Frost (14 page)

I crossed the road to the Assembly Hall.

The door creaked as I tugged it open, and my eyes widened. Villagers packed the place, crowding on the benches and lining the walls. I’d never seen so many here at one time. I stepped inside, looking around for a place, and a woman scooted over to give me room to sit. Gratefully I sank down beside her. A few heads turned to look at me, but most were fixated on the front of the room.

My nerves sang with the tension in the room—it was as if every breath was held while we waited for air.

The Mayor stood before everyone, flanked on either side by Farthers dressed in their strange gray clothing and carrying gleaming rifles. They gazed at us, arms crossed, and the crowd cowered beneath their stares like mice. Whispers buzzed throughout the room.

“Quiet,” the Mayor barked, his voice tense and high with fear. “We have nothing to worry about. These men are here to find one of their own, one who escaped and headed into the Frost several weeks ago.” He lifted his hand, and something gleamed in the light. “This was found here this morning. It’s a tracking device. It was on the prisoner they’re searching for.”

Dread spread through me like a poison, paralyzing my limbs and stealing my breath.

It was the bit of metal I’d dug from Gabe’s back and later thrown in the creek.

I wanted to jump up and run back to the farm immediately, but of course I couldn’t do anything to draw attention to myself. I focused on taking deep breaths and keeping my expression neutral as the Mayor continued speaking.

“If we cooperate,” he said, smiling thinly, “then we’ll find that we have nothing to fear.”

I couldn’t believe it. We’d never had any dealings with the Farthers, and now they were roaming our town? Why were the Elders allowing this? Why weren’t they refusing to go along with this invasion of our privacy, our property? I looked at the row of men at the front, and I saw faint, purplish bruises on a few faces.

Maybe they
had
refused.

“Nothing has changed,” the Mayor assured us. “Your quotas are still due as usual. And we have a nice social tomorrow evening for the young people that will be held at my house now due to accommodation of the Farthers here.”

I caught a glimpse of Ann near the front of the room. Her face was pale as she stared at her father without blinking. Cole sat beside her, his eyebrows drawn together and his back ramrod straight. His mouth was pressed in a firm line.

The door to the Assembly Hall opened again, and another villager stepped inside.
Adam Brewer
. I saw the way his eyes narrowed at the sight of the Farthers, the way he smoothed his expression over and took a seat like he didn’t have a care in the world. His hands, I noticed, were knotted fists by his side.

I had to speak to him.

“Everyone just needs to stay calm,” the Mayor said. “Return to your houses and farms and devote yourselves to your responsibilities. Until this has all blown over, I am instituting a no-travel rule. Stay at home unless you have specific business in the village. The exception, of course, will be the social. Like I said, everything is all right, and it’s business as usual. We just have a few temporary adjustments, that’s all.”

“How long will they stay?” someone yelled.

The Farthers continued to stand motionless and expressionless as statues. They looked like predators ready to spring at the slightest provocation. Chills descended my spine as I looked at them.

“Our visitors will search the village and the farms, and when they are satisfied that their fugitive is not here, they will leave,” the Mayor promised. “Everything will be fine. We are cooperating. There will be no violence. Don’t worry.”

It sounded like he was assuring himself as much as he was assuring us. My blood boiled at the injustice of it all. How dare they come here and try to bully us?

A farmer on the front row jumped up, his face creased with anger. “This is ridiculous,” he said loudly, pointing his finger at the Mayor. “How dare you allow these Farthers to stay here in our village! We are a free people, and they are oppressive monsters. We have no dealings with them. How dare you—”

He stepped forward, his hands forming fists. Swiftly, the Farthers drew their weapons. The farmer froze.

“Please just sit down,” the Mayor said. “We’ll get this all sorted out.”

The farmer slunk back to his seat, but the Farthers didn’t lower their guns.

No one dared to ask any more questions. The mood in the room turned icy, and the murmurs swirled around me like furtive breaths of wind. I was alone in this crowd as terror sliced at me like Watcher claws.

What was I going to do?

