there another way?” Margo asked. “Can’t we just let them go? Pretend they were never here?”
Tomas sighed. “Mama, just because Sofia likes one of them….” He shook his head. Sofia giggled, recognizing her name.
“They’re clearly criminals,” Tomas continued.
“No, we’re not,” Rae blurted. She shot Parvel a quick glance, then continued. “We’re Youth Guard members.”
If they had been surrounded by the king’s men, that would have been a death sentence. As it was, everyone in the room seemed to freeze, except Zacchai and Sofia. Suddenly, Tomas looked even angrier, Ravvi looked hard and distant, and Margo looked about to burst into tears.
Jesse wondered what it was about the Youth Guard that produced such a strong reaction.
“See?” Rae said, pulling up her sleeve to reveal the symbol of Amarias tattooed into her skin, the mark of the Youth Guard. “As protectors of this kingdom, we ask for your help.”
“We don’t owe them anything,” Tomas said, still speaking to his mother. “We should turn them in as soon as possible.”
“No,” Margo said, and when she straightened her shoulders and stood upright, Jesse was sure she would break through the roof of the wagon. “We will do nothing of the kind.” She took a deep breath. “I, too, have a son.”
“Yes, we know,” Rae said dryly. “He’s very charming, especially holding a dagger.”
“I do not speak of Tomas, or Zacchai, though they are both dear to me.” Margo’s face became strong again. “I am speaking of Barnaby.”
Barnaby. Jesse knew that name. He was one of the four Youth Guard members they were searching for in the squad assigned to the swamps.
Ravvi stood from his bench. “He left us of his own accord, Margo, against our specific orders.”
“Yes, and it was wrong of him,” Margo said, “but he’s just a boy still.”
“Stop making excuses for him, Mama,” Tomas snapped.
“I am not making excuses,” Margo replied hotly. Jesse was glad he was the one holding Sofia, because her mother was gesturing wildly with every word she spoke. “Right or wrong, he is our son, and I will not give up on him.”
“He gave up on us,” Tomas shouted back. “Did you ever think about that, Mama? Maybe he did know exactly what would happen when he left. Maybe he wanted to be cut off from the Kin—from us.”
The wounded expression on Margo’s face made Jesse uncomfortable. He felt like they had stumbled into a family conflict and that they should excuse themselves and leave them in privacy. But Tomas still blocked the door, and Jesse was fairly sure he wouldn’t be moving.
“He’s probably dead anyway,” Tomas said. His facial expression told Jesse the second, unspoken half of his statement: It’s no more than he deserves.
“No,” Margo said quietly, but with force. “I will not believe that. As we of the Kin say, ‘Not all that is missing is gone.’ Barnaby may yet come back from his foolish mission.”
“Your son is in the Youth Guard?” Jesse asked, shifting Sofia in his arms.
Margo nodded. “He’s been gone for more than four months.”
Jesse knew that this included the three months of training in the capital city. He glanced at Parvel for guidance. “Should we tell them?”
“I don’t think we have a choice now that you’ve spoken,” Silas said dryly.
He was right. Everyone in the wagon was staring at him. “Well,” Jesse asked, “where should I start?”
“At the beginning,” Zacchai suggested. He looked excited, clearly sensing a story coming.
So Jesse began, “One month ago, I was cleaning tables in Mir….”
“No—” Tomas interrupted, “not at the beginning Something…sooner. And quicker.”
Jesse shrugged. “Fine.” One of the first rules of storytelling was always keep the audience happy. Especially when one audience member is holding a dagger. “We are in the Youth Guard as you know. What you may not know is that, instead of helping us accomplish our mission, the king and his men tried to kill us.”
Jesse waited for a response of surprise and alarm, the same response he had when he heard the news. Nothing happened.
“They don’t care, Jesse,” Rae said. “It’s none of their concern, remember?”
“Oh,” Jesse said. Then he remembered why he had told the story in the first place. “But it isn’t just us the king is trying to kill. He’s trying to wipe out every single Youth Guard member…including Barnaby.”
Now Margo gasped. Even Ravvi looked alarmed.
“Mama,” Zacchai whimpered, and Jesse felt a twinge of guilt about being so blunt in front of the boy. “Is Barnaby going to die?”
“Not if we can help it,” Parvel said. “We have his squad’s last known location. That’s why we’re here, and why the Patrol captain was so desperate to get rid of us. He knows we could save others.”
“Why?” Tomas challenged. “If you could save yourselves and run, why find the others?”
Jesse thought for a second. “Because the Youth Guard members, all of them, are part of our Kin,” he finally said.
That, he could tell, connected with them, but Tomas still stood in the doorway, arms crossed. “What if they’re lying?” he asked.
Silas took out the Forbidden Book. Carefully, he paged through it until he found what he was looking for. He held up the book.
It was a sketch of Barnaby. Jesse could tell that immediately. He looked like a small version of Ravvi, a mischievous grin lighting up his face. Two feathers stuck out from behind his ear.
Margo gave a slight moan, and Jesse was afraid she was going to cry. He was never sure what to do when females cried, unless they were Sofia’s age. She was currently chewing on a tassel attached to her blanket, unaware of the conflict around her.
“You must let us go,” Parvel said. “We cannot promise that we will find your son, but we will die trying, if need be.” Jesse knew that he meant every word.
“We should be going to find Barnaby,” Ravvi muttered, clenching his fists at his side. “I should go.”
“You know you can’t, Papa,” Tomas said. “The Kin could disown you too. If you leave, you leave Mama, Zacchai, Sofia and me.”
“You?” Ravvi demanded, his voice rising. “You would not come with your father to save your own brother?”
Tomas didn’t answer.
“We must decide,” Margo said, “quickly, before the Kin meeting is called and the
