Sember (Forestfolk, Book 2)

Chapter 8

In the morning, I was eager to talk to Dozan’s father again. I was hoping he’d be strong enough to tell me what I needed to know after a night’s rest. I didn’t see Dozan and his empty bucket during my run, and he still wasn’t there by the time I’d finished my practice session. So I headed straight for their tent.

This time, I didn’t burst in like a rampaging buffalo. I stood outside, unsure how to announce my presence. There was nothing solid to knock on. So I cleared my throat loudly and said, “Um, it’s Sember.” I waited for what felt like a long time. “Hello?”

“Come in,” Dozan’s voice called from inside. He sounded despondent.

I ducked through the flap and found Dozan on his knees in front of his father. His eyes were red, and I immediately thought the worst. “Is he . . . ?”

“Not yet,” he said. “He’s still breathing. But I can’t get him to wake up.”

“Didn’t Siena check on him yesterday?” I would’ve been surprised if she didn’t, since I had just come storming out of their tent.

“She did, but couldn’t do anything for him.”

I frowned, finding that hard to believe.

“I’ll go get Siena,” I tossed over my shoulder as I ran out of the tent. I couldn’t let this man die. I told myself it was because no child should lose both their parents so early, but I knew the real reason was because he had vital information that could save mine.

I skidded to a stop in front of the small table where Remi and Siena sat. They raised their eyebrows. I pushed aside my momentary guilt for snapping at them yesterday, and said, “Dozan’s father won’t wake up.”

To their credit, they didn’t make an issue over my interruption of their breakfast, or even over my rude behavior the day before. They immediately followed me back to the tent.

Siena knelt and placed her hands on the unconscious man’s chest. She seemed to concentrate hard, then frowned. She moved her hands to his head and closed her eyes. Her frown deepened. Then she pulled away with a grunt. “I don’t understand,” she murmured. “It’s just like yesterday. There’s something blocking me.”

“Is that even possible?” Remi asked.

“I’ve never encountered this before.” Her brow furrowed. “I can’t connect to his energy.”

“Isn’t there something we can do?” Desperation nibbled and frayed my patience.

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”

“But . . . he had the answers! He was going to tell me what he found in that cave!” My voice began rising in pitch, so I calmed myself with a breath. “What can we do?” I looked to Dozan, who shrugged.

No one had answers. An incurable plague was about to destroy life as we knew it, and no one had any answers.

Maybe it was time I got them myself.

“I’m going to find that cave,” I announced. 

For several stunned moments, no one said anything. They simply stared at me as if a new limb was growing out of my ear. 

Finally, Siena said, “Then I’m coming with you.” 

I looked at her solemn face and knew she was serious. The wedge I had placed between us crumbled, just a little. 

“Thank you, Siena, but you’re needed here. Desperately. I have no idea how long it’ll take. I don’t want people dying because I stole you away.” 

“Then Remi will go with you,” she replied. 

He blinked, a little surprised at being volunteered, but then he nodded. Good old reliable Remi. I couldn’t take him away either, so I shook my head. “No. You need him. To keep you sane.” 

She started to protest, but I interrupted her. “It’s true. Remi is your rock. He’ll make sure you don’t run yourself ragged.” I looked at him. “Right?” 

He smiled and nodded. “Sember has a point.” 

“You’re not going alone,” she insisted. 

“Dozan will go with me,” I said, without even looking at him. 

“What? I’m not going anywhere!” He bristled and scowled at me. “I’m staying with my father.” 

“You have to show me how to get there,” I said, trying to reason with him. 

“I’m not going.” He crossed his arms. 

 “Coward.” It was a low blow, and I shouldn’t have said it, but I knew it was a bad idea for me to go alone.

“Find somebody else,” he said through gritted teeth. 

“Then Goben will go with me.” 

Siena raised an eyebrow. “Does he know this?” 

“He will.” 

It seemed like she was trying to think of some other reason I shouldn’t go, which irked me, but eventually, she said, “I wish I could go with you. I would have liked to see the Iceling village.” 

* * *

“We’re going where?” Goben’s incredulous green eyes nearly bulged out of his head. 

“To the Iceling village in the north. Odavik. We’re going to track down the source of this plague.” I had followed him out to gather firewood so our parents couldn’t hear our conversation. I knew they wouldn’t want me to go, and it would be hard enough to convince Goben without their interference.

“Aren’t Remi and Siena the ones who go wandering around the plains all the time? Why don’t they go?” He picked up a fallen branch, snapped it at its fork, and tossed both pieces into my arms.

“If Siena leaves, our parents could die. She can only make the symptoms go way for a little while. They keep coming back. And if things get desperate enough, people might start threatening her. Remi needs to be around to protect her.” 

He sighed as he stopped at a log. “And no one else can go?” 

“I don’t trust anyone else to go.”

He grasped a brown-leafed branch on the log and yanked it off. “So you’re our self-appointed savior?” 

“Why are you trying to make me sound like a lunatic?” 

