Thunder (20 page)

She glanced at the front where Amaryllis sat with the driver, a middle-aged man the color of tree bark, with a heavy southern accent and arms the size of water barrels. He practically exploded from the cutoff sleeves of the worn shirt plastered to him by the sweltering weather. A gargantuan man, but the wide straw hat and handmade pipe made him appear friendly.

He looked back. “I'm stopping for something to eat and drink for me and my horses. Y'all are welcome to join us.”

“We'd love to, but I don't want to put you out with three more mouths to feed,” Selah said. They'd walked for hours before he'd come along and offered a ride to the Mountain, and they'd already used a good bit of their rations.

“My missus packed plenty of vittles for the trip—too much for just me, but the woman's got intuition. She must've known I'd have company.”

The man hopped down off the wagon, tied the horses to the nearby tree, and walked around back to grab their feed buckets. “She has these things she sees. Just knows stuff. Don't know how she does it. We've been married nigh on thirty years, and she's always done it. So I just accept and don't try explaining the stuff.”

Bodhi looked at Selah. She shrugged and grimaced. Amaryllis scrambled over the seat, climbing over the canvas sacks and crates and into the wagon bed. She nuzzled next to Selah, who wrapped her arms around the child.

“What are we going to eat?” Amaryllis asked. “There's things I don't like.”

“Rylla, that's not polite. The man has invited us to lunch with him. We watch our manners, young lady.” Was that
mother-speak
coming out of her mouth? It probably wouldn't have happened if not for the revelation that a man had tried to harm the child. Mother had once told her these days were coming. It made Selah want to protect Amaryllis—and beat the man to a pulp. She'd finally found something to make her fiery brave.

“That's no problem.” The man laughed. “I raised a pas
sel of children myself, got quite used to their honesty and wisecracking.”

Amaryllis wrinkled up her nose and pointed. “What's in those sacks? They smell funny.”

The man pulled the food satchel from the wagon. They followed him to a shade tree.

“Well, young lady, those are snake skins,” the man said as he opened the food satchel and handed out thick slices of homemade bread.

“Eckk!” Amaryllis yelled, wrinkling her nose and waving the air like snakes were slithering in front of her.

“What kind of snake skins do you sell?” Selah asked, thinking of the field varieties of snakes at home.

“Big ones. Complete pelts are quite worthy of their high price.” The man smiled broadly.

Amaryllis backed away. Her hands trembled. “Like the snake that tried to eat me?”

The man furrowed his brow, looking at Selah.

Selah bit into the sweet-tasting bread and nodded. “It was a huge one, at least twelve or fifteen feet. Never seen one that big up close.”

The man pulled out a vegetable paste and passed the container for them to dip their bread. “I've heard some folks trying to grow them here in the North. Sometimes they get free by accident. Rest assured, when the temperature gets below freezing for a spell it will kill them off.”

“Do you hunt them for a living?” Bodhi asked. He pulled pears and apples from the bag he carried and passed them around.

“Yes, sirree. I'm from down Georgia district way. There's
good money selling the skins. They make fine boots, belts, and I even seen clothes in snakeskin.”

Bodhi munched bread and fruit. “Isn't it dangerous to live around them?”

The man threw back his head and snorted a laugh. “These big boys live down Florida way. People don't live there anymore 'cause of too many big snakes. They tend to eat people when they get that size.”

Amaryllis nodded vigorously, pointing at her chest. Crumbs fell everywhere. “Me! Me! I know. One tried to eat me.”

“You're right lucky, young lady. You sure could've been a meal. Even small game is migrating north. I've seen a lot of the birds from down that way, and as I'm travelin' north, I've started to see the rabbits too. That makes me happy. I'll have good eats while I'm up here.”

Selah stiffened, testing him. “Rabbits? What do they look like?”

“They're cinnamon rabbits, bred for meat, great eating. Guess the snakes feel the same.”

Selah looked at Bodhi and Amaryllis in turn, puffing out her chest. “Are they sort of rusty-colored and some have a fleck of gray?”

“Yep, that would be them. Have you ever tried one?”

Selah raised the right side of her mouth. “We ate one for dinner last night.”

Bodhi reached across Amaryllis and handed Selah the vegetable paste. Her fingers brushed his. Adrenaline freshened her nerves, running electricity up her arm. She looked into his eyes with those long lashes. His nose crinkled and his eyes sparkled as he broke into a grin.

Amaryllis jumped from between them, breaking their finger contact. “Ugh! You two need to kiss face and stop making cow eyes at each other.”

Both Selah and Bodhi sat back. Neither said anything. Selah felt her cheeks warming.

The snake man broke into a chuckle. “So, young lady, you telling me they aren't a couple? I sure thought y'all act like a family.”

