Bloody hell, cackled Nil.
There would be no escape today.
CHAPTER
22
CHARLEY
DAY 14, MID-MORNING
I sat on a rock, waiting.
So far, Thad had been behind the waterfall for at least an hour. I knew he was alive and long since clean, but just needing that quiet space, that quiet time. I pictured him sitting on the slick black ledge, breathing crisp air, hearing only the roar of the water cascading down in front of his face. A wall like a shimmer, but just water. A wall that was exactly as it appeared to be.
I wondered if Thad was cold. I would be freezing under there. Inside the A-frame at night under thin covers, I no longer shook, but I was still cold. The only time I felt warm was in the sun, like now.
When Thad emerged, he looked exhausted.
“You pruney yet?” I asked.
His head whipped to me. “What are you doing here?” His voice sounded strange. Vacant, and distant.
“I thought you might like some fresh clothes and a towel.” I pointed to the Cove’s edge, where Thad had left the same offerings for me. “I’ll turn around. I promise I won’t peek.”
“It’s okay. I won’t mind if you do.” Thad’s tone was detached, like his thoughts were anywhere but here.
I turned around and studied the trees. Light crept through the branches, making each leaf pop with color. Nil was breathtaking, no question, but there was ugliness, too. The beauty was everywhere; the ugliness subtle. But it was there all the same. I’d never been more aware of it than when I’d seen Thad stumbling back with Rory, covered in blood. Despite the sun, I shivered.
“I know those trees are riveting,” Thad’s deep voice came from behind me, “but you can turn around now.”
Wearing a clean version of the shorts that had been soaked with blood, Thad stood there, drying his hair with the thin towel, which was more like a cloth. Because, as I’d figured out, every bit of cloth was some version of the same, all made from the paper trees.
“How long were you waiting?” he asked.
“Not long.”
“Liar,” he said, almost breaking into a smile.
“How would you know? Were you watching?” My voice was teasing.
“Actually, no,” he said, and the light left his eyes. “I was just thinking. And trying not to think.”
“How’d that work out?”
“Not so great.” Thad sat beside me. The gash on his forearm looked raw. It would leave a scar, but at least it had stopped bleeding.
“Your arm looks better,” I offered.
“Yeah. That’s what washing off blood will do, eh?” He clenched and unclenched his fists so hard I wondered if it hurt.
“Thad, I know I just got here and that I’m way behind the curve. But I’ve figured a few things out.” I paused, watching his knuckles turn white. “One is that everyone looks to you. For help. For advice. It’s why you won the hand vote for Leader. It’s why Talla came to you today. It wasn’t right that Rory stole stuff. You went after him because it was the right thing to do, and then everything went to hell in a handbasket. It’s not like you knocked him out, took the stuff back,and left him there.” I stopped, feeling like I was rambling, but needing to finish. “So you can’t beat yourself up over what happened.”
Thad studied his hands. “I didn’t like him. From the get-go. But I didn’t want him dead.”
“Of course you didn’t. That’s why you carried him back. You did all you could.”
“Did I?” Thad lifted his head. His eyes were tortured. “I missed, Charley. I had a shot, but I missed. If I’d gotten it the first time, maybe Rory would have made it. I’m pretty sure it was the animal’s last strike that killed him. And what if I’d just let him go? Not gone after Rory in the first place? He went ballistic. I think the noise drew the hog.” He looked away. “I think our fight triggered the attack.”
