Chapter 32

Emmalee

So much had changed for me since the canisters had fallen. Learning to live without sight hadn’t been the most dramatic factor I’d had to deal with.

The death of Jake, and then my mother, had hit me hard.

Would the death of Barty’s-a-shit have the same affect? Could I learn to live without him?

A COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER

I heard the shuffling sound of my brother’s feet through the dry grass as he returned to the campfire. I also heard the soft grinding of his knees when he slowly lowered himself to the ground beside me.

His breathing was irregular. Something was wrong. The quick puffs of air escaping his lips bore the telltale signs of agitation. Jam was nervous.

The ache in the pit of my stomach grew. Jam had just returned from a very short visit to see how Carter was doing.

Okay, I know, I know, I should keep thinking of Carter as Barty’s-a-shit and I probably will come morning. For now…despite all I’d said to Angie earlier, about Jake extracting retribution, I couldn’t bring myself to continue hating Carter. Not after learning that he’d selflessly saved my sister.

Why Carter had risked his own life to save one of my siblings, yet had killed another, I didn’t have an answer. Seven years was a long time. Maybe Carter regretted his actions all those years ago. He’d been only a kid after all. And then again, maybe he didn’t regret anything. Maybe there was another reason for what Carter had done today.

Stevron’s main goal of the trip out to the fyre crawlers burrows had been a success. The crew had gathered hundreds of the tiny fyre crawlers’ venom sacks. Up until a little while ago I had no idea the crawlers even existed let alone that their venom was so poisonous to the Larcore. More amazing that the venom could also reverse the ageing process that was afflicting both Jam and Angie.

Was it the fyre crawlers that I heard making the bloop, bloop, bloop sound I’d been hearing since last night? It certainly wasn’t the venom sacks. No, they’d given off a gentle and minute vibration that somehow made me feel calm. As did the faint scent that was both tart and slightly sugary. Very appealing to my senses.

I wet my lips.

There was so much about our world I didn’t know. So much that had been kept secret from me. It made me angry that I’d been so sheltered. I wasn’t a child. I could handle the reality of what our world had become. I would handle whatever came our way, including the possibility of losing Carter. I will. I swear I will.

I felt Jam nudge my knee. I steeled my heart against the words I knew he would say.

“Carter is worse.”

My stomach clenched anyway. I hadn’t expected anything different. Angie had told me what Jake had said, about her panic attacks, and her contact with the Far Beyond. She hadn’t sugarcoated any of it for me. She wanted me to know the score, and now I did.

I didn’t refute Jake’s words. From what little I’d experienced the day of the Prayers attack, and then a few days later, I had no reason to doubt he’d told Angie the truth.

Jake was a part of the Far Beyond. He knew what was happening there. Knew what was to become of us all. His singsong riddle, that Angie had relayed to me, came back hauntingly.

‘I, I, I told you so. Barty’s-a-shit, Barty’s-a-shit, Barty’s-a-shit’s gonna die. Little Sis, Little Sis, Little Sis is gonna cry. The Oracle, The Oracle, The Oracle still has fury. But, but, but don’t worry. There’s, there’s, there’s more than one half sky. If, if, if you can figure out the lie.’

And then the other part.

‘Love, love, love will be their downfall. It, it, it will be the end of you all. Believe, believe, believe what you will. The, the, the hidden son has been ordered to kill. So, so, so The Oracle-to-be must die. Now, now, now time to say your goodbyes.’

I closed my heart to the pain, refusing to allow it to rip through me. Did Jake’s words mean that Carter was going to die. I couldn’t do anything to stop it nor did I want to. In fact, if he did die, I’d just have to accept the fact that he was gone and move forward. End of story.

My gut rolled with the lies I was telling myself. How could I ever…?

I gulped air.

As for me crying, well that was something I’d never do. I’d defy Jake’s predictions. I would not cry for Carter. Whatever it took I would not shed even one tear. Screw you Jake!

There was so much to Jake’s riddle I couldn’t understand. What did Carter’s death have anything to do with my family? What did ‘more than one half sky’ mean? Was Jake referring to my father who we still hadn’t heard from? Or was he referring to Jam or Angie, or maybe even me? Were we to die as well?

How did I feel about the thought of my own death? Honestly, since the Prayers attack and the discovery of Carter’s betrayal, I’ve been feeling kind of numb. Like a piece of me was already dead and that I was now one of the walking wounded.

And whose downfall would it be because of love? I’d only briefly admitted that I actually loved Carter and despite the ache in my gut at the thought of losing him, I hadn’t completely forgiven what he’d done. So I doubted there was any chance Jake’s words involved Carter. As to me loving anyone else? I wasn’t about to put myself through-

“Angie’s ageing process still reversing?”

Calvin’s voice jarred me out of my thoughts. There was wonderment in his tone. I couldn’t say I blamed his enthusiasm. I was excited too, even though it had only been a couple of days since I’d discovered both of my siblings were ageing at a much more rapid rate compared to me.

“Yeah.”

Jam’s emotionless response puzzled me. If the bite of a fyre crawlers could not only halt but also reverse the ageing process, why wasn’t my brother happier?

“No ill effects?”

This time it was Char who asked the question. Char who had finally rejoined our group after having disappeared for most of the day and evening as well as last night too.

Jam didn’t answer. He must have given some non verbal indicator for Donahue spoke. “Let me give you a dose, Jam.”

“No!”

“I’ll dilute the venom. Just as a taest.”

“I said no!”

Jam’s refusal was staunch. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t jumping at the opportunity to have Donahue inject him with a dose of the retrieved venom? Surely Jam didn’t want to age. Didn’t want to have an early death.

Then it hit me. Angie must have told Jam about Jake’s predictions and he was offering himself up. That he was willing to forfeit his life in order to save us.

My heart started to race. I ignored Angie’s instructions not to invoke any opportunity for Jake to find a way into my mind.

I wanted to talk to Jake. Dammit, I wanted to scream at my older brother for what he was going to do.

©Legend of the Sapphyre Wings by Janet Merritt