Kingdom of Cages(76)

She meant it. There was more she was not saying, though. Chena could feel it singing in the air between them. She was not saying, I’ll never trust you again. She was not saying, I’ll leave you like Dad did. But she meant it. This time she really did.

Mom waited, eyes fixed on Chena. Chena took a deep breath despite the fact that her chest was clamping down tight around her lungs.

She told her. She told her about Farin and Nan Elle, about the letters, and the ants, and Sadia and the hacker-tailor, and how it was Shond, who was already on the trouble list, who helped knock her down last night. Mom didn’t ask any questions. She didn’t interrupt even once, until Chena twisted her hands in her lap.

“That’s it,” she said finally. It was. Now Mom knew everything. She might decide to leave anyway now that she knew it all.

But Mom just leaned forward and drew Chena into a tight embrace. Chena threw her arms around Mom’s neck and hugged her back with all her strength.

“Oh, my dear,” whispered Mom. “Oh, my girl. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry,” murmured Chena, on the verge of tears again. “I was scared. I wanted to make things okay. I… I don’t know, Mom. I just don’t know.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Mom stroked her hair for a moment, just like she had when Chena was a little girl. Then she released her. “All right. You get dressed and you go down and tell Sadia that you won’t be running any errands today.”

“But—” began Chena, but Mom raised a hand to stop her.

“I’m going to talk to Madra. She said before, she can help us get out of here. We’re leaving, Chena. Now. Today. We’re not staying here a minute longer.” All her determination sounded in that statement, but there was something else too, and it made Chena’s heart beat hard as she got to her feet. Mom was afraid.

“Go on, Chena.” Mom pushed her toward the bedroom, and Chena went.

Dressed, and chewing on a piece of bread and butter for a quick breakfast, Chena hurried down to the railbike depot to meet Sadia.

But Sadia wasn’t there. Chena walked all around the empty depot, finally coming back to the deck and waiting restlessly. After fifteen minutes she gave up and ran down the path toward the dorms. Sadia had probably given up on her a long time ago. Chena was over an hour late.

But the sleeping room was as empty of Sadia as the depot had been. She wasn’t in the dining hall either, or the library. Chena checked the roster and saw that Sadia’s old shift was back on compost duty this week. But Sadia wasn’t in the composting shed, and neither was Shond.

Where are you, Sadia? Chena bit her lip. An ugly idea came to her.

She ran up the stairs, picking the catwalk to the constable’s house. Did he have Sadia in there? Had he heard about the hacker-tailor yesterday from the cop in Stem? Had he worked out it was Shond who tried to rob her last night? He might be asking Sadia all kinds of questions.

Regan’s door was closed when she got there. She backed away, trying to keep out of sight of the windows and yet trying to see inside. The long strips of glass only allowed her glimpses into the interior. But she saw Regan’s shoulder and the back of his head. He moved, and then Chena saw Sadia’s profile. She sat by the desk, her hands waving to add emphasis to her explanation. Then Mom stepped into view.

Chena’s heart thudded once. Mom’s profile was eclipsed by the stranger—a small man in black and white clothes.

Blasted and screwed, is that Teal’s spy? What’s he doing here?

What was going on? What was Mom doing in there? She was supposed to be talking to Madra.

Shond might know. Shond was a tinky and a mouth-off and she owed him big for the bump on her head, but he would know what was happening with his sister. Thing was, she didn’t know where he was either.

But one of the other kids on his shift might. Hyder. He’d know.

Chena turned and walked quickly but calmly down the catwalk. She didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself. She certainly didn’t want anyone to think she was running away from the constable or something.

She was just about to start down the stairs to the compost shed when she saw Shond. He was walking, head down, between a woman and a man who both wore black slacks and white tunics. Chena bit down hard on her lip. Only the hothousers wore black and white. They herded him toward the boat docks.

Why there? It’s not a boat day, was her first, ridiculous thought. After that came, Does Sadia know?

Chena ran down the stairs. What was going on? Had they caught him on the robbery try? Maybe the two people with Shond would let him talk to her. Maybe she could get a message from him to Sadia. Maybe…