Burnt Read online

  Kaie grabbed the boy’s arm. “It doesn’t matter. He’s not dying. Do you understand that? If I have to tell them about this Jhoda crap, I will. If I have to bash your head in myself, I will. Whatever it costs. I don’t care what I have to do, you will fix him!”

  The kid stared into his eyes. Kaie didn’t blink, didn’t dare to. This was not a test he was going to fail. The boy sighed. “He can’t know.”

  “He won’t,” Kaie promised.

  With no further argument, the boy placed a hand on Sojun’s forehead. After a second, Kaie could feel a faint crackle in the air, static electricity or something near enough. And then Sojun moaned.

  He watched in awe as some of the deeper cuts knit back together and bruises shrunk in on themselves. The blood stayed, caked in Jun’s hair and dried all over him, and the wounds didn’t vanish entirely. It was enough that there was little risk of discovery unless someone was examining his friend closely. But watching it, Kaie couldn’t help but marvel, might easily be the most amazing thing he would ever witness.

  When the boy pulled his hand away, Kaie released him. Regaining his freedom, the kid stood up and ran a shaking hand through his lanky white-blond hair. “Do us all a favor and make sure you limp. Both of you. The more hurt you seem, the longer it will take all this to backfire. I don’t expect it will take longer than eighth light tomorrow before we’re discovered, but I would rather avoid it as long as I can.”

  “He doesn’t have the old magics – the Jhoda – but Sojun wouldn’t give us up. Not even if he figures out what happened. I swear to you. He can be trusted.”

  The boy shook his head. “No, he can’t. No one without the Jhoda can be. Especially not when the Lady Autumnsong is involved. But I’m trusting you, Bruhani. No doubt the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t doubt a Namer will be coming for us both very soon.”

  The kid sighed again and pushed open the flap of the tent, crossing back into the world outside without a backward glance.

  Fifteen

  There was no way to tell how much time passed from inside the tent. Pulling back the flap would solve that problem, but neither of them reached to do it. There was no way to determine how long they had until the girl would return. It was a pressure building between him and Sojun, one that neither could bring themselves to talk about. After a while they didn’t speak about anything at all. The silence grew harder to break with each passing moment.

  Kaie couldn’t understand what was causing the awkwardness between them. Their situation was horrible. He was equal parts furious and terrified. But things were always so easy with his friend. Jun was solid ground when everything else was uprooted. Now all he saw was a gaping chasm opening up between them and he couldn’t figure out why.

  He didn’t expect to be able to sleep, but with nothing else to occupy his mind save contemplating the fate coming for him, it happened anyway. In fits and starts. Nothing healing, nothing to break up the monotony of their wait.

  When the tent opened again part of Kaie was relieved. Bad things were coming, but at least it would be an end to the waiting. The feeling didn’t last long when faced with the girl and her lifeless eyes. “Good morning, puppy.”

  At his side where they sat on the dirt floor, Sojun’s whole body tensed. Kaie wondered if he wore the same panicked expression. He hoped not. There was no doubt she would take satisfaction from it and he wanted to postpone that as long as he was physically capable.

  Her dress was massive. It was all kinds of brightly colored layers and frills. Her face was painted to match, purple and blue and pink in turn. It made her look like one of the painted ladies who performed the old stories during one of his family’s celebrations. Were it another, Kaie would find her appearance amusing. On this girl it was disturbing.

  Behind her many skirts, a slouched form skittered into the room. It was a man, not so much older than him, with shoulders carrying a great internal weight. His pale skin and limp brown hair were very similar to the girl’s but it wasn’t until Kaie caught sight of the man’s eyes that he knew they were related. There weren’t two strangers in all the world that could look at him with such an empty and chilling gaze.

  “This is my cousin,” she purred, reading his thoughts. “He is here to ensure that the Empress’s will is observed, when it comes to you. Isn’t that right, Peter?”

  The man’s eyes darted around the room. Kaie could swear it was in search of a way out. That didn’t soothe his apprehension about what was coming. “Yes.”

