For an afternoon and evening, a sense of calm washed over Ash. She cooked dinner—damper stuffed with sundried tomatoes and herbs—and didn't even burn the crust. She held a conversation with Apple, Ollie and Jacob without seeing their faces wane behind a heat mirage. She even watched another game of Suits and Secrets, and smiled when Apple dared Ollie to spin around in circles until he could barely keep his feet.
In the middle of a revenge dare in which Ollie made Apple sing Happy Birthday in the style of an opera singer, Oroton walked in. The twinkle in his eye was gone, replaced by a waterlogged dullness. "Everyone is required to meet at the Spiritus tree in ten minutes," he said and Ash immediately felt her quaint pool of calm ripple. She'd forgotten Eli's warning about an imminent threat of a missile attack on the island, and the reminder was a slap to the senses.
The flame inside her flickered.
She subdued it with thoughts of her brother's smile, the steadiness of his touch, the timbre of his voice.
The Spiritus Tree was chosen for its central position between all the houses. Instead of climbing it, they entered through a crack in the bark that Ash hadn't noticed during her lesson with Shorty. It was only the size of a small human and Gunner had the most trouble squeezing through. Ash had more trouble than she would've a month or so ago—the proper meals she'd been enjoying meant she was no longer sinew and bone.
The base of the Spiritus trunk was hollow, the roots forming an exposed scaffold. In the same way the Phoenix dormitories sprouted from a central hollow in the ground, working to the natural pockets of the limestone, so the Spiritus sleeping quarters branched off on all sides, shaped along the complex root system of the tree.
There was just enough room for everyone, with some Wanderers climbing gnarled nooks in the bark to sit and peer down at the gathered crowd. Others hunkered in front of the dormitories, looking back up into the cavernous space.
Eli stood at the centre and waited for everyone to arrive. Freia watched him dazedly, a pink blush appearing on her cheeks every time he looked her way.
Ash concentrated on the knots of bark on the walls to keep her eyes off the waif girl and found herself tracing each tendon in the trunk—years of muscled bark pulled tight over bone—until she became so engrossed, she could imagine the sound of the roots sucking the moisture out of the ground.
Eli began speaking. "I have some concerning news from the city." He turned a slow 360 degrees to address the whole gathering. "As you might already know, Freia and I returned to Ace some weeks ago to resume business at Antiques Trading Incorporated. This—" he leant down to pick up a scroll of paper from the floor, unrolled it and held it up high. "Is what we found, plastered to every shop front, every building, every street corner."
He read—
Attention citizens of Ace
Strange occurrences
Have led us to believe
That a new rebel gang
Have been kidnapping innocent citizens on our streets
Emergency protection lines are to be called if—
You have any information or
Know of any unexplainable disappearances in your area.
Night patrols are now on 24 hour watch
Our number is 1300 Ace
We're here for your protection
Two thousand dollars reward
With elevation to Elite citizen status for information about their stronghold
Keep your city safe
Stop these unspeakable ills
Eli passed the poster around. "It seems the Establishment have stepped up their search for us."
A man who Ash recognised from her first day—the one with missing fingers, who'd been playing chess in the Tavern said, "Howdya know they're after us. It says they're after a 'rebel gang' who 'kill, maim and burn.' We dun do any of that."
Eli said, "There have been televised news reports accompanying the posters. Establishment representatives have indicated they're looking for people who display unusual abilities with fire, or who have shown extreme feats of strength. The gypsies have been targeted for their tricks with misdirection and for threatening curses to get people's money. It's pandemonium out there. People are turning other people in on no better grounds than they got looked at the wrong way."
"Why now?" the fingerless man said. "They known bout us for years. Tried to keep our powers a secret so they could do their nasty experiments." He held up his hand and wriggled the stubs of what used to be his fingers. "They cut off me digits just to see if it'd put a plug on me force. Said they didn't want no one to know about us cos they didn't want to look weak. We're a threat to their power, you know."
"Yeah, I'm with fingerless Fred," someone shouted from down in one of the dormitories. "Why are they after us now?"
Eli glanced at Shorty, Miki and Gunner. They were the only ones that knew what had happened back in Ace, when Lydia Syntra's car had gone off the road and rolled. They knew this was no longer a political move, but a personal one. The Wanderers had caused the death of Lydia Syntra, the Director's pet. And now, he wanted revenge. They didn't know Ash knew.
Eli re-directed the conversation. "I think it's time we stepped up our training... worked on real strategies to protect this island should there be a direct attack."
A murmur of discomfort rose and people shifted uncomfortably.
"If they find out where we're hid, what's stopping them from bombing us to hell and back?" a man shouted from his seated position on a high protrusion of the tree.
"Yeah, we're dead on a hanga if that happens," the man next to fingerless Fred yelled in a heavy gutter accent, accompanied by a slight whistle due to his missing upper lip.
