The Scent of Lilac: An Arrow's Flight Novella

   
Casey Hays

Whispering
Pages, LLC

Copyright © 2016 by
Casey Hays

Editor: Anna Faulk

Graphic Designer:
M.A. Phipps

Published by
Whispering Pages, LLC,
an
independently owned company.

This book is a work
of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of
the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is
entirely coincidental.

Publisher
Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Scent of Lilac:
An Arrow's Flight Novella,
bk
1 / by Casey Hays

168 p. 22.86 cm

ISBN
978-0-9905698-6-2

1. Young women - -
Fiction. 2.
Survivalism
- - Fiction 3. Christian
fiction - -

I. Hays, Casey, 1972-

PZ7.H3149176 SCE 2016

[FIC]

Books by Casey Hays

The Cadence

A stand-alone YA
Contemporary Fantasy

The Arrow's Flight
Series

Breeder

The Archer

Master

The Arrow's Flight
Novellas

The Scent of Lilac

A Heart of Flesh
  
(forthcoming)

A Tongue of
Fire
 
(
forthcoming)

A Soul of
Stone
 
(
forthcoming)

For
Mary and
Cheree

who
love me
sight unseen

make
me laugh
until my side hurts

and
have
rooms reserved next door to me in Heaven

                                                               
Song of Solomon 4:9

 
stretch my hand
forward, allowing the lonely purple flower to slip from my fingers. It flutters
downward to rest on top of the mound… so out of place amid the other gifts:
food, brilliantly-colored cloths, the wooden hilt of a favorite sword or two. My
gift of one purple lilac appears quite simple.

           
I don’t
cry. It would be useless to shed a tear. Tears will change nothing.

           
The other
women were long gone before I returned to Mona’s graveside with my humble if
not insulting gift. I wasn’t sure at first why I chose it—Kate’s favorite
scent. I had plenty of other much more valuable possessions to spare, but in
the end... it seemed fitting somehow.

I lift my eyes and scan the
clouds that roll over the horizon in shades of purples and blues and pinks. In
the shadows of the mountain, I see the scattered dotting of other graves. Some
are marked; some are so overgrown with wild vegetation they are hardly visible.
Meg is there somewhere... and Layla. I think of them, and for the first time in
my life, I feel numb.

I feel… alone.

           
The shock
of this thought overtakes me. The sun is rising, and I blame the tears that
suddenly flood my eyes on its brightness. I turn away from the mountains and
scurry up the path that leads through the clearing and into the Village.

           
In the
few days since Kate left, a strange temperament has overtaken the Village. I’ve
heard the women talking, low and late into the night. And though none of them
have voiced their opinions publicly to the Council, the change in their attitudes
cannot be missed. Many have taken Kate’s defiant words to heart—a dangerous
prospect. Fate does not allow for choices, yet this was Kate’s strongest
desire—to have a choice. Of course, Kate never believed in Fate. Not really. As
for me, I am afraid of what her words may have done.

           
My hogan
comes into view, and a small pang of relief stabs me at the sight of it. Safe. I
push away a strand of dark hair disturbed by the breeze and pick up my pace.

Ten steps from my door, I see her standing between two
hogans, arms crossed, legs planted in an intimidating stance.
Tara
visits quietly with Daija and Ash, and the solid confidence exuding from her
cuts through me. I cringe and hurry past them, but not before I see her head shift
to follow my movements.

Perhaps she hasn’t come to speak
to me, but I ready myself for her constant question anyway: Have I seen Kate?

           
I haven’t.
And I have no answers to her other questions either. Where are the prisoners?
What happened to Ian’s body? I don’t know why she thinks I would have this
information. I’m as much at a loss as she is. Still... she persists.

If
Tara
has another chance, she will tear Kate to pieces. She’s been clear. And we all
know this stems far deeper than mere revenge for Mona’s death. Mona was a
Scorpio, and
Tara
is well aware that if Kate ever has a
change of heart, her position on the Council will be finished. For
Tara
was born under the sign of the Archer, as was Kate. And the ledger is clear:
twelve council members, twelve signs. It will be her duty to step down and let
another Scorpio take her place.

