bright. No dark venom tracing her veins, no pain came with her movements. Amanda was healed. She wanted to tear off her clothes and see if her whole body looked like her arms. Then remembering Cole, she realized it wasn’t a great idea. Blood rose to her cheeks, and Cole looked at her questioningly. Amanda fought back her joy and thought about what Madgie was telling her.
Was Madgie trying to say she was special or something? She wasn’t anything. She was only healed because of the wolf. She looked down at his head as she stroked it. Her hand was almost glowing against his silver fur, and she turned it over and saw that the strange pattern was still on her palm. It looked like a complex figure eight, as if an ice skater had gone wild while making it. She wasn’t sure how she had gotten it, but she knew it had to be from the demon.
“No, I’m not completely healed. See?” she said, turning her palm to Madgie.
Her friend’s eyes grew wide. Madgie slowly moved toward Amanda with her hand over her mouth. “What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
Madgie reached out and gently took her hand. She lowered her head closer to the mark. “When did you notice this?” Cole was at Amanda’s side with a hand protectively on her shoulder, apparently she wasn’t the only one freaked out by
Madgie’s odd behavior.
“I said, when did you notice this?” she asked a bit louder while shaking Amanda’s hand.
“I… I guess it was Cole who noticed it. The night you were missing,” Amanda answered. Madgie was silently studying her palm for what seemed like a lifetime before Amanda shouted, “For goodness sake, what is the big deal, why are you freaking out?”
Madgie straightened her tall frame and finally looked into Amanda’s eyes. “That is the Ancient’s mark.”
Cole stiffened at the mention of the Ancients, a reaction in anger or fear, she couldn’t tell.
“I’m sorry if I scared you. I’m just trying to understand what it means,” Madgie finished in an apologetic voice.
“Well, what does it mean? Why have they marked her? Will she be easier for them to find? Is it some kind of tracking spell?” Cole asked in a rush.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m a Healer and a teacher. I have never felt the wrath of the Ancients, though I don’t know how long I’ll keep that track record. This is way beyond me. I haven’t ever seen the mark on a Healer.” Madgie looked at her curiously. “How do you feel?”
Amanda thought about answering with a simple, ”I feel fine.“ But she didn’t think that was completely honest. She felt power flowing through her like she’d never before experienced. Amanda wondered if it was the lingering rush of healing the Scar but couldn’t be certain.
“I feel great.”
Madgie and Cole both looked unconvinced.
“No, honestly, I mean, better than great. I feel healthy and powerful. ’Powerful’ probably sounds cheesy, but that’s how I feel. I don’t know if I can find a better word,” Amanda finished, feeling awkward.
“Well, whatever the Ancients did, I think they accidentally did you a favor. If that mark is giving you power, maybe it’s why you healed so quickly,” Cole ventured. “I think it’s hilarious!” He laughed.
If the Ancients had done it by accident, then it was pretty funny. A smile stretch across her face, but when she looked at Madgie, her smile faded.
Her brow was creased in worry, and she didn’t look happy at all. If anything, she looked more confused than when Amanda had first woken up after being attacked. “I don’t know. The
Ancients don’t do much by accident,” Madgie said. “I don’t like it. The sooner we get you to Shiphra the better.”
“What do you mean ‘we’? I thought you said we should split up,” Amanda said. As much as she hated the idea of being away from Cole, she knew he would be safer away from her.
“That was before this happened,” Madgie said, gesturing to the mark. “If it’s a tracker then splitting up won’t help your chances.”
“But it will help yours!” Amanda shouted, though she didn’t mean to raise her voice.
Cole spun her around to face him, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“You’ve both done too much for me. We need to do whatever is best for you. I can take care of myself, but I can’t stand here and let you put yourselves in danger for me. It isn’t right.”
She could feel Cole’s eyes boring into her, so she met his gaze. His dark eyes were wide and pleading. They pierced through her like a diver breaking the surface of water.
“Isn’t right? Would it be honorable for me to walk away and leave you unprotected? You know I can’t abandon you. You know I won’t. So why even talk like this?” he asked, fire burning in his eyes.
She looked down at her palm and the mark burned into it. Madgie was right. Whatever this mark was, it wasn’t going to help her. The Ancients don’t make mistakes. If they marked her, she was as good as dead. Amanda had to try to change their minds.
“Cole, you know I want you with me, it’s just that…” She bit down on her lip to keep it from trembling. “I couldn’t handle it if something happened to you. The Ancients have marked me. I want you as far from me as you can possibly get. Just take Madgie and leave. Please,” she begged.
Cole’s expression was unchanged, and she knew he wasn’t going to leave her.
“Don’t you think I feel the same way about you?” he asked, tightening his grip on her arms. “Do you think I could just carry on if something happens to you? I spent two years of my life away from you, and I’m not going to turn and walk away. Not just because you want to be brave. If you don’t want me around, I’ll leave, but not until you’re safe.” He loosened his hold and turned to Madgie. “So where do we go from here?”
“Well, like I was saying, Shiphra is our only hope at survival.”
“And she can help me find Kaedin, right?” Amanda asked quickly.
“I don’t know, she might be able to. Forget that for now. If you’re dead you sure as heck can’t find that Scar. We all need to meditate, thinking of Shiphra. Her face, her name… it’ll be harder for you Cole because you haven’t ever seen her, she was long before your time.” Madgie took a breath.
Cole quickly interjected. “If the Ancients have been hunting her for decades, how do we even know that Shiphra is alive?”
Reading his emotions, Amanda could see that putting their hope in someone who was practically a myth wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do.
“Well, that’s easy.” Madgie smiled. “How many Ancients did you see at Amanda’s trial?” She looked at them expectantly.
“Five,” he said certainly.
“Well, there are always six Ancients in existence. If one dies, another rises from the ranks. So since there were only five at the Hovel, Shiphra is still out there somewhere alive.” Madgie’s voice was so full of hope Amanda couldn’t help but jump on board.
“See, there you are, she’s definitely who we need to find. So let’s get meditating, unless the skeptic has more to add?” Amanda said, looking at Cole.
He shrugged.
“Okay, just tell me what to do,” she said to Madgie.
“Concentrate on her name, think of nothing but her. Try not to let your mind wander. It’s quite hard, but some monks can meditate for days, so fifteen minutes shouldn’t be too difficult… even for you,” she said, pointing at Cole.
“What? I’m not going to meditate. It’s not because I’m trying to be stubborn. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to have all three of us sitting in a circle with our eyes closed. We’re probably being hunted.”
Madgie’s face relaxed. “Good point. I guess I’m not very strategic,” she said with a laugh. “Okay, it’s just you and me.” She looked at Amanda. “Try to think of Shiphra and location. Tie the two together as if they were one thought. When the time is up, we’ll get together and discuss what we felt. I’m hoping we will have the same direction in our minds.” Madgie sat down and folded herself into a meditative pose that showed off her flexibility. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Amanda followed suit.
“Well, if it’s this easy to find her, how have the Ancients not found her?” Cole asked.
Madgie stayed in the same relaxed position, but peeled one eye open. “Because we will only find her if she
