The Unspoken: Book One in the Keres Trilogy (24 page)

When I knock on Abbot
’
s den door, he opens it slightly and looks through the crack with one eye,
“
Oh it
’
s you. Done already? I
’
m busy now. Go wait for me in your den. Read something,
”
he says distractedly and slams the door in my face. A month ago, I would have been enraged by his rudeness. Today, I simply smile wryly and walk to my den. But instead of reading, I practice with the wing tattoo until Abbot bangs on the door.

“
Let
’
s see it,
”
he says, throwing the door wide and holding out his hand for the phial of ink. He turns it over, holds it up to the light and shakes it. The ink doesn
’
t slosh around the glass, it just churns at the bottom of the phial.
“
Outstanding,
”
he smirks at me.
“
Marum pleased as punch was he?
”

“
Not really. He said I didn
’
t need supervision though and told me I can
’
t experiment.
”

“
That would be the Marum version of ecstatic.
”
Abbot leads me to my desk and unpacks the brass case.
“
This will be your stamp. You load the ink here,
”
he turns a wheel and flips the top of a smooth hourglass-shaped stamp open. He uncorks the ink tube and slides it neatly upside down into the stamp, closes the lid and tightens the wheel.
“
Would you like to do the honors?
”
he asks, holding out the stamp to me.

I take it from him and place it on my upper arm, above my wings, and look at Abbot for confirmation. He nods and I press down, clicking the two levers on the sides of the stamp. A stabbing knife-like pain slashes through my arm. I drop the stamp in surprise.

“
Hurts more when you do it yourself,
”
Abbot says, peering at the new band of fishing net that travels the circumference of my upper arm.

“
You could have warned me,
”
I say, a sulky note hanging onto my words.

“
That wouldn
’
t have been much fun for me. Try it out,
”
and he throws a movement magus which picks up one of the lockers, sending it back and forth across the mats. I run my thumb over the new ink and send out a wall of red light. It slams into the metal, encasing it, crumpling it.

“
Ok. Ok. Now try it gently. Even Zink can
’
t repair a thing that
’
s been broken repeatedly,
”
Abbot starts the mangled
locker
’
s movement again. I aim the magus a few feet in front of the locker, so it hits the stationary wall and not so the wall crashes into the moving locker.

“
Much better,
”
Abbot says.
“
Tomorrow, we
’
ll go to the target range. You can work on stopping multiple objects at once. Should be fun for you. Keep your stamp and the ink in your belt- it stays on the hall. Oh, and there
’
s a scavenging mission planned for two months from now, since we are running low on some of the ink elements. I want you to go.
”

“
Scavenging? Outside the walls?
”
my insides jump at the idea, equally terrified and overjoyed at the prospect. I
’
ve never even talked to someone who has been on the other side of the outer wall.

“
Can
’
t get gorged lizard spleen on this side. Trip
’
s after power down and we are always back before dawn.
”

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach like a rock.
“
I
’
m locked in after power down, I can
’
t go,
”
I mumble.

“
You think we mend broken stuff and can move things at will but can
’
t unlock a simple door? Speaking of, Zink tells me I neglected to tell you something. Add it to my list of mentoring sins. The hand symbol painted above your door, an observant girl like you could not have missed it.
”

“
I
’
ve seen it.
”

“
That is an added layer of protection against those who would do you harm. The Mothers for example. That hand will show you anything that has happened in your room and the common room.
”
He counts off on his hand,
“
The thumb will glow if you are being watched, the index finger if you are being listening to, middle finger if someone has taken anything, ring finger if something was left and the little finger if something was tampered with. Zink said you all were crawling around on the floor looking under chairs like simpletons,
”
Abbot snickers uncontrollably at the mental image of us feeling around for devices.

“
I
’
m glad I can provide so much amusement for you. Anything else have you
‘
forgotten
’
to tell me?
”
seething inwardly, I count to ten to stop myself from reaching out to yank the obnoxious canine tooth earring out of his earlobe.

