Unworthy: Marked to die. Raised to survive. by Joanne Armstrong

Author:Joanne Armstrong
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2014-06-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

We continue riding for the rest of the afternoon. Hayes passes me a small foil packet with biscuits in it, and it’s clear he doesn’t want to stop. They are dry and salty, but fill the hole in my stomach.

“The trap was the tracker’s, wasn’t it?” I ask him as we ride side by side.

“Most likely. It was fairly recent, and expertly laid.”

“Does he have a device like yours?” I motion the thermal imager in his hands.

He nods in answer. “I had been confident in keeping ahead of his range, but the trap means that he’s been through here recently. He could have left triggers out.”

Alarm bells ring in my head. There is so little out here that it would be difficult to miss us.

“Arcadia,” he says. I think it may the first time I have heard him use my name, and I glance across at him warily. He continues riding, staring straight ahead, and I keep pace with him. “I know that you’re coping with a lot right now. You’ve just lost your Grandfather, and you’re finding out some unpleasant things about your world. I need to apologise to you for the scuffle yesterday. I didn’t - I don’t - want to hurt you. This assignment, to bring you to the Polis, is very unusual and, I think, very important.” His fingers nervously flit over the monitor controls and his eyes are looking anywhere but at me. “I have no excuse except that I’m on edge. I’ve made mistakes and for those I apologise too. I’ll step up my game from now on. Be more vigilant.”

I nod slowly. “Thank you,” I say. I hardly know how to take this. His apology makes me feel uncomfortable. Plus, the tracker aside, the last thing I want him to be is more vigilant.

“I need something from you in return though. I need you to do as I say, even though you despise me. My job is to keep you safe, and it’s in your best interests to let me do it well. You’re going to make it a lot harder if you don’t listen to me.”

I can’t think how to respond. My anger has evaporated and all I feel is exhausted. It’s difficult to take offence, because as much as I dislike the guy, I can’t find fault in what he’s said. Plus, despise is a very strong word.

The silence between us grows until I say quietly, “I’ll listen.” There are probably other things I should say, but his awkwardness is apparent when he urges his horse ahead of mine and I let him go without another word. The truth is that I feel chastened, as though he’s just told me off for misbehaving, but guilty because I know I deserved it.

We follow the course of the water downstream until we come to a point where another, larger tributary meets it. To my surprise my guide turns up this new branch, towards the west, in the opposite direction of the Polis.

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