Firestorm

Cactus choked and his eyes widened. “That is just slavery with a contract.”

Peta nodded. “Still, it is a loophole the rulers here have used for years. They all do it, just to different degrees.”

“That’s not true in the Rim,” I said. “There is no slavery there.”

Two sets of green eyes turned my way and I didn’t like what I saw in them. Pity and disbelief.

My jaw tightened. “There is no slavery in the Rim, but I’m not going to argue about that right now. We have far more pressing matters.”

The urgency of my task suddenly seemed overwhelming. I had to get us out of the Pit before anything could be done about the slavery Fiametta was enforcing.

All four of us had to be free of the Pit and the inherent dangers within it.

“Peta,” I scooped her up so I could lift her to my eye level. “Are you really with me? Can I trust you with my life?”

Her cat lips dipped in a perfect frown. “The mother goddess assigned me to you herself. It is my job to help you stay alive.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.” I stared into those green eyes as the idea that had formed within my mind grew. Peta knew the Pit, probably better than Cactus, and she was all but ignored because of her status. Which made her the perfect spy. But so much of my plan depended on being able to trust my familiar. “Peta, are you with me?”

She blinked several times before she answered. “You’re going to be the death of all nine of my lives, aren’t you?”

“I hope not.”

She snorted and her ears twitched. “I am with you, Dirt Girl. What are you going to ask of me?”

“Can you get into the Ender Barracks? There is an Ender with a scar on the top of his right hand. I need to know his name.”

She squirmed out of my hands. “What does the scar look like?”

I squatted beside her, and turned my hand palm down. The scars on my hand from Peta grabbing me had faded to silvery lines. While they were not ridged like the ones the Ender sported, but they were similar enough. “Like my scars only thicker, like a bigger cat maybe clawed him.”

Peta looked at me, her eyes narrowed to mere slits making it impossible to read her. “He should be easy to find. Why do you want him?”

“He’s a traitor to the queen. If we give him to her, I think we should be able to bargain for Ash’s life,” I said. Cactus gave a low grunt.

“You do not know her very well then.”

I looked at Peta. “And what do you think, cat? You think the queen will not bargain?” It wasn’t my only option, but I needed a way to buy Ash time. Time I needed to find a permanent way out.

“Cactus is right. She won’t bargain.” Peta shook her head, her ears twitching. “But it might buy us time if you offer her a traitor on a platter. She likes nothing more than to wield the Lava Whip herself on those she deems deserving of punishment.”

I didn’t want to ask what the Lava Whip was. I could easily guess. A shiver ran down my spine. “Time is better than nothing. See if you can find the Ender I described to you. But be careful.”

Peta bobbed her head and ran down the hallway, her tiny footsteps eaten by the moss. I bit my lower lip and closed my eyes. “Cactus, we may all end up in the fire if this goes wrong.”

He stood, moving to my side and draping an arm across my shoulders. “We all end up in the fire at some point, Lark. But if anyone can get us there sooner, it’s you.” At my incredulous expression, Cactus fell back onto the mossy mattress. “I’m kidding, Lark.”

I plopped onto the springy edge. He sat down beside me and brushed a hand over my hair, so gently I barely felt his touch; it was more a sense of knowing him, and his intentions. “You’ve always been special, Lark. When I heard about Cassava’s trickery . . . and how you faced her down with nothing but a spear; that you saved your entire family, I wasn’t surprised. After that some of my memories came back.” The last was said in a near whisper.

I swallowed hard. “You remember the day in the meadow?”

The day my mother and brother were killed.

He nodded, dropping his head to press it against mine. “I think maybe Cassava blocked some of my abilities too, keeping me weak. The longer I was away from her, the longer I was here in the Pit, the stronger I got.”

A shudder danced along my spine and I let myself relax against him. “I’m sorry she hurt you too.”

His hand rubbed along my back. “Meh. I’m tough for a fool.”

Laughing, I turned to face him, but the laughter died quickly. “Smoke said something that might save Ash faster than finding a traitor. Something that Lana confirmed whether she meant to or not.”

Cactus leaned back on his elbows, his eyes thoughtful. “If anyone has an inkling of a rumor, it’ll be Smoke. People don’t see her. They treat her poorly because she’s a half breed.” He jerked upright. “Wait, you saw Lana?”

“She was at the water. It was not a good scene.”

I leaned back beside him and we lay down at the same time, staring up at the ceiling and the wisteria that hung like pale purple bunches of grapes, the scent of the flowers flowing around us. “Smoke said something about the Enders who were killed. That maybe it wasn’t the injuries we—I—inflicted but something else. And Lana confirmed it. She said she saw her husband that night. He was fine and healing, and the next morning he was dead. His wounds opened and left to die.”