“Fowler?” Fear laced Luna’s voice.
I shoved her back behind me and readied my sword, my grip achingly tight. If this was the end, then I was going down first and I was going down fighting.
An arrow whistled past me to land at my feet. More followed, hissing through the air, raining down from the trees, striking the great body of the dweller. It made a gurgling sound and halted just a few yards away from me. Still, it didn’t fall. Over a dozen arrows pierced the chalky flesh of its body and it still remained standing.
It began moving again, staggering toward me, the toxin dripping from receptors as thick as black syrup. A shouted command from above heralded another volley of arrows. This time, it dropped to the ground on one knee. I waited as other arrows continued to rain around us, finding targets in the other dwellers.
But the big one wasn’t finished. With a wet rasp, it pushed back up to its feet and continued. I stepped forward and swung my sword, cutting its thick neck only halfway. Pulling back my arm, I swung again, this time slicing it clean and sending the head soaring. The giant finally fell, snapping the ends of dozens of arrows sticking out from its body.
I looked up, my chest heaving with labored breaths. Countless faces stared down at us from planks in the trees.
One man dropped onto a platform positioned at a lower level than the village floor. With a grinding crank, the wood platform started to descend.
“What is it?” The knowledge that we were still surrounded by an army of dwellers was there, in the thread of anxiety in Luna’s voice.
“People are coming to get us,” I murmured as the lift lowered.
“We’re going up?”
“We are. There’s a man coming down in a lift.”
“A city in the trees,” she repeated after me. “It’s brilliant.”
“Almost as good as a tower?”
“Almost.” She nodded in agreement. I heard the smile in her voice.
The lift stopped inches before hitting the ground. “What are you waiting for?” The man motioned around us to the army of dwellers still closing in. “Get in. I’m not here to pick up dwellers, too.”
I stepped onto the waiting lift, making room for Luna. The space wasn’t very big and the three of us had to stand close.
As we ascended, I looked down, watching as dwellers of all shapes converged on the spot we stood only moments ago. Several tilted their heads up, the sensors on their grotesque faces writhing as we lifted higher and higher, climbing up into the city nestled between thick trees.
One glance up revealed we were almost to the top.
“Let me do the talking,” I whispered into her ear. “Stay back behind me.”
When the lift stopped, I saw that it opened to a landing. Several dozen people milled about, including the archers who had come to our aid.
They craned their necks to get a glimpse of us. Amid the mass of people there was a decided lack of young women—proof that news of the king’s decree had reached here.
The man who shared the lift with us stepped out and turned, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “Welcome.” He was almost bald. A shadow of gray hugged his skull, the stubble of new hair growth.
I nodded, my gaze flitting from him to the men flanking him. “Thank you.” I understood their caution. I would be cautious of any newcomers, too.
But that didn’t mean I trusted them either.
“I’m Glagos, sheriff of Ortley. Is it just you and the boy?” His gaze dipped down to the forest floor as though we had left others below. He fingered a thick-ridged scar that bisected his cheek.
“Yes. This is my brother.” I tapped my head. “Don’t expect too much from him. He’s a little slow.”
Glagos’s gaze considered Luna for a moment. A quick glance back revealed she was doing her part, looking sideways rather vacantly, her expression vague and absentminded.
“I see. Are you both looking to settle here—”
“We’re just moving through. Hoping to refresh and gather more supplies. Dried kelp if you have any to—”
“We don’t just pass out our reserves to every stranger. We do nothing out of the kindness of our hearts. I don’t need to explain to you just how hard life is.”
“No. You don’t. I’m willing to work for any supplies.”
“Good. That’s the only way you’ll get any.” Glagos grinned, but there was something in that smile that made me uneasy. “We always need able-bodied men.” His gaze flicked to Luna and he went back to stroking the puckered skin of his scar. “Don’t expect he’s much of a worker. You’ll have to—”
“I can work enough for both of us. Whatever you need.”
“Very good.” He nodded, looking pleased. He glanced around, scanning the crowd. “Now let’s see. We’ll board you with—”
“Me.” An old woman stepped forward, her cane thumping on the wood planks. Her back was hunched and bent. It looked painful. I was surprised she could still walk.
She smiled a mostly toothless grin, her rheumy eyes gazing me up and down before fixing on Luna. “I’ll take them.”
TWENTY-THREE
Luna