Blood Red Road

killed.
    The Free Hawks is fighters, I says.
    Warriors, she says, like you. An occasional highway robbers.
    An you don’t want Epona to lose, I says.
    That’s right, she says.
    Well I don’t wanna lose eether, I says. Losers go down to the gauntlet.
    That’s true, says Maev.
    Maybe we can help each other, I says.
    My thoughts ezzackly, she says.
    Our eyes meet. How do I know I can trust you? I says.
    She gives the nod to two girls standin next to one of the armed street guards. They move in on him. Suddenly a surprised look crosses his face. He starts to slump to the ground. They catch him an drag him back into a dark doorway. They step out agin an disappear into the crowd.
    You better not try that too often, I says. Where’re you stayin?
    We’re holed up in the northeast sector, she says. There’s a empty shanty in a place called Spanish Alley.
    I’ll git word to you, I says. I’ll send my sister. Her name’s Emmi.
    I’ll be waitin, she says.
    Then she’s gone.

    I ain’t seen Emmi fer a good few days now. Not since Helen told me about Lugh. Not since I spoke to Maev.
    Every mornin, when the water carriers show up jest before dawn, I peer through the gloom of the cellblock to see if she’s with ’em. I started to ask one of ’em, a skinny little boy with scared eyes, if he’d seen her, but he ran off the moment I opened my mouth to talk.
    I’m startin to git worried. I need to see her. Make sure she’s all right. An I need to talk to her about Lugh. About Maev an the Free Hawks. About my plan.
    The cellblock door opens. The weak light of dawn trickles in. The guards light the wall torches as the water carriers shuffle in an start emptyin their buckets into the troughs.
    This time Emmi’s with ’em. I let out my breath in relief as she makes her way over to my cell, carryin her heavy bucket carefully so’s it don’t slop too much.
    Nobody’s lookin our way. I go over to the trough, kneel down an start scoopin up water, splashin it over my face, neck an hands while she pours it out slowly from her bucket.
    Where you bin all this time? I was gittin worried, I says.
    I couldn’t git away, says Emmi. Miz Pinch had bad toothache the past few days. She warn’t sleepin like usual. It’s back to normal now.
    Are y’all right?
    I’m fine. You look awful.
    I ain’t bin sleepin much eether, I says. Listen, Em, I found out where they took Lugh. It’s a place called Freedom Fields. An I met somebody who’s gonna help us git outta here.
    Her eyes widen. Really? Who?
    Her name’s Maev, I says. I’m gonna need you to git a message to her.
    Okay, she says. Where do I find her?
    She’s stayin in a empty shanty in Spanish Alley, I says. Northeast sector. D’you know it?
    Yeah, I think so, she says.
    Good, I says. All right, here’s what you need to—
    Hey! Hey you! Girl! A guard’s lookin our way, frownin.
    I better go, says Emmi.
    Come back tomorrow fer the message, I says, it’s important.
    I’ll be here. Oh! she says. I nearly fergot!
    She pulls somethin outta her pocket an hands it to me. A smooth pink stone. My heartstone that Miz Pinch stole from me.
    She flashes me a big grin. I took it when she warn’t lookin, she says.
    Thanks, Em, I says. I shove it down inside my vest, next to my heart.
    Girl! What’s takin so long over there? The guard starts to head over to us.
    See you tomorrow, Saba. Emmi picks up her bucket, ducks her head down an scuttles past the guard an outta the door.

    The cellblock guards lead me, chained at wrist an ankle, into the female fighters’ exercise yard. Everybody’s here, they always are fer the evenin session.
    I need to speak to Epona. Tell her about my plan. I take a quick look around. There she is, with a group of girls.
    The Angel of Death don’t talk to nobody. That’s how I like it. So I cain’t jest walk over to her, it ’ud draw too much attention. I’ll hafta be careful about how I do this.
    She looks my way an I catch her eye. Jerk my head a little bit, to tell her to come over, I wanna talk. Her eyes widen, but she gives me a nod. She’s smart. She’ll wait fer the right moment.
    I stand while the guards unchain me so’s I can move about. The male fighters is in the exercise yard next to ours. Now they start up like they always do when they see me. They come crowdin up to the chainlink fence, makin kissin noises an callin out, Help! It’s the Angel of Death! Save me!
    I used to glare at ’em, but it set ’em off even more. Now I jest