  She smiled. “There. Do you feel comforted, puppy? Knowing you are being protected by such a fine example of masculinity?”

  Kaie pressed his shoulder against Sojun, not sure if he was giving support or drawing it. They were watching a storm blow in with clouds promising a fury that would rip them both apart. His friend pulled in a slow breath. Acknowledgement enough to know he wasn’t alone in the feeling.

  The girl snapped her fingers. The man produced – from the folds of her dress Kaie assumed – a thick black band just a bit smaller around than his head. There was nothing inherently ominous about the circle, but it lodged a stone of dread in his abdomen. Maybe it was the way the tips of the girl’s teeth peeked out from between her curled lips as she took it from Peter’s outstretched hands.

  “This is my life’s work. I call it the Lunin,” she said. “You’re going to wear it for me, puppy.”

  Kaie blinked. “I am?”

  “Oh yes. You see, one day this beautiful thing will be used on enemies of the Empire. It will revolutionize interrogation and end the need for torture entirely. It will be so effective that after we have learned all the secrets our enemies can think to tell us they will volunteer to go out and learn more for us. But such progress requires a great deal of work. Experimentation. And this, puppy, is what you will help me with.”

  “How’s he going to do that?” Sojun asked.

  Kaie was grateful for Sojun’s question. It was the one perched on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite push it out, because he knew he didn’t really want the answer. But he needed to know it.

  The girl never even glanced in Jun’s direction. She winked at him, though, as if he was doing something that pleased her. Her undivided attention was more than a bit unnerving.

  “That is a very good question. You see, this is possible because of a substance I developed. It’s really quite amazing. Just a bit of this paste on your skin every few hours, and you start changing. Soon the Lunin will deliver just the right amount at just the right time. But it is such a long process, determining all those factors. Too much and the damage is simply beyond usefulness. My last puppy, for example, found himself possessed by a terrible hunger. He ate himself to death.”

  By the way she emphasized the last sentence, Kaie was left with the distinct impression that it was not food the man gorged on but himself. A shudder shook his entire body, no matter how he worked to suppress it. Sojun’s arm slipped around his shoulders. He was so grateful for it he nearly said so out loud.

  “The timing is important as well,” the girl continued. “I lost quite a few by stretching the time out too long. And one or two went completely mad when I made it too soon. Madness is to be expected, of course. But if my puppy can’t stop screaming, he certainly can’t provide me with usable data for further experimentation, can he? But don’t you worry. I believe I have sorted out that matter. The amount is what I am focusing my research on now. I believe that with you, or perhaps the one after you, I will get it just about right. It’s really quite exciting.”

  “Maybe not so much for me,” Kaie muttered before he could think any better of it.

  The girl shook her head and tutted, sounding disturbingly like his mother for a moment. “Not true, puppy. You are going to make history. What more could a lesser race hope for?”

  She held up her hand, one finger raised, as if stopping him before he could speak. There was no need. Kaie found himself rather absent of words. “Now, before you ask me to put on t
he Lunin, I must explain it to you properly. That paste I told you about is really quite fascinating. It will cause some rather undesired effects at first. Pain, to be sure. And likely some unpleasant hallucinations. The hunger is not beyond possibility, though statistically unlikely. But, should I find the proper mix, these things will pass. As I said before, the paste will absolutely change you. Your body will become accustomed to it, and then it will come to need it. Should you ever lose access to it, all that unpleasantness will return. It is hard to accurately gauge, of course, but I do believe it is worse in the absence. And should you go too long without, your body will simply cease to function. It is all very fascinating.”

  She turned her gaze from Kaie for the first time, glancing at Peter for just a moment. “Have I covered all the required information?”

  The man was still and silent for a while, the pale face revealing no trace of emotion or thought. Then Peter nodded. “Yes. You have properly explained. The Empress will be satisfied that he was informed before giving his consent.”

  Kaie couldn’t help another shudder. Bad as what the girl described, it must be ten times worse, a hundred times worse. What else would spur an Empress who condoned slavery and all that entailed to demand consent from someone before they wear it? No matter how he tried to come up with a way out of this mess, he couldn’t shake that knowledge. Not anymore than he could think past the image of himself screaming, chewing on his own hand. It made him want to throw up.

