The Healing Wars: Book II: Blue Fire Read Free Page A

go.
    “Might not be a bad idea. I haven’t spoken to him since we went into hiding. He may have lost the place by now.”
    “How fast can you get there and back?” We’dneed time to search the town house for as many valuables as we could carry anyway.
    “A day or two. He’s not far from the marsh docks.”
    Danello’s little sister, Halima, dashed over and hugged him.
    “I won’t be gone long, don’t you worry,” his father began, then looked at Danello. “You okay to watch them?” Something in his tone made me think he meant more than just the family.
    Danello nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on everyone.”
    “Hold them safe. I’ll be home tomorrow night.”
    “Be careful, Da.”
    “I will.” He sounded strong, but I caught the worry in his eyes.
    Bahari glared at me at like I was purposely sending his father away. Jovan nodded stoically as ever, while Halima just looked scared. Danello’s father hugged his family one more time, then went upstairs to pack a bag.
    “What about the Takers?” Tali asked after a minute.
    “They’ll come with us.”
    She shook her head. “I mean the ones we haven’t found yet. There are dozens more out there at least.”
    “Tali, I can’t save everyone.”
    “I know, but—”
    “If we stay here, we risk everyone else getting caught.”
    “Maybe we can get the word out that we’re leaving so more can come find us?”
    “Someone besides the Takers will find out. The soldiers are actively looking for me now.”
    She sighed and nodded. “I was just hoping to find a few more missing friends.”
    “Me too. Maybe we’ll find some before we have to leave.” I turned to the group gathered on the stairs. “Everyone, go to your rooms and start searching for anything of value. Smaller is better since we’ll have to carry it, but if it’ll sell, grab it.”
    “Who’s gonna sell it?” asked one of the less-trusting Takers we’d found. I couldn’t blame him. League guards had broken into his family’s home in the middle of the night looking for him. He’d barely gotten away.
    “We’ll choose folks to go to the alley market first thing in the morning. If a bunch of us hit the vendors, it won’t be as obvious we’re selling off a lot at once and they won’t lower the prices on us. After, we’ll split up the oppas and make sure everyone has enough in case we get separated.”
    This seemed to make everyone happy.
    “A friend who repairs boats has been helping us smuggle people off the isle. He usually has several at a time he’s working on, so he’ll have enough space to get us all to the mainland.” Risky to use Barnikoff again if there was a chance he was being watched, but we could trust him. He had a good heart and no love for the Duke. “With a little luck, we’ll be able to leave tomorrow night as soon as Danello’s father returns.”
    Or a lot of luck. It wasn’t nearly as easy to get off the isle as I was making it out to be, but they didn’t need anything more to worry them.
    “What happens if this farmer doesn’t want us there?” a Taker asked.
    “We’ll find another farm. Let’s not worry about that right now. Once we get out of the city, we’ll have more time to figure out where to go without soldiers breathing down our necks.”
    Aylin kept sneaking me looks, and she’d have her own set of questions as soon as she got me alone. So would Tali, no doubt.
    The others though? A few looked unsure about this plan, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they grabbed their share of the money and ran. And Saints help me, a few less people to worry about suited me just fine.
    But what if we weren’t welcome anywhere? Refugees from the Duke’s siege of Verlatta couldn’t be fleeing just to Geveg. The farms might be flooded with them. We might get there only to find there was no room for us.
    Or worse, we might find the Duke cared about sweet potatoes after all and there was nowhere to run to .
     
    “Can we keep any of this for ourselves?” Tali