I pushed to the center of the group and immediately knelt beside Weevil and put a hand on his forehead. "There you are! I was so worried about you, all the pain you were in before you left. You must've been so delirious, you didn't even know what you were doing."
Which was a ridiculous thing to say, of course. I never knew a person so plagued by delirium that he was sent into fits of lock picking.
"Whether he's sick or not, he will get sick now," another warden said. "Put him on the boats. He'll be useful on the island."
Weevil jumped to his feet--more quickly than any actual Scourge victim could--and we immediately
started walking to the docks. We hung back from the rest of the group, and Weevil leaned in to talk to me out of the others' earshot.
"I've seen you look better," he said. "Yesterday, for example. Or any other day ever."
"What were you thinking, coming back here?" I hissed.
"You and I always wanted to see new places," he replied. "I wasn't going to let you have this adventure all alone."
"Are you sick?" I asked him. "Have you--felt anything wrong yet?"
"At this point, does it really matter?"
No, it didn't matter. Nor did it lessen the guilt already weighing on my shoulders.
"Eat these." Weevil took my hand and pressed into them some leaves. Just by their feel, I recognized them as thrushweed leaves. "I found a small patch by the river last night. They'll keep you from getting sick."
"I'm already sick." I pushed the leaves back at him. "You take them."
"Then they'll keep you from getting sicker. I already ate some, this morning. Now hurry, eat them while no one's looking."
I did. Most of our people enjoyed chewing on fresh thrushweed leaves, but I hadn't liked them since I was a young child. Still, I was sure they'd do me some good now.
The dock was already crowded with other sick persons, and no doubt all of them were wondering the same question as Weevil asked aloud: "How do we get out to the boats?"
He was immediately answered by a warden who raised a pistol and said, "Anyone who is not in the water by the time I count to ten will be shot. One!"
Della turned. "My father, Sir Willoughby, is arranging with Governor Felling for me to stay here. I've told you a hundred times already, I'm not supposed to go on those boats."
"Stay if you want," the warden said. "I have enough rounds for you and anyone else who thinks they're too good for the Colony. Two!"
That was enough for Della, who jumped into the water and began swimming for the boats. Others still on the dock seemed to be less certain about which was worse--attempting to make the swim while fighting their pain, or facing the pistol.
I marched over to the warden. "You have the rope. Pull the boats closer to the dock!"
"We have our reasons."
"But those people could drown!"
He smiled wickedly. "Then you'd better get in to save them. Three!"
And he pushed me into the water.
The old legends say that the River People came from the union of a mermaid who had swum too far inland and a handsome young farmer who rescued her. Though I didn't put much faith in most of the old stories, I believed this one. It explained why I had a singing voice that made people want to drown themselves. It also explained why all River People were excellent swimmers.
But none of that protected me from the foot pushing down on my head every time I tried coming up for air. Whoever was kicking me, they probably didn't even realize it. Their legs were thrashing around so wildly that I wondered if they were fighting just to stay at the water's surface.
Eventually, I swam far enough away that I could come up. I first looked for Weevil, who was already clinging to one of the boats, helping some other Scourge victims get inside.
Della was already in the boat farthest from the shore. The silk ribbons on her pretty dress, I noticed, were ruined. Perhaps if she had been less concerned about them before, she wouldn't have been here right now.
A woman behind me screamed for help, and then her voice gargled in the water. Ignoring the dizziness in my own head, I swerved around and noticed her sinking beneath the surface. I dove for her and heard Weevil calling behind me that he was coming too.