The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) - Neal Shusterman Page 0,45
shares of the diamonds.
May the MidMerican diamonds be my gift to the world, with the hope that they will be graciously received in the spirit of generosity with which they were given.
—His Excellency Robert Goddard, Overblade of North Merica, August 5th, Year of the Cobra
14 The Fortress of the Three Wise Men
On his third day of revival, Rowan was visited by a scythe who instructed the guard who came with him to wait in the corridor and to lock the scythe in the room with Rowan, lest he try to escape—which really wasn’t a possibility; he was still feeling far too weak to attempt it.
The man’s robe was forest green. Now Rowan knew he must be in Amazonia, because all the scythes there wore the same green robe.
Rowan didn’t rise from his bed. He stayed on his back, hands behind his head, trying to look unconcerned. “I want you to know that I never ended an Amazonian scythe,” Rowan told him before the man had a chance to speak. “I hope that weighs in my favor.”
“Actually, you ended quite a few,” he said. “On Endura. When you sank it.”
Rowan knew he should have been horrified, but he found the suggestion so absurd, he actually laughed.
“Seriously? Is that what they’re saying? Wow! I must be smarter than I thought. I mean, to do something like that single-handed. I must be magical, too, because it would mean I’d have to be in more than one place at the same time. Hey! Maybe you actually didn’t find me at the bottom of the sea! Maybe I used my mystical mind control to make you think you found me.”
The scythe glowered. “Your insolence doesn’t help your case.”
“I didn’t realize I had a case,” said Rowan. “Sounds like I’ve already been tried and convicted. Isn’t that what they called it in the mortal age? Convicted?”
“Are you quite done?” asked the scythe.
“Sorry,” said Rowan. “It’s just that I haven’t had anyone to talk to in, like, forever!”
The man finally introduced himself as Scythe Possuelo. “I’ll admit I’m not sure what we should do with you. My High Blade thinks we should leave you here indefinitely and tell no one. Others think we should announce your capture to the world, and let each regional scythedom punish you in its own way.”
“What do you think?”
The scythe took his time answering. “After speaking with Scythe Anastasia this morning, I think it’s best not to make hasty decisions.”
So they did have her! The mention of Citra made him long to see her all the more. Rowan finally sat up. “How is she?” he asked.
“Scythe Anastasia is not your concern.”
“She’s my only concern.”
Possuelo considered that, then said, “She is in a revival center, not far from here, regaining her strength.”
Rowan took a moment to let the relief wash over him. If nothing else good came of this, at least there was that.
“And where is ‘here’?”
“Fortaleza dos Reis Magos,” Possuelo said. “Fortress of the Three Wise Men, at the easternmost reach of Amazonia. It’s where we house individuals who we’re not sure what to do with.”
“Really? So who are my neighbors?”
“You have none. It’s only you,” said Possuelo. “It’s been a very long time since we’ve had someone with whom we did not know what to do.”
Rowan smiled. “A whole fortress to myself! Too bad I can’t enjoy the rest of it.”
Possuelo ignored him. “I wish to discuss Scythe Anastasia. I find it hard to believe that she was an accomplice in your crime. If you truly do care for her, perhaps you could shed some light as to why she was with you.”
Rowan could, of course, tell him the truth, but he was sure that Citra already had. Maybe Possuelo wanted to see if their stories matched. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the world had their villain. Someone to blame, even if that blame was misplaced.
“Here’s your story,” Rowan said. “After I somehow rigged the island to sink, I was chased by a mob of angry scythes through the flooding streets, so I grabbed Scythe Anastasia as a human shield. I held her hostage, and they chased us into the vault.”
“And you expect people to believe that?”
“If they believe I sank Endura, they’ll believe anything.”
Possuelo huffed. Rowan wasn’t sure if it was out of frustration, or if he was squelching a laugh.
“Our story,” Possuelo said, “is that Scythe Anastasia was found in the vault alone. As far as anyone knows, Scythe Lucifer disappeared after the sinking of Endura,