Burnt Read online

  He grimaced. That important thing danced just out of reach. “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t they just kill you?”

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “It’s strange though, right? Why reward you? Am I the only one separated? I can’t be the only one who was injured. Something’s wrong, Jun. I just can’t sort out what.”

  “We’re slaves now. Our family is destroyed. Isn’t that wrong enough? Does there have to be a mystery for you to solve?” Sojun sighed. “Kaie, this isn’t the time for one of your puzzles.”

  He ignored that. Kaie needed to figure out what was going on, needed to figure a way out. Sojun would be convinced later, just like always. “Did they say why I’m in here alone, instead of with others who were injured?”

  Sojun scowled. With all the bruises and cuts, it was an intimidating look. But his friend cooperated. Jun always cooperated. “No. I think I heard them say something about you being special. Worth more, maybe.”

  That didn’t make sense. “Then why don’t they care if I die?”

  “I don’t know. They aren’t telling me a lot. And I’ve had other things on my mind.”

  Sojun was irritated. Kaie felt bad about that, and he didn’t want his friend to leave. The brown cloth ceiling surely wasn’t going to give him any answers. And he didn’t want to be alone. Gods, he didn’t want to die alone. It was all just so damn confusing. It was taking all his energy to focus on it, to hold on to the understanding of where they were and what happened to them. He wasn’t sure he could think clearly enough to fit the pieces together, but he needed to. “My head won’t work right.”

  “It got cracked, almost open. That’s not so surprising.”

  Kaie sighed. “I must be worth as much if I’m dead. That makes sense, right?”

  Sojun rolled his eyes. “I guess. As much as any of this makes sense. But why does it matter? Knowing that isn’t going to get us out of here.”

  “Maybe.” He closed his eyes, trying to block out all the swirling distractions trying to confuse him. “You must be worth more alive, though. A lot more. Otherwise, they would’ve killed you when you started causing trouble. Still make sense?”

  He cracked his eyes open to glance at Sojun for confirmation. The other boy nodded slowly. “Yeah, sort of. How does that help us out of here?”

  Kaie grimaced again. “It can’t help us both,” he admitted.

  “What do you mean? You’ve figured a way to get one of us free?”

  “Yeah, but it’s no good yet. I won’t leave you to this, and they’ll stop it before you can kill us both.”

  Sojun’s jaw clenched so hard Kaie thought he heard teeth grinding. Then he vanished. Kaie wanted to call to him but couldn’t figure out how. He knew he said something wrong but it was hard to hold onto what it was.

  When Sojun returned it wasn’t his gentle friend that looked down at him. The intimidating scowl was back and his eyes flashed with threats that made a chill run down Kaie’s spine. When the boy opened his mouth the words were more growl than speech. “I won’t kill you.”

  “I’d rather be dead than enslaved.”

  “I won’t lose you. That’s not an option. Find another way.”

  His friend’s expression stole the weight from the argument spilling past Kaie’s lips. “Jun, there isn’t –”

  Sojun grabbed Kaie’s shoulder roughly and jerked him up. Pain exploded all through his back and stomach, nearly snatching away his grip on consciousness in one violent second. He gasped like a fish, struggling to get air in past the hurt. Sojun leaned so close to his face that he could smell the iron of his friend’s dried blood. “Find another way!”

  The smart thing would be to agree. His head was cloudy right now but it would clear eventually. Then he could figure out a way to kill himself, if it came down to it. A way to kill Sojun too. But Kaie couldn’t lie. Not to Jun. “What if it’s the only one?”

  Sojun let out a slow breath of air and some of the terrifying fury seemed to leave with it. “You have to promise me right now. No matter what, you have to find another way out of this. No death. Not for either of us.”

  Kaie dropped his gaze. He couldn’t stand what lurked beneath all the anger and fear he saw in his friend’s eyes. There was an intense faith there, one he didn’t deserve and could never be worthy of. And he knew, absolutely, that nothing he said would ever shake it loose. “What if I can’t?”

