The Boy in the Field (6 page)

You stepped in front of the two boys. “Leave them, father.”

“Stay out of this, you little whore.”

Noah moved beside you. “Don’t speak to her like that!”

You turned to face him. “Please. Go. I can handle this. Both of
you, just go home.”

“Listen to her,” your father grumbled. “Otherwise I’ll paint
the street with you.”

“It’s okay. You two go. I’ve got this.” You stepped in front of
Ethan. “Papa, we should go home.”

“Who’re you to tell me when I should go ‘ome?” He reached out
and grabbed your arm. “Huh?”

“It’s cold out here, Papa. I don’t want you to get ill.”

He swayed and you put your arm around his shoulder to steady
him. For a moment, he just stared at you and then he smiled.

“You look just like her,” he said. “Did I ever tell you that?
Just like her.”

“Tell me on the way home, Pa.”

You looked over your shoulder and nodded to the boys. As long
as he didn’t hurt them, you could handle whatever he threw at you. He mumbled
and slurred his way through a story about you mother, repeating over and over
how pretty she was and how you looked just like her. You forced yourself to
smile and asked questions when he lost his train of thought, determined to get
him back home before he could change his mind and start another fight.

“She left me too,” he said, as you pushed the door open and
helped him inside. “Just like you’re trying to.”

He turned, grabbing you by the elbow and swinging you at the
wall. You heard the noise before you felt the pain, a sound like whip cracking
and your arm burning like it was on fire or melting or broken. He lunged at you
again, pinning you by the throat.

“I can see why she didn’t want you. You’re a curse. Ever since
you came along, nothing good happens.” He yanked you away from the wall and
slammed you up against it again, his fist striking you in the stomach. “You
killed her. It’s your fault. You should have died in her place.” He dropped you
and turned his back.

You curled into a ball and didn’t move for the rest of the
night. He walked by you several times but never stopped to check you were okay.
At some point, you fell asleep and he must have left as when you woke up the
front door was open and the house was silent. The sun had risen and it had been
that which had woken you, a bright beam shining in your face through the open
door. You lifted your hand to shield your eyes and the pain flooded back,
making you cry out.

A blurry, black figure appeared in the doorway and for a
moment, you thought he had returned to finish the job. You felt weak. The
figure crouched at your side and extended his hand. He had come to take you
away, to end your pain. This was the end. All you had to do was…

Choice:
214.
Take His Hand
or
215.
Close Your Eyes

You stepped in front of the two boys. “Don’t speak to them
like that.”

“Or what?” He stepped forward and shoved you in the chest. “Are
you going to stop me?”

“Yeah.” You nodded. “I am.”

“Come on then.” He shoved you again. “I would love to see you
try.”

As you stumbled, you became aware of other footsteps in the
square, more men shouting and blades being drawn. Ethan and Noah pulled you to
your feet as the argument turned into a brawl, other men from the tavern moving
to your defence, dragging father away from you. As they fought him, more men
joined to fight against them.

“Come on,” Noah grabbed your hand and pulled. “Let’s go.”

Ethan was right behind you as you began to run, taking the
shortest streets back to their house, hoping that no one would look for you or
follow. Noah unlocked the door and the three of you bundled into the hallway of
the house, Ethan slamming it shut behind you.

“What are you doing?” Adina rushed into the hallway, a frown on
her face which disappeared as she looked at the three of you, panting and
groaning in the doorway.

“Her father…” Noah puffed. “There was a fight in the square… We
ran…”

As he let go of your hand, you felt it sting and looked to see
nasty, red grazes across your palm. The other hand was the same.

“Go into the kitchen,” Adina said, starting up the stairs. “Sit
down and wait for me.”

You all obeyed, moving to sit at the kitchen table. Ethan laid
his head down on his arms and Noah just stared at you. A minute later, Adina
appeared in the doorway, a small wooden box in her hand. Inside it was a series
of small glass vials and two pearlescent stones, spherical in shape, one green,
and the other pink. She took out the pink one and wrapped it in a kitchen towel
before pushing the bundle against your grazed skin.

“What is that?” you asked, as the pain dulled.

“Lenius,” she replied. “Is anyone else hurt?”

