The Babbler and the Balance Keeper
The truth won't set Quincy
free, but her lies will.
For a balance keeper, suffering is a way of life. Chosen from the inhabitants of one of humanity’s last cities to atone for its sins, they are the only hope of stopping the advancing desert. But Quincy doesn’t believe in the gods she must appease. The desert still threatens to swallow the city whole, and no god has struck her down yet. Quincy wants freedom, for herself and her disgraced friend Monroe. But defiance means death.
Hope arrives with a prisoner from the outside world. The rebel follows a savior, who she claims has rescued her before. With freedom finally within her grasp, Quincy attempts to win the woman’s trust. If Quincy can convince her she believes in her strange religion, this mysterious savior will have to free her and Monroe too.
But the outsider is more interested in uncovering Quincy’s most dangerous secrets than discussing escape plans. And every passing hour increases the threat of discovery. A powerful visitor has arrived, with schemes of his own for the prisoner—and Quincy.
Execution awaits Quincy if she fails, but her gamble for freedom could cost her what she treasures most: Monroe's friendship.
It was a tiny chance. It was playing with fire in a barrel of kerosene and she knew it.
But perhaps it was worth it, to win or to burn.
Meet the Characters
Sometimes, all it takes is one voice in the darkness to bring the truth to light
