Free On the Meldon Plain (The Fourline Trilogy Book 2) by Pam Brondos Page A

unhooked her water flask and took a drink. Light shone through the canopy. She considered climbing one of the trees to get a better look around, but thought better of it when she tried to step forward without the support of the tree limb. Pain shot up her thigh. Clutching the makeshift cane, she readjusted her backpack and started walking again at a slow, steady pace. Her boots made crooked indentations in the muddy forest floor, and her mind wandered to the children she’d seen along the riverbank. Where were the Nala taking all those children? she wondered, knowing whatever the destination, it wouldn’t be good.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a treetop sway in the distance. She broke into a limping run. Branches dug into her clothes and skin as she ran. Her vision blurred slightly, and she imagined a gap in the thinning trees. She wiped her eyes and stumbled out of the forest into an expansive meadow of bright-yellow flowers. The meadow dipped, and she tripped on a rock, tumbling down a flower-laden hill. Her head smacked against a rock and her vision clouded to black. A distant hissing scream filled the air.

CHAPTER NINE
    “Are you sure she’s sound in her head?” The voice trembled slightly with age. “Only an utter fool would travel through that forest alone.”
    “What does the presence of her orb and markings tell you? She’s a Warrior Sister.” The familiar voice held a hint of respect. Nat’s eyes fluttered open.
    “Warrior Sister,” the other voice grumbled. “Whatever she is, she risked exposing this House.”
    “Hello, Sister Natalie.” Ethet loomed over her. Her glasses magnified her large brown eyes, and she gave Nat a curious smile. Her long fingers curled around Nat’s orb, and she placed it on a table covered with bandage clippings and ointments.
    “Sister Ethet, am I glad to see you.” Nat lifted her head. She noticed a tiny wisp of a woman, hardly taller than Marie Claire, standing at the footboard of the wooden bed.
    “You’d better be,” said the woman. A puff of white hair surrounded her wrinkled face. She pursed her thin lips. “She saved your life.”
    “Sister Natalie, this is my predecessor, Sister Ethes Fairbog. She is the Head Sister of this Healing House.”
    “Healing House?” Nat scanned the narrow room. The walls made of smooth chinked logs gave it a warm glow.
    “Not just any Healing House,” Head Sister Ethes Fairbog said with a huff. She skirted a spindly chair and peered into Nat’s eyes. “It is the First House. We rebuilt it. Now stick out your tongue,” the tiny woman demanded. Nat immediately complied. Ethes grasped it between thumb and index finger and pulled it up and down. Nat gave Sister Ethet, who stood a good foot and a half taller than Sister Ethes, a questioning look. Ethet pursed her lips but said nothing. When Nat’s tongue was safely back in her mouth, she sat up. A sharp pain shot through her head. She gingerly touched the edge of a bandage taped to her forehead.
    “She’ll survive,” Ethes said dismissively. The little woman wrenched open a door set in the wall opposite Nat’s bed and hustled out of the room.
    “Don’t mind her, Natalie.” Ethet pulled the chair close. “She’s always had a rough bedside manner. Would you try standing for me?” Nat nodded and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed. She glanced down and noticed she was wearing a loose green tunic. A bandage covered her lower leg. She grasped Ethet’s strong hand and stood slowly.
    “You’ve been unconscious for about two days. Expect dizziness with that bump on your head.”
    Nat clutched Ethet’s other hand and fell back abruptly on the bed. “Dizziness, definitely dizziness,” she said, lowering her head. Ethet slid her arm behind Nat’s neck and guided her head to the pillow.
    “Barba never said anything about a House when she told me where I might find you. I thought Mudug destroyed all the Houses.” Her head spun.
    “So Barba sent