[Sin Eater's Daughter 3] The Scarecrow Queen by Melinda Salisbury

Author:Melinda Salisbury
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, pdf
Tags: Young Adult, Magic, Science Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy
ISBN: 9781407162706
Publisher: Scholastic Fiction
Published: 2017-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The water behind us is threaded with his blood, and out of nowhere I think of pike lurking beneath us in the shadows, and hope they’re not tempted – I’m all out of fight. I can’t even feel the cold any more. Then I think of how easily we could be followed by men on foot, a trail of blood, not breadcrumbs, to lead them to us. It prompts me to kick a little, but Merek moans softly at the motion so I stop, concentrating on keeping us afloat. His eyes are closed, and his face is pale.

“Merek?”

His eyes flutter open. “Sorry. I’m all right.” He rolls away from me, on to his front, his head immediately going under. Before I can reach for him, he surfaces again, gasping, and grabbing for my hand, keeping us together. “I’m all right. Just. . . We need to get out.”

I nod, treading water. We both look around.

“Where’s safe?” I ask. I don’t think we’re far enough away to get out on the side we were on, but have no idea what might await on the opposite banks.

He shakes his head. “Nowhere. Lake Baha has to be the closest place. We haven’t passed it. This flows into it, as well as on to the estuary.”

His voice sounds weak, and in the water I squeeze his fingers. He squeezes back.

“What’s at the lake?”

“More water. It’s a saltwater lake. Lake Baha. There are – were, I don’t know any more – salt farms there. Shelter.”

“Maybe we’d be better off staying in the water for a bit. It’s not that cold any more.”

“That’s why we need to get out,” he says. “It’s far too cold for us. If we can’t feel it, we’re in trouble.” He starts to kick, one hand still holding mine, and I do the same.

“There aren’t any waterfalls on this stretch, are there?” I gasp.

“No,” he calls back. Then: “Branch. Ahead. Get ready.” I twist in the water to see it, low and hanging over the river. “We’ll have to let go of each other.”

“All right.”

“Ready? One. . . Two. . .”

On three he lets go of my hand and pushes up, out of the water, and I do the same. I manage to hook my elbow over the branch, leaving my lower body in the water.

The chill morning air hits me so hard it’s a physical blow.

“Gods. . .” Merek groans, and I don’t know if it’s his leg or the temperature that pains him.

He begins to inch along the branch, hand over hand, and I do the same, heading for the opposite bank to the one from which we entered the water. He scrambles up the bank, dragging his injured leg though the mud and making me wince.

“We have to get to this Lake Baha,” I tell him when I collapse beside him, my clothes bleeding river water into the ground beneath me. I immediately start to shiver, my teeth juddering together as the cold air slices away the false warmth of the water.

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