Page 12 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

“Mama!”

Something breaks inside me at the memory of my own cries. The entire world ripped in half that day. I thought the sun would never rise.

And now it’s happening again. Right before my eyes. The only family I have left is slipping through my hands.

I have to do something before my sister dies—

The arched door to our hold rips open. Instinctively, every boy movesto the back of his cell. One Skull re-enters the cargo hold, brass keys jangling in his hand.

As he leers through the iron bars, blood drips from the open gash in my arm. The wound burns like a fire under my skin. The Skull has to be coming for me.

Retaliation for almost breaking free.

But instead of opening my cell door, he opens another down the hall. The maji scramble as the Skull reaches for Udo, the boy who used his chains to trip the Silver Skull.

Fight!I will Udo on. The maji tries to escape the Skull’s grasp. But the Skull grabs his head.

An angry crack echoes through the hall as the Skull snaps his neck.

No.

My hatred flares. The others look away, but I force myself to stare. Udo’s chains rattle as he falls to the floor.

Another maji stolen, lost to this war.

All of us stay silent as the Skull leaves. The Skull doesn’t even bother to take Udo’s body from the hold. We’re left with Udo’s fresh corpse, a warning of what will happen if we attempt another escape.

But staring at Udo’s body, I see Mama’s feet hanging overhead. I see Zélie bleeding out on the floor.

I’ll save you, I vow to myself.

I won’t allow myself to lose anymore.

I reach into the back of my pants. The animal-skin pouch I managed to grab is warm in my hands. Tar-like liquid leaks from a tear in the pouch’s skin. The rope that ignites its fuse is split and frayed.

I move to the front of my cell, sticking my hand out to wave the other maji forward. The threat of the Skulls forces us to keep our voices low. The wooden ship creaks as we gather.

“Hold out what you managed to grab,” I instruct.

One by one, maji extend what they stole: bits of metal, sulfur pouches; a maji in Udo’s cell even brandishes a dagger. Gathered over the past moon, almost every cage has a tool, a way to pick at our chains and break the locks on our doors. With Zélie’s distraction, we have a chance.

We finally have enough to break free of these cells.

“Listen to me,” I whisper to the others. “We have to strike.Now.Udo was just the first. The Skulls will return to kill us all.”

“It’s too dangerous.” Taiwo, the maji chained to my left, speaks up. He points to the blood soaked into the wooden floor. “You saw what happened after Zélie attacked that Skull!”

At the thought of the Skull who transformed, a shiver runs down my spine. When his blood fed into his crimson hammer, he became someone else.

It was like he lost his mind.

“That was just one.” Taiwo shakes his head. “How are we supposed to take them all?”

“Together.” I dare to raise my voice. I offer the maji a show of strength. “If we swarm them at once, we can take them down. We can keep them from using their weapons.”

“We should wait till we make land,” another maji offers. “Surprise them when they take us off the ship.”

“Even if we survive the trek, who knows how much worse it will be when we reach their lands? How many we’ll have to attack? I know you’re scared,” I continue. “I know we’re taking a risk. But we have totry. This is our best chance!”

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