet, but I have to do something.” I stopped pacing and looked at her. The way she was huddled, so pale against the rock, made her seem frail and vulnerable. Afraid. I couldn’t involve her in whatever crazy scheme I came up with. But I want to help. “I can’t put you in danger. It would be wrong. I’m sorry.” Though the crestfallen look on Tessia’s face nearly broke my heart, I made myself walk away. I couldn’t have her sensing my harebrained ideas and miring herself in the trouble I knew I was about to get into. It wasn’t until I returned to the main camp area that I got an inkling of what I might want to do. Kibi still sat in the dirt next to Bolden’s body, holding his hand. “Hey, Kibi?” I touched the girl’s shoulder. She looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Do you want to stay with these people?” She shook her head. “Then I’m going to take you home.” The idea came together right as I said it. Kibi looked at her uncle and then back at me. “I’m sorry, we can’t take him.” Her lower lip trembled. “Okay, we’ll stay here a little longer.” I sat down next to her. Niralessa wasn’t just going to let me take off with her newest acquisition anyway, so I’d have to wait until no one was watching. When the time was right, I would return this girl to her family and warn her tribe of the incoming danger at the same time. It was a brilliant plan. Sort of. Okay, so I didn’t really know where her tribe was, but whatever. I’d figure it out. All I had to do was wait for the cover of night.