Crown of Thunder by Onyebuchi Tochi

Author:Onyebuchi, Tochi [Onyebuchi, Tochi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B079QXVM5J
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 2018-10-16T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

BY THE TIME we get close to the village, the fire in the desert burns even larger than I imagined. It is everywhere. Even as far away as we are now, we can’t escape its wrath.

“Come!” Zephi shouts, pointing toward the sky. “Big-big!” and I know she means the arashi screaming and vomiting fire down on us. We run, dodging collapsing huts and falling roofs until we get to the back of the building where Aliya and I have been staying.

Wind howls around us, almost screaming. The inyo swirl in a whirlwind above our heads. The air is thick with them. Over the tops of some buildings, I can see fire stretched out in a long line along the ridge. Stones and dirt fly up as the lightning pelts the ground. If I keep my eyes open for too long, dust blinds me.

Zephi sweeps a patch of dirt aside to reveal a metal door in the ground. She kicks on it twice with her heel—doom, doom. It swings open, and I see a whole gaggle of faces lit up inside. A half dozen hands reach out all at once, and we send down Aliya’s body, then climb in ourselves. Zephi is the last one in, and she closes the door tight.

I look behind me and see a whole family spread out across the large cellar. There are cushions down here and mats, and in a far corner, a woman nurses a baby, gently rocking him in her arms. Three kids fight over a ball at the woman’s feet. I think I even see someone smoking from a shisha pipe.

Nobody here seems all that worried that a mythical demon is circling their home and raining death and destruction down on their heads. The stone walls shake with each blast from up above. I notice that the hideout is reinforced in some places by splintering beams of wood, which doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

Zephi lays Aliya on a pallet. A little girl brings over a bowl of water. For these kids, this is normal. Arzu once told me that arashi attacks are common in this land.

I look around. The adults appear calm, but when I look closer, I can tell that for some of them it’s forced. They are scared, but they’re trying to be brave for their children. Arashi attacks are common here, but Juba said that the Sentinels could detect them far enough in advance that the villagers could travel to somewhere safe. Why couldn’t they raise the alarm beforehand this time? I glance toward Aliya. My mind flashes back to what she whispered in the desert. About Karima sending the arashi. I try to shake the thought away.

There’s another boom overhead. I startle and look up.

“You know of our storms?” Zephi asks me, crouched at Aliya’s side. As she makes her comfortable with blankets and pillows, I notice she doesn’t have any sin-spots.

I nod. “An arashi destroyed my home.”

She raises her eyebrows. “So that’s something we have in common, then.

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