Then the smoke thickened, so solid I swore I could pluck the shape from the fire. I went so far as to hold out my hand and felt the heat on my fingertips before my brain registered what I was seeing-an obelisk, a house, trees. . The shapes continued to morph, but I'd seen enough. .
I looked at Mel.
She was staring back at me.
"She's here."
While Mel went about extinguishing the fire, I rocked back onto my heels.
Padia was at the safe camp. How long had she been there? Kale had been at the camp; at least I assumed she had been at the house before going to the obelisk. She should have recognized the other high-council member, but her memory of everything after leaving the Northwest was missing.
My mind flashed to the flask Kale had been holding when we found her. Maybe she had been drugged. Maybe it had blocked that bit of time from her brain.
But it hadn't eliminated Padia from Kale's memory completely. Kale still remembered the council member, still knew she was behind all of this. Which meant Kale should still recognize Padia when she saw her.
I went to look for the other warrior.
I got as far as the backyard, where Jack seemed to be showing Bern how to juggle the knives, when a body burst through the trees.
It was Tess, her shirt sticking to her with sweat and her shorts stained with mud and grass. It looked as if she'd fought her way through the forest.
She came to a halt a few feet away, her body jerking as she searched for breath.
"Mels. . they're planning an attack."
I didn't react to her statement, couldn't afford to. "Where's Cleo?" I asked, holding up my hand to keep the questions I could see burning in Jack's and Bern's eyes at bay.
Tess's eyes grew huge. "A new priestess arrived. She held some kind of ceremony, said there was a spy at camp. Then when she saw Cleo, she recognized her, knew she was related to Mel. They took her. . Cleo, I mean. . and dragged her off. I'm not sure where."
Padia. Mel was right. She was here. But it didn't sound like she had been here long. I'd been wondering if Thea might be Padia, but Tess's announcement laid that suspicion to rest, at least.
I glanced at the hearth-keeper. "Cleo's not at camp?"
Tess hesitated, then shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm not sure."
"Who? What has happened?" Mel appeared, her knees covered in dust and ash in her hair.
"They caught your mother. They know she's been spying on them."
"We have to get her," she replied, her voice matter-of-fact.
"There's more." I gestured to Tess.
The girl swallowed and repeated what she'd already said. "I think they may be taking Cleo with them, as some kind of trade or bait."
I frowned. "So you don't think she's at the camp?"
She shook her head, hard. "No, sorry. . with the excitement. . I'm getting confused."
I was too, but there wasn't time for that. Trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible so as not to rattle her more, I asked, "This new priestess. . does she have a name?"
"Uh. . " She looked around. . looked afraid.
"Padia?" Kale asked. She'd come around the other corner of the house, having apparently been for a walk. I was glad to see it, glad she was recovering.
Lao appeared in the open doorway of the house.
"Yes, Padia. That's her name." Tess nodded and glanced toward Lao. When the older hearth-keeper's gaze fell on her, she looked away.
Kale hopped from the porch onto the ground. "We need to stop her."
Her color was stronger and there was a glint in her eyes. She outranked me too, but I didn't let that factor into what I had to do.
I faced Kale. "We are going to Mel's."
"Are you sure we shouldn't go after Padia? If we get to her, we can undo everything she's done. I could go alone."
"No. There are some things that can't be undone." Death being the biggest one. If we went after Padia, and someone, anyone at Mel's paid the price. . I bit down on my cheek. It wasn't an option. For once I was going to think about individuals before the tribe. "We need everyone."
Kale's jaw tightened. She glanced at Tess as if the hearth-keeper might offer something to strengthen her case, but Tess only stared back. Finally Kale nodded.
Glad I wasn't going to have to fight a battle here before going to fight whoever awaited us at Mel's, I started yelling orders. We had our weapons packed and were ready to go in ten minutes. We left the dogs behind with food and water. Everyone else piled into the truck. With Cleo missing, the car was missing. The truck was all we had, and we had no time to steal another vehicle. Kale, Lao, and Tess got the cab. Jack, Bern, Mel, and I lay flat in the bed. Only truckers and RVs would be able to see us there. We covered ourselves with an old tarp and hoped no one would notice us, or if they did, wouldn't bother to call in and report us.
The worry didn't keep me awake. I took advantage of the trip and the dark that had fallen to grab a couple hours of sleep. It would be early when we arrived at Mel's. . barely dawn.
It seemed a good time for an attack.
I would be ready.
I saw the birder as soon as we pulled into Mel's lot. Jack saw her too; I felt him stiffen beside me, but I beat him out of the truck. I threw myself over the side and was running toward the building where the older woman stood, a canvas bag over her arm, before Lao had even brought the truck to a stop. The woman saw me coming; her skin paled. I'd grabbed Bern's nunchakus as I'd leapt. They'd been loose on the floor and easy to reach.
I spun them over my head now but resisted the urge to yell. Just because I could only see the one birder didn't mean there weren't more. I expected there to be more, and I didn't want to alert them.
Kill this one, then move on to the next. That was my plan.
The nunchakus were spinning, the whirring noise they made reassuring and restful. Focused and ready, I prepared to strike.
Something hit me from the back, someone. . big and strong, bigger and possibly stronger than me.
I tried to twist, to lash at my attacker with the weapon, but a second assailant joined the fight. A staff jabbed me in the trachea, cutting off my breath.
"Stand down! She's not a birder. Stand down!" Jack's voice, yelling in my ear. Adrenaline rushing through me, I gripped one end of the nunchaku in my closed fist and pummeled it into his skull.
Then suddenly a weight like a lead blanket dropped on top of me, on top of Jack too. He cursed softly. Only my face was free of the suffocating heaviness. I twisted my neck, searching for whoever had brought this new weapon into the mix.
Bubbe stood over me, her face upside-down in my view.