This is a first look at my newest book, Hope's Rebellion. Enjoy!
Hope's Rebellion
Coming November 2013
“Do it again!” Maura screamed. “One, two, three.”
All at once,
twenty little bodies hit the stones beneath them. The sun was starting to sink,
and they’d been doing drills for hours.
“If an Argot
passes you or enters into the same room as you, it’s your duty to react
appropriately. To do otherwise could cost you your life. Keep your eyes on the
ground!” She shouted. “Remember to touch your forehead to the floor in front of
you, and then you’ll never forget.”
“Do you think
she listens to herself when she speaks?” whispered Preeka.
“Shhh,” Yala
warned, behind her.
“She never
listens to anybody when they speak,” Drexi replied. “She only likes the sound
of her own voice. The words don’t matter.”
“Maybe you think
you know more than me about proper behavior, Drexi?” Maura was suddenly
standing in front of her. Drexi saw her own black hair reflected in the shiny
tips of Maura’s boots. “Up!”
Drexi stood.
“Down!”
Drexi bent at
the waist, pointing her eyes downward.
“All the way!”
Maura screamed. “We’ve been doing this drill all day.”
“But you’re not
an Argot,” Drexi answered innocently, keeping her eyes trained on Maura’s
boots. “I thought the drill was proper positioning. This is the proper position
for you.”
Snickers rippled
through the girls, and when Drexi chanced a glance upward she saw that Maura’s
face had turned a deep, terrifying shade of red.
“Go stand on the
peg!” She screeched. “Up, the rest of you. I want you to see what happens when
you let your smart mouths run away with you. If I were Drexi’s mistress, I
could have her beaten or even put her out of my home. She’s lucky to only stand on the peg.”
Drexi almost
snapped that Maura wouldn’t really know if it was better or not, since she
never stood her big body on the peg,
but there wasn’t any point in making her punishment worse. So she bit her
tongue as she walked to the center of the quad, toward a narrow post that rose
six feet above the ground. She climbed the ladder and established her balance
before kicking it away, the way she was supposed to.
The peg measured
about two inches in circumference, too narrow for both feet. Drexi would have
to balance herself, and try not to fall down to the hard stones below. If she
did, she would only have to climb back up again.
And she would
know. Drexi had been on the peg more than anyone else in Camp Five…ever.
After the other
girls all filed passed her into the cafeteria for dinner, Preeka got her wish.
It started to rain for the first time that winter. The deluge lasted well into
the night. Maura finally let Drexi step down from her spot ten minutes before
lights out.
When she
couldn’t be roused the next day, she was taken to the infirmary. It took four
days before Drexi became conscious again, she was so ill from standing in the
cold rain. When she was able to return to the dorm six days later, Maura gave
her kitchen duty for two straight weeks.
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