Amaryllis did the girly hand-on-hip thing. “She likes him and he likes her, and they—”

“Rylla!” Selah said. “We do not like each other!”

“Do too,” Amaryllis said.

“Do too,” Bodhi chimed in with a wide grin.

Selah sat back. She smacked her palm to her forehead and pointed at him. “You're reading me! That's why you're grinning.” She slapped him on the arm. “You sea slug!”

Bodhi threw up both arms to fend off her blows and leaned back in laughter. “You could stop me anytime you want to. Concentrate.”

Selah scrambled to her feet. “Ugh. You are the most insufferable . . . ugh.”

Amaryllis turned to the snake man. “See what I mean.” He nodded and continued eating.

Selah stomped her foot and turned to storm away. Both Amaryllis and the snake merchant grinned.

Bodhi grabbed his head and moaned.

Selah turned back. “Don't think I'm falling for that, mister.”

He doubled over into a ball, still holding his head.

She moved closer. “Bodhi?”

Cleon sat beside Raza as the wagon rumbled away from the Mountain and down the maintained portion of road.

“What were you thinking, stealing that weapon? Have you lost what little sense you were born with?” Cleon expected a squadron of JetTrans to descend on them at any moment.

Raza gritted his teeth and urged the horses forward using the tips of the reins. “Shut up! I know what I'm doing.”

At the end of the Mountain road he pulled the team into a field. Guiding the horses across knee-high grass, he steered behind a wide stand of oak trees near the rocky base of the Mountain.

“Why are you stopping here?” Cleon asked. He watched Raza jump from the wagon. The sun sat high and a breeze rustled the leaves. A nice day but they were still several days from home. He was hungry and tired of being with Raza.

“We're waiting for Selah,” Raza hissed. “Mr. Ganston said no new Landers arrived yet, so she's on the road somewhere. This is the easiest place to catch them. They'll have to come this way.”

“Let Selah have him. She bested us, and she did it well. Maybe it's time we let her join the hunt,” Cleon said with a dismissive flip of his hand.

Raza walked toward the road. “I know what I'm doing. Watch and learn, little brother.”

“You're being foolish. I thought I'd lose my mind when you hid his weapon under your shirt.” Cleon vowed he would never act like his brother.

“But I have the weapon and you don't.” Raza sneered and patted the weapon.

Cleon didn't care about that. He plopped onto a fallen tree. “How long are we going to wait here? I want to go home.”

“Stop whining! You're driving me crazy. Next time you stay home and I'll get one of the Borough boys to help me.”

Cleon lowered his head. “I'm just tired of traveling for—”

“Shhh!” Raza crouched behind a bush and motioned to the road.

Horse hooves clopped along the road. A wagon slowed to a stop at the end of the paved section. Voices drifted into the trees.

“If you pull that kind of stunt again I'll really make your head hurt,” a woman said.

“I truly did feel pain, but it diminished as fast as it came,” a man said.

“I don't believe you,” the woman said.

“That's obvious. We've been arguing about this for an hour. Can we change the subject?” the man asked. He sounded exasperated.

“Okay, then stop invading my head.”

“I'm only trying to make you stretch. Regardless of how you feel, the mark makes you novarium. You have to explore your abilities.”

“Well, excuse me. Since when did you become my boss?” the woman asked.

“Would you two stop bickering? You sound like my parents,” a child's voice said.

The talk grew louder. Cleon thought he recognized Selah's voice, but the tone seemed deeper. He didn't know the other two.

Raza grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the trees as the voices moved closer.

“You need to focus your energy,” the man said.

“And what if I don't want—”

Raza stepped out of the trees.

S
elah skidded to a halt and let out a yelp. Not marauders, only her brothers. Amaryllis darted behind her, grabbing her shirt as Bodhi moved in front to protect her.

Typical tricks. Trying to scare her to death. Her heart thudded. She pushed Bodhi's arm aside and stepped up beside him, facing off with the boys. She liked Bodhi's protectiveness, but these two she could handle. “Well, I figured we'd run into you somewhere along the line.”

“Hand him over or face the consequences,” Raza said. Venom dripped from his words.

Selah blinked. She didn't know this person so full of hate.

“Hi, sis,” Cleon said, his head down. “Sorry I forgot to say happy Birth Remembrance the other day.”

Selah saw a hint of color on his ears. Poor guy was embarrassed. “That's okay—”

“Shut up, both of you!” Raza screamed. “I'm tired of your
incessant whining.” He drew the weapon from under his shirt and aimed it at Bodhi. “The Lander is mine.”

Bodhi put his arm out, attempting to shield Selah. Her eyes widened. She glared at Raza.

