Mine to Fear (Mine #3)(52)

“No, I shouldn't have. No one should be,” he says. “Do you know why I was put in there?”

“I don't.”

“Because I owed the Grand Chancellor a partly sum of money.”

“That's it?” I ask, not knowing what else to say when this burning rage fills me. “He's clearly a madman.”

“The worst there ever was.”

His words continue to haunt me as I dish out more food to men and women. What were they all taken for? Not paying their bills? No matter what you can or can't pay, your life force shouldn't be the consequence.

I scrape the last bit of stew from the pot, and my belly growls. At least there was enough for those we just found. They need it more than I do, but at this rate, there won't be enough for even them. Food has always been a concern, but never this bad.

After handing out the last bowl, I gather the others helping me and have them follow me out of the cave. Once we're away from everyone else, I say, “We have to get more food. We're not going to survive without it.”

“I didn't expect it to be this bad,” Bethany says.

I'm just grateful she didn't see them in the power plant. “Neither did I.”

“Where else can we get food, though?” Serena asks. “We're already getting as much as we can and it's getting more risky every time we try.”

“We could try hitting a farm instead of the markets,” Cynthia says.

“But would that get the farmers in trouble?” Bethany asks.

“No more than it's gotten the shop owners in trouble,” Serena says.

A cloud of darkness descends. Helping a nation find its way is not going very smoothly. “We're going to have to do something. As much as I don't want anyone else to get in trouble because of us, we have to feed these people, or we'll never survive and the Grand Chancellor will win.”

Cynthia says, “A farm it is.”





***





After a couple weeks of searching, we've found the perfect farm to hit. Lots of food nearby, vegetables and much needed fruit and only a farmer and one helper running it. We gather as many as we can to help us. We're not leaving anything to chance. The more help we have, the less likely we will be to lose, and land's knows we can't afford to lose.

The attack is not really an attack. We go in there, spells blazing—or ready to. Our hands are all up to cast a spell when we come across the first farmer.

“Whoa,” he says. “Don't go blasting me yet.”

I don't lower my arm. “Why not?”

“You're that group I've been hearing about, yes? The one trying to fight the Grand Chancellor?”

“So what if we are?”

“If so, I want to help you all out.”

Finally, I lower my hand. “Help us out how and why?”

“You need food, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Yes, but that doesn't answer the why.” I take a few steps toward him, even if everyone else is still on guard behind me.

“Been sick of the Grand Chancellor's rule for a long time. Had to send my oldest boy into service at his house to pay off a debt. Don't fancy my children being taken from me like that, even if they are nearly grown. Especially not with all I do to try and provide food for the country. I reckon if I'm going to give food to someone, it might as well be someone who can help.”

I motion the others to lower their hands. This man is anything but a threat. “We are definitely trying to help.”

“Then how about this. I can give you half of my food stored up now, and I'll do what I can to help you out in the future.”

“That's more than generous,” I say.

It takes a little arranging, but we figure out how to pack up all the food he offers and carry it out of there. Before we go, I tell him, “Thank you for your help. This will help more than you know.”

“Does that mean you have a lot of mouths to feed?”

“It does.”

“Good then. I hope the Grand Chancellor gets what's coming to him.”

“And what will you do if the Grand Chancellor finds out you've been helping us?”

“You let me worry about that.”

I put my hand out to shake his. “Please stay safe.”

He shakes my hand. “You too.”

After making arrangements to collect more food in the future, we leave. I think we're doing exactly what we need to. More people come too. Even those we think we're going to fight with, instead want to help us like the farmer. The Grand Chancellor has overstepped, and even Chardonian warlocks know it.





Chapter Forty





A thrill hums through me, both anxious and excited, as we ready to attack the next power plant. I’m excited that we are going to be able to help more people, although anxious to see what's to come. The first time was difficult. At least this time I'm more prepared. We all are, plus we brought more help this time.

Though this place is much closer and has more forest around it for us to hide in, it has the same spells fortifying it as the last one. It's probably the setup for all of them, though you think they'd add at least a few more spells after our last attack. Maybe they added guards instead.