Prophet of the Badlands (The Awakened Book 1) (37 page)

he soft whisper of her name tickled at her ear, pulling her from the depths of sleep into the reach of a gentle hand that shook her by the shoulder. Althea squinted at Karina, sitting up behind her. Her sister’s face was a mask of worry drawn in tones of grey; the sun had not yet started to come up. Father stood in the doorway, surrounded by a halo of color from the lantern in his hand. Deep shadows flickered about his face; she knew something was wrong. Shaking off the grip of fatigue, she wiped the crumbs from her eyes and sat up.

“Thea, Felipe is here.” Karina’s voice carried a contagious nervousness.

“What’s wrong?” Althea looked between them.

The hissing lantern drew close as Father approached and took her hand. “Althea, Doctor Ruiz is here with Felipe.”

“Oh, no.” She threw her legs over the edge of the bed. “Is it the baby?”

“I’m afraid it is…” He pulled her into a hug, almost forcing the air out of her. “But not the littlest one.”

Sorrow surrounded him; she grew anxious. “What is happening?”

“Father, what…” Karina had run around the bed and clung to the arm bearing the light.

His voice slipped out around the lump in his throat. “Felipe brings warning. Hector Santos is causing trouble for Althea.”

Karina furrowed her eyebrows. “Hector? What could he do?”

“His brother died in the attack yesterday, the one man we lost.” Father’s face sank into the crook of Althea’s neck as he choked up. “Felipe has said he has the ear of the council… They want to―” His voice choked off.

Doctor Ruiz edged into the bedroom, following Felipe, a large bag slung over his shoulder.

“Yes.” Felipe shambled over. “He is convincing them it is too dangerous to keep you here. I thought they would disregard him, but they are listening. They want to send you away.”

Althea clung to Father. “No…” A tiny whisper came as a tremble wracked her entire body.

Her pitiful attempt at a voice knocked the last brick from his stoic wall. The lantern slipped from his fingers to the floor with a clank as he embraced her with both arms.

“Not just send you away…” Doctor Ruiz added. “They consider a plan to trade you to the chief of the Buffalo Skull.”

“That’s bullshit.” Karina sobbed. “They’re no threat to us.” She looked at Father. “They can’t do this. It is slavery! The council forbids it.”

“I’ve brought some things. You can disappear into the old city before they come for you. It’s the least I can do since you saved Luisa’s life.” Felipe smiled.

“No. No. No.” Karina pulled at Althea’s nightgown. “We can’t let them do this.”

Althea’s eyes welled with tears; the urge to cry grew stronger each time Father’s hand caressed her hair. The monster from the garden did this. He made the council turn on her. If he could influence the ravens, he could harm her family.

“I do not want you to get hurt because of me.” Althea slid out from between them, moving to her day clothes resting on the chair. “An evil here has made their minds for them.”

She tugged the nightgown over her head and threw it to the bed. As much as she tried to act stoic, she could not stall tears. Karina tried to stop her, swiping the shirt while Althea tightened the skirt about her waist.

“Father, if they cast Thea out, I am going with her.” Karina gave up her tug-of-war as she whirled on him. “Even if they give me to the Buffalo.”

“Please stay here where it is safe.” Althea put a hand on her sister’s cheek. “I don’t want you to become a slave.”

“No. I am going with you.” Karina squeezed her hand numb.

A long silence hung in the room. Father gazed at the floor with a grim frown. “It is settled then; our family will leave.”

Karina dragged her into Father’s arms.

Overwhelmed by their feelings, Althea couldn’t find the ability to say anything. They embraced for minutes.

Felipe cleared his throat. “We haven’t much time.”

Althea huddled with her sister through the hallway to the stairs, with the men behind them. She clung to Karina in the living room while Father gathered some things in a bag. No one spoke as he emerged from the back and led them outside, following Felipe. Absent the sun for several hours, the streets of Querq were cold and quiet. Althea trudged at a pace as if they led her to execution. Karina squeezed her arm and Father kept a hand on her shoulder as they walked. Althea saw the town in perfect clarity; every building, street, and hunk of debris brought memories from her short time here. Laughing children, smiling faces, even the annoying worship she had been trying to avoid, all cascaded through her mind. Karina cried, the only sound the entire trip to the end of the southeast road until they stopped at a dead end packed with debris.

Althea stared up at the old buildings. Chunk by chunk, they came over the wall, littering the road with concrete acorns fallen from steel trees. Felipe’s escape route yawned ahead. A corrugated metal pipe traversed the wall to the heart of the decaying city, too small for an adult to fit. Althea squatted, grabbing the top of the pipe and peering into its grey depths. Father would not be able to go down this; even Karina might not make it.

“You cannot go this way.” She sighed. “It is better if I go alone; you should stay safe here.”

The sun lapped at the horizon. Karina lost composure and could not speak. Althea looked away from the tunnel, glancing up at Father’s face. Tears upon his cheeks caught a glint from the hesitant sunrise; that explained his silence. She glanced again at the circle of rot waiting for her at the end of the tunnel. Den’s smiling face flashed through her mind, followed by Rachel asleep under the table. A tear splattered on her foot as she sensed history repeating itself yet again. She could not let her family get hurt.

