Rebecka Evertrue's Arc

Chapter 38 of 66

Rebecka reached the cave mouth with the crow on her shoulder. Aiyana waited beside the collapsed crystal shelf, one hand flat on the stone. The bottleneck slot was clear. No fresh tracks. But the refugees had been sealed inside for days now, and the last elixir was gone. No water. No food. Twenty-two people behind the rock, and Ninka among them. "We open it," Rebecka said. "Now. They can't last another night." Aiyana nodded. "The seal will need both of us. Your mother set it from the inside, but the stone remembers her blood in you." Rebecka pressed her palms to the rock where Lark had brought it down. The crystal was cold. She thought of Katia rationing sips from a cup. Ninka's dry mouth. The old man who'd wanted to run. She pushed. The stone gave with a low grinding sound. A hairline seam opened, then widened. Dust fell. Rebecka worked her fingers into the gap and pulled. Aiyana pulled with her. A slab shifted and rolled aside. The smell hit first. Close air. Sweat. Fear kept too long in one place. Katia stood just inside with a knife in her hand. She lowered it when she saw Rebecka's face. "You came back," Katia said. "The riders are dead." Rebecka stepped through. "All of them." Behind Katia the chamber glowed faintly. The crystal walls held a soft light, but the people sitting against them looked hollow. A child cried without sound. A woman held an empty waterskin. Ninka pushed through the crowd. Her hair was matted. Her lips were cracked. She stopped in front of Rebecka. "You took too long," Ninka said. "I know." "The little ones stopped crying yesterday. That's worse." Rebecka put her hand on the back of Ninka's neck and held her there. Ninka let her. Aiyana had already moved deeper into the chamber. She stopped at the far wall and laid both hands on a section of crystal that pulsed brighter than the rest. "Here," she said. "Your ancestor left something for a day like this." The wall opened. Behind it stood a tall wooden cabinet, carved with runes Rebecka couldn't read. Aiyana pulled the doors wide. Inside: jugs of clean water. Bread that steamed. Baskets of fruit. Folded clothes. Herbs tied in bundles. Small bottles glowing pale blue. Rebecka's throat closed. She lifted a jug and passed it to Katia. Katia poured for the nearest child first, then the next, then the next. The chamber came alive with the sound of people drinking. Ninka took bread and ate half before she looked up. "There's a woman," she said. "In the book you found. The third name wasn't the last one." Rebecka held the bow tighter. The quiver hummed against her back. "Eat first," she said. "Then tell me."