The Glass Arrow(25)

“Go!” I hiss, jerking my arm towards the barn. I kick dirt over the knife handle I’ve dropped by my feet.

The Driver gives me one last warning look which I meet with a hard glare, and then darts back over the runoff stream. But he doesn’t make it all the way back to the barn before the Watcher comes around the corner.

The Driver knows he’s too late. He stops, spins, halfway up the bank. He’s facing me. The Watcher’s mouth pulls into a straight line—the most emotion I’ve seen him show yet. And then he reaches below his new messagebox to the silver handle of the wire, strapped on his chest.

The Driver drops to the ground, grabs a handful of pebbles, and throws them at me. I avoid getting hit just barely by jumping sideways. Then he crosses his arms over his chest and stares at me with a smug grin. His teeth shine in contrast to his dirty face.

My mouth drops open. Then snaps shut. I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to make it look like he’s taking the Watcher’s advice not to kill me and has decided just to torture me instead.

I play along. Whimpering, I cower against the office wall. I hide my face, fearing the Watcher will see the truth there.

The Watcher buys it. He releases the handle of the wire and stalks away, back to his chair in his nice cool office. I can hardly believe he’s left until I hear the silence following the close of the automatic door.

I whip my head around towards the Driver and see that the smugness has turned to awe; he’s just as surprised that this worked as I am. And then one of his hands presses against his lips, and I can see in his kiranlike eyes and by his bouncing shoulders that he’s laughing, though he doesn’t make a single sound.

I feel a strange sensation brewing inside me. It tickles my throat and forces my lips into a grin. Before I can stifle it, I giggle. And then I laugh. We are both staring across the poisoned stream laughing at how we’ve managed to outwit the Watcher.

The feeling takes me over. My arms begin to tingle. My legs too, right down to my bare feet. I can’t stop laughing. I have to bite my hand to quiet myself so that the Watcher doesn’t come back to check on me. I haven’t laughed like that since … since before they got Bian.

We both hear a noise coming from the opposite side of the barn. The low rumbling of a city car. Someone’s here to rent a horse. Probably a Merchant. Most of the Magnates are too snooty to use that kind of old-fashioned transportation. They want something classier—a fine horse or a carriage.

Either way, the Driver’s got to go.

He smiles at me once more before turning and jogging into the back door of the barn. He’s got to change before the customer arrives.

When he disappears, I’m hit by a sudden sensation of loss. It’s like all the happiness is sucked from my body.

I remember where I am and why I’m here. And that the only plan I had worth anything is ruined.

*

THE DRIVER IS GONE for most of the afternoon. His business must be keeping him busy, because he’s not out throwing hay or cleaning stalls as usual. That or he’s realized, like I have, that he shouldn’t come back. It’s too dangerous, for both of us.

I wander around in front of the glass wall for a while so that the Watcher can see me, or at least so he doesn’t feel the need to come outside and check on me. From here I’ve got a clear view of the rec yard. It’s past dinnertime and the girls who are left from Auction Day have been turned out to stretch their legs before bed. I can’t see Sweetpea anywhere. Maybe that weight shifter worked after all.

Watching them gives me the shivers. Nina can never come to a place like this. The prospect of her being prodded and groomed then sold to a wealthy bidder makes me ill. I hope Tam protects her, like I taught him. She’s worth more to these city people than he is. She’ll always be in more danger.

Daphne’s red hair stands out even across the space separating us. She and Buttercup are sitting on a bench facing the gathering crowd of workers on break. Buttercup’s legs are up on Daphne’s lap, and even from this distance, I can see Daphne lean over to kiss her. I never saw two girls kissing before this place, but Daphne says it helps raise their stock at auction. I don’t know about that—it obviously hasn’t worked for her yet—but from the hollers of the men in the crowd, I’d say she’s definitely got their attention. Even the two new Pip-raised girls are watching.

Only one girl has stayed away from the fence. Straw Hair. She’s meandering down by the pond, completely ignoring the others.

As I watch, she steps into the tepid water, kicking aside a lily pad. Daphne glances over, and soon she and Buttercup are laughing and pointing over the back of the bench. A frown pulls at my mouth. Daphne never laughed at me when I was praying. Maybe she’s just bitter because she wasn’t chosen. I’m disappointed in her. My half friend.

Straw Hair takes another step in. Then another. Her dress is soaked up to the knees. The pond isn’t much deeper than that. Then she sits, the slinky fabric fanning around her like another lily pad. She lays back, dunking her head underwater. The other girls are laughing like loons now. But I’m not laughing. Poison aside, I’m pretty sure she’s trying to drown herself.

I don’t breathe again until Straw Hair stands up. She’s soaked, and her dress is clinging to her flat little body as she sloshes out of the pond. Daphne’s laugh, which is high pitched and rises over the others, stops suddenly. She and I both realize at the same moment what’s about to happen.