The two boys shook their heads and Adina returned the stone to
the box.

“What’s lenius?”

“It’s a kind of radust. You use it to stop injuries from
hurting so much.” Adina cocked her head. “You must know about radust? Surely
your mother uses it when you get hurt?”

You shook your head. “How does it work?”

Adina smiled. “I don’t know. It’s like medicine, I suppose. You
know it makes you better even if you don’t know why.” She stood up. “You should
wash your hands to make sure there is no dirt in there. Ethan, go and get some
blankets. She’s staying tonight.”

The boys went upstairs as you went to the sink to wash your
hands. The first time Adina had turned the tap to fetch you a drink, you had
been astounded that she hadn’t needed to filter or boil it. Whenever you took
water from the farmer’s well, you had to fish out all kinds of living things
from it.

Before they went to bed, Ethan and Noah laid out the blankets
on the floor beside the fireplace, trying to make a comfortable spot for you to
sleep. You snuggled into the blankets, once they had gone, staring up the
ceiling. Part of you wished you could stay forever, but somewhere, at the back
of your mind, you could hear a little voice telling you to run.

Choice:
30.
Ignore the Voice
or
32.
Leave Landia

You pushed open the door and began to drag the body, moving as
quickly as you could to avoid being seen. Dropping him in the woods was your
best option, so long as you could get out before the landsharks arrived. The
lake was too far away and you weren’t sure you’d have the strength to make it
all the way to the lake without being spotted.

Every noise around you seemed suddenly louder – the therins
were braying too much, the birds seemed to be calling in alarm rather than
singing and the trees themselves squealed as if crying for help. The snap of
sticks underfoot made you jump, as if you weren’t the only one out there. Maybe
you had been seen. Maybe there were landsharks.

You stopped, sure you were deep enough in the woods that no one
would find him. The light was dim and the air was still. You turned to leave,
but a figure behind you stopped you dead.

“You mind telling me what’s in there, Miss?” He wore the blue
uniform of the Kinel military and spoke in a calm but authoritative tone.

“Huh?” You laughed and glanced over your shoulder. “It’s just
an old pile of sheets. I figured the foxets would use it in their nests.”

“Seems a little heavy for sheets. And it’s bleeding.”

You looked back. The underside of the bundle was soaked with
red.

“You still think it’s just sheets?”

Choice:
34.
Run from Him
or
35.
Confess

You pushed open the door and began to drag the body, moving as
quickly as you could to avoid being seen. The lake was your best bet. There was
no guarantee that the landsharks would destroy the body in time before someone
discovered it, but dropping him in the lake would ensure that no one ever found
him.

You moved quickly, glancing around at every noise and movement
to make sure you weren’t being followed. Although there were several clear
paths through the trees, you avoided them all, making your own route. The cloth
snagged on twigs and branches, but you managed to heave him over all the
obstacles and into the open.

That was when you saw the men, two of them standing near the
lake, wearing coarse brown cloaks. Taatars. Your father had been a friend of
their clan and often invited them back to the house where they would drink and
smoke. Sometimes they gambled and you would wake to find furniture and food
gone. Sometimes they would fight, causing you to hide beneath your bed.

You froze as they looked towards you and then ran as they
approached, dropping the body and heading back into the trees. Their footsteps
pounded on the ground behind you, growing louder, catching up until a rough
hand grabbed you by the back of the collar and thrust you up against a tree.

“Let me go!”

The man pulled a curved knife from his belt and held it against
your cheek. He spoke, but in a language you didn’t understand. His companion
replied from some distance behind.

“How old are you?” The man looked at you again, this time
speaking your language.

“What? Thirteen. Why?”

“Old enough.” He pulled you away from the tree. “What is in
pack?”

He turned you around to face the lake. His companion was
unwrapping the bundle. You froze as the man straightened, looked you in the eye
and smiled. He stepped over the body and moved towards you. As he spoke, the
man holding you translated.

“You are killer?” He paused. “We are making deal with you. We
help you disappear this. Then, you work for us.”

Choice:
37.
Try to Run
or
38.
Make the Deal

You rolled over, clamping your hand over your ears as if to
block out the voice. Meeting the Wicker family was the best thing that had ever
happened to you. You weren’t going to let some little doubt in the back of your
head ruin it. You were going to stay for as long as you could and you were
going to be the best house guest they ever had.

