Page 87 of Ashes of Gold
“Looking out for you is one of the important things I’m doing.”
“Well… thank you.”
“What’s your name?”
“I am Rojala.”
“I’m Rue. Or Jelani, whichever.”
“Nice to meet you, Rue or Jelani.”
“You let me know if you need anything, alright? Whatever it is, you tell me.”
She dips her chin in agreement, and I leave her to it. She could be Tasha. And instead of being at home on the couch watching SpongeBob, she’s here marching with a stranger, hoping she doesn’t die.
“I’ma get you that corn bread one day. I mean it.”
She smiles and her eyes flicker with something I hadn’t seen before in her: hope.
With everyone formed up, Julius is easing the Seer onto her cart with some sort of makeshift wheels.
“Where’d you find…?”
“Two words. Nigga rig.”
We bust out laughing and slap hands.
“Glad you got her rolling again,” I say.
Taavi comes up, hands on the push handle of her mother’s cart. She tucks a strand of her mother’s hair behind her ear. “I got it. I’ll be pushing my mother here on out. We all ready then?”
The Seer lays a hand on Taavi’s, and I gaze in the other direction for a moment because it feels private. Something good has happened between them. Near-death experiences tend to have that effect.
“Ready?”
All nod, but Zora frowns. “Rue, we have a problem.” She holds the flashing geolocation device on her armor.
“What is it?”
She lets out a huge breath. “Shaun has declared himself King. And Bati’s been locked up.”
I have to lock my knees to keep myself from staggering. “How do you know? What…”
She fingers the blinking on her armor, the same one Kai used to summon her girls when we’d escaped prison. “This is more than geolocation. It’s two-way communication.”
Wait, why hasn’t she mentioned this capability before now? Jhamal wouldn’t have had to leave. Is she… keeping secrets?
“I just heard from saisa Doile.”
Doile? Not Kai?
I chew my lip and swallow my questions, knowing the answers wouldn’t change anything. “If Shaun declared himself King and turned on Bati…” I tap my foot, thinking, remembering. He could have turned on others. Getting the spell ingredients is more important than ever. With magic back, our people could protect themselves fromanyone. “We need to shift our plans. I’ll introduce the Macazi to everyone later. We need to get the ingredients first.”
Zora nods. “What do we need?”
I skim my brain for the Seer’s words. “Jpango sap.”
Bri rummages around her bag and flicks out a vial of a honey- looking substance the color of eggplant. “How much? I have some.”
