Brusenna is the last.
All the other witches have been captured, their songs stolen and twisted from harmony and growth into chaos and death. She alone must stand against an evil much older and darker than anything she could ever imagine-an evil eve...
Joshen's arms were so warm and comforting. She leaned into him. Eventually, her whole body went slack. She woke sometime later and lifted her head from Joshen's chest. Her hair was plastered to her head with sweat—her whole body was sticky with it. She tried to peer into the dark, but it was pitch black. Night, she realized. And it was still raining as hard as ever. She looked back at Joshen, but could make out nothing other than his deep, even breathing. Snuggling back in his arms, she eventually fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes the second time, she caught Joshen gazing at her. He quickly looked away. "How'd you sleep?" he asked.
Feeling awkward, she pushed herself off his chest. To her dismay, it was still raining. "After I finally settled down, I did much better."
"And the arm?"
It had been almost two weeks since Wardof had shot her. She tested her range of motion with a roll of her shoulder. "It doesn't hurt unless I strain it."
The mat rustled as he pulled out the leather pouch. She smelled spices and fish. "There's some salt fish here, a few hard biscuits and ... by the feel of it, fruit. What do you want?"
"I'll try a little of everything," The two chewed in silence, sharing small sips of water. The fruit was odd stuff. Sweet and tart, it clung stubbornly to the pit and stuck in her teeth. And she didn't know what kind of grain they used to make the bread, but it certainly wasn't wheat, or rye, or oats, or anything else she was familiar with.
"We ought to save the rest. Better to have little now than nothing later."
Senna's stomach disagreed, but she didn't voice its complaints. She sang softly to herself for a while. Then, lying on her side, she drew up her knees and rested her forehead on them. "What are we going to do if Kaen doesn't come back for us?"
Though she wasn't looking at him, she was familiar enough with Joshen's idiosyncrasies to know his lips were drawn together. "Well, we can't stay here forever. Could you move the rock with one of your plants?"
Senna tried to peer around the rock. "If I could get one of the plants outside to cooperate."
"If not, I could probably push it back, but we'll deal with that if and when the time comes."
"Why does he even have this tunnel? And why does he speak Nefalien?" she asked.
Joshen shifted to his back. "We're obviously not the first people he's hidden. How we were lucky enough to find someone who knew about him, I've no idea."
"Do you really think he's trying to help us?"
"Do you?"
Senna thought about it. "Yes. His actions were nothing like a man who wanted to do us harm. What—"
Joshen clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her to him. At first, Senna heard nothing, but then ... a slight shuffling beyond the rock. It might be an animal, it might not. Either way, she remained motionless, barely breathing. The shuffling stopped in front of them. Joshen groped for his gunpowder as she reached inside her seed belt.
The rock shifted. Clumps of mud rained down on them. Light blinded her. Blinking, Senna blocked the light with her hand. Half-crouched, Joshen held his musket like a club.
"All right below?" a voice asked.
Through her watering eyes, Senna managed to make out Kaen's face.
"We're fine," Joshen replied.
"Can you help me with this?"
Joshen handed his musket to Senna and gripped the rock. Both of them managed to push it back. Joshen hopped out and helped Senna out of the hole. Stretching her cramped muscles, she shook the dirt from her borrowed clothes.
"Earlier," Joshen asked Kaen, "you said the soldiers were searching for Senna?"
Kaen huffed. "Chancellor Grendi's been secretly rounding up Witches for years. Recently, it hasn't been so secret. Divisions have been patrolling the roads and offering rewards for Senna's capture for over a week. My Witch friends and I have been on the alert, hoping to find you first, but we haven't the resources or numbers of the army."
"By friends you mean sympathizers?" Joshen asked.
Kaen nodded.
Joshen glanced protectively toward her. "How did they know we were coming?"
Kaen shrugged. "Spies? Fortune tellers? It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we keep her safe." He handed them two packs in exchange for the old bag. "Come. This way."
Joshen trotted to catch up. "How do you plan to keep her safe?"
"We've an underground network for those who manage to draw Grendi's notice. We'll help you escape Tarten." Kaen grunted as he worked through the jungle in an irregular, almost serpentine way. He carried a weapon that was half sword, half knife. It was curved on one side. Kaen caught her looking at it. "Machete."
Senna crossed her arms and planted her feet. "I'm not trying to escape. I'm trying to find Espen."
Kaen stopped dead and whirled to face her. "Espen? The Witch? She's been an enemy of the Keepers for years—even Grendi's afraid of her. What happens when she traps you like the others? Who'll stop her from wreaking havoc on nature then?"
Senna shook her head. "You don't understand. I cannot counteract the effects of her songs. I can only moderate them—barely. The longer I hide, the more damage she'll inflict."
Kaen slowly shook his head. "Even if you do manage to free them, you'll never get out of Tarten—not with that big a group."
Senna pursed her lips. "I can't worry about that now."
Kaen rubbed his temples as if he had a bad headache. "What can you do that the others haven't?"
Senna held his gaze.
After a long silence, he sighed and headed in a different direction. "For years, I've helped others escape from Grendi and Espen. Now I'll be taking our last hope into her clutches. I hope I'm not wrong."
Senna looked away. She hoped he wasn't wrong either.
www.amberargyle.com
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
