Curio Read Online Free Page B

“Grey, listen to me. This is your choice to make. Steinar will save some of his ration for Whit, but the mountain folk need as much as he can give them.” His forehead creased. “Mine must go to the lab. It’s time you decide what to do with your own ration.”
    For a moment the weight of her decision pressed the air from her lungs. But for Whit, who’d stayed too long, who’d come back when he should’ve run, who’d held her above snapping jaws, she’d take any punishment. A rush of strength spread from her torso outward, following the course of the mark. Jaw gaping, she pressed a fist to her midsection as a footfall behind her parents’ door signaled Father’s approach.
    Granddad’s pale blue eyes locked on Grey, a strange excitement turning them to glowing moons. “Not a word,” he whispered.
    She snapped her mouth shut.
    Father, a near duplicate of Granddad with another inch of height and a straighter nose, stepped into the hall and swept Grey with a disapproving look.
    She forced a shrug. “I couldn’t sleep. I’m going with you to the dispensary.”
    He frowned. “We discussed this last night, Grey. You’ll take your ration as usual today, and I’ll reserve some of mine for Whit. I trust you don’t mean to circumvent our decision.”
    Grey kept her expression neutral.
    â€œYou know the reasons.” His features caved and the commanding edge dropped from his voice. “We can’t lose you too.”
    She ignored the tightening of her throat. “I’ll be careful.”
    â€œLet her come, Stein,” Granddad rumbled behind Grey. “You know Hawards make poor statues.”
    â€œDon’t.” Father aimed a finger at Granddad. “None of your stories. You know my wishes.”
    â€œStein.” Granddad’s tone made Grey’s eyes prick with tears. “It’s in her blood. Look at her, son.”
    But Father turned away to snag his anorak from a hook on the wall. He grabbed Grey’s coat as well and handed it to her. Granddad followed them out the front door, fastening a heavy cloak around his neck. They stepped into a world of shriveled grass and cold-stiffened shrubs. The houses in Grey’s neighborhood perched on the side of a foothill like boulders arranged in rows by giants. A bitter wind swept the street, snatching dead leaves and dragging them across the hardened dirt.
    Mountains towered on the edge of the city, forming a cauldron around the westernmost quarter. The Magi mine loomed nearest to the town, but the outlines of the Chrysopeoia and the Panacea were visible on the higher slopes. The rest of the Foothills Quarter lay in the shadows, though the rising sun turned the snow on the high meadows a delicate shade of rose. Purple shadows filled the valleys above the mines and hung beneath the ridgelines where Father sought out the refugees. Grey’s fancy reached for those hills, though she was never permitted to visit them.
    Below the frigid wilderness, Mercury City lay like a vast wheel tilted against the foothills. The quarters stretched out like spokes from the black spire of the Chemist tower, the stronghold of the Chemist reign and the blood magic that kept them in power. Mills dotted the northern quarter and huge greenhouses clung to the far-off flatland in the east. On the southern horizon, the deputy outpost marked the town’s boundary.
    Grey hunched her shoulders and ducked her chin into her collar.
    Before they reached the end of their walkway, the Bryacres’ door opened and Josephine stepped out. She nodded to them but set out on her own, her slight figure a red smudge in the weak sunlight.
    One by one the doors of the other bungalows on Grey’s street opened. Neighbors stepped out and plodded toward the cross street, their faces lowered against the cold air and the glare of the rising sun. Most walked alone, but some of the women moved in silent