The Coalition (Book 1)

Chapter 53

"Yeah. Other than that old man there's no one living here. At least it seems that way. There are no houses." Kael looked around as he spoke.

"Yes, that but there's something else. Everything is grey like in Lael except for the symbols they've painted on everything." Shai lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. She meant it as an observation but anxiety made the statement sound sharp, more like a criticism. She breathed a slow breath out. This was her birth-place. She should be thrilled about being here, but dread had begun a sneaky assault against her since they stepped into Kent.

Kael leaned back against a shadowy part of the building beside the door. He crossed his arms like Shai and squinted. His carefree attitude eased the knots in her stomach a little.

"Their symbols are not so odd if you think about it, Shai. Where I'm from we use brands to show our boundary-line trees and to set ourselves apart from other Sectors. Identification. Where you're from, you don't brand or mark anything but you wear those things around your neck. It's still identification."

"Where'd you learn that? Your history books?" Aliah's too-loud voice crushed the fragile sense of peace that had begun to settle around Shai. Tangible tension emanated from Aliah as he stood with his feet apart, hands at his sides, stiff and straight like the buildings that surrounded them. Shai glared at him. What is his problem?

Something moved in the street and three pairs of eyes turned to look. A small, white animal with large blue eyes dashed across the road and disappeared behind a building. The fur around its middle was red and stood on end from its back making the animal look as though it were on fire.

Shai covered her mouth with her hand to smother a squeak. "What was that? A branded animal?"

Kael pushed himself away from the building and stood beside Shai. "That was a cat. It was marked, not branded. This is a brand." He held out his wrist with the cuff of his shirt pulled up, exposing his scar in the shape of the Conley Crescent. "Yours is a brand too. We're alike that way."

Shai started to shrug again but stopped when she saw his face. His eyebrows creased in the middle, his lips pursed. He was serious. His sudden intensity over the branding made her insides twist with uneasiness. Was he really that concerned about the difference between marking and branding?

Kael's eyes were hooded as he turned towards her. "A brand is a permanent identification. A mark can be washed off or even changed. That's an important difference."

Shai glanced at Aliah who'd been watching her, his face unreadable. When she looked back at Kael his eyes had brightened and he smiled. All traces of seriousness had vanished, replaced by casual ease. He ran hot and cold, as unsettled as Lael's rocky river bed when it was stirred up by stormy rapids.

But what he had said reminded her that Remiel had also said something about Sector brands and identity. Lael had no brand which meant they had no identity, no one to belong to. They were orphans. I'm an orphan.The word made her chest feel hollow. A sudden sweat broke out on her face in spite of the icy grip of fear that enveloped her.

The door behind them opened and the old man stuck his head out. "Elchai can't see you until tomorrow. But for now you can come inside, away from the heat, to rest. Do come in. I'm Krell." The old man led them down a shadowy hall lit only by wall sconces. The smell of boiled cabbage and sweaty boots permeated the air. Shai wrinkled her nose then walked right into the back of Aliah who had suddenly stopped in front of her. Kael slammed into her from behind with a muffled oomph.Light shone in a hazy circle around their legs and Shai realized Krell had descended a few steps underground while holding a candle.