Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Author:Laura Ruby
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins

Roza

NO ONE IS FINE

ROZA HID THE HEAVY KNIFE UNDER A LOOSE STONE IN the floor. At night, before she interred herself in the enormous canopy bed, she hefted the knife in her palm, ran her finger along the blade until she felt the bite.

But when she slept, she dreamed of bees.

She knew she was dreaming—a dream within a dream, or rather, a dream within a nightmare—but, like everything at the castle, the sounds and smells felt real. She walked the creaking drawbridge, over the teeming, monster-filled moat, past the stone-faced falconers, under the soaring raptors, and into the woods beyond. The trees were dense, braceleted with mushrooms. Twigs snapped underfoot, birds flitted in the leaves. A red fox perched on a stump, two dusky kits peeking around the vixen’s back. All around, the scent deep and rich as the darkest chocolate.

After some time, Roza broke through the wall of trees into a grassy meadow. Three girls sat in the grass.

“What are you doing here?” Roza asked.

Karolina said, “We were waiting for you.”

“You took long enough. This place is so boring,” said Honorata, yanking a flower from the ground and tossing it.

Priscilla Willis held up her finger, where a bee rested, baskets packed with yellow pollen. “At least there are bees.”

Honorata sniffed. “Not big enough to do any damage.”

“You’re not big enough to do any damage,” said Priscilla. She released the bee and pulled a jar from her pocket. “Have some of this.”

She passed a honey jar to Honorata. Honorata twisted the lid, inhaled. “Smells like oranges.”

“I’m starving,” said Karolina. “I haven’t had lunch.”

“Honeybees have a better sense of smell than other insects,” said Priscilla, “but a worse sense of taste.”

“Too bad for them,” said Honorata, tipping back the jar. She poured so much honey into her mouth that it ran down her cheek and neck.

“Don’t drink it all!” Karolina said. She took the jar and sipped, then handed it to Priscilla. Priscilla drank.

“Look!” said Roza. Amber Hass ran through the grass chasing a blue butterfly.

Priscilla said, “Butterflies are pretty, but they’re solitary, and they don’t live long. Bees are better. They’ll do anything to protect the hive.” She held up the honey jar to Roza. “Here. You need this more than we do.”

“Says who?” Honorata said.

Roza flopped to the grass. The bees danced from blossom to blossom and then darted away. Karolina plucked a flower, tucked it behind Roza’s ear. Roza took a sip of the honey, tangy and sweet.

“So,” said Honorata, picking the flower from Roza’s hair and flinging it back over her shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” said Roza.

“What she means is,” Priscilla said, “when are you going to do something with that knife?”

Roza woke in the dark chill of her castle prison, the taste of honey on her lips.

She practiced wielding the knife as a weapon rather than a tool. She sliced and stabbed at the air, prancing like a fencer. She dragged a chair away from the fire and flipped it around.

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