The Defiance (Brilliant Darkness) (10 page)

"You're okay. You're safe. You made it to the caves."

"I did?" He sounds weak, but gratified.

I hug him. "You did. How do you feel?"

"Hungry and thirsty." I help him sit up. "
Ow
, and my head hurts."

"Tell me about it." Bear comes over. "Here, drink some water. Heard you had quite the adventure out there."

My hand tightens on Eland's arm, and I shake my head slightly, trying to give him a silent warning not to tell Bear too much. We need to talk first, given the lies I smeared around the caves like crampberries last night.

"Yeah, it was," Eland says. He must have gotten the message, but when did he learn to lie so smoothly? "Where is everyone? How long have I been out?"

Bear fills Eland in as he eats and drinks. I make sure he finishes the water before I allow him to try to stand up.

"My head still hurts, but it's okay," Eland says, shaking me off. "Let's go home. It's creepy in here when no one's around. And freezing." Like most Groundlings, the caves are probably his least favorite place. Bad memories are etched into the rock walls like the ancient drawings of humans and animals we've occasionally found.

"Good call," Bear agrees.

I scoff. "Wimps.”

We move across the main cavern, our footsteps bouncing through the space. Bear repositions himself to walk between Eland and I, probably so he can support him if he has any lingering weakness. Or maybe in case I do. Eland seems okay despite the headache, joking about how the caves smell better. It's true; the smoke from the fire drove out the foul human-waste scents.

We reach the cave mouth. The rain is still pelting, so we make a break for it to our shelter. I hang on to Bear's arm as my feet squish through the mud on the path. We're all panting and laughing by the time we get there. We crash inside, landing in a heap on the floor. Bear hauls us up.

I catch a familiar scent in the air and my heart springs into my mouth.

"Peree!" Eland chirps.

"Hey there, little brother." His voice is warm but cautious.

I reach out for him. I probably resemble some kind of half-drowned ground animal recently ejected from its muddy home, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Hey, you," he whispers, his lips brushing my ear.

I turn my face up to him for a kiss before remembering that Bear must be watching us. He'll have to get used to this, if we're going to be friends, but the chance of us all
becoming
friends might be greater if I don't push him too far, too fast. I pull back a hand's length, which is as far away from him as I can stand.

"Hello,
Peree
." Bear emphasizes the name a little, as if to prove he was listening to me earlier. His voice is surprisingly pleasant.

"Bear," Peree responds. His tone is a lot more horizontal. Then again, he's probably been really worried. He wasn't expecting us to come tumbling in, laughing madly, with Bear in tow.

"When did you . . ." I stop, not wanting to mention the illegal hunting trip in front of Bear. "How long have you been here?"

"I was watching after the sick ones left, but I didn't see you or Eland come out of the caves with the others. I snuck down after everyone went inside." He runs his hand through my dripping hair. "I would've checked the caves, but the guards were keeping a close eye on the entrance."

"Guards?" I ask.

"In the trees and on the ground." I can tell from his tone that he took it as a challenge rather than a warning. "Petrel's covering for me at home. I had to create a bit of a distraction to get past the guard down here. It helped that she kept ducking back inside her shelter to get out of the rain.”

"What if they catch you?" I say, anxiety sparring with pleasure that he’s here. "You shouldn't have come."

"Yeah, I should have. I told you, Fenn. I'm not going to let them keep us apart."

His words pulse with all the frightening intensity I've heard in his voice before. I rest my hand on his chest and nod.

"I guess I'll head home now." Bear sounds like he'd rather be anywhere else than watching this.

I turn to face him. If I could stitch a permanent apology to my lips, I might have done it. "Thank you for everything, Bear. And please don't mention that you saw Per—"

"C'mon, Fenn. Give me some credit." The door doesn't exactly slam behind him, but it's not far off. I sigh. Peree sits on my bed, pulling me into his lap.

I struggle to stand again. "Wait, I'll get you all wet."

"I couldn’t care less," he says. I put my head on his shoulder, savoring the closeness, but I'm shivering with cold within seconds. "Okay, maybe you should change first."

