Dusk Lane by Jill Penrod

Author:Jill Penrod
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Tales of Balia
Publisher: Jill Penrod
Published: 2014-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

“WE CAN’T STAY HERE,” Aaden said quietly, leaning against the warm stone. His legs hurt almost unbearably, and he’d never been one to sit still when he was in trouble, even though he knew walking was going to hurt him more.

“Give it another hour,” Annora said gently. “You weren’t made to live under the Chimelu sun, Aaden.”

He knew she was right, but he hurt, and Suri was missing, and sitting here was a waste of time.

“What if they’re hurt?” he asked.

“Then we’re in trouble, because we’ll never find them,” Annora said. “It isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s true. We don’t know the area, Aaden. We’ll find them if they’re in Hanora, but if they’re trapped in a landslide, we can’t do a thing.”

Usually her bluntness didn’t bother him, but right now he wished she would just lie to him. Pretty lies, like the ones his sisters had always told him, thinking they could undo his past by making pretty stories of the future. And yes, their future had been a good one, but it hadn’t erased anything.

Shaking his head, he wondered where that had come from. His short life before Suri and Issy and Riccardo and Mama and Papa didn’t matter, and he never gave it thought.

“Aaden?” Annora asked, and he opened his eyes, not even aware he’d closed them. “Sorry. If you’re tired, I should let you sleep.”

“No,” he said. “No, I’m not tired. I was thinking about things.”

“Like?”

He sighed, feeling himself drift off again. If he slept, he wouldn’t hurt, so he should just close his eyes and give in to it.

“Ah, my family. I’ve not seen them in a very long time. And I left at odds with Papa, although he’ll forgive. Well, maybe. I’m responsible for Issy.”

Annora moved a bit closer. “From what you’ve said, I think he’ll forgive. Where did Suri find you?”

“In a little village filled with Agridores. I stole a mango, and the shopkeeper thought I was a ghost because I was so light. I was five years old.”

Annora laughed. “I can imagine you as a child. You must have driven your mother to distraction. As an adult you have the energy of three children; I can imagine as an actual child you had more.”

He smiled at her delight. “I didn’t sit still very well. Still don’t. My family moves a lot, visiting the villages on the island, visiting those who shared our faith in other lands. Every time we moved I had nightmares about being lost and left behind. Suri and Issy and Mama always knew how to make them go away.”

“Aaden, is that what happened to you? The five year-old you? Did you get lost and left behind?”

He’d never told a soul, but she looked at him with such tenderness he found the words spilling out.

“I don’t remember the details. I don’t know Mama’s story. I just know she and Papa weren’t friendly. They wanted me to bring home mangoes and other things, to steal them. Mama looked like me, I think; I don’t have much of a memory of her.

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