no … The drums echo in my skull as my mind travels along the surface of the water, carrying me out to the ocean, far away.
It takes me a moment to realize the drums have stopped and the Riki, Jian, and the rest of his council are emerging from the meetinghouse. I scramble to my feet. Two of the council members carry a plank of wood between them. A piece of fabric is draped over the wood, bulging over two objects.
Jian steps forward and holds up a hand. “Your votes have been counted.”
No one makes a sound. In the distance, a bird laughs.
“It was an even split. Sixty-five in favor; sixty-five against.” As a collective gasp runs through the crowd, Jian pulls the fabric from the plank of wood, revealing two bowls—one filled with white stones and the other filled with black.
“In situations such as these,” Jian continues, “the determining vote falls to the Riki.” He bows his head to the chief.
The Riki acknowledges the gesture and steps forward. “I have made my decision,” he says.
I squeeze my nails into my fists. My breath rasps in my ears.
The chief removes a stone from a pouch on his belt and places it in the white bowl. “Let it be known,” he says, “that the prisoner Kitara Awha will be granted her life—under the condition that she will unlock this Yakone device and use it to help us track the movements of our enemies. Once she has done this, she is to be considered a full and free member of the iwi.”
I lean breathlessly against the tree. They aren’t going to kill me.
The Riki raises an arm. “E haere ra, my people. Be safe and well until we gather again.”
“E haere ra,” a portion of the throng replies, but their words are drowned out by the angry voices of the other reps.
Someone unchains me—I don’t know who—and suddenly Miri and Paika are hurrying me off the rock, across the plateau, and down the tunnel back to my room.
We continue to practically run down the tunnels, my limp the only thing preventing us from entering a full sprint, and before I know it I’m sitting on my bed again while the two of them are talking to each other rapidly in Kohangaere.
I stare at the floor and rub my ankle. The trial is over. I’m going to live. But now I have to help them kill Rye’s people, his family. My hands move to an aching spot on my forehead.
The rug covering my doorway is pushed aside as Mokai enters the room. He says something to Paika and Miri, also in Kohangaere. As I watch the three of them talking to each other, the tension in my head grows. They planned this. I rub my brow harder. They wanted this to happen. They used me.
The garble of unfamiliar words, their excited gestures, is suddenly too much, and I feel like my head is about to explode.
“Stop talking in that stupid language!” I yell.
They all turn to look at me.
“Use English so I can understand what you’re saying,” I demand. “If you have more plans for me, I want to know what they are. I don’t want to be tricked again.”
“Oh, naff off,” Mokai snaps.
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t understand anything, do you?”
“I understand you all lied to me so I would help you kill your enemies.”
“Kava!” he spits, rolling his eyes.
I stare at him as he turns to Miri. “Please tell me we’re not really related,” he says. He looks at me again. “You do know the Yakone are the ones who slaughtered the parents you’re so fond of, right?”
“How do I know that’s the truth?” I retort, though not as confidently as I meant to. I keep hearing him say “Kava,” the way my mom did. The way I do. “All I’ve been told since I got here are lies.”
“Yeh, that’s right,” he scoffs. “We all made this up so that you would do what we wanted. Everyone in the whole tribe is in on the same lie. You know what your problem is? You only think about one thing: yourself. You think the universe revolves around you, that we spend all our time coming up with ways to manipulate you. Grow
It takes me a moment to realize the drums have stopped and the Riki, Jian, and the rest of his council are emerging from the meetinghouse. I scramble to my feet. Two of the council members carry a plank of wood between them. A piece of fabric is draped over the wood, bulging over two objects.
Jian steps forward and holds up a hand. “Your votes have been counted.”
No one makes a sound. In the distance, a bird laughs.
“It was an even split. Sixty-five in favor; sixty-five against.” As a collective gasp runs through the crowd, Jian pulls the fabric from the plank of wood, revealing two bowls—one filled with white stones and the other filled with black.
“In situations such as these,” Jian continues, “the determining vote falls to the Riki.” He bows his head to the chief.
The Riki acknowledges the gesture and steps forward. “I have made my decision,” he says.
I squeeze my nails into my fists. My breath rasps in my ears.
The chief removes a stone from a pouch on his belt and places it in the white bowl. “Let it be known,” he says, “that the prisoner Kitara Awha will be granted her life—under the condition that she will unlock this Yakone device and use it to help us track the movements of our enemies. Once she has done this, she is to be considered a full and free member of the iwi.”
I lean breathlessly against the tree. They aren’t going to kill me.
The Riki raises an arm. “E haere ra, my people. Be safe and well until we gather again.”
“E haere ra,” a portion of the throng replies, but their words are drowned out by the angry voices of the other reps.
Someone unchains me—I don’t know who—and suddenly Miri and Paika are hurrying me off the rock, across the plateau, and down the tunnel back to my room.
We continue to practically run down the tunnels, my limp the only thing preventing us from entering a full sprint, and before I know it I’m sitting on my bed again while the two of them are talking to each other rapidly in Kohangaere.
I stare at the floor and rub my ankle. The trial is over. I’m going to live. But now I have to help them kill Rye’s people, his family. My hands move to an aching spot on my forehead.
The rug covering my doorway is pushed aside as Mokai enters the room. He says something to Paika and Miri, also in Kohangaere. As I watch the three of them talking to each other, the tension in my head grows. They planned this. I rub my brow harder. They wanted this to happen. They used me.
The garble of unfamiliar words, their excited gestures, is suddenly too much, and I feel like my head is about to explode.
“Stop talking in that stupid language!” I yell.
They all turn to look at me.
“Use English so I can understand what you’re saying,” I demand. “If you have more plans for me, I want to know what they are. I don’t want to be tricked again.”
“Oh, naff off,” Mokai snaps.
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t understand anything, do you?”
“I understand you all lied to me so I would help you kill your enemies.”
“Kava!” he spits, rolling his eyes.
I stare at him as he turns to Miri. “Please tell me we’re not really related,” he says. He looks at me again. “You do know the Yakone are the ones who slaughtered the parents you’re so fond of, right?”
“How do I know that’s the truth?” I retort, though not as confidently as I meant to. I keep hearing him say “Kava,” the way my mom did. The way I do. “All I’ve been told since I got here are lies.”
“Yeh, that’s right,” he scoffs. “We all made this up so that you would do what we wanted. Everyone in the whole tribe is in on the same lie. You know what your problem is? You only think about one thing: yourself. You think the universe revolves around you, that we spend all our time coming up with ways to manipulate you. Grow
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