can’t know for sure. None of us can, at least not until all the rubble is finally cleared, which could take months. Since you’re so all-fire determined to pay a little visit to the Republik now, I figure I might as well tag along and see if I can find out anything about the books.”
“Do you really think that’s likely?” Taemon asked. How in the Great Green Earth would someone carry that many books across the mountain? Or was Amma just using the books as an excuse to help him?
Amma had a distant look in her eyes. “This is all connected somehow. Elder Naseph was planning to use the books as leverage to make sure the Republik kept its side of the alliance. Even if the books are buried in the rubble of the temple, I’d like to know why they were so valuable to the Republik. It’s still my family’s responsibility to safeguard those books and whatever secrets they hold.”
Taemon wondered if he should tell Amma what he thought was going on — that someone from the Republik had kidnapped Da to power its psi weapons. If that was true — if the Republik was still planning to go ahead with its war and was on the brink of discovering that the city of Deliverance was powerless — then Amma’s books were now more dangerous than ever.
“All right,” Taemon said. “Let’s go.”
Seven days later, Taemon wondered if Amma was still glad she’d come along. Using her memory of the map, she had led them high into the mountains, and though the snow hadn’t fallen yet, the nights were cold. The sweaters and camping blankets they’d brought weren’t enough, but wood was scarce at this elevation, which meant they could build only small fires — barely big enough for preparing their meals, let alone warming their bodies.
Water, too, was a constant concern. They’d long since finished the water they’d brought, and the only streams they’d passed were shallow and muddy, hardly good for drinking. And in order to boil water to make it drinkable, they’d have to find more wood. It was a vicious cycle. Skies, even finding a place to go to the bathroom was an ordeal.
As for their food supply, it was holding out, but just barely. Soon they’d need to start supplementing it with food they could find on the mountain. This part of the journey involved hiking all day, every day. That was hard enough, but the difficult part was yet to come. Soon they would have to turn deeper into the rocky canyons and find the pass that would lead them to the Republik. They would need all the strength they could get.
They made camp for the night, and it was Amma’s turn to build the fire. Taemon had learned enough from Amma to make a decent fire, but she was still much better at it than he was — especially with his injury. Taemon rummaged through his knapsack for something to make a meager meal, but he couldn’t find anything. All their food was gone! His water bottle was missing, too. All the lightweight supplies were there — blankets, rope, twine, and Challis’s scarf. But no food.
Taemon opened his mouth to shout to Amma and tell her that their food was missing. Then it dawned on him. He checked Amma’s knapsack. Sure enough, it was full of food, water, and the heaviest of the tools and supplies that Drigg had given him.
Amma had been trying to lighten his pack.
Quickly, while Amma was busy with the fire, Taemon redistributed the food and supplies so that the packs were equally heavy. His left arm may not be fully functioning, but until he needed to use psi to get them out of a tight spot, he was fully capable of pulling his own weight on this trip.
He put together a meal of dried fruit, travel bars, and jerky. “We’re running pretty low on food,” he said as he handed Amma her share.
“No problem,” Amma said. “We can catch some of those ground squirrels we’ve been seeing.”
Taemon cringed. “Squirrel meat?”
“It’s not terrible. We had to eat it one year when most of the cattle died. And it cooks up
“Do you really think that’s likely?” Taemon asked. How in the Great Green Earth would someone carry that many books across the mountain? Or was Amma just using the books as an excuse to help him?
Amma had a distant look in her eyes. “This is all connected somehow. Elder Naseph was planning to use the books as leverage to make sure the Republik kept its side of the alliance. Even if the books are buried in the rubble of the temple, I’d like to know why they were so valuable to the Republik. It’s still my family’s responsibility to safeguard those books and whatever secrets they hold.”
Taemon wondered if he should tell Amma what he thought was going on — that someone from the Republik had kidnapped Da to power its psi weapons. If that was true — if the Republik was still planning to go ahead with its war and was on the brink of discovering that the city of Deliverance was powerless — then Amma’s books were now more dangerous than ever.
“All right,” Taemon said. “Let’s go.”
Seven days later, Taemon wondered if Amma was still glad she’d come along. Using her memory of the map, she had led them high into the mountains, and though the snow hadn’t fallen yet, the nights were cold. The sweaters and camping blankets they’d brought weren’t enough, but wood was scarce at this elevation, which meant they could build only small fires — barely big enough for preparing their meals, let alone warming their bodies.
Water, too, was a constant concern. They’d long since finished the water they’d brought, and the only streams they’d passed were shallow and muddy, hardly good for drinking. And in order to boil water to make it drinkable, they’d have to find more wood. It was a vicious cycle. Skies, even finding a place to go to the bathroom was an ordeal.
As for their food supply, it was holding out, but just barely. Soon they’d need to start supplementing it with food they could find on the mountain. This part of the journey involved hiking all day, every day. That was hard enough, but the difficult part was yet to come. Soon they would have to turn deeper into the rocky canyons and find the pass that would lead them to the Republik. They would need all the strength they could get.
They made camp for the night, and it was Amma’s turn to build the fire. Taemon had learned enough from Amma to make a decent fire, but she was still much better at it than he was — especially with his injury. Taemon rummaged through his knapsack for something to make a meager meal, but he couldn’t find anything. All their food was gone! His water bottle was missing, too. All the lightweight supplies were there — blankets, rope, twine, and Challis’s scarf. But no food.
Taemon opened his mouth to shout to Amma and tell her that their food was missing. Then it dawned on him. He checked Amma’s knapsack. Sure enough, it was full of food, water, and the heaviest of the tools and supplies that Drigg had given him.
Amma had been trying to lighten his pack.
Quickly, while Amma was busy with the fire, Taemon redistributed the food and supplies so that the packs were equally heavy. His left arm may not be fully functioning, but until he needed to use psi to get them out of a tight spot, he was fully capable of pulling his own weight on this trip.
He put together a meal of dried fruit, travel bars, and jerky. “We’re running pretty low on food,” he said as he handed Amma her share.
“No problem,” Amma said. “We can catch some of those ground squirrels we’ve been seeing.”
Taemon cringed. “Squirrel meat?”
“It’s not terrible. We had to eat it one year when most of the cattle died. And it cooks up
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