A plan began to form in your mind. First thing in the morning,
you would go into the town and start searching for jobs. If you could earn
enough money to buy your own food, perhaps Adina would let you stay longer. And
if she didn’t, perhaps you’d be able to share a room with someone else in the
town, earn enough to pay them rent. Whatever the case, you knew you were never
going to spend another night in the house where your father lived. You were
done with that man.

For over two years, everything happened exactly as you had
hoped; Adina allowed you to stay and you took every job available in the town.
At first, Adina refused to accept your money, but she soon learned that you
wouldn’t be refused when, instead of paying her with cash, you began leaving
household goods, buying food to replace what you’d eaten and completing chores
for her around the house.

The boys became your best friends, Ethan even promising to be
your brother. Several times, he had snuck into your father’s house to fetch you
clothes and personal belongings. But it was Noah who really made you happy. The
more time you spent with him, the more time you wanted to spend with him. He
made you smile whenever you felt sad, sat up with you late into the night when
you were worried about your father and always knew what to say to make you feel
better, no matter how bad your day had been. He gave you the nickname
parahe
,
an Ethigot word meaning
protector
.

He was sitting with you the night that they came. You were
sitting together on the floor of the bedroom, the tiny candle barely shedding
enough light for you to see each other’s faces. You were laughing when you
heard the voices outside.

And then noise. It engulfed the whole town. Doors across the
neighbourhood were smashed open, women screamed and men shouted. Both you and
Noah stood, bewildered. He grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the bedroom
he and Ethan shared. Ethan pulled you to the back of the room, a short hunting
knife in his hand.

“Don’t let anything happen to her,” Noah said, turning to leave
the room.

“Noah, wait!”

Noah didn’t hesitate, just turned and fled down the stairs.

“What’s he doing?” you whispered, looking to Ethan.

Ethan shook his head. “I don’t know, but he’s going to get
himself killed. We have to get out of here.” He peered through the curtain.
“The garden is clear. We might make it out of town if we go now.” He slid a
pair of boots out from under the bed and passed them to you. “Come on.”

Choice:
40.
Leave Noah Behind
or
41.
Let Ethan Go Alone

It was supposed to be a temporary situation, but you ended up
staying with them for over two years. You helped Adina keep the house clean
while the boys went to school and picked up odd jobs around the town,
delivering newspapers and running errands. You earned enough money to pay Adina
rent and buy your own food.

Ethan became like a brother to you, reassuring you that your
father wasn’t looking for you, that he’d probably left town, that you’d
probably never see him again. He’d gone with you and Noah several times to
fetch clothes from the house. You began to think that maybe he was right when
nothing changed in the house but the gradual creep of the vines towards the
windows.

You became closer to Noah too, but it was different to with
Ethan. With Noah, the more time you spent with him, the more time you wanted to
spend with him. He made you smile whenever you felt sad, sat up with you late
into the night when you were worried about your father and always knew what to
say to make you feel better, no matter how bad your day had been. He even gave
you a nickname –
parahe
, an Ethigot word meaning
protector
.

He was sitting with you the night that they came. You were
sitting together on the floor of the bedroom, the tiny candle barely shedding
enough light for you to see each other’s faces. You were laughing when you
heard the voices outside.

And then noise. Doors across the neighbourhood were smashed
open, women screamed and men shouted. Both you and Noah stood, bewildered. He
grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the bedroom he and Ethan shared. Ethan
pulled you to the back of the room, a short hunting knife in his hand.

“Don’t let anything happen to her,” Noah said, turning to leave
the room.

“Noah, wait!”

Noah didn’t hesitate, just turned and fled down the stairs.

“What’s he doing?” you whispered, looking to Ethan.

Ethan shook his head. “I don’t know, but he’s going to get
himself killed. We have to get out of here.” He peered through the curtain.
“The garden is clear. We might make it out of town if we go now.” He slid a
pair of boots out from under the bed and passed them to you. “Come on.”

Choice:
44.
Wait for Noah
or
45.
Escape with Ethan