Eland's way ahead of me. I guess he's not shy about stripping down in front of Peree, because he's into a dry set of clothes in no time. But I'm not so bold. As usual, Peree notices my problem. He sets me on my feet and moves away.

"Take a look at these, Eland. I made them for you. Had some time on my hands." They must be arrows, given Eland's enthusiasm and the stream of technical questions about shaft lengths and fletchings.

Assuming they’ve turned their backs by now, I grab my extra set of clothes out of the basket in the corner that Acacia wove for us years ago. Aloe's extra clothes are still in here, too. I wish they fit me.

I'm sure another woman would be very happy to have them; I just can't bring myself to part with them yet. I know it's silly to be so sentimental about clothes, but hanging on to the bits and pieces of Aloe helps me feel like she's not quite so lost. Or maybe that I'm not.

I quickly scrub as much of the mud off my face and body as I can with my sopping clothes, and let them fall in a pile around my feet. I'm wiggling into my blessedly dry underclothes when the unthinkable happens, at least to a fairly-modest, mostly-naked girl—the door opens.

"Well,
this
is interesting," a male voice says.

"Moray! Get
out
of here!" I hiss.

I scuttle behind the washstand and spread my dry clothes against me, trying—and failing—to cover all of me at once. My whole body burns like a spicy pepper from the garden.
Doesn't anyone knock anymore?

 Peree steps between Moray and me. "You heard her. Go. Now." His voice is so menacing, it's unrecognizable.

"Take your own advice, Lofty. Rain's stopping, and I doubt you want to be seen down here right now. Sorry to interrupt whatever you three were up to," he says suggestively, "but I have business with Fennel."

"Don't be disgusting, Moray!" I say. "Go outside, or at least turn around, and let me get dressed. Then we can talk."

"Wait—you
want
to talk to this low life?" Peree asks.

"Not really, but I promised I would."

"I'm not talking with him here," Moray says.

"I'm not talking at all until I can get dressed without an audience," I huff. "So all of you out! Except you, Peree. He's right; you can't risk being seen."

"I'm going, I'm going," Eland says, chortling. "But I'll be right back. I'm not missing this."

"I'll count to thirty, sweetheart," Moray says, "then I'm coming back in. Looking good, by the way."

"Get out!" Peree and I bark together. "And stop calling me that!" I add.

The door finally closes.

I can't tell who's fuming more, Peree or me, as I hurry into my clothes.

"What does he want?" he asks, as I, finally fully covered, try to locate my lost dignity. I know it was around here somewhere.

"You'll find out in about ten seconds," I grumble.

This was not how I imagined this conversation with Moray starting out. But having Peree here is better than talking to him alone. I don't trust him any farther than I can budge him.

"Ready or not, here I come." Moray pushes his way back in.

"He only counted to twenty." Eland follows him.

Peree must have been lying in wait, because I hear a short scuffle.

"Listen, Groundling." If Peree's voice drops any lower, he'll be picking it up off the floor. "Fennel told me what you did to her. Nothing like that will ever happen again. Got it? Keep your hands off her and a respectful tongue in your mouth."

"Or what?" Moray asks.

"Or next time, she'll bite it all the way off," Peree says smoothly. Eland laughs nervously, but I know I'll face his questions later about what exactly happened with Moray.

"Enough," I say. "Everyone take a seat, and we can have a civil discussion like the adults most of us are supposed to be now."

I sit on my pallet, primly covering my knees with my dress. Peree hovers beside me.

Eland jumps onto his pallet.

Moray doesn't move. "I don't want the Lofty here."

"You don't have a choice, Groundling," Peree says.

"Apparently you two haven't been introduced," I say. "Moray, Peree. Peree, Moray. Now you can call each other by your proper names."

Moray thumps into a chair in the corner. "Give me the message."

"Congratulations,” Eland says quickly. “You're going to be a father."

Silence
. "What did you say?"

I so wish I could see Moray's face at that moment, but hearing his voice is pretty good, too. He sounds strangled, like he’s been kicked between the legs.

