Page 95 of Ashes of Gold
“Go ahead.”
He cuts at the root and I tuck it in my pocket. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What else did it call for?”
“Jpango sap and a hair from the enemy.”
His eyes widen.
“I’m going to get one from Shaun.”
“It is sad it has come to this, but yes, I fear you are right. A hair from Shaun will likely satisfy that ingredient. How will you do it?”
“I’m not going to kill him. He’s my brother, still. Whether he sees me that way or not.”
“Your Yakanna blood shines through. But Beerchi do not always think this same way. You are his direct opposition to rule.”
I want to unify us, arm us, not don a crown. How can he not see that? I think of Jhamal, the only other Beerchi I know. Loyal, fierce, determined, kind, and very prideful about his heritage. But I could see glimmers of stubbornness, him forcing his way on others. Still, he’s nothing like Shaun.
“We need to get Bati to the others,” I say. “I’ll come back to the City to get the hair from Shaun myself.” I can’t let anything else happen to him.
Bati takes my hands. “The Ancestors’ magic from the gods was bestowed on us to bring light into this dark world. But you have aduty to protect yourself, your people, and that is never wrong. Do what you need to do.” His grip is ironclad on my wrist. “Understand, he couldkillyou, child.”
“Not if I don’t give him the chance to.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE JOURNEY TOWARD THEforest outside Yiyoto meet Zora and the othersis silent but for the rustle of the twisted, knobby trees and an occasional chirp. We walk but don’t speak. Jue makes eyes at me every once in a while, like he wants to crack a joke, but the weight of my worries must bleed into my expression, because he says nothing. Everything’s riding on this spell working. And he knows it.
Yiyo is a hike. So, since our group is small and there’s nothing out here, I’d transported us as close as I could to the edge of the island. The fading sun is dipping below Yiyo, and the glass Dwegini homes that used to sprinkle the mountainside are faint glimmers, shattered in some places, gone in others. We’re a mile or so from the tree line, where Zora and the Macazi should be lying low.
I step over a fallen branch and the dry ground crunches under my feet. We stick to the shade as we approach where the invisible barrier around the mountain should be, the one that used to protect my people, keep their existence secret. We find what’s left of the jagged barricade. The world behind it is a heap of blown-over trees and debris. It’s like walking through a nightmare. I’m reliving the failure of the battle that led to my imprisonment andweakened me—isolated my people for so long, all over again.
I close my eyes and search my memories hiding in shadowed corners but find nothing. None of it makes sense. What has come back is fractured bits in my mind. Wisps. Maybe I’ll never know what happened—how the world turned upside down in the span of minutes. Why the man with the eyelashes haunts me. How Jhamal and I had a chance to get away but somehow didn’t.
I catch Bri looking at me, probably wondering if it’s come back. I shake my head. And she turns away. And despite the guilt, I can’t help but wonder if there’s anything she isn’t telling me. She wasn’t exactly forthcoming about the memory spell.
We skirt bushes that are no more than singed twigs. Thanks to an energizing potion Bri put together, Bati isn’t as slow as he should be. The foliage thickens the closer we get to the mountain, and the sky is a pastel rainbow.
“You sure you wanna go back to get Shaun’s hair yourself?” she asks.
“Yes.”
Julius looks at me, but there’s no question in his eyes. Just understanding. Where I go, he goes. I was mainly talking to Bri. The deeper we go, the more the unburnt parts of the forest surround us, its canopy thick overhead. I press between a pair of jpango trees and let my fingers graze their smooth surface. The first time I saw these trees, my father showed them to me. I miss him. I will make him proud. In this, I will.
“There.” Bri points.
Bati’s head turns in that direction. I see it too. Fire. How green can these Macazi be? They can’t have a fire lit out here. Just announce you’re in hiding, why don’t you? We creep that way.Thrum.A knife plants in the bark inches from my face and I freeze.
“Shit!” Julius says.
Energy tingles my fingers. Bri crouches with a yelp.
Whoosh.Another knife whips by, the blade’s tailwind kissing my cheek.
“Who’s there?” someone says.
I know that voice. A face with a bald head peeks from behind a tree, another blade poised to toss.
