hesitant moments before she gasped, sucking in a deep breath and coughing as her lungs started working again.
Her ashen forehead shone with sweat. Her leg was swollen and blood soaked through the bandages.
“Can you walk?” Camina asked, helping her up. She winced when she put weight on her leg.
“We can’t stay out here,” Trevor said. “The blood will attract predators.”
“Then let’s hurry,” Penelope said. “We’ll be safe if we make it to Crollust.” Camina and Trevor wrapped an arm around Jazmine and together they limped along into the woods. I kept my knives ready, though I knew Penelope would respond to any threats long before I could. With Jazmine injured and the rest of us exhausted, we were dangerously vulnerable.
We moved quickly, leaving a trail of blood behind us until the trees thinned, and the ground turned white and soft. I’d never seen dirt like this before. Millions of tiny white crystals. The air smelled like salt.
We climbed up a sandy bank, covered in thin dry reeds and dark, gnarled trees. I gasped as the horizon leveled out in front of us. It took a moment to process what I was seeing: the smooth, featureless landscape was a great expanse of water, spreading to the ends of the earth. Far, far away, the sky touched the ocean, creating colors brighter than I’d ever seen; a twinge of pink and purple against the deep blue of the churning water.
“It’s incredible,” I breathed. Trevor stood beside me, and the back of his hand touched mine. A thrill ran down my spine as he leaned closer.
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” I whispered. “I’m glad we could share this.”
“Why were we wasting time in that pond when we could have gone swimming here?” Jazmine asked, joking feebly. I held a palm against her forehead, which was still running hot. Her dark eyes seemed too large against her pale skin.
“The ash,” Penelope said, “it poisons the water as well. Some of the sea creatures here are larger than you can imagine. Let’s just say you’d make a tasty treat for them. Besides, there’s no time for swimming. We’re already here.”
She nodded down the coast, and through the hot ash and rolling fog, I could just discern the outline of a massive concrete wall.
“It’s so much bigger than Algrave,” I said.
“We’re farther from the citadel,” Penelope shrugged. “They can’t leave us defenseless.”
We continued forward, crossing the sandy beach cautiously. Outside the main walls of the gates was a small settlement of wooden houses and shacks, and the remains of a morning market that smelled strongly of fish.
The walls surrounded the main town in a U-shape, going nearly to the water’s edge, and then turning into long piers that stretched into the rolling water. A great gate cut into the outer edge, with a portcullis and a narrow bridge over a moat of salt water.
“Halt!” Guards shouted as we approached. “State your business.”
“I’m Penelope Hudson” Penelope said calmly, steeping forward and lifting her hood. “I was on my way to visit my father when I was robbed. These traders rescued me and are here to claim their reward.” She said, giving the lie we’d agreed upon.
I kept my mask up and my arms crossed, holding my fingers beneath my arms, as if they could see my markings through my leather gloves.
We were depending on the fact that Penelope would be recognized, and take the scrutiny off the rest of us.
Shouts carried inside, and the portcullis creaked open. An older gentleman strode out in sandals and some kind of blue and white robe. Luke nearly laughed, but I elbowed him in the ribs. Apparently, fashion was different in Crollust.
“Hello, Father,” Penelope said. “I’m home.”
Penelope’s father was a slight man in expensive clothes that seemed to contradict his weathered state. A necklace of black pearls winked from the deep folds of fabric around his neck. Even the younger guards had tanned skin like old leather.
He studied Penelope for a long moment, with doubt and fear in his eyes, but then his lip trembled and his expression broke. He rushed forward to clasp her in his arms.
“I don’t care how or why,” he murmured, patting her hair. “But I’m happy to see you, Daughter, home at last.”
The guards were tense, with their hands still on their weapons, but with a nod from him they relaxed. He grasped Penelope’s arm tightly and led her through the rows of guards, with us close behind, until we reached the main gates.