The Scourge (A.G. Henley) - By A.G. Henley Page 0,102
have my bird? There’s something I need to ask you.”
I retrieve it from my pocket and hand it to him. He offers it back with a very sweet, very formal request for me to partner with him. I accept, and we create our own version of a Confluence, with a not-so-formal meeting of mouths and arms and bodies.
I tug on Peree’s hand, pulling him to the water. Soon we’re laughing and splashing alongside the children. I help him up from a half-decent float and he gathers me into his arms.
“This is like my dream, the one I had in the caves about us swimming together. Only now I get to show you what else we were doing.” He kisses me thoroughly, prompting an outburst of giggles from the children. I wonder if anyone else can see us. I don’t care. Let them think what they want.
Happiness pours over me . . . in sharp contrast to the ache in my heart caused by Aloe’s absence. I wish she and Shrike were here to share our joy. I don’t know if they would have, but I like to think so. Eland told me Aloe never lost hope that I would come home. He said she never doubted me, or my loyalty. I don’t know if that’s the truth, or if he’s telling me what I desperately want to hear.
I’ll miss Aloe’s voice, her strength, the comforting warmth of her rosemary-scented skin. She was the only one who really understood the challenges of being Sightless. The only person in the world who knew about my secret scars, the ones I keep hidden away inside. She kept hers hidden, too. I wish I had the chance to ask her all the questions I’d been saving up since I became the Water Bearer. I wish I could have told her what she meant to me.
It occurs to me that collecting the water may not be my responsibility for much longer. What will I be now, if not the Water Bearer? What can I contribute as my people try to shape a new relationship with the Lofties, and maybe with the anuna? For the first time I face a future that hasn’t been predetermined for me. I get to choose. It’s thrilling, and scary.
I hope what we gained the past few weeks will outweigh all we lost. As I hold the one I love—a Lofty, no less—I have to believe it does. But maybe it’s not a question that can ever really be answered. Maybe we just have to cling to the faith that because of us, and through us, hope will live on.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband and children for their patience and understanding the past few years while I "just finish this one thing" on the laptop. I love you guys.
Thanks also to my parents, Fran and Bill, for always supporting me in whatever I want to do. Thanks especially to Mom, who encouraged a love of literature by helping me check out stacks of books at the library, and reading them to me in the front seat of the station wagon while waiting for my sister to finish her kindergarten day.
Speaking of my sister, thanks, Ginger, for always being my biggest cheerleader. And Andy, for being hers.
To Hilary, my BFF and first reader, for encouraging me to keep writing past Chapter Six. To Jenny, for her unconditional enthusiasm and conviction that The Scourge will be a mega best seller. Kim and Shae provided very helpful feedback, and Ande and Nina round out the merry band of moms I turn to for friendship and wisdom.
Lana, Molly, Euell, and Warren were invaluable writing partners and beta readers.
Steve Lamar held my hand as I tiptoed onto the web and into social media. I've met few people as generous with their time and talent.
And finally, I owe a big thank you to Sarah Cloots, also known as L'Editrice extraordinaire, for her editorial work. Check her out at: http://clootsamini.com/
About the Author
A.G. Henley is a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes or avoid her at parties when they’ve had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she's not shrinking heads or writing young adult fiction, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she’s inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado. Find her at www.aghenley.com