Kingdom of Cages(77)

Chena looped wide around Shond and his hothouser escort so she could come into his field of view without getting too close, in case she needed to get away. Shond looked up and spotted her, and his face twisted into a mask of rage.

“This is your fault!” he shouted, lunging forward. But the man beside him grabbed him by the shoulders and held him, pulling him past Chena. “You put her up to this!” Shond twisted in the man’s hands. “She put Sadia up to this! Sadia would never have done this!”

Chena stood rooted to the ground. “No!” she shouted. “This is your fault! It was you last night!”

“That will be sorted out later,” said the black and white woman. “Right now the judgment is that you are coming with us.” The man propelled Shond forward.

“No!” Shond threw his weight backward, trying to slow them down. “Sadia was put up. She didn’t do anything! It was you!” he cried over his shoulder at Chena.

“What do they say she did, Shond?” yelled Chena desperately. “I swear, I didn’t ask her to do anything! I don’t know what’s going on!”

“I’ll blast you to bits when I get hold of you!” he yelled back, twisting around in his captors’ arms. “She never did nothing before!”

But the woman had hold of him on one side now, and the man on the other. They walked him forward quickly and soon he couldn’t twist around far enough to yell at her anymore. Chena watched them until they disappeared down the bank, her heart hammering.

What did you do, Sadia?

Her legs felt like they were going to give way under her. She was afraid, but she didn’t know why. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Okay, she’d taken messages for Nan Elle, but that was it. They couldn’t arrest anybody for that, could they? There was the thing with the people who’d parachuted down, but Sadia hadn’t seen that. Sadia hadn’t even taken a single package for Nan Elle.

Why do they have her and Mom in there? Chena bit her lip and glanced up toward the cop’s house. Why not me?

It might be something that had nothing to do with her at all. No, that wasn’t right either, because Mom was in there, and Teal’s spy.

Suddenly Chena couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to know what had happened. There was one person who knew what really went on in Stem, and if Nan Elle knew about this, Nan Elle would have to tell her.

Chena ran all the way up the stairs, pounding on the boards until her chest hurt and the pain in her head throbbed all the way down her spine. People waited out in front of the little cluster of houses, as always. Chena ignored them all and threw the door open.

This time there was an old man with a baby in his arms. Chena stood in the threshold, her chest heaving and her head splitting open.

Nan Elle blinked mildly at her. “Again? You are turning out to be an extraordinarily rude one, aren’t you, station girl?” she remarked before turning back to the old man. “It’s colic, nothing worse. A little warm water before bed will—”

“What have we been running for you?” gasped Chena. “What did you give Sadia to do?”

Nan Elle’s spine straightened minutely. “I’ll send your instructions down. Take your grandson back to bed. This may take a moment.”

“Thank you,” lisped the old man. He probably had even fewer teeth than Nan Elle.

Nan Elle didn’t move again until he had left. Neither did Chena. She stayed where she was, trying to get her breath and trying to imagine what the old woman might say to her, or try not to say.

The door shut. The lamps weren’t on, and the room plunged into a murky twilight.

“What has brought on this fit?” inquired Nan Elle as she moved to sit in her high-backed chair.

“Oh, no.” Chena turned to keep her eyes focused on the old woman. “Not this time. This time, you tell me.”

“I’ll tell you anything you ask, Chena.” She spread her hands. “But I ask you to do the same. What brought this on?”

“What did you give us to carry?” Chena shot back.

“Letters,” answered Nan Elle promptly. “To friends and colleagues, about growing seasons and proper doses of properly registered and approved plants. Nothing incriminating, nothing even very interesting. Every leaf and stem I sent you to buy was so thoroughly licensed I was spending as much time filling out the forms as I was administering to my patients.”

“Then why’s Constable Regan got Sadia and my mom in there with him?” She stabbed her finger down vaguely toward the constable’s house. “If it’s not you, who is it?”

“Sadia and your mother are in with the constable?” Nan Elle frowned. “Is there someone from the hothouse in there with them?”