knew what kind of disaster was coming. They could just tell.
Karish seemed uncomfortable. He wasnât looking straight at me. He was rubbing the palm of my hand with his thumb. âAre you in pain?â I asked him.
He smiled a little. âNot now.â He tugged on my hand. âCome. Sit.â
There was no need for that. As he was all right, I would go back to Aiden and reassure him that I wasnât about to keel over. âNo, thanks. Iâll go home.â
He let my hand drop. Every ache and pain came screaming back.
A group of men crowded into the tavern. One glanced our way, eyes lighting on our braids. âYou twoâd best head over to the Upper Eastern hospital,â he said bluntly. I wondered how he knew we had suffered some pain. Did we look that bad? âThereâs word some of your crew are dead.â
We gaped at him, then at each other, and then we ran. Not fun, with the way my head was feeling.
We got to the hospital, where we were instantly recognized for what we were, and we were shown to a cool room in the basement where the bodies of Van Staal, Rundle, South, and Ali were laid out. There wasnât a single mark on any of them, and they were dead. Over the next few hours, the pale and silent bodies of McKenna, Farin, Mao, Arter, Febray, and Heiner were brought in. Ogawa and Tenneson had been brought to the hospital, too, but they werenât dead. They were in a deep sleep and couldnât be roused.
The healers asked us what had happened. All Karish could say was that there had been a strange sort of disaster, which didnât help the healers any. Or us. Because for the moment what had happened didnât really matter. All that was important right then was that the only thing standing between High Scape and its next disaster was us. One novice Pair.
I couldnât help glaring at Karish. I would have never landed in this situation if he werenât my Source. It was starting already. The trials and tribulations of being Paired to a hero. It was a childish thought. And selfish. But it was true.
Chapter Eight
Karish was watching me. It annoyed me. Not that he was watching me, but that I was aware of it. My attention should have been wholly absorbed by the letter in front of me, the letter I hadnât even started writing yet and had to finish as soon as possible. I rubbed the back of my neck, which was aching nicely, and dipped the quill in the ink.
âMy lord and lady Mao, it is with deepest regret that I beg leave to inform you . . .â
The event we had helped channel was not a normal occurrence in High Scape. Obviously, as the Pairs in High Scape didnât have a habit of dying due to channeling. Karish said heâd had to channel it, even though we werenât on duty, for it had felt as though the forces were aimed right at him, and heâd had to react almost in self-defense. He had then refused to elaborate on what he meant in making that claim. Natural disasters didnât have minds of their own; they didnât attack people. They just happened.
As the only functioning Pair left in High Scape, Karish and I were on duty constantly until other Pairs arrived in High Scape to relieve us. So we had to stay together all the time. We didnât go to the Stall, which was too small to actually live in for any length of time, but we also never left the Triple S residence.
â. . . while in the line of duty . . .â
It had been a hellish two days. âSeeing to the others,â and all that entailed. Mostly contacting everyone in High Scape who knew them, arranging to have their belongings collected, arranging interment procedures. Iâd sent messages to the nearest sites begging any Pairs who could be spared to come to High Scape. Karish and I had written reports describing what had happened, to be sent to Shidoneeâs Gap.
âI did not know your son well but . . .â
I was writing letters of condolence to all the
Joe Hart
Joseph Veramu
Rhys Hughes
Lexie X
Michael Montoure
Nikki Kelly
Kristin Cast
Roxie Noir
Boyd Oxlade
Nora Rock