Page 17 of The Verdant Cage
“He was telling me a story on the way to the wedding,” I continue. “He said he saw something. He was about to tell me what, but then…then…you know. It’s probably nothing, but I’d feel better if I made sure.”
“What did he say he saw?” Marina asks absently.
“Something in the vault.”
Suddenly, I have her full attention. “That can’t be right. Only Record Keepers are allowed down there, and besides,” she says, a spark returning to her eye, “Jonas wasn’t even here yesterday. Simon was busy prepping new census forms. It’s time for an update, what with all the weddings and Harvests.”
My brow furrows. Jonas had been clear that he’d stopped by yesterday morning. I can’t believe Marina would lie to my face like that. Actually…I can. “Is Simon around?” I glance toward the stairs leading to the second story.
“He isn’t, but I’ll tell him you called.” She stands abruptly.
I rise, too, a polite reflex.
With a tight smile, she grabs my elbow and steers me toward the exit. I barely catch the handle of my suitcase as she hurries me along. I’m being dismissed, though I can’t fathom why. Perhaps Marina can only muster up a few minutes of civility per day. I ought to thank her for spending them on me for once.
In the open doorway, she drops my arm and then her eyes. When she drags them back to my face, the dark blue of her irises swirls toward black. She lowers her voice and leans forward. “The records say it’s possible to survive out there, you know.”
I’m not sure I’ve heard her correctly. “What?” I ask, my body suddenly rooted in place.
Marina makes a show of looking around. We’re alone. “It’s in an older text, one you must be a Record Keeper to read. It speculates that some who are Harvested could potentially live on top of the Wall.”
“For an hour or two.” My tongue feels clumsy and swollen. “Maybe a day.”
“No, I mean surviveforever.” She glances over my shoulder and up, presumably at the Wall. Then she touches my wrist, briefly. “I’m not supposed to tell, but…we were almost sisters.”
I open and close my mouth, words failing me.
“Maybe Jonas is up there.” A smile cuts across her face. “Waiting for you to help him get down.” In one fluid movement, Marina shoves me into the crisp autumn air and slams the door in my face.
I stand there, reeling. I truly do not understand that girl. When my senses return, they ride on the back of a lullaby, the one Gran had been humming right before I stepped into the Apothecary lab to say goodbye. It’s a song she put Jonas and me to sleep with when we were children, a tune everyone in the village knows. A verse comes back to me.
We live by the Wall, Water, Soil, and Sun.
In Noah’s Valley, each to a House yet one.
So sing me a story, dear, I’m down on my knees,
Praying to Heaven, bring me back, please.
12
I throw my suitcase in the narrow gap between two cottages and race toward the square. I forget my sorrow, my resentment, my best intentions to return to the Tzu house as I fly toward Eden’s Gate. Only those making the ultimate sacrifice and the honor guard accompanying them have earned the right to approach the Wall. I know the privilege is not mine to claim. Unfortunately, I’m out of my mind.
Jonas is alive!
Or, at least, he could be, if I get to him soon enough.
I’m not sure of my new plan. I don’t have one. Before I spoke to Marina, I’d intended to find my mother’s killer and make the Tzus hurt like I do. But now? Well, hope’s a dangerous thing. Is it possible Jonas is alive up there, desperate to return?
I stop short before the Wall. I’ve reached an invisible boundary, my deepest-rooted beliefs holding me back. The cobblestones before me are notably darker. Hardly anyone has dared to step this near.
For Jonas, I must.
I take a tentative step forward, heart pounding.
I never imagined I’d see Eden’s Gate up close.
It isn’t smooth or perfect beneath the vines, like I’d always imagined. The stone is cracked and weathered, and the thick green tendrils clinging to it are barbed like wedding roses. A glistening sap coats each thorn, bringing to mind my antimicrobial sundews in the greenhouse. I take a moment to appreciate how the edges of green leaves give way to brilliant purple. My whole life, I’ve never seen such a lovely shade of violet. I tip my head back. The Wall stretches endlessly up, vanishing into the mist.
