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For Silk to take me seriously. I almost said it. At the last moment, I bit my tongue to keep the words back. She would not take it well if a reprimand came from the Wordkeeper; she would see it as me going outside the chain of command for preferential treatment. Such behavior was weak and soft, and she’d be right to name it so.
“Any reward you think suitable will please me,” I said.
He smiled. I didn’t think I’d ever seen the Wordkeeper smile. “Very good. ”
“That’s not all. ”
“Oh?”
“There’s a small settlement only a day from here. They’re not Freaks, but they don’t look like us, either. I’d never seen anything like them. ” Strictly speaking, Whitewall should be here as well, but I was too tired to care about protocol.
“Friendly?”
“Yes. They gave us food and shelter, or I doubt Fade and I would’ve made it. Our water wasn’t adequate for the journey, and it wasn’t safe to get supplies at Nassau. ”
“Good news,” he said neutrally.
“It gets better. They had the most artifacts I’ve ever seen in a storeroom there. It could take years to go through everything. ”
“Books?” he demanded.
“I think so. But there’s old technology, relics, things I didn’t even recognize. The Burrowers don’t seem to value it. They want some fish in exchange. ”
“Fish?” The Wordkeeper laughed. “They can’t be very smart. ”
That term was relative, I thought. You could eat a fish; you couldn’t eat the stuff the Burrowers had stacked up. Wisely, I said nothing of the kind.
“That’s all, sir. May I go?”
“Before you sleep, give Silk the location of these Burrowers. I’ll make sure she sends a team. And then rest, Huntress. You’ve earned it. ”
I certainly had. My legs barely carried me to find Silk. She was watching a crop of likely brats when I stumbled up to her. I relayed the location as close as I could, per the Wordkeeper’s instructions. Silk seemed scornful, but she agreed to talk to him. I was glad I was out of that business now.
Had anyone ever gone to Nassau and back so quickly before? I didn’t think so. Generally, they stayed to visit, share news, and replenish supplies. Fade and I hadn’t had that option, and without the Burrowers, we would’ve died. Maybe Jengu knew that too—and that was why he grabbed me.
So tired. It took everything I had to make it to my living space. The rag pallet seemed the height of comfort compared with what we had been sleeping on. It felt a little strange to be alone, after so many days with Fade. Like me, he’d probably showered and gone to bed. He had to be exhausted too.
Unlike other days when I lay there, unable to rest for the buzzing of my head, I winked out as soon as I closed my eyes.
When I woke, I had the unprecedented realization I had nowhere to be. No patrol. No training. If I wanted, I could stay here in my space and stare up at the ceiling. Ambient light from torches mounted on the walls stole in, brightening it enough that I could see my stuff.
My weapons.
In my stupor, I’d forgotten to care for them. The daggers wouldn’t stay sharp and shiny if I didn’t look after them. My club was much worse for the wear too. So that had to be the first thing I did today. After running my fingers through my hair, I bound it up in my usual tie and carried my things down to the Builder workshop, where I could find the proper supplies to clean and sharpen. I also had an ulterior motive—meeting Banner. Though I told myself I just needed some of the salve, I also wanted to learn about the girl who put warmth in Fade’s smile.
As usual, the place bustled with activity. Anything we had came from this part of the enclave. Clothes, shoes, boots, weapons, soap, bags—it all began here. Work went at a furious pace. Things were mixed, poured, measured, hammered. I was sure there was some method to this madness, some organization, but my untrained eye couldn’t pick it out. They recognized me as a Huntress from the marks on my arms. I answered their greetings with a nod.
On the other side of the workshop, I saw Fade, talking to a small dark-haired girl. She was pretty in a quiet way, and by the tilt of her head, she liked him. That had to be Banner. Without realizing it, I cut a path directly to them, forcing a couple of workers to detour around me.
“Were you looking for me?” he asked. “We’re off today. ”
I shook my head. “No, I’m looking for her. I think. Banner?”
Her genuine, friendly smile said she didn’t mind my intrusion. “That’s me. ”
Fade nodded. “Right. I promised to introduce you. ” He did so quickly.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t mind making me some of that ointment. It helped me out in the tunnels. ”
“I can make another batch, no problem. Other people don’t like it because of the smell, but I’m glad somebody’s getting some use out of it. ”
That taken care of, I had no reason to stay and listen to their conversation so I excused myself with a muttered “Great. I need to go work on my weapons. Nice meeting you, Banner. See you, Fade. ”
I had finished with my daggers and was working on oiling the stains out of my club when I felt him behind me. “You didn’t do that yesterday?”
I sighed. “Bad Huntress, I know. My knives are my best friends. ”
“That’s kind of sad. You mean nobody likes you?”
What’s his problem today? I thought we were all right with each other. Scowling, I spun on him, ready to deliver some serious verbal hurt when I saw the smile in his dark eyes. Oh. He’s messing with me.
