BooksBarbecue
Back Down Station Save as PDF
Chapters (35)
  1. Contents
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. Copyright

‘We do not “have to try”. No one is forcing you to do anything. No one will think better of you for failing. Those few people who know you will soon forget. Nothing you have done will be written down. Even if you succeed, who will thank you? There is no reward to gain, no medals to win, no one will make you queen.’ He waved his hand at the darkening land. ‘If you want to be queen, then be one here. This is your country. Rule it how you see fit.’

Her fingers and toes were tingling. The end of her nose. Her ears. This was what she was like just before she blew. The rage growled like a trapped animal, desperate to escape. The only way it could go was out of her throat.

Crows was right, and yet he was so very wrong. If Down meant she could walk away and begin again where no one had ever heard of her, it also had to mean that she could stay and work out a way to save those she came here with. No one was forcing her: she wanted to do it. Win, lose, medals, empty hands. It didn’t matter. She was going to save them all, with or without Crows, because that was the task she’d set herself.

Her anger slid through her like fog through her fingers. And she felt calm and strong.

‘I’ll find her myself,’ she said. ‘You can come if you want, but I’ll go alone if I have to.’

He had all manner of objections, but they seemed to die on his tongue.

‘I rescue you and yet you are determined to go back and throw yourself into her shackles. So be it.’ He threw up his hands at the futility of it all. ‘I will take you only close enough for you to see her castle. After that, you may do as you wish. A waste, I tell you. A waste.’

He stalked off, leaving her and her map on the ground. But at the edge of the pavement, he turned around.

‘You should sleep,’ he said. ‘It is a full day’s walk, and we will be up early.’

Mary looked at her map, at the discarded ink and quills, and began to gather everything up. She’d roll the map up and keep it in her room, and return the rest to the store room. She’d light the candle there with a flick of her fingers, just like Crows, and she’d extinguish it with sheer force of will.

18

18