“I’m not. I’m just trying to understand why it has to be us.” He looked at me, branch in hand, trying to wrap his head around what I was suggesting. 

“Because our parents’ lives are at stake. Because we’re Gifted, and the plague doesn’t affect us. Because this is our only lead, and I’m not relying on anyone else to follow it.”

“You’re pretty stubborn, you know that?” he said as he stacked the branch onto the pile in my arms.

Stubbornness, another trait in my pile of Things That Don’t Attract Boys. Or in this case, annoys brothers. “But I’m right.” 

He sighed again and stared at the log, then tore off pieces of bark. “It’s going to be freezing. You realize winter just started?” 

“I’ll keep you warm.” 

“If you were any other girl, I’d be excited by the prospect. But I’m not exactly looking forward to huddling up with my sister.” He wedged pieces of bark into my wood stack. 

“You know, if I wasn’t carrying all this stuff I’d sock you in the arm.” 

“Why do you think I nominated you to do it?” he said with a grin. 

I looked at him with mock outrage, formed a fist with one hand, and managed to shoot a small fireball at his feet. He yelped and jumped backward. 

“You’re lucky I’m fireproof!” He stamped out a few lingering flames. 

“I know,” I replied sincerely. “I’m very lucky.”

He looked at me, and we shared one of those brief, non-awkward moments of understanding between siblings. Then he said, “Race you back!” and took off. 

“Hey!” I trudged after him, arms laden with wood, wondering how Goben could possibly be the older sibling.

I found him waiting for me by the wood pile. “You’re kind of slow,” he said as I dumped the load of wood.

“Savor it.” I picked twigs off my shirt. “Because it’s the only time you’ll ever beat me.” 

He smiled back at me, then it faded. “So it has to be us, huh?” 

“Yes.” 

He plucked a piece of wood from the ground and placed it on the pile. “I don’t want to leave Ma and Pa alone.” 

“Siena will take care of them.” 

“I’d rather take care of them. No one else can go with you?” 

I looked down, heat rushing to my cheeks. I broke off a small twig and flexed it in my fingers. “Goben, you’re one of five people who can stand to be around me more than five minutes. Siena and our parents can’t go, and I don’t think Nirrin is tough enough. That leaves you.” 

I peeked at him, hoping I wouldn’t find pity or mockery in his eyes. I found neither. Only tenderness. “Okay, Squirrel, I’ll go,” he said quietly. 

My excitement surged. “You’ll go?” 

“Only because you said I was tougher than Nirrin,” he said, and flexed his muscles. 

I laughed and kissed his cheek. “I’ll go tell Siena!” 

I raced to Dozan’s tent feeling like I had just won a small victory. “Siena!” I called from outside the tent. “Goben’s agreed to go with me!” 

“She’s not here,” Dozan said from inside. 

I poked my head through the flap. “Where’d she go?” 

“She tried to revive my father again, but it didn’t work. She said there’s something unnatural going on here. Then she went back to the quarantine cabin. I guess she wanted to go where she could actually help.” 

“Okay, thanks,” I said and started to leave. 

“Wait.” 

I turned around, wondering what Dozan could possibly want to say to me. He’d made it clear he wasn’t going to be helpful. 

He got up and started digging around in one of the huge packs in the corner, then pulled out two large, furry cloaks. “You’ll need these. Winter in the north is bitterly cold.” 

He laid them in my arms and I stared at them dumbly. The cloaks were heavy, made of multiple wolf pelts finely sewn together.

I looked back at him. “These are nice. You’re just going to give them to me?”

He ducked his head. “Maybe I am a coward. But at least I can help a little.”

My mouth twisted against the twinge of guilt nudging at me. Two cloaks did not make everything all right. He was still a sneaky—

“I’m also sorry for what I did to you. Without your permission.” He tugged absently at the hem of his shirt. “Most girls don’t seem to mind.”

I pressed my lips together. “Most girls aren’t aware they’re being manipulated.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not right, Dozan.”

He squirmed and avoided my eyes.

When it became apparent he wasn’t going to talk anymore, I turned toward the exit. “Thanks for the cloaks.”

He stopped squirming and nodded. “When you’re ready to go, I’ll tell you how to get to Odavik.” 

* * *

The quarantine cabin was empty except for Ruba and Siena. The bedrolls had been rolled up and leaned against the wall. 

“Where is everyone?” I asked as I entered. 

“With their symptoms gone for the time being, no one wanted to hang around here,” Ruba said as she swept the floor. “And there was no point keeping them here. Practically everyone who isn’t Gifted is infected.” 

Even though I had already suspected how hopeless and widespread the situation was, my heart sank anyway. If something were to happen to Siena, there would be no one left to keep the sick away from death’s door. 

“What is it, Sember?” Siena asked. I could see the tension in her eyes and the weariness in her demeanor. She alone was responsible for the survival of so many. 

“Goben’s agreed to go. We leave tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow?” Her brows shot up. “Isn’t that a little soon?” 

