Page 69 of The Puppet Master
They came from the mines, themoney. There’s no other explanation.
“You okay?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I nod and flick my gaze at Aurelius who’s stepping onto the stage. Their arrival must be his cue to begin. By the look of this crowd of several hundred people, the whole compound must be in attendance. “I was just wondering where they came from.” I nod in the distance at the Keepers. “And why they have weapons.”
Zephyr doesn’t follow my gaze. Her eyes stay locked on mine like she knows exactly what I’m talking about. “They guard the mines.”
She speaks matter-of-factly, but the way she watches me suggests she knows what I’m thinking. I face forward as Aurelius calls for our attention.
He raises his arms as he breathes in, yoga-style. “Brothers… Sisters… We gather here today to celebrate the many bountiful years of our sister, Elsa. Because of her, our society has grown. We’ve prospered. We’ve been filled with her love and drank from her joy.”
Drank from her joy?
“Is everyone here?” I whisper to Zephyr.
Her eyes straight ahead, she nods.
The girl on stage beams as Aurelius turns to her. Her smile is so girlish, I peg her to be no more than sixteen despite her youthful glow missing. She wears a silver dress that might be pretty if it wasn’t swallowing pure skin and bones, and it’s confusing. The color should make her an Elder, but there’s no way that’s the case.
“Father will never allow you to visit the mines,” Zephyr says in a low voice that draws me to her as Aurelius yammers on.
I stare into pretty green eyes and wait for her to continue.
“He doesn’t trust you,” she whispers. “For the record, I don’t feel the same. You should be given everything required to complete your task. The girl’s purification ceremony is in less than a week, and we’re all counting on your success.”
I hold back a smile, instead drawing my brows together. “Is there anything that could change his mind? It isn’t the end of the world, but I do believe it would make my job easier if I could give the girl a tour… Maybe even have a few Dregs around looking especially somber.”
Zephyr looks off serious for a moment, her sweet eyes squinted, her lips pursed. “I could talk to him.”
“Are you sure? He won’t punish you for it, will he?”
Her head doesn’t move. Neither do her lips. Which is fair enough because it was a silly question.
My head turns back to the show at the sound of a heavy machine being rolled in front of the stage. I squint at the metal positioned just in front of the woman. It’s like a vertical tube, yellow paint chipped around the sides. There’s an opening up top and a spout that leads toward the crowd who are backing up.
It looks like a woodchipper.
“What is that?” I ask, unable to help myself. Hairs stand up on my arms as Zephyr and I move back with the crowd. She doesn’t answer, and I think it’s because she’s still thinking about our conversation, but when I look over at her, her head is bowed.Everyone’shead is bowed.
“Let us thank our sister,” Aurelius calls.
The crowd chants in unison words I can’t understand. I’ve been all over the world and can’t tell you what language this is.
“What are we doing?” I ask Zephyr, but she just keeps on chanting.
“In another life!” Aurelius calls.
All heads rise as words slip off their tongues like they rehearsed it in choir. “In another place!”’
Thorne hands the woman a bouquet of lilies that she walks to the machine. It whirs loudly as it’s turned on, and finally,finally, I get what we’re here to see.
My breath catches as the woman closes her eyes and steps into the woodchipper. It makes a crunching sound that makes my gut suck into my body, and when red, thick sludge shoots out the bottom, I double over with nausea.
“Sawyer…” Zephyr grazes my shoulder with a light touch I can’t help but shake off.
I can smell it. I can smell the gore.
I cover my mouth only to slap it on my knee as I vomit in the grass. Several people turn to watch. There’s a low murmur that’s hardly audible over the sound of the machine and my dry-heaving.
