The Scourge (A.G. Henley) - By A.G. Henley Page 0,94
and Sable?
“That’s not all this Lofty has to answer for,” says Bear. I’m relieved to hear his voice, but it’s not like him to sound so somber. He can usually find the humor in any situation, no matter how dire. “He murdered my intended.”
His intended? Bear asked someone to partner with him?
“He was her Keeper,” Bear continues, “but instead of protecting her, he killed her. Probably when he found out she was leaving the caves.”
My mouth drops open. Is he talking about me?
“I . . . didn’t kill her.” Peree sounds like he’s having trouble catching his breath, making me worry about what Moray did to him during their scuffle. “I came in here . . . to find her.”
“We haven’t seen her in weeks. Stop lying and tell me where she is, or I’ll spear you right now,” Bear growls.
“Maybe she juth wanted to get away from you, hero,” Moray says to Bear.
“Shut up,” Bear snaps. A swell of hope fills my chest. If Bear doesn’t know I was banished, maybe the people don’t really think I’m a traitor.
“Stop this, Bear. Fennel wouldn’t want more violence,” Aloe says, her voice strangely soft and anemic. Despite my anger, I can’t help feeling grateful to hear her voice. Now if I could only tell if Eland is there, too.
“Why would we harm the Water Bearer?” Shrike says. “It makes no sense.”
“Nothing you Lofties do makes much sense,” someone shouts from the caves. It sounds like Cuda, one of Moray’s brothers.
“We’re offering you the chance to go home,” a Lofty woman shouts back, “and maybe wash away that ferocious stink. But if you don't want to, then feel free to crawl back inside like the vermin you are!”
There’s laughter and more taunts from the Lofties. A swell of hostile voices rises from the caves. And I’ve spent enough time with Peree to recognize the sound of arrows being pulled from quivers and loaded onto bows.
Things are getting out of hand. I have to do something. I step away from the trunk I’m hiding behind, push through some bushes, and emerge into the clearing. There are shouts of surprise as people recognize me. Then my feet leave the ground as Bear crushes me into his broad chest. He does smell fairly ferocious, but also comfortingly familiar.
“You’re alive. Thank the stars,” he whispers into my hair. “Where have you been?” I can’t answer; I can’t even breathe. He sets me down, but keeps me tucked against his body. He’s radiating relief, and it sparks conflicting feelings of gratitude and guilt in me. “I didn’t think you were coming back. I thought you were–” He chokes on the word.
I haven't heard him sound like he might cry since his father died when we were children. I squeeze him around the waist, which feels considerably leaner than when I left. “I’m here. I’m okay.”
He smoothes my hair away from my face. “You don’t look okay. What happened to you?”
“Long story,” I whisper. "So, Bear . . . did I somehow miss agreeing to partner with you?”
“Oh, that . . . I was so happy when you said you would’ve danced with me at the Solstice, that I kind of let it slip to Cougar, and he told Vole, and Vole told Fox, and Fox told Calli and Acacia—and pretty much everyone knew after that.” He sounds sheepish. “I tried to set the story straight, but people assumed if you said you’d dance with me, that it meant we’d partner when you came back.”
“Alright, alright, I get it,” I grumble, but I smile to let him know I’m not angry.
The startled voices have died down. The air in the clearing seems to throb with tension, like an infected pustule ready to burst. My skin prickles with the physical perception of danger. No one else came out to greet me like Bear.
“Well, well,” Adder says, “where did you come from, girl?”
Rage blows full force through me again at the sound of his grating voice. I move a step away from Bear, trying to keep my hands from clenching into fists.
“I think you know." My voice is surprisingly even. “Groundlings and Lofties, listen to me. You may think of me as a child, and dismiss what I have to say. But I’ve earned the right to speak. I faced the Scourge to collect the water for you, and I found the Hidden Waters. Now I have something to tell you.”
“You did it? You found the Waters?” a voice squeaks