Page 14 of Red Demon
“Where did you say you were from, friend?” Ren adjusted the pin in her hair that held her braid tight to her head.
I gulped, knowing the townspeople were listening too. “Can we talk in private somewhere? I live in the forest. Just out of the loop.”
“I’ve never seen you before,” Ren said.
The crowd whispered, but I didn’t dare look up.
Captain Havoc frowned at his colleague before looking back at me. “All you need to know now is the rebels are spreading a disease. In most cases, the virus kills in seconds or minutes, but some infected can take up to a couple weeks, spreading disease all the while. The Bend is now in full quarantine, and we’re about to start evacuation of the Asri towns too, one by one. Keep yourself above the Bend, make sure the temples inspect and license any tech you own, and tell anyone else out-of-the-loop the same.” He put a suspicious stress on the “out-of-the-loop” part.
I made every effort to clear my thoughts from my face. Could there really be a disease that kills people in minutes … or seconds? I thought of the bodies in the market, still holding their coins in their hands. And what of the Red Demon? I’d seen her kill my brothers, but they never mentioned her. Did they really know what was happening?
Fuck. My thoughts raced in circles. Maybe the truth was so much worse, and they just weren’t going to tell me.
“You should check bulletins at the temple to stay informed, and you can inquire about your friends there for the usual search fee.” The captain shifted on his feet, looking toward the direction the Chaeten-sa Major had gone.
“Will the temple tell me what happened to them? Or just whether they are alive?” I’d let too much anger into my voice. As the silence drew on, I did my best to hide my panic.
“They’ll tell you anything safe to share,” the captain said, saluting. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
I didn’t push further to ask about the Red Demon. They were already walking away.
But as I moved to head back to my blanket of wares, the Asri soldier called back. “Don’t worry, friend,” she said in fluent Chaeten, her voice softer than before. “The queen will ensure justice, as will Major Mahakal.” She emphasized the titles with a reverence that seemed to warm her, make her stand taller. “Just get your information from the right place. The less gossip going around, the better.”
Ren gave me an Asri salute, touching above her mind and heart before extending her hand out to me. I saluted back, and she turned to follow her captain. I studied the other soldiers’ backs as they walked away.
The ground beneath my feet seemed to crack and shift as I retreated to the meager wares on my spread blanket. Whispers clung to the air of the market like the tail end of a storm. A few in the crowd stared at me, their eyes darting away when I looked up.
I was still mulling over what I’d learned when a shadow fell across my little bundles. I looked up to find an Asri boy about my age, tall, with the quiet intensity of a watchful cat. Something about his demeanor held a depth that reminded me, with a pang, of Iden, even if he looked nothing like him apart from some curls in his dark brown and sun-kissed hair. His skin was a shade darker than mine, and his amber eyes twinkled at me with gold-flecked centers.
He shifted nervously, fingers plucking at the hem of his cloak. “Those look good,” he mumbled in Chaeten, his voice soft, hesitant.
“They’re sweet,” I replied in Asri, yanking a smile to my lips. “Just picked this morning.”
He picked out a small basket of the plumpest strawberries and handed me a few coins. The juice stained his fingers as he picked the ripest one and tasted it. He offered me a shy nod.
I smiled.
“I heard what you said to the soldiers,” he said, just above a whisper.
My smile faltered. I glanced around, masking my apprehension. “Heard what?”
“About the attacks,” he said, his gaze unwavering as it met mine. “It was your family, wasn’t it? Siblings or parents, not just friends?” He spoke that last part in Chaeten, making sure I understood. Chaeten has a word for kin, but not “family.”
A lump formed in my throat. I nodded, unable to find my voice.
He took a step closer. “I’m sorry,” he said, the words imbued with a sincerity that resonated deep within me. “For everything that’s happening.”
I swallowed, the ache in my chest a dull throb. “It’s not like it’s your fault,” I said, surprised by the tremor in my voice. I pinched my eyes tight, trying to get a hold of myself. This boy was a stranger, not a friend. I missed friends.
He waited until I met his gaze again, his amber eyes holding me steady. “No. But I still… I want to end it rather than sit by and wait. The soldiers don’t tell us much. But they’re right about it all being contained to the Bend. You’ll be safe if you stay here, near the coast.”
A moment of silent communion passed between us. I didn’t need to stay safe. I wanted to end this too.
He leaned in. “I think the rumors are right. It’s ghosts in the Bend.”
“Ghosts?”
He said it again, in Chaeten this time. “Just like in the Ghost War.”
