they did at the Crollust or Sezomp. They might lock her up again, or worse.”
“Maybe I should just wait outside,” she said.
“No,” I said. “If Jacob is in there, he’ll recognize her. She got executed for helping the rebels. She didn’t ask to be turned. Whatever we decide to do next, she’s coming with us. They might as well get used to her now.”
Trevor nodded, then approached the gate warily. I heard a shot whiz past my ear and looked up to see half a dozen archers in metal helmets, pointing crossbows at us. A flaming arrow hit the ground right in front of Trevor’s foot, sending up a shower of sparks.
“That’s far enough!” a voice shouted. “State your purpose.”
Trevor raise his hands, but Luke just pushed past him.
“This is my family’s land,” he said. “It’s you who are trespassing, and I don’t recognize you. Get my uncle, Sam Notting. Tell him Luke’s here.”
“Or Jacob if he’s in there,” I added. “We were in Havoc when it was breached.”
I didn’t tell them it was all my fault.
We stood outside as the rain gathered in puddles around us, huddling under the heavy boughs of pine, the air thick with the scent of fresh sap and wet earth. Finally we heard chains and a large section of the tall gate lowered into a bridge.
“Keep your hands where we can see them,” one of the men called.
They searched us and collected our weapons, which wasn’t much, but I hated to give it up again.
More than a few eyebrows were raised by Penelope and I. She kept her head down and eyes lowered. The men at the gate stared at the sharp, angular patterns on my hands and the sword and jacket I’d stolen off the royal guard. The rain had cleansed our skin, and the cold stripped it of color, which made the birthmarks stand out like red arrows.
I wasn’t as infamous here as I had been in the compounds, but it seemed people recognized me anyway, at least by reputation.
The space inside the fence was small, but not crowded. Long wide tents and hastily constructed shelters of log and wood surrounded one main cabin that looked older, and even it wasn’t much, just a square box with a small door. The roofs were made of bark and covered with broken bits of glass, probably to keep the embers from lighting the bark on fire.
There was a large well, or more like a circular rock wall, blocking off deep hole, half filled with water, that must have been cut into the rock by erosion and acted as a natural cistern.
The bounders and trees kept the valley – which was more like a sinkhole or natural gully – from being easily discovered, and must filter out a lot of the ash.
The people, meanwhile, were unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I thought I’d seen wilders before – what Luke called free-range humans, living in the ruined levels of Havoc within the city. Most of them wore strange ensembles of well-worn clothing, often the same outfit every day; everything faded to dull grays and browns.
Growing up, I was taught that survival outside the compounds was impossible, and that without the elite protection and weekly renewal ceremony, humans would be ravished by sickness and disease.
Truthfully a little of that bias had stuck with me, and I felt uncomfortable around so many strangers, pulling my mask close.
These people looked like animals – in part because their outfits were a mess of animal skulls and furs, mixed with outlandish trinkets or gear from the Before. I saw charm bracelets and necklaces made out of scraps of metal and plastic, bottle caps and keys, and headdresses of bird feet and feathers. The people were less covered here as well, showing more skin than I was used to; displaying scars and burns from a hard-lived life in the outdoors like badges of honor.
I saw a few people from Havoc, and they stood up when they saw me, their eyes wide, but I wasn’t sure if it was awe or fear. I wondered what Jacob had told them about the evacuation; if he’d told them it was all my fault. If I hadn’t gone out with April and led the elite right back to Havoc, they’d still be safe at home.
We were ushered down a central, well-worn path lined with torches, that led straight to the main cabin. Once I got closer I realized just to the right there was an