Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(54)

"’Bye, Butterscotch."
I turned and snuck back out the back of the Temple, standing against the wall for a minute, until I was sure I didn't hear anyone walking nearby.
When I moved to the side of the building, I heard Eden let out a shriek and then a minute later, the front doors of the Temple banging open. Mother Miriam's voice came quickly, "What did you do?" she shouted.
"I'm sorry!" I heard Eden cry. "The ashes! It wasn't my fault. They tipped over and . . ."
"All over you?" Mother Miriam asked harshly. "You always were a clumsy thing. Come on. You need a bath. You're lucky I don't bring this to Hector."
I smiled despite myself and leaned back on the wall of the Temple. I should have been feeling shame I supposed, but I just didn't. "Morning Glory," I murmured, smiling. I started my walk to the river where I took my time washing off every bit of the dirt on my body, sad at removing her essence from my tongue, smiling to myself when I pictured Eden, my dirty handprints all over her.

**********

In Acadia, the workers hosted a festival every April. It was a celebration of winter ending and that the spring crops were bursting with life again. No one worked that day, and everyone chipped in to cook for the different booths and to set up the games. Generally, we just celebrated the blessings the gods had bestowed upon us and the peace and success of our community.
I'd always enjoyed it in the past. It was a chance for a day of leisure and for my friends and I to compete at the different booths.
But the morning of the festival I rolled out of bed at dawn, feeling antsy with pent-up frustration even though sleep was still clinging to me. I walked to the door of our cabin and stepped outside, my head turning automatically toward the main lodge. Eden's window was dark. She was still sleeping. I pictured her lying in her bed, her eyes closed, and that golden hair spilling over her pillow as her breasts rose and fell. I scrubbed a hand down my face and closed the door, none too quietly, and began my walk to the river.
"Wait up, Calder," I heard Maya call behind me.
I stopped and turned around, bending to pick her up when I reached her.
"No, don't carry me. I wanna walk," she said in her slightly slurred speech, coughing a small cough.
"Maya . . ."
"It's morning. You don't need to be in a hurry yet," she teased, smiling.
I smiled back. "No, I guess I don't. Come on." And I took her hand in mine.
After we'd visited the outhouse, we made our way to the river. I took my shirt off and waded in slowly, getting used to the cold water. Maya stayed closer to the shore as she splashed water over her face and hair, coughing more in the cool air.
I swore under my breath. Her cough had gotten better for a while, but now it was back. And it didn't sound good.
As I watched her, I suddenly felt filled with anger that my sister had to splash cold water on her head in the chilly morning, as the people at the main lodge woke up to a warm shower and indoor plumbing.
I had been taught my entire life that our sacrifice was pleasing to the gods, and it made us holier to live with the amenities they alone provided. But suddenly, standing there, it enraged me that Maya should have to sacrifice and the council members' kids didn't.
I reined in my emotion and dove into the water, coming up a short distance away and shaking the water out of my hair. I heard Maya laugh behind me. "You're like a fish," she called.
I laughed and dove back under the water, coming up just the same. Maya laughed again and clapped her hands. She mimicked casting a fishing reel and I pretended to be caught, floundering in the water and attempting to make an escape. Maya laughed louder and began to "reel" me in. I pretended to fight and strain as Maya reeled me toward shore, where I finally flipped and flopped on the ground, creating a dramatic fish death. Maya kept giggling and finally, I opened one eye and grinned back.
I stood up and splashed some water in the places I'd gotten sand on me and then Maya handed me a piece of fabric, and I used it to blot the water off my chest and run it over my hair.
"Do you like it here, Maya?" I asked.
She looked up at me. "Yes. It's my home," she said. "I like it anywhere you and Mom and Dad are."
I nodded, watching the water pool in the rocks at my feet. "You know if I ever left here, that I'd come back for you, right?"
Maya squinted at me. "Why would you ever leave here? If you did, you couldn't come to Elysium with us. You'd be lost in the great flood with the rest of the sinners. Please don't ever leave here, Calder."
I flinched. "Okay, Maya. Anyway, today's not the day to talk about this. Today," I scooped her up and she shrieked and then laughed, "is the spring festival and I'm going to win you whatever you want."