The Spark by Katrine Buch Mortensen

Author:Katrine Buch Mortensen [Mortensen, Katrine Buch]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Katrine Buch Mortensen
Published: 2020-12-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Spring brought clear nights bathed in moonlight. Stark, the brightest of the moons, emerged to shine like a silver sun, and Sliver, the smallest, did its very best to keep up. Sorrow retreated and wouldn’t reappear until summer. It also brought the endless cacophony of animals; the Skaring clan slaves kept countless dogs and they got into scrapes with the cats and foxes that haunted every inch of the lower quarters. There were endless swarms of ravens too, of course, but they stayed on the roofs. The vipers kept together and harshly punished anyone who thought them prey. Rumor had it viper devotees bathed in nests of snakes as dares, for rituals and just for fun.

Fortunately, the wind was still cold and the nights bitter, letting Daina wear her cloak wherever she went. Since she was completely out of power, it was her best way of keeping warm. Without salamander aid, Mani’s best guess had been purewater and power abstinence. They still had no idea how extensive Daina’s damage was, but whenever she tried to use any power, even just to activate a tattoo for a second, her veins lit on fire. She was slowly getting better, she no longer felt like she was being eaten from the inside out. For two weeks of rest, that was encouraging. There might not be any permanent damage, which was the most important thing.

But considering the meeting was in an hour or two, it didn’t seem good enough.

“Last time, we got sent off to practice immediately,” Daina complained. “What will I even be doing there?”

“You will listen, learn and prepare,” Mani answered. “You still need to heal and you will do nothing to worsen your situation, hear? That goes for you too, Aisma. Either of you come back worse than when you left, all I will do for you going forward is dig your graves. Got it?”

Both girls nodded, teeth clenched. Daina and Aisma both were getting enormously tired of the word ‘heal’. It meant ‘go nowhere, do nothing’, ‘do not participate in the coming revolution for your kind’, ‘how dare you spend the slightest ounce of energy?’. Going from running herself much too hard to being stuck making logs all day had been nice the first week, but Daina was getting antsy. For Aisma, who likely hadn’t sat still this long in her entire life, it was a novel form of torture. They had been assigned a safe house a few days ago, where they could meet with other rebels and, well, be safe, but they hadn’t gone yet.

“You think they’ve forgotten?” Mani had said, pointing to Aisma's stomach. “Think they’re not still looking for mixes harmed by bears? You were seen, too. And Daina, what will you do when a wolf recognizes you, or a gang robs you, and you don’t have a drop of power?”

So they had stayed inside, working in the workshop or walking around the store room to stretch. But even Mani wouldn’t keep them from an official New Dawn meeting, so finally they were getting a taste of the outside again.

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