The Scourge - Page 56

After an hour, my heart was pounding and sweat poured down my face, but in a strange way, I was also beginning to feel better too. The exercise was forcing the spindlewill poison out of my system. It was exhausting me, but strengthening me at the same time.

Until I stumbled a second time and Weevil received another hit. "Don't worry," he called up to me. "These wardens are as weak as my littlest sister."

His littlest sister was actually pretty strong, but I appreciated his attempt at an insult and so did the rest of the growing group, who laughed quietly and began murmuring. Through this show, wardens were not gaining the people's favor. It felt inevitable now, that there would be an uprising here in the Colony. I hoped I'd be around to see it.

I stumbled a third time and, above the sound of the water, heard Weevil cry out. I didn't dare look at him this time. I couldn't think about when my feet would fail him again. It wouldn't be long.

Two men walked forward as if to join me on the mill. At first I shook my head, warning them to stay back. They might have thought they were helping me, but with their added weight, the wheel would turn even more quickly. I'd never be able to keep up. However, instead, they climbed the opposite side

of the wheel, the side that was moving toward the water. It was tricky because they had to step down each time I stepped up, but their weight was also balancing mine and the force of the water. They had slowed the mill for me.

"That isn't allowed!" Warden Gossel shouted.

"You have no reason to stop them!" Clement replied with equal force. "Ani continues to climb, as she agreed."

Gossel grumbled loudly, but he had no argument in return and he certainly didn't have the support of the people. If the wardens tried to pull those men down, there would be a reaction from the Colonists.

"You can do it, Ani," Weevil called. "It's only one mountain."

We did this for a long while, so long that I lost track of the time. Hours might've passed, though that didn't seem possible. I saw the ground flour emptying from the mill, so I knew we were making progress, but a slower mill also meant a slower grind. I didn't dare ask how much grain still remained.

More and more, even the slower climb became too much for me. Dark clouds had begun to gather overhead, which I took as an ominous sign. If a storm came, it would become impossible to finish grinding the wheat. Gossel wouldn't care. He would say that I had failed, and Weevil would pay for that.

Gossel was sitting now, though he had forced Weevil to remain standing. By the time we entered the afternoon hours, I guessed nearly all the Colonists had gathered here, along with the wardens, who seemed increasingly nervous. Which would happen first--my fall and failure? Or their uprising?

As the clouds grew darker, I knew it was only a matter of minutes before I would stumble again or even tumble from the wheel. If I fell entirely, the chain would pull me under the water and trap me, beyond the reach of any Colonists who'd try to save me. But even if this wheel defeated me, the Colony had changed now. The wardens would never again have the power they had only a few days ago. Did that mean my time here was a success, even if I failed?

More than anything, I had wanted to protect Weevil, just as he had protected me so far. He should never have been here, yet he had sacrificed his freedom to be with me. Couldn't I even give him a day of climbing? I looked up to Weevil as if to apologize. Then two more men climbed onto my side of the wheel. I shook my head, too out of breath to speak. It'd kill me if they moved the wheel any faster. But that wasn't their plan. They took each of my arms, raising me into the air to carry me between them, and continued the climb for me. To maintain the balance, others joined the opposite side, keeping the wheel slow and stable.

I leaned my head onto the shoulder of one of the men. "Thank you," I whispered.

"When I was a young child, I fell into an old well," he said. "The townsfolk couldn't get me out and had almost given up hope. It was a River Person who finally saved my life. Surely I can help save a daughter of those people."

The other man said, "My son loved a girl once who came from the river country. I refused to give him my blessing for the marriage and made them separate. I realize now what a mistake that was. If she was anything like you, I'd have been honored to bring her into our family."

I couldn't say anything in return. Maybe because I was more exhausted than I'd realized, or maybe because I was too stunned at what was happening in this Colony. Sometime in the last several hours, we had at last become one people.

"What is this foolishness?" a voice demanded.

Everyone turned. Even I turned, thinking I recognized the voice but unsure of what it might mean.

Governor Felling stood before us all in a long blue dress, in stark contrast to the sweaty rags we wore in the Colony. She was surrounded by her own wardens and looking perfectly furious.

Warden Brogg was with her, a deep frown on his face. Even from where I stood, breadcrumbs were still evident on his uniform. Maybe he'd been forced to leave Keldan in the middle of a luxurious lunch. Poor thing.

The governor pointed to me. "Get that girl down from there. She and I need to talk, alone."

Once I was unchained, Warden Brogg led me and the governor to a building near the barracks that I had assumed held supplies. Instead, it was empty except for some stools and a table.

"Will we be eating supper in here?" I nodded at the crumbs on Brogg's uniform. "Can I have the rest of whatever you were eating?"

"Sit," the governor said. Brogg pushed on my shoulder, ensuring I obeyed.

Not that I put up any fight. I was grateful to sit on the stool. I was grateful to sit anywhere at all because my legs felt like bags of jelly. Still, I made an effort to sit as tall as possible and look her in the eye.

Before she could ask her questions, I had one of my own. "My friend Weevil--what's happening to him right now?"

"They won't do anything until I give further orders." Governor Felling raised an eyebrow. "And what those orders will be depends entirely upon you."

Tags: Jennifer A. Nielsen Fantasy
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