Remembering Cole had once trained with the Guard, she paused, but he’d done something about it. He’d left the Guard and was now haunted by terrifying memories that he could never talk about. Why hadn’t the Ancients just taken the memories away from him? Would that have been too kind a thing to do? Did they just enjoy the fear and pain it brought him?
Amanda shook her head, trying to rid herself of the angry thoughts rolling through her mind. She needed to go find food and water. It had been too long since they’d had anything to eat or drink. The back of her throat was itching with the need of fluids. It was a feeling she hadn’t had since returning to the Hovel, but a sensation her body was still used to. It was hard for her to get up even after she was positive Cole was asleep. His head felt so comfortable in her lap, and she didn’t know when it would rest there again. She stayed, allowing herself just a few selfish moments, before gently getting up and making her way out of their safe haven.
16
Amanda was surprised to find it was still daylight, which was both good because it would be easier to find what she was looking for, and bad because not as much time had passed as she’d thought. She tried to ignore the bad because she didn’t have the choice to turn back as her burning throat was a constant reminder of how badly they needed supplies. If she felt this terrible, how was Madgie feeling after losing all of that blood? A calming blanket of energy encompassed her, and she spun around.
Her wolf stood a few paces behind her, wagging his tail slowly. She smiled at how much he looked like a puppy in a pet store window, the pleading take-me-with-you in his eyes.
“Sorry, buddy,” she said, scratching behind his ears. “You know you need to stay with them. I’ll be fine.”
His ears dropped and his tail stopped wagging, but he headed back. It broke her heart to see him sad, but Cole and
Madgie needed watching over… even if they couldn’t actually see the being watching over them.
Pushing aside the vegetation, she stepped back into the Asian forest and strained her ears, hoping to hear running water. She could just make out the babble of a brook. Water was the most important thing for Madgie now. Amanda gathered food as she walked, scooping up different sized mushrooms, which were easy to find. She didn’t need to worry about what was and wasn’t poisonous, and not because she memorized any nature study guides. Much like how she could see the light or darkness in people, she just knew what she could and couldn’t eat.
On the rather long journey to the water source, she found quite a few goodies. There were some more of the wild rose bushes Cole had so expertly recreated, and she picked a few of the flowers to make a tea for Madgie. Bamboo groves shot up everywhere, so she pulled up some of the younger shoots. Trees with grey bark held loads of pods resembling green beans, and a few berry bushes were ready for picking. By the time she reached the stream, all of her pockets and her make-shift satchel were full of food.
The stream was rather small, but it was fast moving and fairly clean of contaminants. She’d have to pull a few minerals and bacteria out of the water before drinking it, but it was better than she’d hoped for. She knelt down on the moist bank, enjoying the refreshing cool air that seemed to linger around fresh water. Her left hand fumbled at her side, searching for Madgie’s leather canteen. Her hand moved around more urgently, checking her right side and then searching her back.
It was gone. She must have dropped it. That was the only thing they had to carry water in. How could she lose it? Her mind raced, trying to place when she’d dropped it, but she couldn’t remember something that she’d never noticed. She looked around and saw a plant with long skinny leaves and thought of Cole.
Maybe she could weave them into a basket. She moved toward the bush.
Leaving the poor plant almost naked, she sat on the bank, attempting to weave the leaves into something useful. Her fingers wouldn’t move like his had with a sort of skilled delicateness, and after five minutes, half of the leaves were crumbled beyond use, and her cramping hands had red slices all over them. And people whine about paper cuts! She cursed, rubbing her hands and glaring at the uncooperative leaves.
A quiet laughter reached her ears, and she spun around quickly. Standing behind her was a tall boy with golden blond hair and an impish smile. He didn’t look like he meant her any harm, and he wasn’t wearing the uniform of the Guard, but it didn’t matter. She could sense the dark absence in him. He was a member of the Guard. She jumped quickly to her feet.
“Here, this might be of use to you. I don’t think that’s working out,” he said, offering her the missing canteen.
Her feet told her to flee, but she didn’t know where to run to. She couldn’t go back to the cave. She would lead them right to Cole and Madgie.
“You’re not too good at making decisions, are you?” the blond boy asked rather sarcastically. He wore a bright charming smile that she wanted to slap off his face. “I can see the wheels in your head turning. Run or talk? Let me help you come to a decision. I’ll catch you if you run.” She was about to object when he lifted his hand. “And I think we need to talk.”
“You’re a member of the Guard. You and your buddies almost murdered my friend a few hours ago! What could I possibly want to discuss with you?” she shouted, surprising herself.
Amanda had always had a temper, but he ruffled her feathers quicker than anyone she’d ever met. Even after she yelled at him, he still looked annoyingly cocky.
“Well, we could discuss the person who sent me here…” He paused letting a dazzling smile dance on his handsome face. “She was under the impression you were seeking her, but perhaps she was wrong.” He shrugged and let the corners of his mouth turn down. “She isn’t usually wrong.”
Amanda’s head was spinning. What was he talking about? Shiphra? The name was almost past her lips when she stopped herself. He was trying to get her to talk about Shiphra. Did the Ancients want to know if Amanda could find her?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said quickly.
The boy shook his head, sending his golden locks into a tizzy, and held up his hands. “Listen, I know that you are scared and confused right now, but I’m not going to hurt you. You think I’m a member of the Guard, and two days ago you would have been right, but I’m not a Guard member anymore,” he said in a sweet voice.
She wished she could ignore his sincerity, but she couldn’t. She believed him.
“I haven’t been a true Guard member for three years now,” he said.
“What do you mean a ‘true guard member’?” she asked in puzzlement.
He took a step forward, gesturing toward a rock. She nodded, and he took a seat. The muscles in her body loosened as he sat. Sitting wasn’t a tactical position if he meant to attack her, and she felt less threatened.
“I’ll get to your question in a second, but can you answer me something?” he asked.
“Umm, depends on the question,” she said curtly.
Amanda didn’t know why she was so short with him. He hadn’t been anything but nice to her. However, something about his good looks and darkness reminded her of Frey.
“Fair enough,” he said with a smile. “Cole is traveling with you, isn’t he?” he asked, tensing her muscles again.
She thought about lying, but didn’t see a point. Everyone had to know he was. “Yes,” she replied.
“Sorry to get you on edge again. Don’t worry. I like Cole. I looked to him almost like a brother at one time,” he said wistfully. “Anyway, I can tell you’re close to him.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Well, your hand did turn into a fist at the mention of his name,” he said with a smile. “Either he’s in trouble, or you were planning on hitting me in the face, and since Cole never gets into trouble—”
“Get on with it!” she yelled. This guy was exasperating!
“Okay, well since you’re close, you probably know he used to be a member of the Guard. He got out, had a nice binding spell put on him and all that. Well, I tried to get out too, only I wasn’t about to ask permission from The Ancients. I wasn’t going to kneel before them and ask to be reassigned. So, I ran. I left the Hovel when I was thirteen.” He paused. “I know, I know. You and I are almost kindred spirits.” He smiled.
