The Scourge - Page 46

After thanking him for defending us, Weevil asked, "Are you sure you're River People? There's no one by the name of Orden amongst us."

"I changed the name, to fit in better with the townsfolk," he said. "My original name was Jonas Ord."

I nodded. "Several years ago, the Ord family sent one of their sons to live with the townsfolk, in hopes of giving him a better life."

He nodded. "How's my family? I miss them."

"Life is hard," I said. "We help them as best as we can, but--"

"Baked bread," Weevil said. "Twice a week, our family goes without our baked bread and my mother gives it to your family." Then he winked at me. "Ani supplied the wheat for that bread."

"Thank you," Jonas said, sincerely grateful.

I hadn't known that, but I should've guessed. Weevil's mother never would've continued accepting my wheat if she had not found a way to take my gift and turn it into an even greater gift for someone else.

Weevil said, "I overheard the woman say that if you left these caves, you would be taken straight to the infirmary."

Jonas nodded. "I can't ever leave. Not if I want to survive."

"Della's here," I said. "She came with us to the Colony."

Jonas's eyes widened. "What? She's here?" He brushed a hand through his hair. "She must have gotten the Scourge from me. She and I were so close--"

"Friends?" Weevil asked.

"More than friends," I said. "Correct?"

After a pause, Jonas nodded again. "She never cared that I was a worker, though that might change if she knew I was from the rivers. Still, I think she genuinely cares about me."

"She does," I said. "It would do her a lot of good to see you."

"I want to see her too. But I can't leave."

"She's been looking for you everywhere," I said. "She thinks they've already taken you to the infirmary."

"And if I come out, that's where I'll go," he said. "One of the men here even works with the wardens. Pretended to look for me for days until he convinced them I'd probably fallen in the sea and drowned. He asked a warden what they'd do if they found me and was told if I'm still alive, I was going to the infirmary."

"Why?" Weevil asked. "You don't look sick."

"I don't feel sick. For the first week that I was here, I was terribly ill. Every day got worse, so much so that at one point, I could barely get down the prison stairs. The wardens stopped me one day and said it was time for me to go to the infirmary. I didn't want that. I've seen the people who go into the infirmary doors."

"And never come out again," I breathed.

"Exactly. So I ran and hid. I lay in some underbrush for a whole day, knowing I would probably die in that exact spot." Jonas pointed out a woman in conversation with someone else in the caves. "Her job is to gather herbs. She found me and brought me here, then mixed some herbs into teas. They saved my life."

"Like a stronger, more powerful medicine?" I asked. "Made of spindlewill?"

Jonas shrugged. "I don't know what she found, only that it really helped me."

"Are you fully healed?" Weevil asked.

"It's only been a couple of weeks, but I don't feel sick anymore. Many of the people here don't feel sick either. I want to show myself to the wardens, to tell them there is hope for everyone else at the Colony, but I'm afraid of what will happen if I do. I can't risk them finding me."

"So you'll live out your life here?" I asked. "Why not build a boat and get back to Keldan?"

He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a long, thin red line running up his forearm. "They call it the scar of health. Everyone who seems to have recovered from the Scourge has one of these. We think it's the sign the disease has left the body."

"So hide your forearm and go home," I said.

Tags: Jennifer A. Nielsen Fantasy
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