Queen of Vengeance by Aaron Hodges

Author:Aaron Hodges [Hodges, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780995120297
Publisher: The National Library of New Zealand
Published: 2019-08-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

It was night when Pela and Ruebyn finally stumbled from the cave back into the world, and at first Pela did not even realise they’d escaped their rocky tomb. The tall cliffs of a canyon rose to either side of them and the night was clear, the pinpricks of stars so similar to the glow worms that her exhausted mind did not recognise the change.

Then Ruebyn grabbed her, his face alive with excitement. “We’re free!” he exclaimed, hugging her in his excitement.

Blinking, Pela struggled to understand what he was saying. “We did it?” she asked, then finally noticed the brilliance of the full moon shining above. Her mouth fell open, then: “We did it!” Despite herself, she hugged Ruebyn back, unable to believe it was true.

Then she released him and sank to the ground, weeping at the joy of it. She was free! No one in the mine knew she was alive, no one was coming after her. She could have howled her triumph from the mountaintops—if she’d had the strength to manage more than a slow shuffle.

“What is it?” Ruebyn asked, uncertainty replacing his happiness.

Seeing his confusion, Pela wondered how he could not know, how he could not realise what this meant for her, to be free of the darkness, to have her life back. But then Ruebyn understood little but what his books and teachers had taught him—nothing of the real world. She shook her head.

“Nothing,” she said, rising. “And everything. I’m free.”

The smile slipped from his face at her words and he took a step back. That Pela could understand. She was free, but her victory had cost the boy everything. The distance restored between them, he swallowed. She knew what he was going to say before he said it.

“I should take you back, and beg for their forgiveness.”

Pela smiled, good-humoured despite his words. Nothing could take away her happiness now—certainly not Ruebyn. “I can see three problems with your plan.” She started off along the narrow canyon before he could reply.

“What?” he shouted, running to catch up with her.

“One,” Pela said, counting on her fingers, “I won’t go willingly, and I doubt you have the strength to carry me.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, waiting for a reply, but he said nothing, and she went on.

“Two—you don’t know how to get back to the mines.”

“I could find my way,” he snapped.

“Really?” Pela asked, raising one eyebrow. “Where do you think we are?”

He paused, his eyes flickering across the night sky. Then he pointed at one of the cliffs. “That way is east.”

Pela was impressed, though she kept her face carefully neutral. “Well and good, but have you ever travelled in the mountains? Do you know which gullies are passable, which are dead ends? What would you eat, and how will you stay warm at night?”

“It’s summer,” Ruebyn retorted. “How hard can it be?” But even as he spoke, a cold breeze blew through the canyon. Their clothes were still damp from the stream and he quickly wrapped his arms around his chest.

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