Prophet of the Badlands (The Awakened Book 1) (67 page)

lthea sat sideways on the porch steps, resting her head on Karina’s shoulder with her legs crossed at the ankle. Shadows from the clothesline running from an eyebolt by the door to the far corner wobbled and danced in the road. The scent of floral soap hung thick to her sister’s hair. The long awaited bath/shampoo now over, she basked in the quiet warmth of being home. She had taken an extra-long time in the tub, staying until the water was cold. As they had the first time, Karina’s fingers through her hair had brought tears of joy, only this time Althea had not been the only one crying. A faint breeze flapped at the hem of her dress and brushed Karina’s hair across her face. She puffed air at it, a feeble attempt to push it away.

An iridescent blue dragonfly circled about the porch before coming to a lazy landing upon her big toe. Its wings twisted and fluttered to the side for a few seconds before it shifted to face the wind. Karina’s fingers continued to rake in gentle strokes through her damp hair, the past several weeks grew ever distant in her memory. Soon, she would let all thoughts of the bad city fade away. She had been much happier believing in made up stories about a wall of fire and the edge of the world.

Karina looked up at the struggling light bulb at the center of the porch. “It is so strange to see the lights on. Do you think those electricity cubes are dangerous?”

Althea shrugged. “I dunno. Since they told us not to touch them, I think so.” She tilted her foot, grinning at the insect as it moved to compensate. “They are in the power works now, no little ones are allowed inside. Not even me.”

“Your new friend seems nice.”

“Shepherd?” Althea squeezed Karina’s arm. “He was scary when I first found him. A bad person made him do bad things.” She raised her leg, amused by the dragonfly’s twitch to compensate. “He’s happy here.”

“He is strong enough to use the plow alone.” Karina got quiet for a moment, as if lost in a daydream. “I’m surprised he did not want to stay in the city with his modern life.”

“He does not like it there. There are bad people who would hurt him, org-nized crimes.”

“What’s that?”

She flexed her toes, wondering how much she could move before the insect decided to fly off. It remained. “I dunno. He said they would hurt him. Besides, he wants to protect me.”

“Well, you did save his life.” Karina tickled a giggle out of her.

“Are you gonna marry him? You said you had first choice if a new man came to Querq.”

Karina loosed an embarrassed laugh. “He’s almost as old as Father, Thea. It wouldn’t be right. Besides, the city people are making us strong. Soon, others will learn of it and new men will settle here. Querq will grow. I will have a baby of my own someday; for now I’ll settle for taking care of you.”

Althea nestled tighter, leaning her head against Karina’s. She giggled as the dragonfly tickled its way across her foot. A moment later, the sound of men shouting to each other drew her attention. Two members of the Watch atop the wall in the distance cheered, enjoying some kind of man-games with their new rifles. Gouts of blue fire belched from the front as they whooped and hollered and unloaded on some poor, unsuspecting pile of scrap metal.

She frowned. “Why did they have to give us city guns? Why does there have to be death?”

“Be happy they let you come home. They must want very much to protect you, because they have given Querq so much. Our home was strong before, but now it is untouchable. If we have such weapons, the day will come when no one dies because they will be too frightened to attack us.”

The dragonfly flicked out its wings, curved itself upward, and took off. Althea sighed as it weaved down the street. She thought of the apparition in the garden. “Some bads don’t care about guns, but I will stop them.”

“I gotta pee. Will you be okay until I get back?”

Althea sat up and swung her legs off the step. “Yes.” She grinned. “I’m not scared anymore.”

The wooden plank step shifted as Karina stood. Althea closed her eyes, leaning back on her elbows and enjoying the breeze in her hair. Soft footsteps thudded through the porch as her sister stumbled into the house. She took in a deep breath of clean air, held it, and let it out. Querq had none of the sour smell of that awful city. She swished her foot back and forth over a dirt path that many years ago had been a paved road. One Division 0 hovercar glided overhead, a black rectangle against the sky with a cyan glow at each corner. A throng of children chased it, cheering. Medical supplies, clothes, gardening technology, toys, and stuff for schooling had gone over well with the locals.

The gleaming vehicle circled, descending out of view past a row of houses on its way to the town square. Althea had gotten more than her fill of the high-tech city and felt no urge to pursue them, content to wait for Karina’s return. Ion engines whined off into silence, and an eerie feeling settled over the area. She sat straight and looked around at a quiet street. Nothing appeared to explain the foreboding sensation on her mind. Althea eased forward onto her feet and backed up the stairs onto the porch. Little fists trembled with annoyance.

“Who’s there? What do you want?” Her voice came out threatening, determined.

