"No, Weevil."
"But--"
"Hush!"
I leaned forward and crept farther out on the branch. Weevil cautioned me to be careful, but I told him to hush again. Somewhere to the south of us was the sound of movement. A lot of movement.
I couldn't understand it. Everyone was supposed to be in by sundown--I'd seen the wardens hurry the Colonists back into the prison. Who was out there in the darkness?
Weevil joined me out on the branch, and for the first time, it creaked. I barely took notice of it, though. My attention was too heavily focused on the sounds to the south of us. If only it were a little less dark. Not enough for us to be seen, but just so that we could see what was going on down there.
I guessed that the noises were near the building I had seen to the south--the one that people entered but only wardens exited. Perhaps it was wardens out there now, but what were they doing?
I wanted to climb up higher, where I hoped I'd be better able to see, but the ache in my side had spread now, sending throbbing pulses to the tips of my fingers and toes. My balance was less steady than when I had first climbed out on this branch, though I wouldn't tell Weevil. I didn't want him to know how bad it was getting for me. I didn't want him to think about how bad it would get for him too, eventually.
"We won't see anything while it's this dark," I said. "Let's go back and try looking again when it's lighter."
Weevil followed my cue and scooted back first. He took his place in the hollow, but when I went to sit beside him, a wave of dizziness hit me.
"Careful!" He grabbed my arm and steadied me, then let me lean against him and put his arms on either side of me.
I closed my eyes and let him do the work of ensuring I didn't fall. "Thank you," I mumbled.
"I saw your flask of medicine at the base of the tree," he said. "If you can keep from tipping over, I'll go down and get it for you."
"It's empty," I said.
Weevil squeezed on my arm. "It's already gone? There's a shortage--"
"It was stolen while I was in the cage. By that girl you think we need to befriend."
"Della? But she--"
"May the gods help me, Weevil, if you defend her for stealing my medicine, I will sing to you, or something worse."
"There is nothing worse." He leaned his chin against my shoulder. "Listen, she lost her medicine because of you. Maybe she started this fight, and maybe she deserved it, but you did dump her into the water."
"And I could dump you out of this tree!" I smiled when I said it. Of course I'd never hurt him, but I still didn't want him making excuses for her. No matter how wrong they sometimes seemed, my actions were defensible. Not hers.
He chuckled and squeezed my arm again. "You River People, always putting up a fight."
That reminded me of something the governor had said while I was in the physician's office. She had said that the River People had promised not to cause any trouble in Keldan, and then we'd broken that promise.
I told Weevil that, and then asked, "Do you know what she was talking about? Has there been an uprising? Because if so, no one invited me."
He shrugged. "No one invited any of the River People." He drew in a breath. "Unless she's talking about an incident a few weeks ago. Your father traveled to Elmdale for some reason, and when he went into the market, they threw him out, saying the River People's money was no good. He was so angry he tossed a stool at the window, shattering it. That wasn't an uprising, but I'm sure the governor heard about it."
By then, my heart had stopped cold in my chest--and considering that I was a Scourge victim, that could almost be taken literally.
"They accept my coins in the market--they figure it's one way of getting back their money. My father didn't know how they'd treat him." I sat up, igno
ring the dizziness that washed over me. "I remember that night. I'd been down in the towns, singing. It was late, and my father had become worried so he went looking for me."
Weevil reached for my arm and brought me back to the center of the branch. "Relax, Ani."
"I will not relax! Don't you see? The governor thinks the River People are involved in an uprising, but my father only went into town because of me. All of this is my fault!"
"It's not your fault!" Weevil said. "Your father shattered that window, not you. And maybe the governor meant something else entirely. Keldan has never respected our people. If they want reasons to blame us, they'll find them."