Chapter 22: Fragments
The twenty-first day after Water City began to rise. Before dawn, Violet finished her run around the city walls and went to the granary to check the ledger.
Astrid pushed the ledger toward her. "Grain is short five sacks. Three hundred sacks in. Two hundred ninety-five out. Five should remain on the books. The store is empty."
Violet looked at the numbers. Only Astrid held the key. The door showed no signs of being forced. She closed the ledger and went to find Gray Bone. "That hole in the eastern wall. Check it."
Gray Bone took men and went. When he returned, his face was grim. "The stones were moved aside. The mud is wet. Someone came through last night."
"He took down the wall, took the grain, and set the stones back in place."
"Yes. He didn't want us to know he came again."
Violet crouched down and examined the hole. The mud in the cracks was fresh. Different from the dry, cracked old mud around it. "It rained last night. He sealed it with fresh mud. It hasn't dried."
Gray Bone stared at her. "You even calculated that?"
"I watched the sky. Thick clouds. Cold wind. Rain was coming."
Gray Bone said nothing. He led his men to seal the hole again, this time wedging wooden splints into the cracks. If someone tried to remove the stones, the splints would snap.
Night fell. Everyone was asleep. Violet sat by the fire, drawing maps. As she drew, her eyelids grew heavy. She leaned against a stone and closed her eyes.
She dreamed she was very small. In a garden at Silver Spring. Purple flowers bloomed in great patches. She crouched on the ground, picking flowers. A thorn pricked her finger. It hurt. She cried. A young man crouched down, took her hand, and pulled out the thorn. Dark brown hair. Gray-blue eyes. A scar on his face. "Don't cry. It's just a thorn." She looked at him. "Brother." The young man smiled. He lifted her up and spun her around. Sunlight. Flowers. Laughter.
Then the image changed. Darkness. Stone walls. Blood on the ground. The young man knelt on the floor. His hands were shaking. Before him lay a person in an elder's robe. The chest was covered in blood. The young man's hands weren't wounded by a blade. The wounds came from hitting someone. The skin on his knuckles was torn back. Bone showed through. "Brother." She heard her own voice. The young man turned his head. His face was wet with tears. "Don't come closer." She walked to him anyway. Crouched down. Held him. His hands still shook. Blood smeared onto her clothes. Very warm.
She woke. Her face was wet.
The fire had died. Only dark red embers remained. The sky was still dark. She touched her face. Tears. She couldn't remember what she had dreamed. Only that it was very warm. Then very cold.
Leon's voice came from his tent. "You were crying?"
"Sand in my eyes."
"There's no sand in the tent."
She said nothing. He came out and sat beside her. He rebuilt the fire.
"You've been dreaming a lot lately." He said.
"How do you know?"
"You wake in the middle of the night. When you wake, you don't move. You just sit there."
Violet didn't deny it.
"What do you dream about?"
"I don't remember."
After dawn, she went to the east side of the city. Cassian was moving stones. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He saw her, paused, then continued working.
"Does your hand still hurt?" She asked.
"It doesn't hurt."
"I dreamed about someone hitting stones. He beat his hands until they were ruined."
Cassian's hand paused. Briefly. He didn't look at her. "Who was hitting?"
"I don't know. I couldn't see clearly in the dream."
He lowered his head and continued moving stones. "You have dark marks under your eyes. You didn't sleep well."
"I've been dreaming a lot lately."
"What do you dream about?"
"I dream about a person. Gray-blue eyes. A scar on his face. He killed someone. With his fists."
Cassian's fingers clenched. Just for an instant. But they clenched. He said nothing. He turned away and continued moving stones. His back was very tense.
Violet watched his back. She knew he understood. He wouldn't speak of it.
Evening. Leon sat across from her. "You went to see Cassian today."
"Yes."
"What did you ask him?"
"I asked if his hand still hurt."
"You suspect him of stealing the grain?"
"I don't suspect him. He signed a debt note. He doesn't need to steal."
"Then why did you go see him?"
Violet was silent for a moment. "I dreamed about a person. Gray-blue eyes. A scar on his face. He killed someone."
"Cassian?"
"I don't know. But his hand clenched."
Leon's slit pupils tightened. "If he really killed someone, what will you do?"
"He signed a debt note. Until it's repaid, he moves stones. After it's repaid, we'll see."
In the distance came the sound of stones being moved from the east side of the city. Cassian was still working. The sky would lighten soon.
Violet stood and walked into her tent. She lay on the blanket and closed her eyes.
The dream came. The young man knelt on the ground. His hands were covered in blood. The elder's robe. The blood on the chest had already dried. The young man turned his head and looked at her. "Don't come closer." Her feet wouldn't move. She could only stand where she was, watching his tears fall, watching him drag the body away.
She woke. Her face was wet.
The sky was still dark. She sat up and buried her face in her knees.
Leon's voice came from outside the tent. "You were crying again."
She didn't answer.
"I'm outside."
She didn't call him in. He didn't come in.
In the distance, the sound of stones being moved stopped.
She wiped her tears and lifted the tent flap. Leon stood outside. Moonlight fell on his face.
"I dreamed about someone." She said.
"Who?"
"Cecilia's brother. He killed someone."
"Who is he?"
"Cassian."
The sky lightened.
---
End of Chapter Twenty-Two
Blood in the dream. Fists. Gray-blue eyes. Cassian's past is surfacing piece by piece. He owes more than ten sacks of salt. When dawn comes, that debt note may need to be rewritten.