We were dismissed, and people began to move toward the exits. Adam Brewer vanished out the door before I could even stand. I jumped up and hurried after him, bumping into several villagers and wriggling around a clump of whispering, wide-eyed women. But when I reached the street, he’d vanished.

Farthers were already heading for the paths, their strides swift and precise.

They were starting the search.

I couldn’t take the time to look for Adam Brewer. I had to get back to the farm at once. But there was a curfew now—we weren’t supposed to travel beyond our homes. I couldn’t be out to speak with him later, not until the Farthers left.

And I didn’t know how long that would be.

“Lia!”

Ann pushed her way through the crowd to reach me. I turned to her, uncertain about what she wanted. After all that had happened, I realized I barely knew her. I barely knew anyone. But to my surprise, she threw her arms around me and burst into tears.

“Ann,” I said, turning my head to look for Farthers. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Not here,” she whispered. “Come on.”

We stepped into a side alley, and she pulled away from me and put her hands over her face.

“Everything is going wrong,” she sobbed. “The Farthers...they beat up the Elders. They threatened my father. They’re being so cruel. They’re threatening everyone. I’m really scared.”

I dropped the sack of supplies in the snow and put my arms around her again, soothing her. But in the back of my mind, I was calculating how long it would take the Farthers to get to my farm. I had to get back to warn Gabe. He could hide in the place below the barn if he had time.

“I’m scared too,” I said. And it was true. I was terrified. I only wished I could tell her why.

Shadows blocked the light at the end of the alley. The Mayor stood gazing at us, flanked by Farthers. Ann gulped and looked at me, frantic. “Are you still coming tomorrow night?”

“I...I don’t know.”

How in the world could I go to a social when all of this was happening? I had to worry about Gabe and my parents’ secrets and Adam Brewer.

“Ann,” the Mayor said firmly.

Her expression turned fierce. “You
must
come, Lia Weaver. Promise me.”

“I can’t promise anything.” I took a step back, my gaze shooting from her to the Mayor and the Farthers with him.

Ann grabbed my arm. “It’s really important, Lia. I mean it.”

“I really must be going.” I gently pried her hand off my arm, and then I picked up my sack of supplies and fled for the path to the farm.

~

The Farthers’ footprints showed that they were ahead of me. I fled down the path, heart pounding, hoping I wasn’t too late. Would they go straight to our farm? Would they stop along the way first? My skirts bunched around my legs, hindering me, and I grabbed them and lifted them high so I could run. Cold air rushed over my calves.

It was almost a mile to the farm, and I ran the entire way. I reached the yard, sweat streaking down my neck and back and my lungs burning. The Farthers were at the house. Ivy was on the porch. She saw me, but her eyes slid away as if she didn’t. The Farthers didn’t turn.

I crept to the barn and went inside. Where was Gabe now? Trapped in the house? What would they do when they found him? Would they hurt us? I was dizzy with terror.

Hands closed around me, dragging me back. I clamped my mouth shut to hold in a scream as Gabe turned me around to face him. His face was drawn and pale.

“Farthers,” I gasped. “From the village, they’ve come looking for you—”

He gripped my arms, silencing me. “I saw them. Fortunately, I was here looking after the horses when they came. Otherwise we might all be under arrest right now.”

We stared at each other a moment. “What are they going to do if they find you?” I whispered.

“Kill me.” His throat jumped as he swallowed hard. “And who knows what will happen to you and your siblings. They’re completely ruthless. We need to hide
now
.”

“The room—” I ran to the floor and pressed the hidden button. The stones slid back, revealing the wooden staircase. Gabe descended it and then looked up at me. A sliver of light shone through the cracks in the barn wall, illuminating half of his face and one of his bright blue eyes. He looked terrified. “Lia?”

“Stay quiet,” I said. “I’ll come get you when everything is all right again.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but there wasn’t time and we both knew it. I needed to be up here to handle things, no matter how dangerous these men might be.

Footsteps thudded outside, and I heard muffled commands and Ivy’s voice pleading.

Gabe’s face contorted, and he reached up with one hand and grabbed mine, squeezing it tight. I understood. I squeezed back, and he released me, and I touched the button again. The stones slid back into place.

