Deka

Deka is a 16-year-old girl when the novel begins. She grew up with her mother and father in the Northern town of Irfut. Her parents both got sick with the red pox a few months ago and her mother died. Deka’s mother was from the South and had dark skin. Deka has her mother’s skin, so she has always been made to feel like an outsider in her own home. She is looking forward to the Ritual of Purity so that she can prove herself pure and become a true member of her community. She believes deeply in her god, Oyomo, and she wants to be a good person. She has a crush on a boy named Ionas, a best friend named Elfriede, and loves her father dearly.

At the ritual, Deka gets a premonition that warns her the deathshrieks are on their way. When they...