Terra by Richard Bowker

Author:Richard Bowker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2016-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

We turned and ran.

Had the soldiers seen us?

It hurt to run. Finally I tripped on a cobblestone, stumbled, and stopped. Palta stopped too. I tried to think. "We should go back," I said, panting. "I can kill those soldiers with the gant. And Decius. We can save Affron and the rest, if they're still in the house."

"It's too late," Palta replied. "Why are those soldiers just standing out there? I think they're waiting for us. I think they've already killed the others."

I recalled the soldiers marching down the street as I made my way to the waterfront to rescue Palta. I should have gone back to the house and warned everyone. "But we don't know that," I pointed out.

And then the girl with the blond braids came up to us. "Those soldiers," she said. "They are gone."

We looked at her. "Are you sure?" Palta asked.

The girl shrugged. "Of course. You are in trouble, I think. Can I help?"

We didn't respond. Instead we walked back to our street and peered down it from the corner. The street was empty.

"There was a carriage," the girl said from behind us. "The soldiers marched off, and the one in the white robe—he got in the carriage and left. He must be an important man, I think."

"We should check inside," I said to Palta.

She nodded.

We walked slowly down the street to the house. The door was unlocked. I took out the gant, and we entered.

The house was empty. I looked for signs of a struggle—broken furniture, overturned chairs, blood on the floor. I didn't see any. What had happened? I wondered if Affron had tried to use his magic—had it deserted him again? I wondered if Carmody had tried to fight—that's what Carmody would have done. But the soldiers would have overpowered him.

"Maybe they escaped," I suggested.

Palta shook her head. "The soldiers have them," she said. "They are probably back in Urbis already. They shouldn't have stayed in the house."

I supposed she was right.

Except Valleia and Carmody thought they had the gant to protect them. But Affron had given it to me.

The sun was shining now. Birds were chirping in the small trees in the peristyle.

I looked at Palta. Tears streaked her face. I put my arm around her.

We went back outside and stood in the sunlit street. What were we supposed to do now? We could never return to this house; that was clear. Decius and the priests would still be looking for us, even if they had captured the others, if only because we had the gant. And that meant we had to continue to hide—maybe for the rest of our lives.

The girl with blond braids was still there, standing by a tree. "Can I help?" she repeated. "I am staying not very far from here. My home is your home. My life is your life."

Palta wiped her face with the dirty sleeve of her robe. "Yes," she said. "We need help. We need a place to stay. Can we go with you?"

The girl's face lit up with a smile.

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