           
Just as
I’m about to reach the safety of my hogan, she calls out to me, and my emotions
boil raw beneath the thin layer of my skin. I turn, take a tentative step
backward until my heel finds the familiar raised bump of earth just outside the
threshold of my door. She approaches.

           
“Any news
of Kate?”

           
I
swallow. “No. I have not seen her in eight days, same as you.”

           
I catch
my bottom lip between my teeth, fighting tears. Kate was clear when she left
that it may be the last time we saw each other. She spoke of finding Ian’s
village, and I have no doubt that she will.

           
Rumors
abound about the boys in the metal cages. Even those who didn’t see them with
their own eyes have heard the stories from those who did. And no one believes
that those giants were from the stock—another point of unrest among the women.
The Council has had its hands full forming plausible theories, but every one of
them has fallen flat with the villagers. Because of Mona’s ambition, the secret
is out. We are not the only Village after all.

           
I still
can’t wrap my mind around it, but I believed Kate. Even before her speech in
the clearing, I believed. Still, I fear she and Diana will not survive for long
outside the Village.
 

           
 
“You are her best friend, Mia.”
Tara
’s
voice pulls me back. “Surely, she told you something.”

           
I focus
on her dauntless, brown eyes.

           
“She told
me good-bye,” I say sharply, and then I shudder as my tone batters around
inside my head. What am I doing? I don’t speak to authority this way.
           
Tara
doesn’t
seem bothered. She sighs, letting her hands drop to her sides.

           
“Very
well,” she says with a nod. When I visibly sigh with relief, she lifts a finger.
“If you see her—if she returns at any time and makes contact with you—you will
come directly to me. Do you understand this?”

           
I blink
once. “And what will you do to her if I choose to comply?”

           
Tara
narrows her eyes. “You’d best choose to comply. And what I do to her is council
business.” She pauses dramatically, her jaw clenching once. “Kate’s little
speech has caused quite a disturbance, and she must be reined in before the
women grow out of hand.”

           
“But her
name was in the box. I think that entitles her to speak.”

           
“That was
clearly a mistake.”
Tara
’s voice quips with a low growl,
and her face turns hard. I take in a surprised breath and focus on a small,
flat mole just to the left of her lower lip. I’ve never noticed it before.

           
“Are you saying
the Moirai were wrong?” I ask.

           
She
growls again. “Don’t put words in my mouth. What I’m saying is don’t disappoint
me, Mia. I’m counting on you—as Kate’s friend—to do right by her. What she
needs is discipline, and you know this. You of all people should have her best
interest in mind.”

           
I see
what she’s attempting immediately, and a frown penetrates my brow. I may not be
the brightest among the women, but I know when I’m being manipulated.

           
 
“Is execution still your intention?”

           
She steps
in close enough for me to feel her hot breath, and she doesn’t answer the
question. From the corner of my eye, I see Ash and Daija and a few other women
watching our encounter.

           
“You will
report to me.”

           
I purse
my lips, but I nod, suddenly frightened.
Tara
eases back.

           
“I know
you, Mia.” She attempts a smile that comes closer to a scowl. “You have always
obeyed the rules, unlike your friends, and the Council respects this in you. We
expect that you will continue to do so. It has always served you well.”

           
I study
her, my heart sinking at the truth in her words. I don’t cross lines; I don’t
like contention. I’ve always believed the rules laid out for our Village were
in place to protect us—to keep peace and order. I still believe this despite
Kate’s recent actions. So there is no need for
Tara
’s speech.
I nod briskly.

           
“That is
my plan,” I say.

           
A
satisfaction crosses her features even as a hint of my betrayal slips through
me. I felt this once before… the day Ian hit Kate. I believed it was my duty to
protect her from her mate. I believed it so strongly that I disregarded her
feelings completely. But my actions placed her into Mona’s thoughts more
solidly than ever, and Kate suffered.
 
 

           
I should
have kept my tongue quiet. I never do, and I hate this about myself. I look at
Tara
.

           
“May I
go?”

           
Tara
nods, and I slip through the bamboo leaves before I can make anymore promises.