"We met your Lofty friend," I say. "Nice girl."

"Wonder what she saw in you," Eland mutters.

"When was this? Who was it?" Peree sounds stunned and sort of amused, probably reacting to whatever he sees on Moray's face.

I shrug. "She wouldn’t tell us her name."

"What else did she say?" Moray’s voice is already almost nonchalant. Can't shock this one for long.

"She said to meet her by the water hole as soon as the sick ones leave."

"At the
usual
time," Eland says.

Moray jumps out of his chair. "Don't tell anyone else."

"
Please
," Peree says.

"What?" Moray asks, a little irritably.

"
Please
don't tell anyone else."

"
Please
don't tell anyone or I might have to let it slip to the Three that you were down here today without their permission. How's that sound, Lofty?" Moray asks.

I stand. "Listen, your friend saved our lives, and we promised to deliver her message to you. I don't want to get any more involved in your business than I have to. We'll keep your secret if you keep ours. Don't tell anyone you saw Peree here."

"
Please
," Eland adds. I frown at him.

"Okay . . . you got a deal," Moray drawls. "Looks like we're in bed together after all, sweetheart, one way or another."

He chuckles as he leaves. Peree drags the chair in front of the door, mumbling about keeping out other unwelcome visitors. I flop onto my pallet, the stress of the last ten minutes catching up to me.

He sits down beside me. "What happened? All I know is Petrel plucked Eland off a tree and brought you up, then you both disappeared."

I tell him the whole story from the whispered threat and the fire, to our frightening dash into the caves. Eland chimes in from time to time, telling him Aloe's message about the Three, and describing how our Lofty girl-guide looked. When he says her hair is so blond it's almost white, Peree thinks he might know who it is. A young girl named Frost. Too young to be partnered with another Lofty, much less to be sneaking off with much older Groundlings.

Moray should be in more trouble than he knows what to do with if the Covey and the Three find out, but based on my own experience, he'll find a way to weasel out of any serious consequences.

"Petrel and Moon didn't know any of that," Peree says. "Moon had a bit of a scare, and you two were gone by the time they got back home. They felt terrible."

"A scare?” I ask.

"Apparently she couldn't feel the hatchling move during all the excitement with the fire in the trees. They're fine now."

I can't help giggling. Eland snickers, too. "
Hatchling
?"

"That's what we call them before they, well, hatch." He sounds defensive. "What do you call 'em?"

"Babies." I laugh.

"Totally uninspired."

"Anyway, I'm glad they're okay." I lie back. He slides my head onto his lap. "So what do we do now? We're getting further away from our goals every day. The Confluence is falling apart."

"You know what we have to do, Fenn. Go to Koolkuna. It's not safe here for you anymore. Or for Eland," Peree says pointedly.

"I know. You're right. But our people . . ."

"Our people are showing us daily that they weren't worth coming back for." His voice is rock hard.

"I can't believe that. Not all of them. There
are
good people here, they're just scared and confused."

"Fennel—at the Feast of Deliverance, I told you you're my whole world now. My past, present, and future, remember? The rest was your agenda."

I snap upright. "My
agenda
? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean it was what you wanted. Not me."

Eland shifts on his bed. "Um, should I leave?"

"No, Eland. I want you to hear this," Peree says. "Your sister's everything to me. And you're everything to her. Which makes you pretty important to me, too. I need to know you're both safe, and I want to be with you. That's
my
agenda. If I can't accomplish it in this place, then I want us to go to Koolkuna. It's as simple as that."

I'm flustered Peree is saying all this in front of Eland, but I'm touched by his words.

"Is it as simple as that, though?" I ask him gently. "What about Moon and Petrel, and their, er, hatchling? And Breeze?"

"You two are my family now,” Peree says. “And my family is most important."

How can I argue with that? I cup his face in my hands and kiss him, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

"Wow, you guys are gross. I feel kinda sick," Eland says. He pretends to retch.

Peree laughs. "Watch and learn, brother. You'll need these skills before long."