New World Ashes Read Free Page B

dust. Involuntarily, I licked my lips. They were still cracked and bleeding. If I was going to survive, I would need water. As if on cue, there was a grinding noise of something being slid across concrete.
    I peeked at the door.
    A glass of water had been pushed through the slot in the door. I felt a pang of relief, but didn’t move for it. They knew I needed the water. They knew they had control over my life. We both knew it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t control some things. I used the last bit of restraint I had and closed my eyes again. Eventually I would have to drink the water, but I wanted to do it on my terms, not theirs.
    I lay still for a long time trying to think about anything except what I wanted to think about most—the ones I had sacrificed my life for. But the thoughts kept creeping relentlessly back into the forefront of my mind.
    Were they still alive? Did they make it out? And the worst, and most wasteful thought— were they coming back for me? I had never wasted energy hoping someone would rescue me. And despite what Triven had promised, this was not the time to start.
    Once again, I was on my own.
    It was strange how time moved since my capture. A part of me felt like it had been just hours ago that I had watched Triven’s face disappear into the shadows of that drain. But another part of my brain felt like it was a lifetime ago. Was it days? Weeks? Months? In truth, it was hard to tell.
    What if Mouse and Triven didn’t make it? What if I was holding out for nothing?
    I shook those thoughts from my head. No. They had survived, they had gotten away. I had to believe that, if not for them, then for myself. Without them, my being here meant nothing. It meant I had sacrificed my life needlessly and I couldn’t believe that. I surely would never have been careless enough to sacrifice myself if no good came of it. They were alive and I would survive this to get back to them. Mouse and Triven were my only excuse to live now, so they had to be okay.
    A bright thought sparked in my slow mind. 
    They were alive...
    The Minister’s reaction had proven that. If he had them, then he wouldn’t need me. But I was still here. I was still alive too. He was going to try and use me to get to them. So according to reason, if I’m alive then they are too. The more The Minister tortured me for information, the further Mouse and Triven were slipping from his grasp. A strange giddiness flared in my chest.
    Grunting against the pain in my head, I leaned forward and took the glass of water. It shook slightly in my hand, the water sloshing in the clear cup. As much as I wanted to gulp it down, I hesitated. Normally, I would have sniffed it or just risked a fingertip taste, but they were watching me. This was a test, a challenge to look for weaknesses. For fear.
    I firmly wrapped my fingers around the cup and raised it in a toast to the camera. My mouth spread into a dry and cracked smiled as I put the cup to my lips and drained it.
    Challenge accepted. I’m not afraid of you old man.
    Bring on the torture.

3. PAST LIVES
     
     
     
    I STOPPED TRYING to calculate time, but since I had awakened in the tiny prison cell I had received four glasses of water and one sad example of a meal. It looked more like vomit than food. I didn’t touch it. Instead, I spent the time reflecting on the man who called himself my grandfather.
    My head was slowly starting to un-cloud, allowing me to think clearly again. At some point I realized Fandrin had never once asked about my mother’s whereabouts. And the only reason he wouldn’t need to ask, was because he already knew the answer. Why waste time asking about my mother or father when he knew they were dead? Heat burned in my cheeks, as another thought crossed my mind.
    Did he have a hand in their deaths?
    The man that I had just met claimed to be my grandfather and then nearly cracked my skull open with his cane. If he was capable of beating his self-proclaimed granddaughter