Eli fell silence and for once, his calm facade threatened to break. The man had reiterated his own fear about missile attacks.
Oroton stepped forward from the shadows, a forgotten presence until then. His commanding aura immediately filled the space. "They don't want us dead," he said. "Falconius told me once, during our peace treaty, that he wanted us in good health so he could artificially manufacture our abilities and use them in industry—to increase the city's energy and resource production, since natural resources are becoming so scarce."
There were shocked gasps at this. A child began to cry.
Oroton said. "It's our one advantage. The fact that they want us alive. At least, they won't try to obliterate us from above."
"So, what now?" Miki said, stepping forward.
Oroton rubbed his chin. "Your water users will be the first line of protection for the island," he said. "If they come by boat, you are to work on strategies to incapacitate them before they reach us."
"Done," Miki said. There was a resolve in her voice that seemed to steel all those around her. The baby stopped crying.
"Shorty, your air users will need to be on watch for threats from the sky. If you could figure out how to throw an aircraft off-course, that would be good too."
"Easy," Shorty said, jumping from one foot to the other as though warming up for a race. His whole body seemed to twitch with anticipation.
Oroton turned to Gunner. "Your earth wielders will need to be ready to draw their soldiers into the forest should they breach our shores. Think traps and confusion. We have the advantage of knowing the environment."
Gunner grunted his ascent.
Finally, Oroton turned to Eli. "And you will be ready for close quarters combat as we discussed. I hope it won't come to blows, however."
Eli nodded.
Oroton addressed the rest of the gathering, who were now looking increasingly ashen as the conversation unfolded around them. "I will be in charge of finding a new place for us to go, should our location be discovered. As of tomorrow, I will be going by boat to scout for habitable islands around the Southern Sea, just incase this one is discovered. While I'm away, you will follow your house leader's advice. You will work harder than ever before. Rest days will be swapped for island duties to afford more training hours. If they come, we'll be prepared."
"Let them try," Shorty said, smacking his hands together.
Oroton nodded. "Meeting adjourned."
The sombre crowd dispersed, quietly, like mourners at the conclusion of a funeral. Some walked in a daze towards the exit, keeping their heads low as they absorbed the news. Others sought the comfort of their friends and partners. There was a lot of hugging and crying.
The poster did the rounds and somehow made its way into Ash's hands. She studied the words carefully, wondering why they seemed off, as though thrown together in a hurry. The expression was clunky, not polished like Establishment advertising usually was, and there was something about the form of the paragraphs that caught her eye—though she couldn't quite make out what it was.
It was only when she got to the bottom of the poster, that her whole world spun off its axis. At the bottom of the page, in small bolded typeset were the words—
~Announcement by Seers Advertising~
Written by J. Valesca
Her control on her force shifted, and all around her, faces blurred behind a mirage of heat. First, she felt anger. How could her brother write such things? Then, she remembered, he probably had no idea what he was writing about. She hadn't told him about that night on the street and her strange abilities with fire.
Fear quickly replaced her anger. Was Jai working for the Establishment now that Lydia was dead and Seers had no Director? Was he in danger? Did they know he was her brother?
The guilt rushed at her from all angles and she breathed hard, hyperventilating and suffocating all at the same time. Her mind was consumed by the fact that she should've gone back for Jai sooner. Here she was lolling about on an island, eating until she was no longer hungry, enjoying hot showers and a comfortable bed when she should've been out there, protecting her brother.
Her chest expanded and the tingling spread to her hands and fingers. She fought the flames back with pure force of will, but could feel her resolve slipping with each passing second.
No, no, no, no, no, she repeated in her head, while searching her mind for the happy thoughts she'd had only hours before. But the happiness was tainted by what she knew now—that her brother Jai, with his floppy fringe and dimpled cheeks was a very long way away.
Just when she was about to expel all of the amounting guilt and fear, Eli was standing next to her, hand on her shoulder like a candle snuffer."Sprout," he said. "We'd better get you away from all this wood."
She barely heard him, hardly noticed when he took her hand and pulled her towards the exit. Just as they a few meters away, Freia blocked their path. "Where are you going?" she asked Eli, eyes flicking down to their linked hands.
Eli tensed. "I have to talk to Sprout," he said. "Alone."
He tried to push past, but Freia grabbed the sleeve of his robe, causing the silk to slip a few inches down his shoulder. "I thought you were going to give me a proper tour of the island. You know, now that I'm a Wanderer too."
Eli tugged the fabric back into place. When he spoke again, his voice was low and gruff. "It's dark. We'll do that tomorrow."
Freia took a step back. "Oh, okay," she said, turning to hide her the hurt in her eyes.
Eli pushed past without another word, ushering Ash through the crack in the bark and into the forest. If Ash wasn't so preoccupied with trying to keep her force under control, she would've asked him why Freia was acting so strangely.
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