NISH WRAPPED HIS POWERFUL ARM AROUND LEV
“Don’t look,” Nish said, pulling Lev close and blocking his view of the gruesome crosses holding his family. “Keep your legs moving and your head down. We need to get you out of here!”
A strange numbness swept through Lev. He tried to respond but speaking suddenly seemed impossible. Nish, though, didn’t need an answer. He guided Lev into the frenzied crowd as it fled. An irresistible sea of horrified shouts and anguished cries swallowed them and surged them out of the square.
Shielded by Nish, Lev stumbled ahead. Jostled and squeezed by the throng, he concentrated on placing one foot before the other, over and over, while locking his gaze on the ground. Paving stone after paving stone blurred beneath him as Nish pulled them forward.
Occasionally, they passed Tolian guards, who had stepped to the fringes of the retreating mass of Hyasans. Lev didn’t dare look up, but the guards were easily identified by their sandaled feet, black knee-length tunics, and the scabbards belted to their waists. He tucked his chin deeper into his chest as he caught snippets of the soldiers’ laughter. Apparently, they were enjoying the pandemonium their governor had created.
Slowly but surely, Lev’s anger replaced the shock and panic that had numbed him. He pulled free from Nish’s grasp, allowing them to move faster.
“Just keep your face hidden,” Nish said. “We’re almost there.”
“Where’s there?” Lev asked.
Nish slowed and drew in a deep breath. “The soap shop. My house.”
“What?” Lev said, shaking his head. “No. That’s too big a risk. Everybody knows our fathers were friends.”
Eyes narrowed with conviction, Nish clasped Lev’s arm. “It’s our only choice. Just for a minute—just until the coast is clear. Besides, we need my father’s help.”
Lev’s shoulders sagged. Nish was right. Where else could they go? There was only one way out of D’Win, and the gate was closed for the rest of the day.
Acquiescing to Nish’s insistent tug, Lev focused again on the ground while they hurried ahead. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Nish grabbed Lev by the elbow and dragged him through a door. Once inside, he exhaled a deep breath, and when he inhaled, the comforting scent of lilac and vanilla filled his nostrils. Behind him, the door slammed shut followed by the clunk of a heavy bar falling into place. Nish had bolted the shop’s entrance.
“Father!” Nish cried. “Father!”
Lev flinched at Nish’s frantic calls. He may have left the chaotic crowd, and, for the moment, he had escaped the sea of suspicious gazes—either from Tolian soldiers or fellow Hyasans tempted by the small fortune Totoro had offered. But how long could Lev stay here before he was caught? Before his presence endangered his best friend and his father? At best, this was a temporary respite from a tragic ending he couldn’t escape.
“Nish?” Yudi said, hurrying into the room. “What is it? Are you okay? And Lev?”
“Yes,” Nish said, breathing heavily. “And ... no ...”
“Calm down, Son,” Yudi said, laying his hands on Nish’s shoulders. “Something’s happened, that’s for certain. The crowd is fleeing like sheep from a pack of wolves.”
“Totoro ... L-Lev’s family,” Nish said, laying his head on his father’s shoulder and sobbing.
Yudi patted his son’s back and turned his gaze toward Lev. “Lev’s family?” Yudi repeated.
Lev swallowed, realizing Yudi wanted to know what had happened. But when Lev opened his mouth, no words came out. Instead, tears streamed down his cheeks.
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Yudi’s eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with his hand. “Oh no,” he moaned. “Oh, no!”
Nish lifted his head and sucked in a breath to compose himself. “Totoro murdered them, Father. All of Lev’s family. Had their crucifixes raised in the square—plus an empty one he said was meant for Lev. There’s a bounty on him, too. Forty silver pieces for anyone who turns Lev over to the Tolians.”
Yudi closed his eyes and shook his head. He pulled at his hair for a moment before turning away and hurrying toward the back of his shop. “Okay, okay,” he said as he stepped behind the counter and faced Lev and Nish. “Arto and I kept all this a secret for years, trying to protect our families. But clearly, that plan has failed.”
“What are you talking about, Father?” Nish asked, his voice strained with confused irritation.
