Free Spirited by Shannon Delany, Judith Graves, Heather Kenealy, et al., Kitty Keswick, Candace Havens, Linda Joy Singleton, Jill Williamson, Maria V. Snyder Page A

parents had the talent,” Faith said. “After they were captured and… . Well, after that, I ran away with Destiny.”
    “You must hate me.”
    “I hate what you’ve done,” Faith said. “I hate what you represent. I hate that my sister must live in a hole. But I don’t hate you.”
    So little to ask for—a mere lack of hate—but it made Isaiah feel better somehow. He’d always been shunned, nearly as much as any witch. People were afraid of him, afraid he would point the finger their way.
    “I don’t want Destiny to learn to hate either,” Faith said. “Blind hate is the reason we’re down here.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Sorry won’t allow Destiny to live in the sunshine. All this disease and death you blame us for. Why would we do that? Have you ever considered that it’s just a drought, that no one is to blame except the weather?” She sighed and shook her head. “Destiny said you told her that a person could be both good and bad.”
    “That’s the only hope I have now.”
    Faith studied the people in the cavern going about their tasks and their lives—the men and women working, the children playing, the babies crying. “You realize that none of this was a choice, don’t you? No one chose to be what he is, not even you. This is how they were born. This is how you were born.”
    Faith met Isaiah’s eyes. “But we all have choices now. We can’t blame our actions on the fate of our births.”
    Destiny ran up with Mathias and Bartholomew close behind. “Men are coming. Lots of them.”
~*~*~
    Bartholomew raised his arms to calm the growing chaos at news of Chief Magistrate Cotton and a small army marching their way. “Perhaps it is time we stopped running. Times are changing. Governor Danvers is convening hearings. Even Isaiah Wildes is changing. Chief Magistrate Cotton may change as well.”
    “Cotton will not change,” Isaiah said. “Not with a mob at his back. Not with his identity at stake. His power depends on things staying the same. And he will not give up that power.”
    “Then we fight,” Mathias shouted.
    Bartholomew shook his head. “We are mostly women and children.”
    “Run away,” Isaiah said. “Hide. Wait for the governor’s decision.”
    “What if he decides the hunts should continue? Won’t running prove our guilt to him?”
    “Not if nobody knows you were here.” Isaiah turned to Destiny. “Remember the new trick I taught you when you showed me how to make a flame: how to shield talent so it can’t be sensed?”
    Destiny nodded.
    “Could you shield everyone here at once?”
    Destiny surveyed the crowd and turned back to Isaiah. “Can you sense us now?”
    Isaiah smiled and shook his head.
    Destiny grinned back and whispered, “It’s easy. I told you they mostly don’t know many tricks anyway. Not like us.” She winked at Isaiah. “And I’m working on that new trick you mentioned the other day.”
    “But they have eyes,” Mathias said. “They’ll see us.”
    Isaiah created blazing flames in each palm. The people closest shielded their eyes. Destiny smiled, the proud teacher.
    “Cotton is the only one amongst them who can sense the talent,” Isaiah said. “If everyone is shielded but me, then his sight—and his army—will be focused on me while you escape unseen.”
~*~*~
    Off in the distance, a dog whined. A moment later another answered with a whimpering howl. Cruel, relentless sunshine lanced down on Isaiah, burning his eyes even after he closed them. Beneath him, rough stone scratched at his bare back and buttocks. Sand and gravel scoured his skin.
    Isaiah grunted as two men added another stone to the thick oak board strapped atop his chest. He sucked in a rasping breath. The rough-cut plank punctured his skin, and the weight of the stones crushed his chest, forcing the air from his lungs.
    Cotton looked down on him with a thin smile. “The record for surviving this test is two days.”
    “He was an old man,” Isaiah wheezed. “Like