‘For goodness’ sake,’ her mother said, eyes closing.
‘At least the birds will finally return to the borough,’ Blake went on, unable to stop, ‘if only to pick at our corpses.’
Candace’s eyes snapped open. ‘Enough. How is that helpful?’
‘It’s not,’ Blake replied. ‘Nothing can help us now. Don’t you see? This is how it ends for us.’
Eda stared down at her lap, and Lyndal’s eyes welled up despite her stoic expression.
‘The killer might be handed over by the end of the day,’ Candace said. ‘Now, you can either sit down and contribute something constructive to the conversation orleave.’
Eda looked up, eyes pleading. But Blake could not be strong for her in that moment. Stepping back from the table, she left the room.
Chapter 36
Apersistent hunger plagued Blake in the days that followed the announcement. She found herself thinking about the evening meal while consuming the morning one. They had halved their portions to make what they had stretch further, but it had already not been enough food to begin with. Now they were on a slow path to starvation.
Two weeks into their sentence, Blake was on her way back from the well when she spotted Harlan atop the wall, watching her. She had a full pail of water in each hand as she navigated the slippery stones. Water sloshed from the bucket as she came to a stop in the middle of the street. He looked around, then gestured for her to come to him. Abandoning the pails, she made her way over. But when she arrived, all he did was drop a tightly folded piece of parchment over the edge of the wall before striding off.
Not one word spoken. She would have done anything to hear his voice.
Picking up the parchment, she stuffed it into her pocket to read in private, away from the prying eyes of the defenders above. She returned to the abandoned pails, picked them up, and continued home.
Only when she was in the privacy of the bedroom did she pull it from her pocket and read.
I’m going to bring you some food. Return to this spot at noon. Burn the note.
There was no name at the bottom, not even a letter she could run her finger over.
Blake found an excuse to leave the house by herself before noon, not wanting to risk missing him. She waited out of sight beneath a tree, eyes trained on the wall. She had been there for close to half an hour when a small cloth parcel landed on the ground twenty feet away. Her eyes travelled back up the wall, and she saw Harlan striding away without so much as a backwards glance.
The empty space inside her grew. She just wanted to lay eyes on him for a few seconds longer, but he was not taking any chances.
She moved out to retrieve the parcel, but a woman came from another direction and got to it first. Snatching it off the ground, she shoved it into her dress. She likely saw Blake waiting and stuck around to see what would eventuate from it.
‘Hand it over,’ Blake said, being as intimidating as she could be in her state.
‘I have children,’ the woman replied, backing away.
‘And I have sisters and a mother.’
‘He’ll bring you more,’ the woman said, tearing up. ‘No one will bring me anything. I’m not a bad person.’
Blake knew that. She could smell the desperation coming from her. Swearing loudly, Blake said, ‘Steal from me again and I’ll strangle you with my bare hands. You hear me?’
The woman nodded and took off at a run.
When Blake arrived home, empty-handed, she heard a commotion out in the courtyard and rushed out to see what was going on. Her mother sat against the wall, bleeding from the head. Lyndal was crouched down beside her, clutching Garlic to her as she tended to Candace. Eda stood in front of two boys, holding a small log in one hand.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Blake asked, walking over to stand beside Eda.
The two boys were no older than twelve. It took Blake a moment to recognise them due to their sunken faces. She had played gameball with them a few times.
‘They tried to steal Garlic,’ Lyndal said, glaring at the boys.
Anger pulsed through Blake. ‘Did you do that to my mother? Did you make her bleed?’
The boys were too hungry to be fearful, their dull eyes fixed only on the duck. There was no reasoning with children in that state. A conscience was just another luxury no one could afford.
