Scavenger of Souls Read Free

dense.
    â€œShe’s been a help to me many times in the past,” Aleka said. “Including the time we rescued Laman, as you may recall. Plus the old woman’s always been fond of her. Don’t be so quick to judge, Querry. There’s more to people than meets the eye.”
    I looked down, feeling like a stupid kid who’d just been scolded by his mother. Which I pretty much had.
    â€œBut the others don’t need to know the true state of affairs,” Aleka finished. “I don’t want anyone to get their hopes up until I’m sure of our position. So for public consumption, this journey is just business as usual.”
    I nodded. Secrets were one thing I’d come to expect from her.
    â€œGood.” Her face softened for a moment, and her long, thin fingers reached out to caress my cheek. “And Querry. If we getthere—when we get there—I promise we can talk. Really talk.”
    â€œThat’s all I want,” I said.
    â€œI know,” she said in almost a whisper. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been able to give it to you.”
    Before I could say anything else, she turned and strode back to the others.
    We found them resting beneath a thumb of volcanic rock. The kids hadn’t budged, and Nessa was busy draping tattered blankets over them. I watched her, trying to see what Aleka saw, but when she glanced in my direction, I looked away in a hurry. The rest of the adults and teens milled around, not doing much of anything. Wali looked up and smiled wryly.
    â€œAnything you’d like to share?”
    Aleka gazed at the spot where the old woman lay, a nearly motionless bundle in the shade of a dead tree that somehow clung to its rocky perch. She snored noisily, her mouth more full of darkness than teeth.
    â€œWe could all use a break,” Aleka said. “A couple of hours. Querry, can you help Soon set up camp?”
    I jumped to my feet faster than I should have and started digging through my pack. Soon ambled over to join me, and when his eyes met mine, I realized he’d known all along what Aleka had managed to hide from me. I glanced at the other adults and teens, saw them going through their routines wordlessly, and I was pretty sure Aleka’s schemes had come to nothing.
    They all knew what we were up against. They all knew we were in a race against time, with no sure goal in sight, and with the little ones’ lives at stake.

    We rested in the shade of piled rock through the worst part of the afternoon, when the sun felt like a hot knife slicing through my uniform and into my skin. Aleka had said two hours, but when two turned to three and three to four, she made no effort to get us moving. I fed the kids a spoonful of concentrated mush, and they swallowed it dutifully enough, but I couldn’t help noticing the vacant look in their eyes as they chewed mechanically. Trying to start a conversation with them was like tossing a handful of dust in the air. The old woman slept the whole time. Nessa sang to her, in a soft, clear voice I heard only as notes, not words. Maybe it was the same lullaby she’d sung before. Me, I couldn’t remember any lullabies, and I was the only teen who’d joined Survival Colony 9 too recently to have heard the old woman sing. Hard to say if Nessa’s efforts did any good. The old woman’s brow never lost the pinch she’d worn when she fell asleep, but at least she did sleep.
    I wondered if she was dreaming. Remembering the time before. I wondered if that was the problem.
    Eventually, though, she had to wake up, and that gave Aleka her signal to get us moving again. Gauging the sun, I estimated we had enough daylight to cover three or four miles, what with the rough terrain and the twin burdensof the old woman and the little kids. Adem helped Soon with the stretcher, while the rest of us took turns giving the little ones piggybacks. There weren’t enough big people to go around,