He was hidden.

I straightened just as the barn door flew open and the Farthers streamed inside, followed by a white-faced Ivy. She almost crumpled over when she spotted me.

“Lia,” she gasped out, her voice trembling. “Here you are. These men—”

“Are just here temporarily,” I said brightly, holding her eyes with mine. Unless Gabe had told her about the room—which I’d asked him not to—then she didn’t know of its existence. That was good, because it meant she couldn’t accidentally give it away. “Carry on with your business, gentlemen. You’ll get no objections from us.”

Ivy’s eyes widened in confusion at my words, but I moved my hand in a sharp gesture of silence, and she clamped her mouth shut.

The Farthers moved around the room, prodding at the hay and peering into barrels of grain. One of them stepped up to me and looked me over like I was yesterday’s garbage

“Are you in charge of this household?”

“Yes,” I said, crossing my arms and tipping my head up to look him in the face. My whole body felt squeezed tight with terror, but I forced myself to smile as if everything were fine. “I am. I just returned from the village.”

“Then you must know our purpose here. You are to cooperate with us fully.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “And we will. I apologize if my sister has given you any trouble—she is young and impulsive.”

His eyes cut to Ivy and then back to me. He smirked. “In our land, subordinates are kept under control.”

I couldn’t help myself. “Yes, as clearly evidenced by your search for a runaway.”

He slapped me hard, and the sound rang out through the room.

“Do not speak back to your betters, farm girl,” he hissed.

I straightened slowly with one hand pressed to my throbbing cheek. This time, I didn’t meet his eyes, but not because I was subdued. No—I didn’t want him to see the murderous expression in mine.

One of the soldiers crossed the barn, and his boots thumped against the circle. He paused, looking down at it speculatively, and my blood turned to ice.

No.

He bent down, running his fingers across the etchings there. Despair flooded my mind. How had we gone our whole lives without finding that door if this man was suspicious after one minute?

Ivy shrieked, startling me and drawing the Farther’s attention away from the floor. She ran across the barn toward one of the other soldiers who was poking around in the coop.

“Don’t,” she cried out, grabbing his arm. “You’ll upset them, and then they won’t lay.”

“Ivy,” I said loudly. My heart was pounding. I kept one eye on the Farther who was only feet above Gabe’s hiding spot. He was now focused on Ivy and the other soldier.

The soldier shook her off. “Let go of me, bitch.”

I grabbed my skirts and hurried forward. “Don’t touch my little sister.”

He lifted his hand to hit her, and I yanked her back into my arms and closed my eyes. A roaring sound filled my ears. I braced myself—

“Gentlemen,” the Farther leader cut in, and his voice slid through the air like a knife. “Enough. We are finished here; we will search outside.”

The Farther gave Ivy and me one last challenging look before following the rest of the men into the yard. The door in the floor was forgotten.

Ivy made a sobbing sound, and I crushed her to me in a hug. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine—you?” She touched the red spot on my face where the Farther leader had slapped me. “You were so brave.”

I exhaled shakily. She had no idea how close we’d just come to being killed.

“Where’s Gabe?” she whispered, looking around.

I wanted to laugh. She was a hero and she didn’t even know it. But I couldn’t explain yet.

Taking her hand, I pulled her after me into the yard. The Farthers were skirting the edge of the forest, all except for the one who’d slapped me. He stood at the entrance of the barn, his eyes tracing the line of tracks to the house. He turned back to Ivy and me.

“There is you, and there is the younger girl, and there is your crippled brother, yes?”

I hesitated. “Yes, because my parents—”

“Then whose tracks are these?” He pointed to Gabe’s footprints in the snow, which were clearly larger than a girl’s. Gabe had been wearing an old pair of my father’s shoes, and they left a smooth print in the snow instead of a pattern like the Farther’s.

It was clear the prints weren’t his or his men’s.

The blood in my veins turned to ice as he waited for the answer to my question. Beside me, Ivy stiffened, and we squeezed our hands together. I didn’t know what to say—all the words in me were frozen, cluttering my throat, refusing to come out.