Read Online Ebony Hill by Anna Mackenzie - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anna Mackenzie
Ads: Link
brings sympathy to Manet’s face.
“I know. Yet in some ways it’s easier with Esha.” Her expression hardens. “At least we know she’s dead.”
Her words remind me that Manet’s partner Ben was raised at Summertops. Most likely he still has family there – but my grief is all for Esha.
“We can’t just leave her – her body, I mean. We have to bring her back.”
The image of Esha, left to the unkind mercies of weather and wild creatures, is one of several images that troubled me through the night.
Manet glances towards the door into the hall and lowers her voice. “You’re right. Ben and Zeek went uplast night to fetch her back – only if she’s been left on the track: they won’t go near the farm itself.”
“Does Truso know?”
She shakes her head. “Now.” Her voice rises to normal volume, taking on an artificial cheeriness. “Let’s get you that porridge. You must be starving.”
I am. Even so, chewing each mouthful is an act of will.
The farm has a security alert policy. Manet tells me they’ve never needed it during her years in the community, though in the early days they did. One of the men whose name I’ve forgotten stamps into the kitchen and snaps the details at me in a staccato burst, sentences sharp as gunfire. “No one goes out alone. No one acts alone. No one leaves the building after dark unless on an approved activity. Work continues as normal but all work groups will include two sentries – to be unobtrusive, Truso says. All groups carry alarm flares. Groups report on the hour. Children remain indoors at all times. Lookout points are manned. All procedures will be reviewed when reinforcements arrive.”
He scowls, as if he thinks I might be tempted to ignore his decrees, or as if I’m somehow to blame for them. Behind him Manet smiles placatingly. Maybe he does think I’m to blame – that Ronan and I invited violence through some careless or provocative act. Perhaps he’s simply wishing it was one of us lying dead and Esha sitting here alive and hungry at the table.
After his visit my appetite has gone. I take my bowlto the sink and tip the remains of my porridge into the slops bucket, glancing towards Manet from beneath the fall of my hair.
“The people at Summertops,” I begin. “Will they be – will they be prisoners?”
Manet’s smile grows transparent so that I see the fear beneath it.
“I don’t know,” she says. “I—”
Shouting from outside draws us both to the window. It’s Zeek – I recognise him from the fields when he laughed and joked with Ben and Manet. Two days ago.
He sags between two men, his shirt stained dark. Truso bursts from the house and half a dozen voices vie to be heard. I look to Manet but she’s crumpled back onto her chair, her face paled to clay. “Manet! What is it?”
“Ben,” she gasps. “Where’s Ben?”
“Ben … but—”
Truso comes charging into the kitchen, lurches to a stop and draws a slow breath. Squatting in front of Manet, he takes hold of her hands. His voice is gentle. “You knew they’d gone?”
She says nothing.
“Manet, Ben’s dead.”
She lets out a low, guttural moan. Truso’s face seems to age as he continues. “Zeek says that when he and Ben reached the top of the pass, Esha—” Truso pauses to clear his throat. “Esha’s body was still on the road. Zeek kept a lookout while Ben went to retrieve her. Her body was booby-trapped. Ben’s gone.”
Tears fall silently down Manet’s cheeks. A wailing breaksout in the other room and an older woman comes hurtling in, careening off the doorframe and spinning across the floor towards Manet. Wrapped in each other’s arms they begin to rock, the older woman maintaining a shrill, continuous keening. Truso beckons me into the hall.
“I don’t understand,” I tell him.
“Last night we agreed that securing Home Farm is our priority, at least until reinforcements arrive from Vidya,” Truso says tightly. “Ben and Zeek ignored
“I know. Yet in some ways it’s easier with Esha.” Her expression hardens. “At least we know she’s dead.”
Her words remind me that Manet’s partner Ben was raised at Summertops. Most likely he still has family there – but my grief is all for Esha.
“We can’t just leave her – her body, I mean. We have to bring her back.”
The image of Esha, left to the unkind mercies of weather and wild creatures, is one of several images that troubled me through the night.
Manet glances towards the door into the hall and lowers her voice. “You’re right. Ben and Zeek went uplast night to fetch her back – only if she’s been left on the track: they won’t go near the farm itself.”
“Does Truso know?”
She shakes her head. “Now.” Her voice rises to normal volume, taking on an artificial cheeriness. “Let’s get you that porridge. You must be starving.”
I am. Even so, chewing each mouthful is an act of will.
The farm has a security alert policy. Manet tells me they’ve never needed it during her years in the community, though in the early days they did. One of the men whose name I’ve forgotten stamps into the kitchen and snaps the details at me in a staccato burst, sentences sharp as gunfire. “No one goes out alone. No one acts alone. No one leaves the building after dark unless on an approved activity. Work continues as normal but all work groups will include two sentries – to be unobtrusive, Truso says. All groups carry alarm flares. Groups report on the hour. Children remain indoors at all times. Lookout points are manned. All procedures will be reviewed when reinforcements arrive.”
He scowls, as if he thinks I might be tempted to ignore his decrees, or as if I’m somehow to blame for them. Behind him Manet smiles placatingly. Maybe he does think I’m to blame – that Ronan and I invited violence through some careless or provocative act. Perhaps he’s simply wishing it was one of us lying dead and Esha sitting here alive and hungry at the table.
After his visit my appetite has gone. I take my bowlto the sink and tip the remains of my porridge into the slops bucket, glancing towards Manet from beneath the fall of my hair.
“The people at Summertops,” I begin. “Will they be – will they be prisoners?”
Manet’s smile grows transparent so that I see the fear beneath it.
“I don’t know,” she says. “I—”
Shouting from outside draws us both to the window. It’s Zeek – I recognise him from the fields when he laughed and joked with Ben and Manet. Two days ago.
He sags between two men, his shirt stained dark. Truso bursts from the house and half a dozen voices vie to be heard. I look to Manet but she’s crumpled back onto her chair, her face paled to clay. “Manet! What is it?”
“Ben,” she gasps. “Where’s Ben?”
“Ben … but—”
Truso comes charging into the kitchen, lurches to a stop and draws a slow breath. Squatting in front of Manet, he takes hold of her hands. His voice is gentle. “You knew they’d gone?”
She says nothing.
“Manet, Ben’s dead.”
She lets out a low, guttural moan. Truso’s face seems to age as he continues. “Zeek says that when he and Ben reached the top of the pass, Esha—” Truso pauses to clear his throat. “Esha’s body was still on the road. Zeek kept a lookout while Ben went to retrieve her. Her body was booby-trapped. Ben’s gone.”
Tears fall silently down Manet’s cheeks. A wailing breaksout in the other room and an older woman comes hurtling in, careening off the doorframe and spinning across the floor towards Manet. Wrapped in each other’s arms they begin to rock, the older woman maintaining a shrill, continuous keening. Truso beckons me into the hall.
“I don’t understand,” I tell him.
“Last night we agreed that securing Home Farm is our priority, at least until reinforcements arrive from Vidya,” Truso says tightly. “Ben and Zeek ignored
Similar Books