  “You can. You’re the smartest. Crafty. You’ll get better and then get us both out like it’s no more than skipping pebbles. Now promise.” Sojun smiled a little, looking just as nightmarish as before. “Give me your oath. By Mother Lemme’s name.”

  Kaie gaped. He was a seer, which meant that the goddess’s blood pumped through his veins. To make an oath in her name was to bind that same blood to the words. It meant Sojun knew the truth about him, knew it when the boy was screaming to be back at his side. That damn faith was going to cause his heart’s brother nothing but suffering, and Kaie couldn’t stop it. He didn’t want to make the oath, but he knew Jun. There was no avoiding it now.

  “Fine,” he sighed. “I give you my oath. By Lemme’s name.”

  Thirteen

  Kaie didn’t even remember falling asleep when his eyes opened again. It wasn’t Sojun standing over him this time. It was a woman he didn’t know. She grabbed his hair and jerked his head up. The cry that made it out of him turned into one of pain. With Sojun’s warning ringing in his ears, Kaie clamped it off immediately. Not quickly enough for the woman holding him.

  Her thin hand caught him in the mouth, making tiny flickers of light explode across his vision. For a while Kaie gave serious thought to passing out again. But the ringing in his ears passed quickly and the sound of the woman’s voice pulled him back.

  “You haven’t treated the hair then? This is the true color?”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t cheat you.” He recognized the second voice. It belonged with dark eyes and olive skin. And cat ears.

  The woman holding him giggled. It made her sound very young. When Kaie’s vision cleared – slowly – he was surprised to find her older than him. Not by a lot but definitely older. She was maybe twenty. She was also very plain, with stringy brown hair, washed out skin and lifeless hazel eyes. If she weren’t holding him by his own hair he might look right past her.

  “You wouldn’t cheat my mother, you mean.”

  Kaie sought out the cat woman, catching sight of her out of the corner of his eye. She shrugged then said, “One’s the same as the other. Do you like him or not?”

  She jerked his head back and forth, sending ripples of pure agony through every inch of him with each twist. “He’s quite damaged, isn’t he?”

  “The boy put up a fight when we found him. More than most.”

  His captor pursed her pale, thin lips. “Will he live?”

  That got another shrug. “We let his friend patch him up some. None of my men were trying to kill him. He might survive.”

  Those same lips turned up into a predatory smile. “I’ll send someone over to see he does. I’m curious as to what kind of breeder he makes.”

  She dropped his head. Kaie fell backward, unable to stop the grunt that slipped past his lips at the impact. The girl lifted an eyebrow but she didn’t hit him this time. He nearly lost hold of the world again. This time he fought against it, sensing that something important was happening.

  “So your aunt intends to take the lot then?”

  He could turn his head. He didn’t dare much and wasn’t sure he could manage much more, but it let him take in a bit more of these two women and their conversation.

  Kaie was careful not to be too obvious about his surveillance. He wasn’t sure about the rules of this game but he suspected the girl was going to hold him to them all the same. He wanted to stay conscious. A few more of her slaps and he wouldn’t be able to fight his way back from the darkness lurking at the edge of his vision.

  The cat woman looked surprisingly normal out o
f her armor. Normal and even beautiful. Her long chocolate hair matched her eyes. Her plain brown shirt, a stark contrast to the plain girl’s frilly pink dress, fit her well. Her pants fit better. But when he looked at her all Kaie could think about was Toman’s life and the way she flicked it off her blade. Like it meant nothing. Those rich chocolate eyes were looking at him now with that same expression.

  Sojun was behind her, crumpled at her feet. He could only just see his friend, but the boy looked bloodier than before. If his friend wasn’t unconscious, it was a very convincing act. Kaie wasn’t even sure Jun was breathing.

  He needed to call out, to be sure his heart’s brother lived, but he kept his mouth clamped closed. It couldn’t help either of them now. Instead, he decided to assume Jun was simply knocked out, that the boy, mostly bruise and cut at this point, was going to wake up. It might even be before the women were done with their conversation. It would be useful. He wasn’t sure how much he could trust himself with something he was sure was important. Kaie was still struggling to hold back the confusion.

