Poppy stilled, listening through the sharp agony of the thorns. “Listen to her,” she heard one kid yell, and thought she recognized Peter’s voice.
“Stop fighting! They’re nice! They’re good!” another voice called.
Some of the kids were yanking on the adults’ torch arms, while others skipped the arms and jumped onto their backs.
Torches and weapons fell as parents desperately tried to get the situation under control.
Poppy caught sight of Mags, just as the girl looked up and saw her. The girl’s warm brown face turned the color of ash.
Across the distance, Poppy met her eyes and forced herself to shout, “I have to make a new promise! They have to listen!”
There was a pause. Then Mags pulled a whistle from her pocket and blew it so loud that even Poppy’s ears rang. Silence fell. Mags pointed up at Poppy, and the other children took her cue like soldiers, pointing up at the girl in the thorn tree, pleading with their parents to wait … to listen.
Poppy’s father caught sight of her and yelled her name. She tried to smile down at him reassuringly as her mother slowly sank to her knees, staring up.
“Listen to me,” she called. “Please! That’s all I ask.”
“You’re well and truly caught, girl.” Governor Gale pushed his way forward as Nula let out a low snarl. “Looks like you’ll have to talk fast.” His lip curled. “I don’t know how you won over our children, but if you—”
“We made our own choices,” Mags insisted.
“Put down your torches,” Poppy called. “Put down your knives. My friends … my family won’t hurt you. I promise you. If what I say doesn’t persuade you, they’ll leave the Hollow. They’ll go quietly.”
Nula roared, and Poppy shot her a look.
“Poppy,” Mack cried, his voice breaking. “What are you doing?”
“What has to be done, Mack.”
“One wrong move from anyone,” the governor hissed, “and we’ll feed you all to the thorn trees.”
Poppy’s throat had gone dry. She cried out as one of the whips tightened again. “A few minutes—that’s all I ask. I need to tell you about Prudence Barebone.”
And she did.
She mustered all her strength and spoke loudly. She left no room for confusion and told them everything she knew about Prudence’s promise. Some of the older people in the crowd conferred with one another—a few nodding. An old man tugged the governor down to whisper in his ear.
The governor sneered. “Suppose we believe you about this promise,” he called up. “Suppose we believe that the fate of the Hollows is tied in some way to the fate of the Grimwood. How do we know this isn’t all your doing? Why shouldn’t we cleanse this place and destroy the wood forever?”
“You can see for yourself what it would mean to the Hollows! You set fires—the forest makes thorn trees.” Her body was beginning to feel heavy. She forced words past her lips. “Prudence wanted to have long life and was willing to pay for it … and now you pay the same with maledictions. The woods has to defend itself, but the Holly Oak is still keeping her promise … and if you destroy the Grimwood, you’ll destroy the Hollows too.” A wave of dizziness rolled over her. “Tooth for tooth. Blood or bone.”
Alarmed expressions followed this pronouncement. The old man began to tug on the governor’s arm again. The governor shook him off.
Poppy narrowed her eyes at him. He wasn’t interested in what was best for the Hollows—not now, maybe not ever. He was too full of fear, and anger.
She had to strike now, while she still had the strength. “Holly Oak,” she cried. “Holly Oak, I want to make a new promise!”
Everything stilled. Her father’s voice echoed in her head. “Nothing more powerful than blood in the Grimwood.”
“Holly Oak!” Poppy cried. “I know you’re rooted in the Grimwood deep, but you told us that the thorn trees were a part of you—here to protect and defend the wood. I know you can sense me. I hope you can hear me.”
Her head lolled as she tried to stay conscious.
“Poppy, hang on,” Mack cried, lurching toward the tree.
Nula appeared at his side, and took his arm, pulling him back. She whispered in his ear, tipping her chin toward the wood. Mack looked past her in the same direction and stood a little taller. He wiped his arm across his eyes and nodded.
“Knowledge is the enemy of fear,” Poppy called down, fighting against the heaviness of her limbs. “I’m offering a new promise and all the people of the Hollows have to do is make their pledge.”
She took an agonizing breath. She could feel the drips of her blood as they fell from the tips of her fingers.
Poppy lifted her voice. “I offer peace! I offer a new peace between the Hollows and the woods. The woods gives us fertile soil, and clean water, and strong harvests, but from this day forward, we will no longer buy extra years with the lives of our loved ones. There will be no more need for maledictions—no more cost to be paid. We say goodbye to Prudence’s greed and fear.” The world began to spin, but Poppy forced the words through her lips.
“Humans in the Hollows will live their normal lives. We will take from the forest only what we need … we will respect your home, as you will respect ours. And … attacks without cause will not be permitted. All living beings will keep this promise, or be forced to go—forced to take their chances in the fog. The Holly Oak—the being whose magic built this place will be our judge.”
The governor went pale. Around him the crowd had fallen silent. Faces turned to him as something heavy scrambled onto Poppy’s shoulders.
She grunted, but her eyes had drifted shut. She couldn’t see what it was.
She peeled them open again. Mags was below, just outside the reach of the thorn trees, holding up a tiny knife. “I’ll keep the promise,” she shouted, and before her parents