“You don't mean this, Raza. Think about what you're doing. And where did you get a weapon?” She lowered Bodhi's arm and slowly moved toward Raza. He was her brother. He acted bossy, but this was just for show, for Bodhi, to intimidate him.

“He stole it. Be careful, Selah. Stay away from that thing,” Cleon said. “This wasn't supposed to happen this way.”

“It's all right, Cleon. Raza's not going to hurt anyone. Are you, Raza? But I can't let you have him. He has to help me,” Selah said.

“Stand back or I'll fire,” Raza said. He clamped his jaw. “He's a Lander. He's an alien in our country. They're an infection that needs to be erased.”

“No, you don't understand. They're people like us. If you're going to shoot him, you'll have to shoot me.” Selah figured that would break him from this tantrum and he'd start thinking straight.

“I can arrange that real easy.” Raza spat out the words.

Selah's throat went dry. Suddenly she couldn't swallow. Her brother had threatened to shoot her? It must be just bluster. Her mind wouldn't allow her to think he was serious. Not her brother.

Cleon jerked his head to Raza. “What're you saying? Don't be stupid. Put that down.”

“I could shoot her just as easy as I'd shoot him. She's a half-breed one of those.” Raza motioned with the weapon toward Bodhi.

Selah's mouth fell open. She took a step forward. “You knew? How? I didn't even know.”

Raza backed away. “Father told me years ago. And he warned me this week to be on the lookout for you getting close to these mongrels. That's why we watched you at the beach.”

Selah's face flushed. “So you knew what would happen if I touched him and you just
let
me do it? Just
let
me ruin my life? You're my brother. Why?”

Raza threw back his head and laughed. “Easiest way to get rid of you, wench.”

“Wench?” Calling her names was the end of being nice. Selah charged at him.

Raza raised the weapon. “Stop or you die.”

Selah's steps faltered. “You wouldn't.” Her mind ran through past episodes. School. The beach. Years of insults thought to be just sibling torment. The picture cleared. Yes, he would hurt her, and he'd probably enjoy it.

Cleon stepped in front of Raza. “You wouldn't. She's our sister.”

“You're as worthless as she is.” Raza pushed Cleon from between them. He tripped and slid across the stony road. Selah watched gravel bite at the palms of his hands.

“What's the matter with you? Have you gotten heat stroke or something? What have I done to you?” Cleon brushed off his hands and stood.

“I'm perfectly sane for the first time in a long time,” Raza said. “Do you really think Father or I can ever forgive you for taking Mother from us?”

Cleon froze, his mouth fell open, and then his face went red with rage. “Mother died during childbirth.”

Selah stood frozen. Was this the same family she'd lived with? Her feelings of being adopted made sense after finding out all the things she hadn't known about her own family.

Raza spit on the ground. “Yes, and if you were never born she'd still be alive.”

“Well then, blame Father for creating me,” Cleon said. Tears filled his eyes. He clamped his lips and clenched his fists as he moved toward Raza.

Raza turned the weapon on him. “Back up! Don't make me hurt you.”

Cleon backed away to his left. Selah moved forward again. “Raza, you need to calm down. Let's talk this over—”

Bodhi pushed past Selah. “I don't know you, but I know you must love your sister—”

“She's not my sister. My father married her mongrel of a mother,” Raza said.

“Don't you dare talk about Mother like that!” Selah yelled. She darted around Bodhi and rushed Raza. The words stung more than anything they'd ever done. Mother loved them.

Raza raised the weapon and pointed. He pulled the trigger as Cleon tackled him.

Selah heard Amaryllis scream as the weapon flew from Raza's hand and landed in the tall grass. Selah and Bodhi rushed to restrain Raza as he and Cleon hurtled to the ground.

Cleon landed on top of his brother, and Selah heard a great rush of air push from his lungs. He scrambled off. Raza was limp, his eyes closed.

“Come on, Raza, get up,” Cleon said. There was no response. He knelt beside Raza and shook him. Nothing.

Thinking the air was just knocked from him, Selah knelt as well and touched his arm. “Raza, are you all right?”

Cleon reached his hand behind Raza's head to lift him. A strangled sob pushed from his chest as he pulled back his hand. It was covered with blood.

Selah screamed. Her hands flew to her mouth to stifle the sound. So much blood. He couldn't die. She hadn't finished being angry at him. He needed to finish the argument so she could win fair and square. Not this way.

Bodhi walked Amaryllis away from the scene. She struggled, calling for Selah.

Tears welled in Selah's eyes.
Please
don't let this be happening.
“Is he . . . dead?”

Cleon stared at his hand covered in Raza's blood. So dark red. The acrid smell of copper lurched his stomach. He swallowed the taste of bile. This was an accident. He rubbed his hand in the grass over and over, not wanting to get blood on Raza's clothes. He'd be mad.

