The Scourge (A.G. Henley) - By A.G. Henley Page 0,76

Sightless. You read it by feeling the raised dots. There are others like it.”

I can almost feel a pattern to the raised portions of the page. Recurring patterns, although I have no idea what they might mean. A meaning just beyond my touch that unlocks a world of stories. “I want to learn,” I whisper.

“Maybe you can.”

“How?”

“You create your destiny, remember?”

I think about everything that’s happened since I became the Water Bearer. Not so far, I don’t.

We wander through the piles a few minutes more, as Kadee tells me about books she’s read and others she wants to. I like this peaceful, disorderly place with its musty smell. I’ll miss it when I leave, like so many other things about Koolkuna.

I find Peree at the allawah deep in debate with Konol. Nerang introduced them earlier in the day, and from the sound of it, they spent most of the day arguing about the advantages and disadvantages of bows versus spears for hunting on the ground. Konol’s voice is loud and his speech is fiery, nothing like his father’s, but I like him.

Peree tells me they still need more meat for the feast. He’s going out with a few of the hunters. And Kai’s going with them.

“What about your leg?” I ask, keeping my voice low. I don’t want to embarrass him in front of his new friend.

He picks a bit of dried dough out of my hair. “My warden okayed it. Anyway I’ve got to start testing it sometime, and we won’t go far. We’ll camp tonight, and hunt at first light.”

Although I’m not thrilled to hear that Kai’s part of the hunt, I’m relieved Peree’s going. I don’t think I can survive another night as tense as a bowstring, pretending to sleep.

I’ve never slept alone. I don’t relish the silence of Peree’s empty shelter, so I spend the night at Kadee’s. She lights a cheery fire, and reads to Kora and me from Animal Fables and Legends. I dream of chimerical talking animals.

The next day the village hums with activity, as the people get ready for the Feast of Deliverance. I help Arika, Kora, and some others repair woven baskets to carry food in. They tell me about the feast as we work. It's held by the water hole. Offerings are made to the runa to start. Wirrim and Kadee tell the story of the people, and all the babies born over the past year are blessed. Then the feasting and dancing begins. “And it may not end,” Arika adds, laughing.

The people tell stories from past feasts—like how one man drank so much plum wine he passed out stuck in the mud around the water hole and had to be pulled out the next morning. Or the time some of the children accidentally set fire to the feast table and charred a week’s worth of food. Their laughter is infectious. I’m as excited as anyone in Koolkuna by the time I bathe and change into one of Kadee’s freshly laundered dresses.

Peree returned in early afternoon. As I passed through the clearing on an errand for Arika, I found him giving Kai an archery lesson. They were teasing each other and laughing, like before. Having fun. Kai slipped away again, barely taking the time to greet me. I really don’t think I like that girl, I thought to myself. Peree and I talked briefly, then he left to help Konol prepare the clutch of rabbits and several possums they shot. He sounded tired but content, more like himself.

I feel more like myself, too, as Kadee and I follow the path to the water hole, carrying baskets stuffed with fresh bread and newly harvested vegetables from the garden. Kora skips beside me, and before I know it, I’m skipping, too.

“Finally!” she crows. We skip madly, until we collapse in a giggling pile of arms, legs, and stray lettuce leaves.

We arrive at the water hole, and I help Arika prepare food for the sick ones. Feeding the Scourge is still such a bizarre idea, not to mention that in Koolkuna they make them part of the celebration. Nerang finds me as I work, and asks if I’d like to have a chat. We stroll along the edge of the water, toward the waterfall, and sit on a downed tree trunk.

He sighs. “Ah, it’s good for an old man to rest after being on his feet all day.”

I shake my head and smile. “You make it sound like you have one foot in