Repentance stopped, her foot on the bottom step. They were going to torture him!
"He said an odd thing," Starved reported. "And I think he wanted me to pass it on. When the troopers threw him in the wagon, one of them said, 'It's the frame for you come sunup, or there's no ice on the mountain.' And Sober answered, 'Then I'll look forward to the sunup. I would have those I love, know I die content.' And then he looked straight at me and winked."
"Upstairs," Compassion said, shooing them from the hall.
A dull ache spread through Repentance. Sober had jumped right onto that wagon, thinking no more about it than he'd thought about diving into the waterfall to save Ambivalence. And it was her fault. All of it. From the very beginning.
She could have buttoned him. Why did she think she had to be the one to stand up to the overlords and refuse to give them slave babies? Why, in the name of Providence, had she hated the village so much? She'd felt lost there. As though she didn't belong. But if she'd have buttoned Sober she would have belonged.
Things were more complicated than that, though. Ever since the troopers had taken Tribulation she'd been afraid they'd come for her and her parents would let her go without a fight. When her mother had taken to rocking and humming Repentance had sworn to protect Comfort, but she'd grown up knowing she couldn't do it. And she hated that feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. Whether she buttoned or not was the one thing she was able to control in her life.
Once in the hidden room, Comfort asked a million questions. What was Sober doing at the wagon? How did Repentance know she was there? Why had the troopers taken her away from the family?
"Where were you when they took you?" Repentance asked.
"A fat woman, Mistress Merricc, do you know her?"
Repentance nodded.
"She bought us. The whole family. And she took us to a farm. Oh, Repentance, we saw the sun and the moon and the stars. We thought the world was wonderful. But then ... but then ... "
"Where are Mother and Father and the boys?"
Comfort gave Repentance a pitiful look and tears overflowed. "I didn't see them today. The troopers came and pulled me from bed and loaded me on the wagon. Mistress Merricc told them she owned me, and they couldn't have me without compensating her." She shivered and put her hands over her face. "Her old slave, Calamity, tried to pull her back to keep her from getting beaten by the troopers, and one of them asked him what he thought he was doing placing hands on an overlord woman. He knocked Calamity to the ground and he ... and he ... " she broke down sobbing.
Repentance hugged her, rocking her back and forth. "Never mind. Don't tell it."
She thought of Calamity with his wide, gap-toothed grin, sucking down Cook's potato soup.
"His dragon stick," Comfort mumbled, her face buried in Repentance's chest. "And he was screaming, and you could smell the burning flesh ... "
Oh, Calamity. Poor old Calamity.
Repentance felt a raging anger flow over her. If there were a trooper in the room just then, she felt sure she could rip his face off with her fingernails.
But as she patted Comfort's back her anger drained away and was replaced by a sense of hopeless dread.
Calamity was dead.
And Sober would soon join him.
She had no idea where her family was and Comfort wasn't even safe. Here they were, huddled in a small, hidden, tomb-like room. Freedom felt like myth and make-believe.
Maybe Comfort could yet be saved. Maybe Lord Carrull would be able to smuggle her out of the city.
When Lord Carrull finally arrived, Repentance dove on him with questions. Where were her parents? What was going on outside?
He ignored her, staring at Comfort in shock.
"Why is she here?" he whispered. "How can this be?" He looked at the faces of the people around him. Repentance, Comfort, Compassion, and Starved all stared back. "Where's Sober?" he asked.
"The troopers took him while he was saving Comfort," Repentance said.
His face reddened, and he clenched his fists. He stepped toward her as if he might strike her. "Sober left this house, kidnapped this girl from the troopers, and he brought her back here?"
"I brought her here," Repentance whispered.
"So whereas the prince did have a young woman who knew nothing about your whereabouts or my work, he now has Sober—a young man you brought to my house. A young man who has seen the secret room and who knows I steal slaves and smuggle them to freedom."
Repentance jumped up. "You wanted us to leave my sister to die? Just to save your sorry skin? Well, you needn't worry. Sober will never tell about your secret room. He knows Comfort and I are hidden here. He'll never give us up."
Lord Carrull looked at her sorrowfully. "I pray Providence you're right. You are, though, completely unaware of how persuasive the interrogators can be. I dare not chance it." He jumped into action, handing out orders. "Starved, the yak wagon, we'll be traveling all night. Compassion, pack food. For them," he indicated Repentance and Comfort, "and for us."
Repentance stared with her mouth hanging open. "What about Sober? Are you going to abandon him?"
A look of pity crossed his face, followed quickly by resolve. "I can do nothing for Sober. I'm sorry about that. I liked that young man, so don't try to blame me. He has you to thank for his fate. You fight when you have no way to win, and you seem determined to drag others down with you."
She winced.
Comfort stood and hugged Repentance.
Lord Carrul's expression softened. "I know you don't mean any of it, Repentance. Sober
