Sember (Forestfolk, Book 2)

Chapter 11b

The scuffling sounds felt far away, unimportant. It was the muffled cry that roused me from my slumber. I forced my eyes open just in time to see a sack being pulled over my head. A pair of strong hands gripped my arm and yanked me off the bed. I stumbled, and a second pair of hands grabbed my other arm.

My grogginess receded, and I began to struggle, jerking at my arms and kicking. "Let go of me!"

In response, someone rammed the butt of a spear into my gut, causing me to grunt and cough.

"Hey!" Goben shouted just ahead of me. "Leave her alone, you rat-faced cowards!"

I heard the smack of a spear handle against something solid. Possibly Goben's skull.

I couldn't see a thing. I felt the cold air against my skin as they forced me out of the hut. My bare feet dragged on the ground until I found my footing. I was confused, my struggles were useless, and angry heat began rumbling within me.

I was trying to decide the best approach to burn my way out of this situation when I was suddenly thrown to the ground. Someone ripped the bag from my head, and I looked frantically around me. We were inside a bigger hut now, lit by torches. Goben shuffled on the ground next to me, pushing himself to his feet, so I did the same. Blood dribbled down one side of his face from where he'd been struck, and I wanted to rampage on whoever had hurt my big brother.

The beady-eyed man stood before us, not bothering to hide his disgust this time. Men surrounded us, pointing spears at us.

I glared at him. "You put bags on our heads to drag us to your super-secret hideout thirty steps away?"

He grimaced at me. "I sentence you to death."

"Wait, what? Why? We didn't do anything!" I gaped at him.

"You Aberrations are all the same, pretending at innocence when you know perfectly well you are the ones who brought this cursed plague on us!"

"Aberrations?" I remembered this as an antiquated term the tribes used to use. Siena had told me stories about how mean they were to the Gifted, calling them Aberrations because, apparently, they were considered unnatural freaks.

"Do you think us naïve?" the man continued. "Look around you. The plague spares no one. You Aberrations planned this. Wipe everyone else out, then rule the land yourselves. Well, I plan on taking out as many of you as I can before I die!"

"But we're looking for a cure for the plague!" I pleaded. "We can help each other."

"Your lies won't help you this time," he sneered.

"I'm not lying! Our parents are dying too. We have a stake in this. We don't want more people to die."

"Enough!" he bellowed. "Take them outside!"

The guards grabbed us again, and I shouted, "Wait!" They paused. "What are you going to do with us?" My breath quickened, panic rising.

"You will be burned to death," the ugly man answered, almost gleefully.

Burned? With fire.

I stopped panicking and looked at Goben. He looked back at me, eyes wide at this lucky turn.

I had the insane impulse to laugh, but a quick glance at the sharp spear tips was enough to keep me in check. They could just as easily impale us.

The beady-eyed man peered at me, his mouth tipping into a smirk. "No smart-mouth replies?"

I cast my eyes down in a show of deference. Now was not the time to act like a brazen idiot. "Please. If today is my last day alive, then I'd like to spend it with my family. I just need a minute, to say all the things I need to say before I die."

I peeked at him to gauge his reaction. Deep beneath the contempt in his little black eyes, there was a flicker of something when I said the word family. I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. For his whole dying tribe. This plague was unrelenting, and there weren't enough Sienas to keep them alive. The importance of my mission expanded exponentially, almost staggering me. It wasn't just about my parents, or even about Foresthome. It was about everyone.

Even repulsive cave-dwellers like this guy.

"Fine," he agreed, then turned to one of the guards. "Watch them."

He left the hut with all but one of the guards. I could hear them hovering outside the entrance. I turned to Goben, whose eyebrows arched in a what now expression.

"Come here, you." I pulled him into a hug, turning so my back faced the watchful guard. "Wait until I start the distraction, then duck into the flames and sneak off." I kept my voice at a low whisper. "Get our stuff from the cabin and escape out the north entrance. Just keep running. I'll catch up."

I pushed him an arm's length away and looked into his uncertain eyes. "I love you, Goben," I said more loudly. Then added in a whisper, "Don't forget to look scared, and be careful."

"I am scared," he replied. "I'm not brave like you."

"We'll get through this." I gave a reassuring squeeze to his arms.

I turned and nodded to the guard, who directed us outside. We were taken to the giant fire pit in the middle of the compound and tied to poles I hadn't noticed before. We stood on narrow stone platforms. I looked down through the swirling snowfall, and my stomach swam with nausea at what I saw. Charred bones and skulls peppered the ground beneath me.

We were definitely not the first Gifted to be roasted here.

I was wondering how they were going to get a roaring fire going in the snow when I saw them pouring some kind of liquid around the stacks of wood at our feet. Someone touched a torch to the wood, and flames instantly surged across it. Fire licked at our feet from every direction.

Even though Goben and I were in no danger of being burned alive, I couldn't stop the anxious knots from forming in my stomach. These people wanted us dead, and were willing to spend their last dying days making sure of it.

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