“
Eh, who can tell,
”
he shrugs, still laughing,
“
Why don
’
t you go to the Magus Library and read up on the different inks used on the Caesim and Furtim nerve groups. Let
’
s see if you can brew some of the more complex inks by next week.
”

After dinner, Frehn and I join a round of quoits, a game of throwing rings of heavy rope around pegs for points, on the lawn next to the Quad while the rest of PG3456 lounges on the grass.

The weather is unseasonably cold, driving Nutriment Cultivation to force their way through the harvest at double speed as they try to beat the first frosts. Wex can hardly keep his eyes open through meals and stretches out of the sofa when we are on the block. Escape plans seem at a standstill for now, though Harc continues to add to our stash a little bit at a time. Merit has built a relationship with the horse trainers, gaining unrestricted access to the barn. Doe doesn
’
t talk much about what goes on in the Healer
’
s Building. Some days she comes back with her body in knots from tension, her face bloodless and drawn. Frehn and Wex watch her constantly, as all of PG3456 have given up worrying about me. Whatever they think is happening in the basement of the Gratis Building has been overshadowed by their anxiety for Doe and what she sees as a Healer.

I am poised to toss my last rope ring to clinch the game when I see them. Twenty Mothers are gliding up through the lawn, herding everyone towards the Quad. I drop the ring. Frehn and I bolt towards PG3456 a few feet away. In a clump, we walk ahead of The Mothers, clinging to each other as if life depends on it.

The Quad is already crowded with most of the population, while others are pouring out of the residence compounds in a steady stream. Doe
’
s eyes are enormous with fear, so we keep her in the middle of us to prevent people from brushing against her. She looks like she
’
ll go mad at any moment. It is several minutes before a Mother ascends the stage, hands folded under her white apron, face tight with anger. Everyone on the Quad falls immediately silent.

“
Children,
”
The Mother says and pauses, raising a handkerchief to dab at the corners of her eyes and then clutching it in front of her mouth as if she can
’
t bear to continue,
“
Children, we have a brigand among us.
”

Merit
’
s hand flinches in mine and I hear Doe breathe in sharply through her nose. Harc has been caught.

“
Children,
”
The Mother continues, openly weeping now though we can all see on the large television screens setup on either side of the stage that her eyes and handkerchief remain dry.
“
Theft is the greatest of all misdeeds, worse even than disobedience. It embodies deception, defiance, carelessness, and moral depravity. Don
’
t worry, children, we will find the culprit. Be not afraid, your Mothers will protect you.
”

I exhale slowly. They don
’
t yet know it
’
s Harc.

“
We must flush them out. Make them understand their wicked actions have brought suffering to everyone in Chelon. To help the sad wrongdoer see how their misdeeds have impacted all of the children of Chelon, all meal rations will be cut in half, and activities on the Quad will be suspended. Instead of enjoying your free hours after dinner each night, a Play Group will be selected to set an example of public learning. Every day the thief chooses to stay silent will increase the consequences tenfold. PG3420, come forward.
”
As The Mother calls this Play Group, I can feel Harc lean forward as if to go with them. Wex catches the back of her shirt and whispers something in her ear.

They strap PG3420 into strange spiral hooks that hoist them up over golden pyramids on the stage. They hang suspended, straddling the razor sharp pyramid peaks, unable to move without the apexes cutting into their upper thighs. Everyone in the Quad stands transfixed, unable to look away. Merit and Wex both keep a strong hold on Harc
’
s arms, whispering urgently and quietly through unmoving lips.

“
We have no way of knowing if it was you.
”

“
The Mother purposefully didn
’
t say what was taken, or from where, to draw out everyone who might be guilty.
”

“
You will jeopardize everything.
”

“
Just keep still.
”

Doe sways a little when the first of the blood begins to stream down the pants leg of the man hanging over the far right pyramid. I slip my arm under hers to support her. Somewhere to my right a woman is sobbing uncontrollably. I hear Play Groups of the smaller children whimpering, clutching to Mothers
’
tunics and aprons, burying their faces in the folds. Fury builds up inside me with every anguished noise I hear.