North! Or Be Eaten (42 page)

On the fifth day in the cage, he gave up.

He could no longer bear the ghostly gaze of the Stone Keeper, or the sickening excitement of the Skreean volunteers as they entered the box, or most of all the tears of the children. So many children, pulled from the Black Carriage or marched in from the dungeon, helpless in a place no child should ever see. He doubted the Fangs would keep their word and set the children free. He hoped they would.

But worse than the horror of the world he lived in was the world
within
him. He could not stop remembering. He hung in a birdcage above this dungeon so much like the one from which he had escaped, and the voices in his head and the bitter remembrance of all that had happened in the Deeps of Throg gnawed at his spirit. It was a greater torture than even what he had endured from Gnag.

When the Grey Fang with the meat pulled the cage close, Artham said, “I’m finished.”

“What’s that?” said the Fang.

“If it’s true the Stone Keeper will free the children, then she can have me. Do with me what she will.”

The Fang stared at Artham, nodded, then disappeared from the window.

Artham sat in the cage with his head hung low, twirling a lock of his white hair around one of his talons. A few minutes later the cage lurched, then lowered a click at a time to the dungeon floor. A door on the far wall opened, and a host of Grey Fangs poured from it. They surrounded the cage with swords drawn.

Artham stared at the floor. The voices roared in his mind. He heard the old, familiar one screaming,
I left him
, but now there were more.

Coward
, they said.
Weakling
.

Artham sat with his eyes closed and shut himself off to everything.

“It’s almost over,” he mumbled again and again. “It’s almost over.”

The Fangs stepped aside. The Stone Keeper entered the room. She approached the cage, a tall, slender, hooded figure in a flowing black robe. Artham opened one eye, then the other, and peered up at her. Her face was invisible in the cowl, but he sensed none of the hatred or evil he expected.

“It’s almost over,” he said again.

“Yes,” she said, in a voice so beautiful that Artham stopped trembling. “Everything will be fine, Artham Wingfeather. You have nothing to fear.”

She bent close to the cage and removed her hood.

Her face was pale, her hair black as raven feathers. Her eyes were dark jewels in a field of snow. She was beautiful, but it was a terrible beauty. Artham was afraid to look away; neither did he want to. At once he understood why the children calmed when she spoke to them. He felt that he would do whatever she asked, no matter how wrong it might be.

“Poor Artham. How long have you been running? Nine years? And now,” she said, her voice as quiet as a purr, “you can rest. The Black Carriage is coming with more of the broken, more who are tired like you. But I will set them free if you will sing the song. Is that what you want?”

Artham nodded.

“All right. But first, they’re going to watch you. I’ll let them see the magnificent thing you’ve become when you step back through the door. And then I’ll let them choose. If they want to go free, I’ll set them free. I’ll turn them out into the wilds of Skree, powerless and alone, as you wish—or they can give themselves to Gnag’s service. I can make them strong and give them an army of comrades.” She straightened and raised her voice to the Fangs. “Can I not?”

They howled and barked and snapped their teeth.

From deep in the tunnel came the rattle and squeak of the Black Carriage. Artham saw the lantern swaying to and fro, larger and brighter every second. The four black horses appeared, and the crows, the robed driver, then the thing itself—a graveyard on wheels.

The Stone Keeper replaced her hood and stood on the dais.

The driver opened the coffins, and the children climbed out, blinking and frail.

“Line them up!” said the Stone Keeper.

The Grey Fangs stood the children in a line at the foot of the dais. All of them trembled and cowered at the sight of the walking wolves.

All but one.

One of the children didn’t tremble. He only stared at the ground.

He was skinny as a rake, with sandy brown hair. The look on his bruised and swollen face was not one of fear but shame. He merely glanced at the Fangs, the children, and the iron box, and sighed. Then he hung his head and closed his eyes—much as Artham had done when he gave up all hope.

