The Scourge (A.G. Henley) - By A.G. Henley Page 0,61

him off.

“You just focus on staying upright,” I say.

“I’ll do my best. So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

He sighs. “Have I told you I hate surprises?”

I stop walking, worried I’m making a mistake. “Really? We don’t have to–”

“Joking, joking . . . I just hate waiting.”

“Come on, then,” I say.

We take a path around the clearing, staying under the shady trees, stopping occasionally to let Peree rest. He transfers the crutch from arm to arm as if it might be bothering him, but he doesn’t complain. When we turn away from the village onto the path to the water hole, he hesitates.

“Are you sure about this?” he asks.

“Sure about what?”

“That this way is safe?”

“Kadee said it’s protected,” I say.

“And you trust her?”

I nod.

“Okay, I guess. It’s not like we’ve seen any sign of the fleshies since we got here.” He limps forward again.

“That’s true. I wonder when they’ll decide to show us how the protection works. Why all the mystery, do you think?” I ask.

“No idea.”

“They’ll probably want to talk to you soon, now that you’re on your feet.”

“I don’t mind talking to them,” he says, “but I hate feeling like I’m on display. Everyone stares at me when we walk around the village.”

I grin. “Maybe they can’t help themselves. I heard some girls talking about you at the gardens. You should hear your new nickname, it’s wild.”

“What is it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I say.

“No, not really,” he says, but he sounds pleased. “So, where are we going again?”

I groan. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you patience is a virtue?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t sink in.”

“Clearly. We should be close.” I can hear the waterfall now. “Look for a path that leads to the left.”

We take the path, and Peree stops as we near the waterhole. I have to raise my voice to be heard. “Do you remember this place?”

“No, not really, more like I dreamed about it.”

“What did you dream?”

He doesn’t answer at first. “You’ll laugh.”

“I won’t.”

“I was the hunter and you were the cassowary woman. One of your sisters came to bring you home.”

I nod. “That must have been when Kora showed up. You told me to go with her.” I think back to the moment she found us. It was early, soon after first light. Kadee implied the water hole was less protected at other times of the day. So what was Kora doing here then?

Peree whistles. “That waterfall—I’m feeling even luckier to be alive. The water level looks low, though. Nerang said they haven’t had much rain this year.”

“I’ve heard that too. They’re trying to conserve water in the garden.”

“The rains always come, though, right? There hasn’t been a real drought in years,” he says.

Willow used to talk about the last drought. She said it was a terrible time. The water hole almost completely dried up, and the people were desperate. The flesh-eaters were especially dangerous then, picking off the people who left the caves mad with thirst.

“So the surprise is a picnic?” he asks, taking the sack from me. “That’s great, I’m starving. Plus I was beginning to think you were leading me here as bait for the Scourge.”

"It's a picnic, but I also thought . . ." Suddenly I wonder if it was such a good idea to try to surprise him with a swim lesson. What if he isn’t interested? “You know how Nerang said it would be good to soak your leg? And you said you’d always wanted to swim. I thought maybe I’d give you a lesson, if you want.”

“Seriously? You will?” He drops his crutch, and I hear him pull off his shirt. I picture his uncovered body, and my body flames. I turn away to hide my embarrassment.

“Your men swim with their shirts off,” he says, uncertainty in his voice, “don’t they?”

They do, but I never found myself imagining many of them naked. I force myself to sound casual. “All the time.” I kick off my shoes. “Come on, last one in is a fleshie!”

We leap in—well, hop is more like it. Peree’s cautious because of his leg, and I have to be careful about where I’m jumping. But the water is incredibly refreshing after the heat of the midday sun. I dive under and come up streaming, the slick mud squishing between my toes. I swim toward the center of the pool, smiling as I glide under the surface, thrilled to be in the water again. After a few minutes of splashing around, I wade through the water to