  “Why do you even bother acting like there’s an alternative? She always buys the lots you set aside for her.” The girl flipped her hand with all the arrogance of someone born thinking the world owed them obedience. “Get the other one out of here. If he wakes up, my aunt will pick him up with the others tomorrow.”

  “No!”

  Kaie was as startled as the two women when the word burst out of him. The girl’s eyebrow arched upward. “No?”

  Mistake. He was making a mistake. He could read the promise of it quite clearly on the girl’s face. She was practically licking her lips with excitement. Something bad was coming.

  “Please. Sojun’s helping me. Making me better. You said you want me better.”

  “I did.” She smirked at him. Plain no longer, now she looked so terrifying a cold terror settled into the pit of Kaie’s stomach. “He’s important to you? This sniveling boy?”

  He was giving her a weapon. “Yes.”

  “Your lover?”

  Kaie shook his head a fraction, regretting it when the world swam in response. “No. My brother.”

  Her smile grew. She ran fingers through his hair, almost affectionately. He ached to pull away from her touch, feeling a sickness leak out from her fingers into his scalp. “Alright. My new puppy can keep his little toy. For today.” She patted his head before pulling her hand away. He nearly sighed in relief when he was free of her touch.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, puppy.”

  A shiver went down Kaie’s spine. The girl walked out through an opening in the brown cloth that only appeared when she pushed through it. The cat woman was close on her heels. Their absence did nothing to comfort him. His fate was only delayed, not escaped. He was sure the girl’s imagination was nothing he wanted to get acquainted with. He knew with absolute certainty that the longer she was away the more creative his punishment was going to be. But there was no helping that now. It was done and out of his control. He kept Sojun, and that was worth it. He hoped.

  Encouraged by the ability to move his head, Kaie tried the rest of his body. It was tiny, the reward he got for his efforts. The range of movement was miniscule and the pain blinding. But he kept at it, rocking back and forth. Smallest bit to the right, smallest bit to the left. After a while it started paying off. Each rock took him a little further, got whatever he was laying on moving a bit faster. Finally, it tipped over.

  His world flickered and threatened to slip away as he rolled out of the cot. He didn’t even feel the pain, just found himself fighting a faint. Determined not to lose the battle now, Kaie clung to consciousness with every ounce of strength left in him. After a minute or two the danger passed. Mostly. Then be began the arduous process of crawling over to his fallen friend.

  Sojun wasn’t acting. Up close, there was no question of that. His friend was alive too, but how long that would last was a pressing question. He pulled himself up against a pole driven into the ground, holding the brown cloth up. The support helped ease the ache in his back a little bit. He took several deep breaths, equal parts necessity after the exertion and gratitude for the tiny bit of relief. Still, his friend didn’t stir. Blinking back tears, Kaie tugged and wiggled the other boy’s upper body into his lap.

  Jun was his brother, the only thing left. Kaie would not lose him.

  Fourteen

  Time took on an odd shape. Each minute dragged on for hours, while hours slid past without his notice. It didn’t take long for him to lose all sense of it entirely. His whole world became the shallow breaths slipping out of Sojun’s parted lips. The door to the tent opened and closed at some point in his vigil. Kaie hardly noticed, not until he felt a delicate hand drop upon his shoulder.

  Kaie didn’t know his eyes were closed until they flew open. He felt like a startled dog, hackles raised and teeth bared, as he jerked his head to the intruder in his personal misery. His trip across the tent exhausted him and he couldn’t move, else he would launch into an attack. It wasn’t necessary. One look at the spindly blonde boy let him breathe again. The kid was smaller than him, staring at him with frightened rabbit eyes.

  “You’re the girl’s healer, aren’t you?”

  The kid blinked several times, those blue eyes the biggest Kaie ever saw. “How did you know that?”

  That wasn’t worth answering. He looked down at Sojun. “Fix him.”

  The boy shook his head, his pale lips pursing for a moment. “Miss Autumnsong was very clear. I am to care for you.” He paused, his shoulders hunching in the most contrite posture Kaie could imagine. “I can’t disobey.”

