Meridian Divide by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Author:Cassandra Rose Clarke
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2019-11-19T16:00:00+00:00

There wasn’t much to do at that point but go back out to the camp and find a place to wait for Commander Marechal’s orders. It was raining again, a faint drizzle that only hinted at the storms that swept through the area during the height of the rainy season. Still, it’s just enough rain to be miserable, Evie thought as she burrowed beneath a pile of wide palm trees someone had brought in for shelter. The drizzle turned the dirt from the cave-in into a sticky, dark mud, and Evie wiped at it disconsolately, succeeding not in cleaning it off but just in smearing it worse. She wanted to complain, but if she looked up, she saw soldiers resting out their injuries and their grief, and she felt sheepish in her discomfort.

“I can’t believe Command sent them out there like that,” Dorian said softly beside her. He sat with his arms thrown over his knees, his expression dark. “I thought it was weird that the commander and Owen were being so adamant about the attack.”

“They’re soldiers,” Victor said. “They knew what they signed up for.”

Dorian rolled his eyes. “Look around you, man. Every single squad lost someone.” He paused. “Except for us.”

“Just because we didn’t fight,” Evie said.

Victor looked down at the dirt. “Weren’t allowed to fight,” he muttered.

“And thank god for that,” Dorian said. “You think we would be here now if we’d gone into that battle? We’d be dead, or injured, and we wouldn’t have secured that thing.” He jerked his head back toward Owen’s tent, where they’d left the artifact.

Victor scowled and opened his mouth to protest. But Saskia interrupted him.

“Dorian’s right,” she said. “And now their deaths weren’t totally in vain.”

They went quiet at that and sat without speaking as the rain picked up. Finally, the mud on Evie’s skin started to streak away.

About an hour later, Owen came charging out of his tent. “Evie,” he said. “Commander Marechal and I need to speak with you.”

Evie straightened up, her heart pounding. She exchanged quick glances with the others, wondering if it was obvious how nervous she was.

Owen tilted his head toward the Command tent.

“Good luck,” Dorian whispered.

She shot him an angry look—was he trying to make her more nervous?—and then jogged over to Owen. Together they walked into the tent. Commander Marechal was sitting at the desk, a holo projection lighting up the murky interior. Evie put her hand to her forehead in a salute, and Commander Marechal nodded. “At ease.”

She dropped her hand, but her shoulders were still tense with anxiety. The air in the tent was muggy and thick from the rain. She could barely breathe.

“Thank you for joining us,” said a female voice. The holo flickered, and Captain Dellatorre materialized in the air above the desk. Evie felt a jolt of fear, a jolt of excitement.

“Yes,” Commander Marechal said. “Thank you. Please, have a seat.”

Evie glanced at Owen, but his face was impassive. She slid into the rickety chair set up beside the projection of Captain Dellatorre.

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