Page 30 of The Lands Defying
“I took a cooking pot with a fish in it and slid it under the stall.”
“What?” I splutter out a laugh, thinking of the fish stall.
“Then I knocked it over but the good news is, the fish will still cook.”
I spot an older male rushing our way, a bucket of water in his hand to stop the fire. Suddenly, he goes flying through the air before landing with a thud.
“That had to have hurt,” I say as I watch a few females go over to him to see if he is okay.
Darius smirks. “Well you did trip him, little wolf.”
I did.
“This is the best outing ever.”
Darius huffs out a laugh and then takes my hand in his, guiding us forward.
His hand is warm and heavy. I squeeze it. He squeezes back.
The central marketplace fades away, and then homes come into view. The light birch wood stands out against the blue backdrop of the lake as Darius walks along the path.
“What are we doing here anyway?” I ask. I forgot we even came here for a reason.
Burning stalls and tripping unsuspecting people will do that to me.
“I recognized a name on the list, or more so a last name,” Darius replies. “The family lives on the edge of the lake. They run a small bakery, or they did when I last came here.”
The list we stole from the Highers.
The lightness I was feeling instantly dries up.
“Are we going to talk to them?”
“Talk, or more…” he trails off and my stomach swoops with nerves.
“You want to know if they had a child and sold them? Like Sarah had said?”
He nods.
I hope they didn’t.
The more we walk, the more the hustle and bustle of the center fades away, but so does the lightness of Aliseon.
We are close to the edge of the island, so close we are able to see the rocky terrain on the sand as water from the lake crashes against it.
We are also able to see a few poles scattered along it. They have loose ropes tied around them, the wood weathered like they have been there for a long while.
“What are they?” I ask.
Darius turns his head. “Punishments. They would tie them up on the edge of the water. Let them freeze in it as daily punishments were given. Sometimes it was a beating, sometimes it was having things thrown at them.”
I’m instantly reminded of the fact that Anna came here and got tied up to a pole. Where stones were thrown at her.
I swallow and look away.
I guess this town isn’t so happy after all.
We round a corner on the cobbled path and Darius halts. I come to his side and see a little bakery on the edge. A sign hangs off the side, looking worn and weathered, and I wonder why it’s all the way out here.