  She smiled again. “Good. Now. Puppy. You will ask to wear the Lunin.”

  Kaie couldn’t help it. He laughed. “And I suppose, after that, I’ll ask you to remove my tongue and poke out my eyes?”

  The girl held up her hand to stop him again. “Now, now. No need for all that drama. You will ask, and the more you fight the more foolish you will feel when it comes time. Now is when you ask me why I am so sure of this.”

  The trap was so obvious he almost laughed again. His every instinct was to throw it back in her face. But he wasn’t in a position to avoid it. The Lunin or simple slavery – which seemed so damn appealing now that he knew the alternative – would get him. Did it really matter which snare he stepped in?

  “Why are you so sure?” Again, Sojun asked the question Kaie couldn’t bring himself to. Again, he found himself grateful beyond words. And again, the girl didn’t react to the other boy. Her smile was for Kaie alone.

  “Your…brother…You love him very much, don’t you? I hear he loves as well. You and a girl. What was her name again, Peter?”

  “Amor –”

  “Amorette,” she interrupted. “That’s right. Sweet Amorette. She is rather pretty, in a quaint sort of way. And loyal. To one of you, anyway. Do you know, she didn’t stick to that brother lie for a minute? She told me all about you two.”

  Kaie’s heart froze in his chest. Both boys stopped breathing for more than a couple of seconds. “You’re lying. Amorette is dead.”

  The girl tilted her head to the left, the smirk dancing on her lips. “Am I? Gosh, that doesn’t sound like me. Peter, does that sound like me?”

  “No Luna,” the man responded in a flat voice. “You don’t lie.”

  “No I don’t, do I?” She winked. “Now, normally she would have no hope of getting the one thing she wants. More than anything.” The girl pitched her voice in a way that was clearly meant to sound like Amorette.

  “She will go to the house, perhaps the kitchens. Her beloved Sojun, with the size of him, is headed straight to the fields. My aunt will probably sell him to some soldier looking to make herself some strapping children in no time. Amorette may be lucky enough to never know the touch of another man, but like I said, she is rather pretty. My guess is that some visiting noble’s son will take her for a night or two. Just long enough to get a child on her. Then she’ll have to take the very first man who’ll marry her, no matter if he is kind or cruel.”

  She took the Lunin out of Peter’s hands and held it up as though it were a trophy she won. “If you ask me for this, though, they will have a different story. I will ensure that my aunt places them together. They can marry and have as many squealing babies as she can stand to spit out, if that’s their wish. Neither will be sold off, and I will see to it that her chances of being forced to bed a noble drastically reduced. That is far more than most slaves can ever dream of.”

  The trap ran far deeper than he feared. He expected threats of death or dismemberment. He wasn’t prepared for the offer of hope for the only two people in the world left that he loved. He couldn’t say no. Even if Sojun wasn’t sitting beside him, he couldn’t possibly say no.

  He turned to his best friend, trying to will everything in his heart into words. Devastation was easy to read on Jun’s face. He knew what was coming. Everyone in the damn room knew. And then something else snapped into place. A look Kaie knew well. The dread in his stomach welled up and nearly choked him. “No! Jun, no! This isn’t for you!”

  Sojun pushed away from Kaie and stumbled to his feet. “I’ll do it.”

  Surprise didn’t look much different on the girl. She tilted her head to the right but didn’t even blink. “You?”

  “No!” Kaie gasped. “This is mine!”

  Sojun spun on him. “It’s not. I was there. You’re meant for something else.”

  He meant the Lemme’s vision. The one that was nothing but ash now. The family was dead, gone. Burnt up. The future she saw for him was lost in the vault of the dead, along with her. And now Jun was about to throw away everything for it. “Stop it! I won’t let you!”

  He climbed to his feet as well. It wouldn’t be hard to convince the girl to take him instead. He was the one she wanted. Before he could say the words, Jun’s fist connected with his throat. Kaie collapsed backward, gasping and choking on blood and shock.

