bite my lip. Is that everyone? No wait – Shorty. We were so mean to him when we suspected him of being the High Priest’s spy. And then we discovered Victor was the traitor, and that Shorty had been loyal all along. This will make it up to him.
“And Shorty – I mean, Troy Julius. And …” My mind scrabbles – there’s someone I’m forgetting. Major Zungu’s finger-tapping has speeded up, and I still have so much to ask. “And …”
The general narrows his eyes. “There’s more?”
I’d better hurry up before he gets angry. “I want to select the fifty workers from the colony myself,” I blurt out quickly.
He nods. “Right. Make a note of that, Major. Now, item two on the agenda. The Poladion family will be executed by firing squad immediately after this meeting. All council members are required to attend.”
Executed.
I can’t focus on anything for the rest of the meeting. The voices around the table sound further and further away as a cold block forms in my stomach, freezing out everything except the image of – the wives, the small children, Cassie, my friend, Hal … Lucas …
I can barely breathe.
Too soon the men stop talking, and the general pushes back his chair. “Right, gentlemen and lady, we will now proceed to the courtyard.”
“General …” I begin, my voice barely above a whisper.
He turns those cold eyes on me and waves me away like an irritating insect. “No more discussion.”
The three officers glare at me, and I wither.
CHAPTER 3
Come along, Ebba,” Mr Frye says.
The others have left the council chamber already but I’m hovering, hoping they won’t notice that I’m missing.
I can’t go out there.
I can’t watch the entire family being killed.
But he takes my free arm, propelling me down the passage and out of the big double doors onto the colonnade.
I try to pull away, but he holds me firmly, hissing into my ear, “Ebba, you have to pick your battles with the general. This one is not worth fighting. Now, come with me.”
We stand in a row with the other council members, looking over the courtyard. The plinth stands empty now. The statue of the High Priest has been pulled to the ground, and soldiers are dragging it away, jeering.
I have a flashback to the High Priest’s face as the bees swarmed around his head. I push it away. He was evil. He killed Jaco and Shameema and the Year Fives. He deserved to die. But his family haven’t done anything wrong.
The prisoners are nowhere in sight and I relax a little. The general must be playing some sort of game to scare me.
Then a door opens in the wall, and the women and children are led into the courtyard. My legs go numb, threatening to buckle under me. I lean against a column, feeling the clammy sweat beading on my forehead.
The wives are herding the children. The little one, the toddler, is staring with huge eyes at the soldiers. Nomkhululi is weeping, holding her baby close to her breast. Cassie looks up and catches my eye. Her face convulses.
I turn away, filled with shame. I should have tried harder to save her. I glance around frantically, searching the faces of the men around me. Next to me, the general is standing impervious, back straight, hands locked behind him, cold eyes scanning over every inch of the courtyard. This has got to be a ploy to scare the family, to show them that he is the boss now. I’m sure of it. He won’t kill these innocent children.
“General!” I cry. “Please. You can’t go through with this.”
He stiffens. Then he turns to glare at me. “This is how we treat traitors,” he snaps.
The door into the courtyard has opened again, and Hal limps out, one shoulder twisted. His eyes lock onto the general.
“De Groot!” he yells, his voice reverberating off the marble walls. “I’ll work with you –”
The guard hits him with the butt of his rifle, and Hal staggers, winded.
Then out comes Lucas, staring at the ground, his thin shoulders hunched like one of the herons at the farm dam. He looks broken and my heart twists.
My arm strains in the sling, my feet move and before I realise it, I’m taking a step towards him, but Mr Frye flings out a hand to stop me.
The soldiers are lining the family up against the far wall. Another line of soldiers stands facing them across the courtyard, rifles ready.
“General!” I want to grab his sleeve, but he looks at me with his icy eyes and his whole being radiates “keep away”. The words spill out of me, my voice rising. “General, you can’t kill a whole family because of their father. Send them away rather – send them to the mainland. You can’t kill that tiny baby!”
A half smile flickers across his face as he catches Major Zungu’s eye. They think I’m hysterical . . .
“Calm down, Miss den Eeden,” he says coldly. “This is in the interests of national security. You don’t want one of his family rising up to assume the role of High Priest, do you? Or to take revenge on you for killing their father? As far as I recall, Haldus was publicly shamed when you refused to marry him.” He gestures towards Hal, who is facing the wall while a guard ties a blindfold around his eyes. “I doubt very much whether he’s the sort of man who would forgive a slight like that.”
Lucas stands slightly apart from the rest of the family. He’s staring out at the sea with longing on his face.
“What about Lucas?” I beg, close to tears. “He’s totally harmless. He can come to Greenhaven and take Victor’s place.”
Major Zungu sniggers. “Lucas Poladion. Not only harmless, but useless too.”
Mr Frye smiles at me. “Ebba has such a soft heart. Always taking in waifs and strays. Grant her this request, General.”
The general ignores us. Mr Frye gives me a quick glance, and I feel his fingers squeeze mine, so tightly that it hurts.
The family are lined up, all blindfolded now. The baby’s thin wail drifts across the yard. I bite my knuckle so hard I draw blood.
He’s really going to do it. He’s going to kill them. Anger surges through me like a flood, rising higher and higher. I can hardly breathe.
“Ready …” Major Zungu yells, and the soldiers lift their rifles.
“Aim …”
My rage overflows. “Stop! If you don’t let them free, the deal is off! I’m not growing any more food for you!” My words echo across the colonnade, which has suddenly fallen silent as a graveyard.
He holds up his hand, and Major Zungu pauses. The soldiers look up, fingers poised on the triggers while General de Groot’s eyes cut through me like blades.
“I’ll remember this.” His voice is rough. “You can choose one.”
One.
I can save just one person. Who do I choose? Cassie, who was my friend? Hal, who I fell in love with? The baby? I must take the baby – her mother is facing the army just like my mother did. If the baby dies, I’ll never forgive myself.
And then I see Lucas. Poor, broken Lucas, who risked everything to save me.
“Lucas.” The name chokes in my throat. “I pick Lucas.”
I’m