“Relax, girl.” A cloud of fog coalesced, through which Aurora stepped out.

Althea regarded the nude, paper-white woman for a few seconds before offering an unimpressed smirk. “What do you want? I thought you were too
civilized
to run around with no clothes?”

Aurora smiled, sauntering over to the hanging laundry. “No, that’s Anna. I thought you would prefer this to me wearing one of your friends. You didn’t seem to much fancy that last time.” She stood behind one of Karina’s dresses. “I can’t take objects with me when I walk through the astral world.”

“You can’t wear people.” Althea held her ground. “I… I mean you
shouldn’t.
I told you to leave me alone.”

The woman held her hands up. “Calm yourself, girl. I am not here to take you away again, and I am not here on behalf of Archon.” She offered a genuine smile. “I wanted to see what you looked like when you were happy.”

A silent staring contest ensued. Aurora’s all-black eyes held as much warmth as possible given her outlandish appearance.

“Fine.” Althea folded her arms, tapping her right big toe into the porch like an impatient woodpecker. “What do you want?”

“I assume you are aware that he lived.”

“Yes. I know.”

“You could have let him die.”

A petulant sigh escaped. “No, I couldn’t. You don’t understand.”

“Well, you know he’s only going to hurt others.” Aurora pulled her hair out of her eyes and held it down. “By the time this is over, more will die. I suspect a great many would if things go wrong. You could have prevented it if you left him there.”

Althea gazed at her feet. “It’s bad not to help. If he harms others after I mend him, it is his choice. That is not my fault. If I had let him die, that would be my fault.”

“You will see him again, child.”

Her head snapped up, glaring.

“Not against your will. When the time comes, you will choose to be involved.”

Althea bit her lip. “I don’t want to see him again.”

“Do not worry yourself about it now. Enjoy your home.”

“Will they be hurt?” Althea took a step closer.

“If you do not follow your instincts, the possibility exists.” Aurora closed and opened her eyes. “However, you are not one to ignore your instincts. The Phoenix has sharp talons, but a soft heart.”

“What does that mean?”

The sound of Karina walking through the house grew louder. Aurora glanced at the wall for a few seconds, and back to Althea.

“You will understand when the time is right. Before I go, one more thing. Ask your father to send a patrol to the east into the foothills. Along the path they know as Four Zero.”

Aurora’s body collapsed into a glittery silver mist just as Karina stepped onto the porch. She skidded to a halt in the spot where the visitor had just been, and shivered. At the look on Althea’s face, she ran over and took her hand.

“Is everything all right?”

“I think so… Is Father still home?”

“Yes. He is in the kitchen. It is his night for dishes.”

Althea strode into the house, dragging Karina along by virtue of refusing to release her hand. Father stood at the sink with his sleeves rolled up, taking his sweet time cleaning up after dinner. Murder had several definitions, and what Father did to the Spanish song crashing through his teeth was one of them.

“Father?” She stopped right behind him.

“Yes, child?” His smile flattened at the urgent look in her eyes. “Is something the matter?”

“Can you ask a patrol to go to path Four Zero? East?”

“I can… Did you have a vision?”

Althea’s face went blank. Saying ‘yes’ would be a lie. Inspiration struck, and she grinned. “A spirit told me to look there.”

he brush snagged less and less with each successive pass through Althea’s hair. She sat on a small bench, back to Karina, fingers digging into the cushion as she grimaced. Soon, the tugging smoothed out and the brushing became pleasant. Althea relaxed, letting the motion of it pull her head about. The new nightgown they had gotten from the bad city was shorter; the gossamer material did not feel as confining. She scooted her feet back and forth through the rug as Karina tended to her hair, and overacted her disappointment when it was her turn to do the brushing.

After switching places, Althea spent a few minutes pulling at Karina’s much thicker mane with her fingers before subjecting her to the brush. She cheated, telling the older girl’s body not to notice any pain until the snagging lessened. All the while, they chattered about nothing of any importance. Karina thought one of the city police was cute, and he was only twenty one. Five years difference wouldn’t upset Father too much. Althea shrugged, having no idea how he would react.

Once Karina had enough of her hair being pulled, they settled into bed. Althea stared at the ceiling, holding Karina’s arm to her chest like a doll. Father had been gone for hours, though she did not feel any unusual worry. The mixture of concern for him and happiness at being in her bed once again made her want to stay awake and enjoy it. More and more, the bed felt comfortable; the appeal of sleeping on a hard floor or dirt grew distant. The room hung in silence for some time, the only movement, the creep of a square of moonlight across the ceiling.