As soon as Artham laid eyes on the boy, he leapt to his feet. His head smashed into the top of the cage, but he didn’t care. He squawked and flapped and screamed, trying with all that was in him to cry the name, “Tink!”

Before Artham could catch Tink’s eye, the Grey Fangs closed in and blocked his view.

S
econds after Nia wrapped her arms around Janner, guilt bubbled in his stomach and weakened his knees. He dreaded the question he knew would come. He dreaded it so much that he felt the world around him buck like a pony, and his head spun. As if from a great distance he heard Nia’s sniffles, the tiny, warm sound of her kisses on his forehead, the rustle of her clothes against his furs, and, at last, the words that caused him to black out completely: “Janner, where’s Tink? Where’s your brother?”

While he slept, Janner dreamed of the Black Carriage and of the Overseer and at last of the box where he had spent so many days alone with his thoughts. In the dream, he lay in the deep dark of the box for days before he realized some wicked thing was inside with him, watching him in the blackness. Again he heard the sea dragon’s voice in his head.
“He is near you. Beware.”

Janner woke in a panic. He thrashed, sending the blankets piled on him to the floor in a heap, and sat up in a cold sweat. It took him a moment to understand where he was, and then it came to him in a flash—Kimera. He had made it! His joy was tainted by shame about Tink, but the realization that he had traveled such a terrible distance and reached his destination brought a smile to his face.

He lay in a bed of soft white fur. The covers were fur, too, but nothing like the smelly, stiff wolf skins he and Maraly had scavenged. These were soft as feathers and warm. Someone had replaced his clothes with a nightgown made of a downy fabric. The floor was cobbled stone, but the walls were glassy and white, and it wasn’t until he touched them that Janner realized they were made of ice. His finger stuck to the wall, and when he pulled it away, a little wisp of steam evaporated as his fingerprint disappeared.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” he said, and the wooden door swung open to reveal a girl on a crutch. She wore a simple white dress, and her hair was pulled back in a long braid.

“Leeli!” Janner cried, and he swept her up in a tight hug.

“It’s a good thing you fainted,” she giggled. “They had to sew up your shoulder.”

He had forgotten about his snickbuzzard wound. Janner pulled back the collar of his nightgown and was surprised to see a bandage wrapped around his upper arm.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he said, moving his shoulder in circles.

“They put garp oil on it,” she said. “It’s a kind of fish—which is what we eat around here, mostly. It doesn’t speed up the healing, but it takes the pain away for a while.”

“How long have you been here?” Janner asked as he sat at the foot of the bed.

“We got here ten days ago.” Leeli looked at the floor. “I’m sorry we left you. I didn’t want to. None of us did. But the Fangs—”

“Hush,” Janner said. “It’s all right. I had a lot of time to think about it, and I understand. It was the only thing that could be done to keep you safe. Where’s Maraly—the Strander girl?”

“She’s with Gammon. I don’t think she wanted to get cleaned up, but Mama made her. You know how she is.”

“What about Grandpa and Oskar?”

Leeli rolled her eyes. “They got tired of waiting for you to wake up, so they’re in the tavern playing cards. That’s where Grandpa’s spent most of his time.”

“There’s a tavern? Underground?”

“Sort of. We’re not actually underground. We’re under snow. Deep snow. After a while, it seems like an ordinary town, with streets and houses and places to play. What’s wrong?”

Janner hung his head, thinking of his little brother and how much he would have loved Kimera. Janner couldn’t bear to say his name.

“It’s not your fault,” said Leeli. She limped across the room and sat beside Janner on the bed. “Nobody thinks it’s your fault.”

“But I’m a Throne Warden!” Janner snapped. “My one job in the world is to protect him, and I couldn’t do it!”

Leeli was silent.

Janner felt a sob rising in his throat. He had spent days and days on the run. He had thought about Tink many times, but always, at the front of his mind, was his quest to reach the Ice Prairies. He had dreamed of his mother’s embrace. He had dreamed of rest and food and safety. Lurking underneath it all was the stark, awful image of Tink in the Black Carriage, eyes wide and full of terror. All that time, Janner had been able to push the guilt away because he wasn’t sure he was much better off.

