“It always feels better to talk with you about things.”
“It does feel better,” she replies, “thanks to your awful attempt at getting sap.”
I smile at her. “I have a lot more respect for what Hunters do after that.”
“I’m sure the tree admires you for at least trying,” she says.
“I’ll stick to traveling from now on.”
We both slip our arms around each other. As soon as our bodies press together, I feel a kick against my stomach from our daughter.
“I think she approves,” I say in Sash’s ear.
Chapter 7
While skimming over the dirt road from the Mount to the Delta, my motion unexpectedly flutters. The muscles in my arms strain while trying to keep a transport full of newly-made tables and stools under control. As Darkness descends, the light overhead seeps into the edges of the clouds. Like someone else is jamming on the brakes, my speed is instantly cut in half.
“Seventy,” I whisper.
The weeks since my unsuccessful attempt at taking sap from Ovin’s tree have flown by. They’ve also been a complete one-eighty from the early part of Sash’s pregnancy. After the lines of communication between Sash and me reopened, we immersed ourselves in our time together. She even let me help her arrange, re-arrange, and then re-arrange yet again all the baby things in our habitat.
We’ve come to grips with our daughter dwelling at Home by making plans for how we can always be active in her life. Although we can’t change the ways of Krymzyn, as Sash proved after my Ritual of Purpose, she can bend them. But when all is said and done, I’ve accepted that our child should be raised in the same way that other children in this world are. Sash was right in her proclamation that it’s the only way our daughter won’t feel different.
With a combination of tickles and stings, the molecules of my body sail through the rain that begins to fall. I glance over my shoulder at Larn and the streaking Kale with his transport in tow. From one side of the road behind them, Jeni angles in from the Barrens.
If we’d still been on the Mount when Darkness fell, we would have stayed there until it ended. Fortunately, since we’re past the halfway mark, we’ll continue to the Delta as fast as we can. Our protocol in a situation like this to leave the transports inside the gate, speed to where our respective Hunters are so we can keep watch during Darkness, and then return to the gate when Darkness is over to take the transports to Market. Since it’s close to the end of the morrow, I’m hoping Tela will take care of my transport for me so I can be with Sash.
As I return my attention to the path in front of me, Roen and Tela zoom to the road from the wasteland. After covering the last few miles to the river, we all come out of our blends. Knowing our priority during Darkness is getting to the Delta, no one breaks their stride while sprinting over the bridge.
Trailing Tela and Roen by twenty yards, I cross over the steel arch in the center of the bridge. On the downslope, tremendous waves from the river occasionally smash against the sides of the bridge and spray around me. Cavu swings both gate doors open for us just before we reach them. I pass through the gate and then slide to a stop beside Tela and Roen.
After dropping the transport handles to the ground, I snatch my spear from the back of the wagon. Once the rest of the Travelers make it safely inside the wall, we all rip our boots off our feet. A mighty clang rings out over the squall when Cavu slams the gate doors shut.
“Get to your Hunters,” Larn yells to the group.
As everyone starts to speed away in different directions, I reach out a hand and grab Tela by the arm.
“I need a huge favor,” I say. “After Darkness, will you take my transport to Market? Sash will be having the baby and I want to stay with her.”
“Of course,” she replies, but her face wrinkles with confusion. “Why would you want to be with her for that?”
“It’s just the way it is in my world,” I answer, wanting to keep the explanation as brief as possible. “Thanks, Tela. I owe you one.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I’m honored to help.”
As Tela runs away, I sink to one knee and jam my fingers into the ground.
“Sash,” I say. “We just got back from the Mount. I’ll meet you at the tree farthest to the east.”
A few seconds later, I hear her voice. “I’ll stay in our habitat, but you should keep watch until Darkness is over.”
“I’ll be there as soon as it ends,” I tell her.
I spring from the ground and run across the slick grass to the south. The moment a few shafts of dull light pop into my vision, I burst forward in them. After a short travel over the rolling hills, I stop on the top of one that overlooks the easternmost tree in Sash’s hunting region.
While I scan the stormy hills, my hands tremble around the shaft of my spear. A combination of excitement and anxiety is causing my heart to pound harder and harder. With my twenty-fourth birthday only a few months away, I’m about to become a father.
“Come on!” I shout at the clouds.
The dark masses ignore my impatience. Another hour of storm agonizingly ticks away. Wind whips through the valleys and rain descends from the sky, but the only other movement around me is the glaring tree in the meadow at the foot of the hill.
“That’s enough!” I yell at the sky.
This time, Darkness seems to adhere to my will. As soon as the first rays of light cut across the sky, I race to our habitat and charge through the tunnel. When I enter the main cavern, Sash is relaxing on the