“I don’t think we have time to waste. Things seem stable now, but the tribes are dying. As soon as you leave to help them, Foresthome will be dying. I can’t allow that to happen. I have to find out what’s causing this, and stop it if I can.”

She gave me a tired smile. “You’re so much braver than I was at your age.” 

I smiled back at her. “Somehow I doubt that.” 

“Sember, I . . . ” She glanced at Ruba, who was following the discussion closely. 

Aware that the conversation was about to turn private, Ruba tactfully excused herself and left the cabin. 

Our eyes followed her as she departed, then we were left in awkward silence. The room was now bare except for a row of bedrolls, a bucket of water, and the bed by the entrance. And the two of us, still fidgeting silently. I scooted to the bed and perched on the edge. How did we get to this point? There never used to be this awkwardness between us. We had been as close as sisters could be, and now . . .

It was probably my fault. One flare-up too many. I guess she finally had to admit to herself that I had a demon inside, clawing its way out. Better to separate herself from that before it consumed her too. 

Our eyes met, and she looked as unsure as I felt. I decided to start first. “Siena, I know I scared everyone. I almost roasted Dozan out of sheer embarrassment. Who knows what I’ll do next? I understand your doubts about me, because I share them. I can’t be trusted.” My eyes fell to the floor and I shook my head. “You can’t trust monsters.”

“Oh, Sember.” She approached and sat beside me. “You couldn’t be more wrong.” 

I threw my hands in the air. “Of course I’m wrong. All I ever am is wrong.” 

She pursed her lips. “Self-pity doesn’t suit you.”

I sighed and flicked my index finger out in front of me so it pointed straight up, watching the small orange flame dancing on my fingertip. So beautiful. So deadly.

Siena’s eyes were drawn to the flame. “Sember, making mistakes doesn’t make you a monster, it makes you human. We’re all fallible. It’s just, as Gifted, our mistakes can sometimes have bigger consequences. And we have to learn to be okay with that.”

“Easy for you to say. Your mistakes don’t result in fiery devastation.”

“Maybe not, but I’ve felt like I’ve had a monster inside me before.” She looked down at her hands. “It scared me.” 

I stared at her in disbelief and snuffed the flame on my finger. “I don’t believe that.”

She looked away and began to play with the hem of her shirt. “I told you about Borga.”

“Right, but he was the monster. I may have only been six then, but I think I can tell the difference between good and evil. Mass healings, good. Mass killings, evil. You weren’t the one trying to eradicate all the Gifted.”

“I drained him because I couldn’t stop myself.”

I paused. “What? I don’t remember that.”

“I got so furious, I took his energy until there was none left. I drained it and took his life. I didn’t want to stop. I . . . ” Siena’s soft voice petered out. “It was like a creature I didn’t recognize had taken over. I did it out of sheer anger, not because it was right or wrong.” 

That shut me up. I couldn’t picture Siena furious, much less murderous. 

“I do know about monsters lurking inside,” she continued. “I was a mess after that. You may have more frequent accidents, but you’ve never actually killed anyone.” 

I thought about my parents. “I would have, if you hadn’t saved them.” 

She immediately knew whom I meant by them. “You were six,” she said dryly. “Cut yourself some slack.” 

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.” 

“Maybe so, but it’s because I’m still trying to convince you that you’re not alone.” 

“Then why are you pushing me away?” The words flew out of me. There, I said it. I sounded a little whiny, but at least it was out there now.

Her eyes widened, stricken. “Why would you think that?” 

“You told me to find new friends. And then something about a pedestal. Basically, you didn’t want me looking for you anymore.” To my horror, a single tear slid down my cheek, and I swiped it away, hoping no more would follow. I was supposed to be strong.

“What? Sember, no.” Her face was awash with tenderness, and she gathered my hands into hers. “You can’t believe that. I said those things because I can’t always be here for you, as much as I’d like to. I worry about you when I’m not here.” 

“Because I’m so dangerous?” I said, hating the dejection in my voice.

She gave my hands a rough shake, and I met her gaze. “You have a brother and two parents who love you, and you get to see them every day. I have a half-brother I rarely see, and I wonder if he even likes me, much less loves me. If I worry about you, it’s because I feel like you are my true family. I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen to you. That’s why I don’t want you to go, even though it seems like it’s our only choice. And if I want you to have other friends, it’s because I don’t want you to be lonely when I’m not here.”

I had no words. Emotions welled up and warred within me. Annoyance at myself for making so many wrong assumptions. Relief that Siena was still my sister. But most of all, love for this woman who had redirected the course of my life so profoundly, it was impossible for me to imagine her not being in it. 

I wrapped my arms around her neck and squeezed as if I could press my feelings into her, so I wouldn’t have to use words. Did she know how much she meant to me? Did she know how instrumental she was in helping me control my gift? Did she know how much I loved her? Tears fell freely now, but I didn’t care. My world had righted itself once more.