resumed their march south, Rawnie glared at me. ‘What are you staring at, Roger?’
‘Nothing,’ I said. In truth, I was comparing her to my other half-sister, Katharine, whom I had murdered. Katharine had been mad, and she had been used by the Brotherhood for their own ends. She had killed people. Rawnie had been loved and sheltered all her life, and she was clearly not mad. She was in complete control of her devious self. But she seemed just as unpredictable. I didn’t like her, I felt no kinship with her, but neither could I stand the thought of what awaited her on Soulvine Moor.
Late in the afternoon we halted on a rise above a poor, hardscrabble farm in the Unclaimed Lands. Usually in such wild terrain the farms were far apart, but this one had several ramshackle dwellings and a larger-than-usual goat shed. Peering over the high side of the wagon, a movement which strained the short chain between Kelif’s wrist and mine, I saw figures far below. A woman raised her face to us, then scurried into one of the huts. Two more women carried a bucket of water from a mountain stream. Children dashed around, chasing each other.
Straik and two of his men went down the hill, returning later with their arms full of bundles and leading two goats. Food, I guessed, bought from whatever meagre supply the farm had, in return for coins rarely seen here. Straik strode to the wagon, followed by Leo. Straik said to Kelif, ‘Watch him well.’
Kelif’s sleepy eyes opened wide. ‘Be ye—’
‘Yes.’
‘ Here? ’
‘The men are all gone on a long hunt. And this circle is ready. Leo—’
Leo said, ‘I want to go with you.’
‘No. Your job is the wife and daughter.’
‘It is my right. I would be in command here but for your—’
‘No,’ Straik said. He started down the hill towards the farm, followed by every man except Leo and Kelif. Leo scowled fiercely. Rawnie made a movement towards him, studied his face, and subsided into her corner. No flattery would work just now. My stomach tightened until it felt a hard stone.
‘ This circle is ready .’ I knew of only one kind of circle Straik could have been referring to, and it did not exist in the land of the living.
The Brotherhood reached the farm. I rose to my knees to watch over the wagon side. Kelif rose with me, which somehow frightened me even more.
One of the men grabbed the first woman he reached. She screamed, which brought Rawnie upright. I said sharply to Charlotte, ‘Don’t let her watch!’ Charlotte grabbed for her daughter, but it was Leo who shoved her back into the corner and kept her there.
The hisaf bound the woman’s hands behind her and carried her to the closest hut. The other men did the same, catching and carrying women and children into the same hut. I heard one woman shout ‘Run!’ and two older children vanished into the woods. The men did not chase them. Screaming continued to come from the hut, so at least the men were not slaughtering their captives. Instead they methodically carried something from that hut, from all the huts. At first I thought they were stealing more supplies, but the bundles were not food.
They were infants.
‘What are they doing?’ Rawnie cried. ‘Let me up!’
‘If you move,’ Leo said, ‘I will hit you.’
‘I don’t care!’ Rawnie said.
Scuffling behind me, but then Charlotte’s voice shrilled high-pitched with fear. ‘If you don’t stay still, you know what I shall do!’
No more scuffling. The men below had imprisoned everyone in the hut. In the area between huts, worn to bare earth by many feet over much time, they carried six infants. The babes’ wails sounded thin and high on the errant breeze. Straik and two others vanished.
I knew where they had gone. No matter the punishment from Kelif, I bit my tongue and crossed over.
Darkness—
Cold—
Dirt choking my mouth—
Worms in my eyes—
Earth imprisoning my fleshless arms and legs—
Kelif and I stood in the Country of the
‘Nothing,’ I said. In truth, I was comparing her to my other half-sister, Katharine, whom I had murdered. Katharine had been mad, and she had been used by the Brotherhood for their own ends. She had killed people. Rawnie had been loved and sheltered all her life, and she was clearly not mad. She was in complete control of her devious self. But she seemed just as unpredictable. I didn’t like her, I felt no kinship with her, but neither could I stand the thought of what awaited her on Soulvine Moor.
Late in the afternoon we halted on a rise above a poor, hardscrabble farm in the Unclaimed Lands. Usually in such wild terrain the farms were far apart, but this one had several ramshackle dwellings and a larger-than-usual goat shed. Peering over the high side of the wagon, a movement which strained the short chain between Kelif’s wrist and mine, I saw figures far below. A woman raised her face to us, then scurried into one of the huts. Two more women carried a bucket of water from a mountain stream. Children dashed around, chasing each other.
Straik and two of his men went down the hill, returning later with their arms full of bundles and leading two goats. Food, I guessed, bought from whatever meagre supply the farm had, in return for coins rarely seen here. Straik strode to the wagon, followed by Leo. Straik said to Kelif, ‘Watch him well.’
Kelif’s sleepy eyes opened wide. ‘Be ye—’
‘Yes.’
‘ Here? ’
‘The men are all gone on a long hunt. And this circle is ready. Leo—’
Leo said, ‘I want to go with you.’
‘No. Your job is the wife and daughter.’
‘It is my right. I would be in command here but for your—’
‘No,’ Straik said. He started down the hill towards the farm, followed by every man except Leo and Kelif. Leo scowled fiercely. Rawnie made a movement towards him, studied his face, and subsided into her corner. No flattery would work just now. My stomach tightened until it felt a hard stone.
‘ This circle is ready .’ I knew of only one kind of circle Straik could have been referring to, and it did not exist in the land of the living.
The Brotherhood reached the farm. I rose to my knees to watch over the wagon side. Kelif rose with me, which somehow frightened me even more.
One of the men grabbed the first woman he reached. She screamed, which brought Rawnie upright. I said sharply to Charlotte, ‘Don’t let her watch!’ Charlotte grabbed for her daughter, but it was Leo who shoved her back into the corner and kept her there.
The hisaf bound the woman’s hands behind her and carried her to the closest hut. The other men did the same, catching and carrying women and children into the same hut. I heard one woman shout ‘Run!’ and two older children vanished into the woods. The men did not chase them. Screaming continued to come from the hut, so at least the men were not slaughtering their captives. Instead they methodically carried something from that hut, from all the huts. At first I thought they were stealing more supplies, but the bundles were not food.
They were infants.
‘What are they doing?’ Rawnie cried. ‘Let me up!’
‘If you move,’ Leo said, ‘I will hit you.’
‘I don’t care!’ Rawnie said.
Scuffling behind me, but then Charlotte’s voice shrilled high-pitched with fear. ‘If you don’t stay still, you know what I shall do!’
No more scuffling. The men below had imprisoned everyone in the hut. In the area between huts, worn to bare earth by many feet over much time, they carried six infants. The babes’ wails sounded thin and high on the errant breeze. Straik and two others vanished.
I knew where they had gone. No matter the punishment from Kelif, I bit my tongue and crossed over.
Darkness—
Cold—
Dirt choking my mouth—
Worms in my eyes—
Earth imprisoning my fleshless arms and legs—
Kelif and I stood in the Country of the
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