He leaned over and put his head to Raza's chest, expecting to hear something. Breathing, a heartbeat, any sign of life. Cleon heard his own heartbeat pounding in his head.
You. Killed. Your. Brother.

He nodded to Selah. Tears splashed the front of his shirt and soaked into Raza's body.

Selah fell to her knees, sobbing. Her hands shook as she reached out to Raza. She pulled back, bit her lip, and then reached out again. Her fingertips hovered over his body, then she nudged him onto his side. His head had landed on a
large rock. A matching depression in the back of his head held blood and tissue, brains and bone fragments mixed in a surreal collage.

Cleon stared. His knees began to tremble. His stomach lurched again. He flung himself to the side and disgorged his stomach in great heaving belches that made him feel like his stomach lining was coming out. The acrid liquid dripped from his nose and mouth, burning the tissue in his nose and throat. Leaning on shaking arms, he tried to breathe, tried to get air in his lungs without sniffing in the bile lingering in his nose. The pain overwhelmed him.

Dead.

Selah looked at him with teary eyes and spoke softly. “Cleon, this was
not
your fault.”

He glanced up, wiping a sleeve across his mouth. “Whose fault was it?” His family was dissolving before his eyes. He'd lost a sister, now a brother. His father had lost a son.

“Raza did this to himself. You prevented us from dying,” Selah said. “I wonder if Mother knew how Raza felt about her. If she did, it must have broken her heart. She always gave him nothing but love.”

They both turned to look at Raza.

“What do we do with him?” Cleon asked in a strangled voice. He'd never dealt with a dead body before. Or was this one of Raza's tricks? Was he really dead? His body was still warm.

Selah wiped her eyes. “At home he'd be cremated, but we can't do that here, so we're going to have to bury him.”

Cleon moved back beside Raza's body. Did he see movement? He closed his eyes then opened them, half expecting
Raza to sit up. Nothing—all he could think of was nothing. He turned to Selah. “What happens when you die?”

Selah hunched her shoulders. “I don't know. What do you mean?”

“I mean what happens when you die? You stop breathing. You get hard and cold for a long time. What else?”

“I don't know. I've only ever seen people cremated on the Borough pyre. They turn to dust and smoke and float off in the air. Dead is dead. The end,” Selah said, her stare blank.

“But if we put him in the ground, won't the worms and maggots get him like they do the dead animals?” Cleon stared at his brother's body. Even though Raza had tried to kill him, was this a fitting end for him?

“There's nothing else we can do, other than you take his body home.”

Cleon hung his head. “If I take him home, how do I tell Father I killed him?” In his head he kept saying over and over,
You killed your brother.

“You don't. Father would banish you, or worse. Raza was clearly his favorite, especially after what he just said.”

“Maybe I could lie. Say he died in an accident. He really did.” He had to convince himself or his heart would pound him to death.

“You still feel in your heart that you killed him. I can see it in your eyes. You can't go back either,” Selah said.

His head shot up. “What do you mean?”
Never go back home. An outcast
. You killed your brother.

She squinted. “You've never been able to lie convincingly like Raza. Father will know the truth as soon as you open your mouth.”

His shoulders slumped. He rocked. He wanted his life back, the one before Landers. “I know you're right, but I want to go home.”

Selah rose and walked around the body to help Cleon to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. They hugged tightly. “I want to go home too, but I can't go back either.”

Cleon pulled away. “Why can't you come home with me?” She would make things better. Mother would listen to her explanation even though Father would be devastated.

She shook her head. “I don't want you to hate me,” Selah said in a small voice.

“You're my sister and I love you. I would never hate you. What's the matter?” Cleon looked into her eyes.

She gulped. “Raza was right. I'm a half-breed. My real father was a Lander, and now I've touched a Lander and been marked.”

Her hands trembled as she pulled back her top to show him the wing below her collarbone. She searched his face. He knew she was looking for revulsion in his face.

Cleon smiled sheepishly. “I've known about that since I was about nine years old.” He'd never cared. His love was unconditional for his sister.

Selah balked. Her hands flew to her hips, and she leaned forward with a scowl. “How did everyone else know this when I was in the dark?”

Cleon sighed. “I used to sneak in our parents' bedroom and snoop. One day I found Mother's little treasure box and I read the letters from your real father.”

Selah slapped him on the arm. “You've known all this time and never said anything!”

“What was I supposed to do, admit I rummaged through our parents' things? If I'd told Raza, he'd have blabbed to get me in trouble.” His head dropped. “Now I know why he always acted like he hated me. He did, and apparently so does Father. It explains a lot.”