But now that he was in a soft bed in a warm room with his family so near, it felt
unfair. He didn’t deserve such comfort when his brother was—wherever he was. Janner wanted to tear off the soft nightgown, wrap himself in wolf skins again, and trudge back through the Stony Mountains to Dugtown. He would march right up to the nearest Fang and turn himself over. The Black Carriage seemed a better fate than this unbearable guilt.

“Aha!” said a raspy voice.

Podo burst into the room. He looked like Podo always looked, with his bushy white eyebrows and his wild white hair, but one of his arms hung in a sling. Janner remembered that on the night they were separated, when Podo had broken down the door to Ronchy McHiggins’s tavern, he had heard the crunch of bones. But if Podo’s wound hurt, it didn’t show. He rushed forward and tackled Janner onto the bed. He smelled of pipe smoke and ale. He poked Janner’s ribs with his gnarled old fingers and laughed, but Janner only lay on his back, motionless.

Podo’s mirth vanished. He plopped down on the bed beside Leeli with a heavy sigh and placed a hand on Janner’s leg. Nia and Oskar appeared in the doorway and took in the situation at once. Oskar’s cheeks were rosy, his swath of hair was neatly pressed to the top of his head, and his folded hands rested atop his belly. Nia wore a different gown, but she looked no less regal.

Without a word they crossed the room and sat on the bed so that Janner found himself enclosed by his family. He was in a nest, the walls made of those who loved him. They were silent. Janner stared at the ceiling.

“We love you,” Nia said at last, placing a hand on Janner’s face.

The sob rose in his throat and spilled out.

“I lost him,” he wailed. “I tried to find him, but he was gone. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down his face. He cried so hard he could barely breathe. Over and over again he said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” And over and over again, Nia said, “We love you, we love you.”

When Janner’s tears finally ebbed, Podo gathered him in his big arms and held him close. Janner’s eyes closed. He felt his mother’s hand in his hair, Leeli’s head resting on his arm, and Oskar’s hand on his foot.

Then the silence broke. Leeli prayed aloud to the Maker for protection for Kalmar Wingfeather. When she finished, Janner’s well was dry. He had no more tears to cry, and his best hope was that the Maker indeed heard the name Kalmar Wing-feather and would stoop to Aerwiar to help him.

Leeli raised her whistleharp to her lips and played. It was a new melody, something she was improvising, much as she had when she played Nugget’s song over the
waters of the Dark Sea. Janner’s eyes were closed, but within seconds the blackness swirled and took shape, and he could see things far, far away.

“Keep playing!” Janner said, leaping to the floor. The adults watched him with concern, but he didn’t care. Leeli looked confused, but she kept playing. Janner turned slowly with his hand outstretched, willing the images in his mind to solidify. He didn’t know it, but when he stopped turning, he faced south and east, and if he had been a bird flying that direction, he could have soared over the Ice Prairies, across the waters of a narrow strait, and to a rocky island where Peet the Sock Man struggled in a cage.

But Janner saw none of that. He saw only blurry images and darkness.

But then he realized the darkness was what he was supposed to see, and that the blurry images weren’t blurry at all. They were beams of light slipping through cracks. His head swirled with Leeli’s melody, and finally he saw what he was looking for: two specks of light, deep in the shadows, and the outline of a dirty, swollen face.

A red light exploded in the darkness, and Tink’s face filled Janner’s vision. His lips moved. His eyes were hollow and profoundly sad. When the light was brightest, Tink’s eyes fell wearily shut, and he vanished.

Janner’s heart pounded so hard that he put a hand to his chest. “I saw him!” he cried. “He’s alive!”

“Silence him,” said the Stone Keeper, waving a hand toward Artham. “He’s frightening the children.”