Suddenly, the old woman’s hand shot forward and shoved hard enough to make whoever it was fall to the ground. I heard a familiar cry and my mouth went dry. I hurried to another window, trying to get a clearer view.
"Let me go!" a young boy called out, clearly in tears. My breath caught. It was my younger brother Dameon, who was only nine. I gripped the collar of my cloak in a fist as I caught glimpses of his round face, his cheeks wet with tears. The group around him laughed.
I saw red. What Broskow and his followers were doing was illegal. Tormenting a member of the Exalted was punishable by the harshest laws of Carra, but as The Seeking drew closer, the normal rules and regulations of the town fell apart.
Dameon got to his feet, only to be pushed over again. I heard the skid of his arm sliding across the wooden floor right before he cried out again. I was so furious I felt like I could breathe fire, but storming inside wouldn't help anything, especially not with so many of them. I wasn't very tall, and Dameon was even shorter than I was - we would have no chance.
I looked around, desperate for any distraction I could provide, and picked up a rock. I flung it as hard as I could through the window.
The muddy rock flew through the air. It would’ve hit the old woman square in the shoulder, but she ducked, and it continued past and then slammed into Broskow’s right forearm.
The burly man gave a cry of shock and I quickly ducked before stalking around the building.
I stopped and looked back in time to see Broskow and the others examining the window. With a smirk, I stepped around the corner.
Dameon was already taking advantage; I saw him halfway out of one of the other windows to my left, his fingers barely holding onto the ledge. He fell onto his side in the dirt and I bit back a gasp at the thud his body made. He winced, scampered to his feet, then ran.
I wanted to call out to him, but the others would hear; instead, I ran after him. It was colder now, and I could see my breath as I pushed myself to run faster. He was surprisingly fast, and it took me the length of a couple of buildings to catch up to him. Reaching out, I looped my fingers around his sleeve.
"No!" he gasped out between harsh breaths.
"Hush, it's me!"
His eyes were wide, scared at first, but then with a grateful groan he crumpled against me. His panting gasps turned to crying and I pulled him closer, feeling his hot tears against my stomach.
I stared up at the twilight sky. The stars were just beginning to emerge through the purple veil, and darkness was already stretching toward the sun. Only a few precious hours before the start of The Seeking, and I was glad I had found my brother in time.
"I know, I know," I whispered, swallowing down the dryness in my throat. "But we need to keep moving. They'll be looking for both of us soon."
Eventually Dameon pulled away, his eyes downcast. “That was you with the rock, wasn’t it?”
I nodded and he gave a heavy sigh. “I’m glad you found me.”
“Me, too.” I clenched my jaw to keep from saying too much. Dameon didn’t need to hear my complaints again. He heard them every damn year.
We walked together, Dameon clutching my hand so hard that it was throbbing, but I didn't pull away. He was only nine and deserved to have a good cry after that.
We moved away from downtown Carra, leaving behind the buildings with pies on their windowsills and growing crowds of drunks and hunters.
"I didn't mean to get caught already. I just wanted a piece of pie.” Dameon stared miserably at the ground. “They said they were selling them inside, and I was dumb enough to believe them. How could I be so stupid?"
"Broskow's a snake. You can't believe anything he says this time of year." I looked around to make sure we were alone before speaking in a whisper, "Has Mother gotten you a hiding place this year?"
He nodded, also keeping his voice low, when he replied with, "Yeah. I told her I could’ve hidden myself, but I guess she did know better after all." His face scrunched up again, tears already swimming in his eyes.
I wrapped an arm around him and gave him an awkward side hug. “It’s okay, kiddo, trust me when I say you’re not missing anything fun. I wish I had a cushy place like you.”
He nodded and wiped at his tears but said nothing more. We had gotten so used to keeping secrets from each other that it was hard to remember a time when we didn’t.
Every year, Mother saved as much as she could to ensure she could pay the high fee of a trusted family to keep her youngest son hidden from the hunting groups. According to our parents, he wasn’t permitted to hide himself until he turned thirteen, thank goodness.
I was pretty certain our parents would pay the family as long as they could to ensure that their youngest was completely safe. They simply couldn't afford it for all of us. I still remembered that first year when I found Mother crying over the dining table, her entire savings laid out before her. She just rocked back and forth saying, “It’s not enough.”
Father tried to distract me by leading me upstairs, but I knew the truth. It was at that moment I realized that being part of the Exalted Family didn’t mean you had any guarantee of money or safety. When Darik, my older brother, and I spoke about it, we both decided it was best if that money was spent on Dameon rather than us.
By the time we reached the Exalted House, the sky was a dark purple with only a hint of light along the horizon. At five stories, it was the tallest structure in all of Carra. No building was permitted to be any taller, and from the rooftop, you could see the entire town sprawled out around you.
We started uphill, up the dirt path that led to the front door. I nodded to our two guards, Kaleb and Marissa, positioned farther up the hill.
Kaleb nodded back as Marissa smiled, saying, “You two are back late.”
“Dameon was — ”
“I got caught up looking at all the pies,” Dameon lied, cutting me off.
I pursed my lips and noticed the flash of concern in Marissa’s eyes. If Dameon didn’t want to talk about it in front of them, even if it was illegal, I wasn’t going to push him.
“You two have plans for tonight?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
“My bed,” Kaleb groaned. “I’m looking forward to getting to sleep in tomorrow.”
I grinned, turning to Marissa. “What about you?”
“I’ll wait for Mary to get home, then turn in. I’m sure she’ll give up after a couple of hours anyway.” Marissa looked to the ground.
I nodded, unable to keep from clenching my teeth. Mary was Marissa’s wife, and I knew they had an adopted daughter Dameon’s age. I couldn’t help myself and said, “I didn’t know Mary was interested.”
“She’s not normally,” Marissa admitted with a sigh. “But this year…” She trailed off, and I understood what she meant. This year was different. This year felt off. Everyone wanted to take part, except for Kaleb apparently.
“Good luck, I guess,” Dameon muttered and dragged me up to the front door of the Exalted House. I was grateful for the excuse to get away. No one was required to work during The Seeking, even the Exalted Guard, but it still felt wrong for Marissa’s wife to be taking part in it.
“Even they’re in on it,” Dameon snapped a tad too loudly.