A Spark in the Cinder by Jenny Elder Moke

Author:Jenny Elder Moke [Moke, Jenny Elder]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: 2022-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

WE TAKE NO MORE CHANCES DURING THE REMAINING days of our journey through the Silent Forest, risking death from thirst or starvation before ever attempting to deviate from the path again. We make our water last, pushing the horses on, giving them drinks from our canteens when they need it, until we are all silent to save our mouths from drying out. The trees are a constant, glowering presence just beyond the barrier, but I don’t let my eyes stray from the dirt road before us. It’s enough that I still feel their needles under my skin, still ache with every deep breath, still see their roots burying me every time I close my eyes.

Still, the need for water becomes an obsession, a hyper-fixation that drives all other rational thought from my mind. At some point I begin to hallucinate, holding my canteen upside down above my open mouth, vividly imagining a single drop of water rolling out, fat and inviting, splashing against the rough surface of my tongue, soothing the constant maddening ache. I’ve never known thirst like this, like a rash that only gets worse the harder you scratch it.

When there is finally some other color save green and brown on the distant horizon, I assume it’s only a more compelling hallucination, signaling my rapid decline. But then Vee gives a shout, pressing her heels to Thundermere, who jerks in response before breaking into a full-legged run. Rainstorm is close behind, more attuned to Vee’s mount than to me, and it’s all I can do to wrap her reins around my hands and press close to her mane, holding on for dear life.

The trees thin out as the path widens, their menacing stares whipping by too fast to land with any potency. And as the trees fall away, something else stretches to fill the span of empty space. Blue, a blue so deep it looks black in patches, sparkling like precious jewels in an earthly diadem, the salt smell so thick and rich it flavors the air. Vee gives an unbridled whoop of joy, throwing a fist in the air in her celebration. She looks back to me, hair whipping in every direction, mouth wide and grinning all the way to her back teeth.

“We did it!” she cries, swinging her fist again. “We made it! The Impassable Sea!”

All that water, my jaw hurts from how hard my mouth suddenly fills with longing. “Water,” I croak.

“I know, it’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen,” Vee shouts.

“No. Water, Vee. Water.”

Vee reins in Thundermere, rounding toward me. “Water, right. We can’t drink from the Impassable Sea, though. It would kill us. There might be tributaries leading into it, though. I’ll ride ahead.”

“No, that’s too long,” I say, my throat rasping. I don’t know how Vee manages to look so fine. It must be part of that infernal knight’s training, learning to live with such deprivation. “Lyra.”

Nothing happens, and I try her name again, dredging up a coughing fit from the effort.

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