  Kaie growled and shrugged loose of the hand on his shoulder. “The Abyss you can’t. You’re not touching me again until he’s better. How’s that for clarity?”

  The boy’s head dropped. Then his hand shot out and grabbed Kaie’s shoulder. The hold didn’t hurt but no amount of twisting or shoving could remove it. A second later, a tingling warmth spread out from beneath the boy’s fingers. At first it felt nice, pleasurable even. Then it became insistent, like the prickles in his leg when his leg fell asleep and feeling started returning. Still, it grew until it was every bit as painful as the slaps.

  His attempts to get away took on a new element of near-panic, all to the same result. He tried to cry out, not sure who he expected to come to his rescue. His voice was gone. All that came out of his open mouth was a strangled puff of air. Then, quickly as it started, it was gone. The boy’s hand left all on its own and, for the first time since waking in that tent, Kaie’s head was completely clear.

  The pain was gone.

  Not completely. His face was big and puffy, his body bruised, but the worst of it wasn’t there. The foggy ache in his head, the terrifying tremble in his breathing, the numbness in his hand since falling off the tree before rescuing the Lemme, was simply erased.

  His mouth snapped closed. Then fell open again. “How…”

  “The Jhoda,” the boy whispered. “I am Balla Kinda. Don’t clean yourself off. If anyone suspects I can touch the Jhoda…It would be very bad. As it would be for you.”

  “What?”

  “You know you can touch the Jhoda, don’t you? You have to! I can feel it all around you, more alive than anyone I’ve met before.” The kid chewed on his lower lip. “That’s why I…you do know, don’t you?”

  “What in the Abyss are you talking about?” He didn’t know the words, but he suspected their meaning. But he needed a minute. His head was reeling, and he couldn’t think. Everything was happening so fast. Gods, he needed just one minute. The question bought him a piece of that.

  “The Jhoda,” the boy insisted. The boy’s face scrunched in distaste. “Magic. You can use it, right? I don’t know your people…Do they use magic? Spells maybe?”

  “The old magics,” Kaie supplied with great reluctance. “Some. Not many of the Zetowan can use them.”

  The boy pressed his lips into a thin line again. Then a faint smile flicker
ed and passed so quickly, Kaie almost thought he imagined it. “We are kin, Bruhani. That’s why I gave you my secret. So that you know I can be trusted with yours. Slaves are not allowed the…‘old magics’ in the Empire. If they suspect you can touch it, the Namer will come and erase you. Be careful.”

  “But you’re a healer. Isn’t that why the girl sent you? How couldn’t they value that?”

  “The Lady Autumnsong believes my skill is the kind of medicines and books. You’re only the second I’ve helped with the Jhoda. No Balla Kinda would be valued for power. Same for the Zetowan, after today.” The boy ducked his head again, like he was ashamed. Like he was to blame for what was happening to Kaie’s people. “Please, believe me about this. If you tell anyone of our old magics, neither of us will have long to regret it.”

  He grew up hearing stories of the Lemme’s abilities, how she could look at you and see a future running before you like a path. How she could read all the secrets you kept in your heart, know your full measure, with just a touch. He was a seer. He could do the same. Kaie didn’t know how it worked and didn’t intend to learn. He wanted none of it. But he couldn’t deny the absolute certainty he felt about this boy, couldn’t ignore what he knew, though he couldn’t possibly know it. There was, or would be, a trust between them, one forged of something more than just shared danger.

  “Don’t worry,” Kaie muttered, reaching a decision he didn’t know he was considering. “I’m not telling on you.”

  The boy flashed his ephemeral smile again. “No one has yet. Not since we started hiding it. The Jhoda binds us.”

  Kaie frowned. “Yeah. Sure it does. I’ll bond all you want. But first you’re going to heal Sojun.”

  The boy mimicked his expression very effectively. “I told you already, Lady Autumnsong told me to only care for you. She was very specific. Upsetting her…You wouldn’t thank me for that.”