Ling made her way to her room, sliding the bamboo door open and closing it again behind her. Her bed looked so soft and inviting, it was all she could do not to flop down on it and sleep for a week. But she couldn’t; she had to get to Sera.
Moving quickly, Ling opened her closet door and pulled a backpack off her shelf. She stuffed a change of clothing and a warm jacket into it. The rest of the space in her pack was for food. She planned to travel back currents—the lonelier, the better. She could not afford to be seen.
Once Orfeo found out she’d escaped from the labor camp, he’d have every death rider in the sea after her. The last thing he’d want would be for her to make it to Sera and tell her who Rafe Mfeme really was.
She changed into fresh clothing, first removing the puzzle ball from the pocket of her horrible prison tunic and placing it in the bottom of her pack. Then she cut her father’s wedding ring out of the tunic’s hem. She almost threw the uniform in the garbage, but thought better of it, instead stashing it in her pack’s outer pocket. As soon as she came across a lava seam, she’d toss it in.
She made her way back to the kitchen, selected foods that would travel well, and loaded them into her backpack. Next she opened her family’s medicine cabinet and searched for something that would heal her. She found creams for cuts and rashes, tonics for fatigue, syrups for coughs and sore throats, but nothing to counteract venom. Moving bottles aside, she spotted her grandmother Wen’s special elixir. Ling had no idea what was in it—Wen guarded the recipe closely—but it always made her feel better when she was sick. She uncapped the bottle, took a slug, recapped it, and put it in her pack. Leaving her pack on the counter, she swam to her mother’s room, patting her father’s ring in her pocket.
Zhu was sleeping, but she stirred as Ling opened her door.
“Mom? Mom, wake up, it’s me,” she whispered.
Zhu’s eyes opened, then widened. She sat bolt upright in her bed, pulled Ling to her, and held her tightly. Ling could feel her crying. Ling’s anger toward her mother had drained from her heart in the Abyss. There she had experienced what it felt like to be frightened and weak, to have to rely on others. Even the strongest needed help sometimes.
Ling was glad the anger was gone. It made room for other things. Better things.
“It’s okay, Mom,” she said. “I’m here. I’m fine. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. Sorry for yelling. Sorry for being angry. I didn’t understand, but now I do. I think you stopped talking because no one would listen. I have something for you, Mom.”
Her mother released her and Ling pulled her father’s wedding ring out of her pocket. She placed it in her mother’s hand.
Her mother blinked at it.
“He’s alive, Mom.”
Zhu looked at Ling uncomprehendingly.
“Dad. He’s alive. He’s in a prison camp at the edge of the Abyss.”
Zhu’s eyes grew large with fear.
“Do you know about the death riders?” asked Ling. “Have you seen them?”
Zhu shook her head.
“They’re soldiers, Mom, working for a terrible man. They’re stealing villagers and forcing them to search for a very important object.” Ling lowered her voice instinctively. “Dad found that object and refused to hand it over. When they tried to take it, he chucked it back into the Abyss.”
Ling wasn’t sure, but it sounded as though her mother might have laughed a little.
“I ran afoul of them, too. Big-time. And I ended up in the same camp. Dad got me out. He gave this to me and told me to bring it to you.”
Zhu’s hand trembled as she gingerly picked up the ring.
“He says he wants you to keep it safe until he gets home. Then you can put it on his hand again, just as you did on the day of your Promising.”
Fresh tears welled in her mother’s eyes. She shook her head, overcome.
“This all started with the dreams I was having. About the river witches. Do you remember when I told you about them? You thought they were just nightmares.”
Zhu nodded slowly.
“Grandma Wen told me that the Iele were summoning me and I needed to go. I found out that things are really bad, Mom. These prison camps, they’re horrible places, but they’re only the beginning. There’s a great evil threatening us. The river witches have called on me—and five others—to fight it.”
Zhu pulled on Ling’s arm, as if to hold her back.
“There’s a reason I was called, Mom. I can’t tell you any more, because I want to keep you and the family safe. The death riders will come searching for me. If they do, no one can know I was here. They can’t find out about Dad, either. Hide his wedding ring in case the death riders search the house. I’ve got to go now.”
Zhu shook her head vehemently and started to get out of bed.
Ling held her back and hugged her again. “The longer I stay, the more dangerous it is—for me, you, everyone.”
Zhu wiped her eyes and coughed.
At least, Ling thought it was a cough. But no, it was a word, spoken in a voice raspy from disuse.
“Ling,” her mother said.
Ling was overwhelmed by the sound. She longed to stay and talk with her forever.