Page 77 of Claiming Sarah

We followed her out ofAllegiant, and the door shut behind us. I hoped it hadn’t been down long enough for that stench to fill the ship.

“It’s like smoky sour death,” Sarah choked out.

“This is one of the better nights, to be honest,” Augur said as she walked ahead of us. “At least the reechids aren’t blooming.”

“Small favors,” Sarah mumbled.

The ground became soft, setting me even further on edge. Leaves and sticks had been half-digested by the ground, and the humus was airy enough that my boots sank in. But the ground wasn’t muck yet, so my shoes didn’t stick. The trees were close together, with broad trunks at the base that narrowed toward the top, where they were filled with spindly branches and even spindlier leaves. I was certain Deacon could have told us everything about the trees, from their name to their biological requirements, but I wasn’t about to ask. For me, trees were trees. I didn’t care about the details.

Birds swooped in the leaf-filtered moonslight, soaring from tree to tree above us. Nothing to be worried about, but if there were birds, there was something for them to eat and that could vary. Swampfolk, Augur had called them. A simple word for what I assumed could try to kill us.

Swamps had always held a strange part of the Ladrian imagination. There were few on Orhon—nothing as large as the swamps of Earth or other planets I had visited. Buggy, putrid, sticky, they were seen by Ladrians as places that bred disease. Most of Orhon was developed into property for the wealthy to enjoy, so nearly all the swamps had been cleared out hundreds of years ago.

Sarah glanced up at me as she tromped along by my side in her own boots, while Deacon stayed ahead of us, clearly wanting his own space. “Why do you look so nervous?”

“Swamps are not my favorite place to be.”

“How come?” she asked, then scrunched up her nose. “I mean, besides the horrible smell.”

I adjusted my rucksack on my shoulder. “Growing up, did you hear ghost stories?”

She smiled instantly. “Elizabeth used to tell us ghost stories at night sometimes. Why?”

“Ours were always set in swamps. If they weren’t stories of our faith, I mean. But the spooky stories for kids, they were set here,” I said, glancing around, looking for any lurking danger. “So I have never been overly fond of swamps.”

“Cheer up,” one of Rex’s grunts said as he brushed past us. “Could be worse.”

“How’s that?” Sarah asked.

“We could be heading to the bottom of the Diamond Sea to hunt for these bitches,” he griped.

Sarah bristled at him. “They are conduits. Show a little respect.”

“I did.” He stomped ahead of us, I assumed to speak to Rex or Augur, or perhaps one of the seven other men Rex had brought with him. Either way, I was glad he was gone.

Sarah scowled after him. “I do not like that man.”

I nodded. “Same here. But hopefully, this will go smoothly and if not smoothly,quickly.”

“What was that about searching for them at the bottom of the sea?” she asked curiously.

“Since ghosts don’t have to breathe, some have tried to live in the water to be left alone,” I explained.

“Hmm.” She thought for a moment. “I can see the appeal.”

I fought the urge to gawk at her. My mouth went dry as my own fears of drowning reared their ugly head. “What appeal is that?”

“Sorry.” She grimaced, obviously realizing her mistake. “I know yesterday probably made the idea of living under water seem like hell—”

“That is an understatement.”

“But I always liked swimming,” she continued. “My sisters and I would sometimes go to a community pool and swim there. I didn’t like talking to all the other kids. Not like Jenny, who was always laughing and flirting with someone. Or Elizabeth, who was so pretty all the lifeguards had a thing for her. So, I was always by myself in the crowd, and I’d go where they couldn’t see me. Sinking to the bottom of the pool, where it was quiet and peaceful.” She smiled at the recollection and sighed.

Then the swamp became quiet and peaceful. For a moment, I wondered if her powers had made it happen after her happy memory hit her.We still don’t know everything she can do—maybe this is her work.But then I saw Augur running ahead.

Fuck.“Run!” I hissed, remembering what the conduit had told us earlier.

To her credit, Sarah did. My eyes searched for the danger—whatever had caused the swamp to silence its voice. All fourteen of us ran as fast as we could, with no goal in sight, other than distance from trouble. But trouble found us.

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