  “You’ll do the same? For him and Amorette?”

  Luna was looking Sojun up and down, as though seeing him for the first time. “You would choose this boy over the girl you love?”

  “I would.” Jun’s voice was hard and flat. It was how he sounded every time he took the blame for one of Kaie’s schemes. Every time he stood between Kaie and one of the bigger boys and took their hits for him.

  “I already chose him. Why would I bother with you?”

  “Because you need him to ask for it, and I won’t let him.”

  Her lips narrowed a fraction of an inch. Kaie wanted to shout for the Lunin, but his voice was caught behind the damage done by Jun’s fist. “Removing you, then, seems the more logical option.”

  “Why? You need someone to ask for it, and I do. And I’m worth more alive than dead. To someone, at least,” Sojun said lowly, stealing his observations. “To you too. I swear to by the names of all the gods. By the blood of Zetowan. You will be glad you took me instead. Please.”

  Kaie needed to speak. Now. He could see Luna taking measure of Sojun’s words. In another moment, she would take him. All Kaie needed to do was ask, and Jun would be forgotten. Only two words and things would be right. Take me. But they wouldn’t come. No matter how he worked his lips or pushed the air through his throat, no sound came out.

  “I’ll do the same for them,” Luna agreed.

  His best friend’s life ended with the quiet snap of the Lunin’s catch.

  Sixteen

  Air whistled in past his teeth. Every breath filled his mouth with a taste so foul it made him gag. But the alternative was worse. Breathing through his nose coated his whole throat with the noxious odor of the thirty odd bodies pressed up against him. That made him well and truly sick. Twice so far. It didn’t make the smell any better.

  The wagon lurched and rumbled over some rut in the road, sending everyone in the back stumbling. Kaie winced as his head smacked against the wooden side. It took a lot of luck and hard work to get himself a spot there, but he was starting to regret it. Having something to press his back against other than the milling children clinging to him wasn’t worth cracking his head against the wood w
ith every bump.

  Sojun wasn’t exaggerating. When he was shoved into the wagon not an hour after watching Jun leave, Kaie was struck by how very young everyone was. In the corner opposite him, furthest from the back, he thought he saw the hunched shoulders of someone close to his age but all the ones around him were at least two years his junior. It didn’t make any sense. Even if the Finders chose to leave the adults he couldn’t understand how they could so accurately target an age range in a population close to six hundred. There were plenty in his family near adulthood or only just entering it like him. And why bother anyway? Surely adults were better suited to hard labor than six-year-old children.

  No answers were coming. Not from the boy gripping his hand hard enough to cut off circulation, not from the soldiers who slammed the back of the wagon shut just after shoving him inside. Kaie was no more enlightened about what was waiting for him at the other end of this wagon ride then he was when he first woke in the tent.

  He hated it, all of it. The puzzles that wouldn’t be solved, the blindly following a path set by someone else, the wagon, the children looking up at him as though he was going to be their salvation… He knew he was supposed to care. They were his family too, just as much as Jun. They were here and needed him while his best friend was out of reach. But the stench and the crying was too much to bear. It made his head throb even without the occasional smack. And there was so much of it that he couldn’t tease loose one heartbroken child from the masses. They were his people, his family, and all he wanted was for every one of them to disappear and leave him to his own misery.

  Planning was impossible. There was nothing to plan for. Control over his existence was gone. The only things left to him now were how often he was beaten and telling Amorette what they lost. Both of them made him want nothing more than to start hitting the needy children sucking at what life was left in him.

  Instead, he muttered platitudes. He told them not to be afraid, promised that things would be alright, somehow. That Mother Lemme would not let her children suffer more than they could survive. Filled his mouth with lies tasting worse than the vomit and whispered them as loudly as his damaged throat would allow. They pressed in closer, more of them each time he opened his lips, and for a while some of the crying would stop. But the lessening of the din never lasted long enough to be worthwhile. He was as useless at comforting frightened kids as he was at saving his heart’s brother.