Her toes grasped the edge of the pipe and she looked over her shoulder at the people she loved. Her knuckles whitened against the metal rim as Karina, sensing a final goodbye, turned away and sobbed into Father’s chest. Althea wanted to join her, bawling, but her quivering lip stalled at the sight of Father’s tears increasing. She let go of her sadness, replacing it with determined anger. Althea removed her foot from the pipe and planted it upon the ground.

After a scowl down the escape chute, she spun on her heel to face them.

A pulse of rage she did not intend to radiate made the glow brighten and gave Father back his stoic disposition.

“No. I am home. I will
not
let that thing win. We are not leaving.”

She stormed off, back the way they came, leading Father and Karina by the hand away from the forgotten alley. Karina was a mess; shocked out of her sobbing by the abrupt change, but too stunned to do anything but stumble along. Felipe stood by the pipe and blinked, wondering what just happened, and Doctor Ruiz smiled.

Felipe scrambled to catch up, running alongside her, the canned provisions in his bag rattling. “Althea, please, you must leave before they see you.”

“No.” She did not look at him, stomping along. “The evil makes them think this way. It’s not real, and I won’t leave my family. I won’t be stupid anymore.” She narrowed her eyes and muttered with an angry growl. “I will make it leave them alone.”

Karina’s grip tightened.

Althea marched into the heart of Querq, right to the council building. Not willing to let go of their hands, she left a dusty footprint upon the dark-stained wood next to the knob. The door swung into the wall, filling the huge chamber with a thunderous crash that startled the room into silence. The judges, perched along their bench, had murmured in whispers with a small group of men. She felt a wave of elation from Felipe before he ran off, dropping his bag with a dull clatter.

Everyone at the bottom gawked as she came tromping down the smooth path between the auditorium seats. The clap of her feet upon the polished stone rang out with each step on her way to the edge of the open space in front of the council. The judges traded glances, whispering. A crowd of men to the left of the bench huddled closer, as if afraid of the little girl staring at them.

Hector stood at the forefront of the group, arms folded over the rim of the wooden pedestal, barely tall enough to get his chin past it. He pointed with a scowl at Althea. She felt the hate permeating him; he blamed her for his brother’s death.

“Is this how our noble council conducts itself?” Father had found words again; his fists trembled with fury hidden from his voice. “Secret meetings before dawn, conspiring against a child?”

“Calm yourself, Fernando.” The eldest jurist raised his hand. “This is an emergency session, not a vote.”

“Emergency?” Karina blurted. “You’re going to sell my sister to the Buffalos.”

“Emilio is dead!” Hector yelled, pointing at Althea. “Because of her.”

The woman judge on the far right banged a little hammer, glaring at the out-of-turn yelling.

Father fumed. “Emilio is dead because he forgot to duck. He was grandstanding!”

Hector’s friends held him back. The hammer continued, ignored by all.

Karina’s voice teetered at the edge of shrieking. “Raiders attack us with or without her. If not for Althea, we would have buried fifteen instead of one. Did you forget about the people she saved?”

Silence. The hammer ceased at last.

The judges looked at each other. The younger woman among them cleared her throat. “The question does remain if that particular raider attack would even have occurred if she was not here. To what degree is she responsible for an increase in their activity?”

“You’re not seriously blaming her after all she has done for us?” Doctor Ruiz blinked in disbelief. “How would they have even known she’s here?”

“More will die if she stays.” Hector waved his arm at her, looking at the judges. “She couldn’t fix Emilio.”

Althea looked down, lost somewhere between guilt and anger. “He died right away; there was nothing I could do for him. I’m sorry.”

“He was cut in half,” Father said, spit flew through his teeth as he traced his fingers from shoulder to hip over his heart. “Even the Prophet has limits.”

Karina flung a wave at Hector. “He shouldn’t have jumped down from the wall to try out his new sword.”

“You bitch.” Hector lunged, but his friends held him back again. “He fell.”

“Stop it.” Althea’s shout echoed over the silence that followed. When the reverberation faded, she spoke in a soft tone. “The land here is evil. It feeds from pain and suffering. It is making everyone angry. It wants me to hurt. It wants you to hurt. It is making you all think and do things you would not do. I feel so much anger from everyone, and it is not real.”

Two of the five jurists gave her a pondering look. The eldest in the middle, the grandfather, offered a sympathetic smile. The other two squinted with suspicion. One of them asked her to explain herself in more detail. Althea told them about the vision in the garden, the man who asked her to let the raider die.

“He wanted to trick me. If I had let him die, even though he was a raider, it would make me no better than they are. He wanted me to do evil.”

“You save one of them, but let Emilio die?” Hector shouted. “Which side are you on? ¡Ella es un traidor!”

Doors creaked open, causing all to look. Felipe had returned with most of the town in tow. They filed into the room, few bothering to sit. Some of the men who were wounded on the wall appeared at the front of the pack.

A voice cried out, “She stays!”

Another yelled, “Keep Althea!”

One by one, the shouts mingled together into a din. Grandfather whacked the bench with another wooden hammer, making the judge-names bounce until all fell quiet. Hector grew agitated at the show of support; his small cadre of friends were outnumbered.

Hector looked back to the ravens. “How many more raiders will attack us trying to take her? If we give her to them, they become our allies. More protection from other groups, and they won’t come after us to get the Prophet.”

“They will not be your allies.” Althea’s voice was quiet, yet stern. “They will take me and then they will have me. They will owe you nothing but pain. Will you continue to give them your women and your guns to keep them happy?”

A murmur swept through the crowd, causing several hammers to pound again.