The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker #2)(43)

Mahlia twisted and fought, finally threw herself sideways, taking both of them to the ground. The doctor’s grip popped free and she tore loose. She scrambled back to her feet, glaring at Mouse. “You chickenshit farmer.”

Mouse hung his head, but he didn’t go running after Amaya. The doctor slowly got to his feet, panting. Tool was watching them all, curious, almost amused.

Mahlia looked toward the town. The smoke was thickening. The soldiers had to be burning everything. Not just the town. Probably the crops as well. Scorched earth. More smoke billowed over her. Mahlia swore. She’d hoped to have more time to prepare for a journey north, but with Amaya ratting them out, it was time to run. Ready or not, it was time to run.

Mahlia turned to Tool. “Can you travel?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Doctor Mahfouz shift in disappointment that she wasn’t interested in suicide. That was Mahfouz’s problem, though.

Tool’s yellow dog eye regarded her. “There is no choice. We travel or we fight. And if we fight, we die.”

That pretty much summed it up. So why was she even delaying?

They didn’t have enough food. Didn’t have tools. No machetes, no nothing.

“Okay,” she said. “Okay.” She wanted to scream in frustration at how quickly her bare plan had fallen apart. Her father had always said that battle plans fell apart. It was to be expected. A general had to adapt—that was what distinguished good soldiers from poor ones. So, she needed to adapt.

“We got to lose the trail,” she said. “We’re going into the swamp. Water travel.” She pointed. “Mouse can show us a way. He knows these swamps. We can still lose them.”

The half-man inclined his head in agreement. He limped over to a tree and took a branch in his fist. With a crackling explosion, he tore it free, making a staff to support himself.

“Damn,” Mouse muttered. “That’s what you do when you’re weak?”

The half-man showed his teeth and leaned on the makeshift crutch. “Come, boy. Show us this secret way.”

They all started into the water, but a moment later Mahlia realized the doctor wasn’t with them.

Mahlia turned. “Doc?”

The doctor was looking at her sadly.

“You can’t be serious,” Mahlia said. “You think you’re going to stay here? Let Amaya bring soldiers down on you?” She motioned for him to follow. “They hate you as much as they hate me, now.”

The doctor just looked at her. It made her uncomfortable.

“I thought for a little while that it was possible to save you,” he said. “To do some good. To stop…” He shook his head. “To change the sickness of this place.” He looked at Mahlia. “I taught you to heal, not to fight.”

“You think I was wrong to drop coywolv on them?” Mahlia said. “You wish you were back there with the soldier boys? They were going to kill you, too, you know. They deserved it. They started it.”

“And you did nothing to end it.”

Mahlia glared. “If I had some guns I would have.”

The half-man laughed, a low rumbling. He clapped Mahlia on the back approvingly. “War feeds itself well, don’t you think, Doctor?”

Mahfouz looked at the half-man with disgust. “I should never have allowed her to heal you.”

“A good thing, then, that I do not rely on a pacifist’s goodwill.” The half-man’s fangs were showing, sharp knives all gleaming.

The doctor started to retort, but the half-man interrupted him. “Save your shaming for the girl, Doctor. If I cared for human approval, I would have been dead long ago.” He turned and started wading into the swamp. “Time is passing. I, for one, have no intention of remaining here for your betrayer to bring back the soldiers and their guns.”

“Doctor?” Mouse asked.

Mahfouz shook his head. “I’m not leaving these people to the soldiers. Come with me, or go with the half-man. But these people need our help.”

Smoke was blowing more strongly, gray mist thick with the scents of burn.

Mahlia’s eyes began to tear. She looked at the doctor, wishing that he wasn’t as crazy as he was, and realizing there was nothing she could do to move him.

“Come on, Mouse. Let’s get gone.” She turned and started walking. Behind her, she heard Mouse say something and then he was catching up, splashing into the water after her.

“You sure about this, Mahlia?”

“There’s nothing we can do back there.”

“They took us in.”

Mahlia looked at Mouse. “We got to look out for ourselves, first. If we don’t, we’re dead.”

“Yeah. Except I saved you.”

“And now I’m saving you, right? We ain’t going back there.”

Mouse subsided. Soon they caught up with the half-man.

“The doctor chose not to accompany you?” Tool asked.

Mahlia shook her head. “He’s stupid.”

“He has a cause,” the half-man said. “It makes him dangerous.”

“I got a cause,” Mahlia said. “It’s keeping my head from getting shot off.”

“A worthy one, I’m sure.”

Mahlia couldn’t tell if the half-man was mocking her or not. They kept walking through the swamp.