Read Online On the Meldon Plain (The Fourline Trilogy Book 2) by Pam Brondos - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pam Brondos
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place to ford. Barba had mentioned the river to her, but she’d described it as lazy and placid, not the death trap that coursed below.
A huge tree trunk lay in the water about a hundred yards downriver. White froth formed around its dead branches. She crept toward it. Just as she emerged from behind an outcropping of rock above the trunk, a cry, like that of a small child, echoed across the river. She stumbled back, surprised.
She heard another cry, followed by a sound she knew too well: the commanding hiss of the Nala. She pressed her chest against the rock. Move, she ordered her body. Taking a deep breath, she settled her nerves and crawled toward a low thicket of brambles. The branches of the bushes were sparse, offering a good view of the other side of the river and the source of the crying and the hissing Nala.
Dozens of children lined the opposite bank of the river, dipping their water gourds into the fast-flowing water. She edged toward the spiky tips of the bush for a better view. A small boy with dark curly hair slipped on one of the river rocks. He righted himself and brushed mud from his tattered tunic. The way he held his head at an angle and his soft, rounded chin drew Nat to look more closely at his face. She blinked to clear her eyes. When the boy tilted his head in her direction, she saw his Nala eye and the bluish tint of his cheeks. She recognized him immediately as Neas, the duozi boy Benedict had tried to capture back in Yarsburg.
The branches of the slender tree behind Neas quivered. Two blue arms emerged from behind the leaves. The arms disappeared, then reappeared at the tip of the tree. A Nala flung itself from the top of the tree onto the bank next to Neas and landed in a crouch as if ready to spring on the boy. Nat stifled a scream as five more Nala joined the first, scurrying around the bank on all four limbs and forming a half circle around the children.
The Nala rushed forward, some still on all four limbs while others stood and slapped the children with their angular arms, pushing them into the forest. Nat looked closer and her horror turned to puzzlement as none of the children cried out. Most walked in a docile manner as the Nala herded them into the woods. A few resisted and received a sharp slap or hissing bark from the creatures. One child’s head snapped to the side when slapped and the sun shone on his neck, exposing blue skin. A girl dipped beneath a low branch and cast a glance back toward the river. Her silver eye glimmered. Nat sat back in the mud, stunned, realizing she was watching dozens of duozi children disappear into the forest.
“Let go of me!” Neas’ voice brought her attention back to the riverbank. A Nala curled its hand around his skinny arm and lifted him off the ground. Nat eased her crossbow out of her bag, thinking not only of her oath but also how much she’d enjoy sending an arrow into the creature’s head. Neas landed a kick to its abdomen, and the Nala dropped the boy. He hit the pebble-strewn bank and scrambled toward the remaining children. The Nala bowed its back and issued a string of barking hisses from its black mouth. Before Nat could find a decent angle, the remaining Nala scurried up the bank into the woods, kicking pebbles with the quick movements of their limbs.
The cold mud seeped through her clothes as she watched them fade into the forest. How had the Nala gotten ahold of Neas? The Hermit’s face came quickly to her mind. Benedict. He hated the duozi enough to entrap Annin. Nat wouldn’t put it past him to have made a side trip to Yarsburg just to snitch on the boy. She untangled her pack from the branches and crawled from underneath the bush, angry with the Hermit. Did he have any idea what happened to the duozi when they were cast out into the forest?
“What is one like you doing so deep in the woods?”
Nat stopped short and looked directly into the face of a Nala. It hung upside down from a branch above her. It swiveled its head
A huge tree trunk lay in the water about a hundred yards downriver. White froth formed around its dead branches. She crept toward it. Just as she emerged from behind an outcropping of rock above the trunk, a cry, like that of a small child, echoed across the river. She stumbled back, surprised.
She heard another cry, followed by a sound she knew too well: the commanding hiss of the Nala. She pressed her chest against the rock. Move, she ordered her body. Taking a deep breath, she settled her nerves and crawled toward a low thicket of brambles. The branches of the bushes were sparse, offering a good view of the other side of the river and the source of the crying and the hissing Nala.
Dozens of children lined the opposite bank of the river, dipping their water gourds into the fast-flowing water. She edged toward the spiky tips of the bush for a better view. A small boy with dark curly hair slipped on one of the river rocks. He righted himself and brushed mud from his tattered tunic. The way he held his head at an angle and his soft, rounded chin drew Nat to look more closely at his face. She blinked to clear her eyes. When the boy tilted his head in her direction, she saw his Nala eye and the bluish tint of his cheeks. She recognized him immediately as Neas, the duozi boy Benedict had tried to capture back in Yarsburg.
The branches of the slender tree behind Neas quivered. Two blue arms emerged from behind the leaves. The arms disappeared, then reappeared at the tip of the tree. A Nala flung itself from the top of the tree onto the bank next to Neas and landed in a crouch as if ready to spring on the boy. Nat stifled a scream as five more Nala joined the first, scurrying around the bank on all four limbs and forming a half circle around the children.
The Nala rushed forward, some still on all four limbs while others stood and slapped the children with their angular arms, pushing them into the forest. Nat looked closer and her horror turned to puzzlement as none of the children cried out. Most walked in a docile manner as the Nala herded them into the woods. A few resisted and received a sharp slap or hissing bark from the creatures. One child’s head snapped to the side when slapped and the sun shone on his neck, exposing blue skin. A girl dipped beneath a low branch and cast a glance back toward the river. Her silver eye glimmered. Nat sat back in the mud, stunned, realizing she was watching dozens of duozi children disappear into the forest.
“Let go of me!” Neas’ voice brought her attention back to the riverbank. A Nala curled its hand around his skinny arm and lifted him off the ground. Nat eased her crossbow out of her bag, thinking not only of her oath but also how much she’d enjoy sending an arrow into the creature’s head. Neas landed a kick to its abdomen, and the Nala dropped the boy. He hit the pebble-strewn bank and scrambled toward the remaining children. The Nala bowed its back and issued a string of barking hisses from its black mouth. Before Nat could find a decent angle, the remaining Nala scurried up the bank into the woods, kicking pebbles with the quick movements of their limbs.
The cold mud seeped through her clothes as she watched them fade into the forest. How had the Nala gotten ahold of Neas? The Hermit’s face came quickly to her mind. Benedict. He hated the duozi enough to entrap Annin. Nat wouldn’t put it past him to have made a side trip to Yarsburg just to snitch on the boy. She untangled her pack from the branches and crawled from underneath the bush, angry with the Hermit. Did he have any idea what happened to the duozi when they were cast out into the forest?
“What is one like you doing so deep in the woods?”
Nat stopped short and looked directly into the face of a Nala. It hung upside down from a branch above her. It swiveled its head
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