The Scent of Lilac: An Arrow's Flight Novella by Casey Hays Page A

familiar.”
                His chest
heaves once, puffed up with air, and his shoulders sag with a satisfied sigh.
And then that sweet, crooked grin spreads across his face.
                “Stop
it.” I shake my head, feigning exasperation, but I can’t help smiling. I’ve
come to know that his grin is somehow contagious, and I must give into it every
time he offers it. “So you’re happy? Right now?”
                The smile
fades. “I’m as happy as I can be. Only because I remember the feeling.” He pauses,
his eyes swiveling toward the gate again. “The Council thinks they wipe us
clean when they cage us, but they can’t. Somewhere, far way, we remember that
we are human.” He faces me. “And yes, you have brought that feeling back to me.”
                I
swallow, fighting tears, but they spring to my eyes. Chad ’s
face lights with his smile again, and something in my heart nudges me one step
closer to him.

Chapter 7
    M
    ia!”
    I pause just outside my hogan, hand on the doorframe, and
turn toward the voice. Rhoda comes bumbling toward me. She clutches a medicine
bowl in one hand and a clay pot in the other. Swags of herbs fresh-picked from
the medicinal garden drape over her arms.
                “There
you are, girl.” She comes closer, breathing a little too heavy in her slightly
plump body. “Walk with me.”
                She hands
me the medicine bowl as she trudges past the other women huddling in front of
their hogans.
                “I’ve
informed the Council of your condition,” she begins, and I pick up the pace to
match hers. “They were quite pleased, as you can imagine.”
                “Yes,” I
nod, that feeling of elation growing.
                “As you
know, you will have a reprieve from the Pit until after the birth.” She winks
at me. “That must make you quite happy.”
                “Yes.” I
keep my voice flat. “And my mate?”
                Rhoda
tosses me a curious look. “What of him?”
                “Well,
what will he do? While I’m away?”
                She
frowns. “Why would you care?”
                We reach
the small infirmary, and she slides through the bamboo leaves and deposits her
load on the first table. I follow her in, resting my hip against the edge.  
                “I’m just
curious, is all.” I set the bowl down.
                “Oh,
you’re curious?” She eyes me. “Curiosity is dangerous.”
                She
fumbles through the items on another table until she finds a wooden shank. Returning
to the first table, she pushes a few jars aside and spreads out one spindly
branch of basil. She chops off a piece, deposits it into a stone mortar, and
begins to grind it with the pestle. The bittersweet aroma floods my nostrils.
                “Well?” I
press. She glances at me, sighs.
                “If you
must know, he’ll be paired with another breeder.”
                I
straighten, a strange shock slamming into my gut. “Who?”
                “Girl, I
have no clue.” Her weathered hands work the pestle. “The Council decides such
matters based on need.”
                “What
kind of need?”
                I hear
the indignant tone of my voice, and Rhoda does not miss it either. She stops
grinding and leans forward over the table on the heels of her hands.
                “What has
you ruffled, Mia?” Her eyes pin me with warning. “I hope you are not planning
to follow in the footsteps of some of your friends. I would hate to see a nasty
end to you.”
                She
squints, and I ease my hip away from the table, wringing my hands.
                “I told
you, I’m only curious.”
                “Hmmph,”
she huffs, and leans