“Funny. ”
“Have you eaten yet?”
I shook my head. “Came straight here. ”
“We could go to the kitchen and scrounge something up. ”
Hesitating, I said, “I still need to finish this and then I should have Bonesaw check my shoulder. ”
“You’ll be better off if he doesn’t. He got his name because he likes cutting parts off people. ”
I smiled, though I’d heard the joke before. Bonesaw had gotten his name like the rest of us, from the talisman his blood found in the pile of naming day gifts. But it only seemed right he apprentice to the medicine man; Whitewall was a big believer in signs. Now, three years later, the old medicine man was gone, and we had only Bonesaw to care for our sick and wounded. Most agreed he wasn’t very good at it.
“Maybe you’re right. ” I rotated my shoulder, and I didn’t feel any of the tightness or heat that accompanied an infection.
“I am. Let me give you my tin of Banner’s salve. Then she can give me what she makes for you. ” Kindness, I wondered, or an excuse for him to go see her sooner? As I was debating, he added, “I’ll get it while you make that club shine. Then we can go eat. Sound good?”
It did, actually. Stone was busy with the brats, and Thimble was mad at me. I didn’t look forward to eating alone. I agreed with a nod and Fade loped off.
Oiling a rag, I polished my weapon until it shone. I even dug all the dried blood out of the carvings Stone had made. He might not understand my job, but he cared. I had to give him that. Nobody else had anything so fine.
Someone stopped behind me.
“Back already?” I asked without turning.
“I never left,” came Banner’s puzzled voice.
Oops. I spun to face her. “Sorry, I thought you were someone else. ”
She grinned. “Someone like Fade?”
I couldn’t help but smile; she had that kind of open, friendly face. “Kind of. ”
“He likes you,” she said. “He was just telling me about you. ”
“Really?” I couldn’t help but feel flattered by that.
“Yeah. He’s a little hard to get to know, but worth it. He tells the most fascinating stories. ” By her indulgent expression, she thought he merely had a good imagination.
Based on my experiences with him so far, I suspected he’d seen and done more than anyone in the enclave w
ould believe. I stifled a sigh. We weren’t always inclined to credit the truth around here, if it ran counter to our experience.
“I like working with him. ” Any other response would be inappropriate, and could be repeated to my detriment. Hunters were supposed to trust and respect their partners, nothing more.
Thimble caught my eye then, radiating angry hurt. She saw me talking to Banner and her brows drew down. Oh, surely she didn’t think I was telling her about the trip to Nassau. I’d just met the girl.
Before I could try to make amends, Fade jogged back into the workshop. He cut a straight line toward us. He greeted her with a smile and me with the words, “You ready?”
I nodded and waved to Banner. Thimble pointedly didn’t look at me. Weapons in hand, I followed him out of the workshop.
“I just need to drop these off. Meet you in the kitchen?”
“Sounds good,” he said. “I’ll see what there is to eat. ”
“Let me guess. Meat and mushrooms. ”
“Might be fish. ”
Yeah, they did cook fish every now and then to keep us from getting sick. The elders put a lot of thought into what we ate and how much. Without their careful planning, our enclave would’ve died out long ago. It was a sobering thought. Just yesterday, I’d seen the consequences of careless behavior—and they didn’t believe us.
Whitewall, Copper, and Silk seemed to think such things could never happen here. We were too smart or too lucky. I’d bet the Nassau citizens thought that too, up until everything went wrong.
Treasure
A week later, the team they’d sent returned, weighed down with relics of the old world. I eyed the bags with dismay. I hadn’t been on duty when the team went out, but I didn’t think they’d taken enough supplies to trade with the Burrowers to merit such a big haul.
They wouldn’t. Though my faith had been shaken, I didn’t want to follow the thought to its natural conclusion. I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
Fade and I had just come off patrol. I’d cared for my weapons and cleaned up a bit, but I hadn’t yet gone to see who was in the common room. Instead, I went looking for my partner.
He was in his room, so I swished the curtain to let him know he had a visitor. A few seconds later, he poked his head out. Surprise lit his features.
“Something up?”
“I’m not sure. ” I summarized what I’d seen, but no more. I wanted to know if he’d share my instincts without undue influence.
“They took everything by force. ”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Jengu had saved our lives. Whatever happened to them, it was our fault. I should’ve realized—the first Hunter tenet, “the strong survive,” dictated their actions; they took everything because they could. But it wasn’t right, and they’d made liars of us.
“What are we going to do?”
“What can we do?”
It was an unanswerable question. “Should we go see the Wordkeeper?”
“Isn’t he the one who made Silk send a team?”
Right. I’d always thought once I became a Huntress, I’d have some power, influence over the way things were done. In truth, precious few had any. Even Silk followed orders; hers just came from Whitewall and the Wordkeeper. It would be years before I qualified as an elder, and even then, there was no guarantee.