Yudi reached beneath the counter, sliding his arm back and forth, apparently groping for something. Once his arm stopped moving, he flashed a chagrinned smile and said, “This. I’m talking about .”
Something clicked, and Yudi leaned against the counter. To Lev’s surprise, it grated across the soap shop’s tile floor and shifted forward several feet.
“What ... in the ... heavens?” Nish exclaimed, even more shocked than Lev.
“Come here, boys,” Yudi said, waving his hand. “Come look. We don’t have a lot of time. Who knows who saw you enter the shop. And forty pieces of silver is enough treasure to turn even the best person into a traitor.”
Nish rushed toward his father, but Lev simply stared ahead, overwhelmed by his shattered world. His family was no more. He was a wanted man, destined to be executed. And now, Yudi was revealing secrets he and Lev’s father had hidden from their sons.
Nothing makes sense, Lev thought. .
A gentle hand tugged on his tunic, snapping him out of his daze. “Come on,” Nish whispered.
Lev nodded and yielded to Nish’s pressure. Several reluctant steps later, he stood by Yudi’s side and gasped in unison with Nish. The shifted counter had revealed a space where the floorboards had been removed, a secret niche between and beneath the floor joists. But the niche’s contents were what astonished Lev the most—a pile of steel swords that shimmered up at him.
“You and my father part of the rebellion?” Lev asked, immediately realizing his mistake. “I mean, my father ... Totoro was telling the truth? Father was a rebellion leader?”
Instead of answering, Yudi looked down and kicked the remnants of a dried flower.
Nish shook his head. “And you, Father? Are you part of the rebellion, too?”
Finally, Yudi looked up and said, “It’s complicated, boys. Far more complicated than I can explain right now. But in short, yes. Arto and I have been involved in the rebellion. I’ve been smuggling swords into D’Win, and he had been training anyone willing to fight for Hyasa. It was so easy under that fool, Cloaca. But Arto ... Arto knew this Totoro could be—”
Something heavy bumped into the shop entrance, snapping Yudi’s attention in that direction. He held a finger to his lips and stared at the door. Lev clenched his fists and looked down at the swords. If the Tolians had found him, he’d grab a weapon and take down as many soldiers as he could.
But after a silent and still minute, nothing else rattled the door, so Yudi dimmed the lantern closest to him and lowered his voice. “Nish, double-check the door, shutter the windows, and fetch me a blanket. I’ll tell you what I can later. And Lev—” Yudi paused and pointed toward the cache of swords. “You need to hide. Right now. Fortunately, I just made a delivery and there should be room for you.”
Lev nodded and lowered himself into the hiding space. After pushing the swords closer together, he looked up at Yudi. “Thanks.”
Yudi shook his head. “Don’t thank me till you’re safe. I’m so sorry, Lev. So, so sorry. But give me time to settle my thoughts, and I’ll find a way to get you to safety. Meanwhile, do your best to get some sleep.”
Sleep? Lev thought. How will I ever sleep again? But he forced a smile and said, “Sure.”
A padding of feet announced Nish’s return. Yudi pursed his lips and stepped around the counter, disappearing from Lev’s line of sight. A second later, Nish peered down at Lev instead.
“Here,” Nish said, passing down a woolen blanket. “I’ll ... I’ll see you soon. Don’t worry, my father will figure something out.”
“Thanks, Nish,” Lev said, staring at his friend. “I know.” But Nish’s ashen face and Lev’s roiling stomach told him neither of them believed what they said.
“All right,” Yudi said. “Out of the way, Nish. Time to close him in. Lev, use the blanket to buffer you from the swords and lie as still as you can. Let me know when you’re in position.”
Lev wedged the bulk of the blanket between himself and the sharp blades beside him. Once he was satisfied with the makeshift barrier, he dropped onto his back and stared toward the ceiling. Nish leaned into view and smiled.
“Ready?” Nish asked, eyebrows raised.
“Ready,” Lev said.
Above him, the counter slowly scraped closed until it clicked into place, locking Lev in a cramped and completely dark space.
Like a tomb, he thought. Might as well be. How long before I’m a dead man? How long before I’m with my family again?
