Read Online Vanquished by Katie Clark - Free Book Online Page A

shouting, I step toward her and hug her around my bag of grains and her baskets of eggs. An egg tips out and cracks on the pavement.
    We laugh nervously.
    “I’m sorry,” she says.
    “That’s OK, Jamie. I’m sorry about being nosey.”
    “You weren’t being nosey. You were looking after me,” she says. She tips her head to the side and smiles timidly. “But would you like to hang out with us? Maybe just once?”
    Hang out with Jamie and Easton? Easton is interested in agriculture. He’s tall and gangly, and he snorts when he laughs. He reminds me of Dad.
    But Jamie’s eyes are so hopeful, and I love her and can’t imagine letting her down. There’s no way I can say no. “Sure. Just tell me when.”
     
     
     
     

13
     
    Ava catches up to me after school a few days later. “Can I talk to you?” Her face is all screwed up with worry.
    I’ve been waiting outside for Jamie, but she hasn’t showed up. We haven’t exactly been meditating like we used to, and so our routine has puttered out.
    “Of course,” I say, walking with Ava now. “What’s wrong?”
    “I’ve been thinking about the night Markus got hurt.”
    “Yeah?”
    A group of kids walks near us. She glances at them, and then whispers, “Why would he be in a tree?”
    I frown. “What do you mean?”
    “He was out after curfew. Why would he go outside to climb a tree?”
    “Maybe he wanted to be alone. You share a room, right?”
    She shakes her head. “No, that can’t be it. He’s never tried to avoid me before. Besides, I wasn’t even in my room. I was with Mom and Dad downstairs. He knew that. We all thought he had gone upstairs. He deliberately misled us.”
    Her words make sense. What had he gone outside to do?
    “Do you have any theories?” I ask.
    “I don’t know what he was breaking curfew for, but it had to be something important don’t you think? He broke the law, yes, but they wouldn’t keep us from seeing him just because he was out late. He was either doing something really bad, or he saw something really bad. They don’t want him to tell us what happened that night.”
    Ava makes a good point. Worry starts worming its way through my head.
    The line between her eyebrows disappears, even though the wrinkles at her eyes don’t. “You agree with me.”
    “Yes, I agree with you.” There’s something strange about the whole situation.
    The relief is evident on her face. She thought I would say she was crazy—like Jamie thought about me when I told her about the chemo.
    “I think I should tell someone.”
    “No!” I shout it too quickly and too loudly, and the kids in front of us stop talking and look at us.
    I grab Ava’s arm and drag her away. “You can’t do that, Ava. If something really is going on, and you suspect it, they’re going to lock you away just like Markus.”
    Her eyes widen and her face goes pale. “They couldn’t do that, could they?”
    I’m beginning to question exactly what the Greaters can do. “Yes, they can, and they will, Ava. You have to stay away from them.”
    Her eyes stay glued to mine for what feels like eternity. She bites her lower lip and finally shrugs. “OK, I guess, but what am I supposed to do with this idea?”
    Now it’s my turn to glance around. When I’m sure no one is watching us I say, “Figure out where he was, what he was doing—what he saw. Find his trail. You can figure it out.”
    She frowns. “I don’t know if I can.”
    “You can and you have to. If you want to figure out what’s going on, I’ll help you.”
    “How?”
    Good question. “I’m not sure, but we’ll figure it out.”
    A guard is walking down the street. She’s not watching us, but I don’t want to take any chances. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Ava,” I say, and I leave her with a wave and hurry home.
    Dad sits at the table grading papers. “Would it be OK if I didn’t go to the hospital today?” I only have two days before my entertainment allowance expires, and I want