“Kris!” I exclaim. “I’ve met my spiritual guardian! She told me who I am!”
Wreck puts a finger to his lips, gesturing me to be quiet. “You’re not supposed to tell me. Everything you saw tonight was meant only for you.”
“I love you, Kris!” I laugh, splashing water around me. “I love everybody. I’m Jingfay!”
He pulls me out of the water. There’s a pile of ranger clothing placed in the grass. He hands them to me. Not fully understanding what I’m doing, I kick off my boots and change right in front of him. But Wreck is as high as I am, so he doesn’t seem to notice exactly what I’m doing. His unfocused eyes still follow something in the darkness, something only he can see.
I black out again and the next moment find myself jumping around a giant campfire, swinging my arms and yelling like a savage. I’m amongst a crowd of rangers, but don’t feel scared or unsafe. Instead, I feel as if each of them is me and I’m each of them. So I laugh, twirling around, feeling happy and alive. Somebody grabs my hand and I see a smiling Amy standing beside me. She pulls me forward, and we run toward the fire and leap. But when we land on the other side, I realize that I’m holding Wreck’s hand.
He says something which I can’t comprehend, his words drowned out by the ranger’s yelling and the pounding of drums. I close my eyes and everything fades into pitch-black darkness.
***
When I next awaken, my body feels sore and my throat is dry. It’s daylight, and I’m back inside Wreck’s cabin, lying on my side across a blanket. I’m wearing wolf’s skin on top of my new ranger uniform. How did I get here? I don’t remember a thing. Well, at least I’m fully dressed this time.
I sit up, rubbing my eyes and trying to recall what happened. I don’t know whether I really did see spirits during the ritual or if it was just a drug-induced hallucination. But what I do know is that everything that I saw came from the depths of my mind. I need to liberate my friends. I want to kill Samuel. That is it. That is the destiny I can no longer deny.
But how to do all that? I have no idea.
A flask with water lies on the floor near my blanket. How thoughtful of Wreck. I drink greedily and pour some water on my head before rising to my feet. I look at my hands and they’re smudged in black and white paint. I guess, my face is painted. I place Gabriel’s knife in my pocket and walk outside, heading toward the river. The street is empty. The rangers must be all sleeping after last night’s celebration. If I run into Ace, I’m going to slit his throat.
Approaching the river, I find Wreck kneeling along the edge of water, washing his face. His back is turned toward me and he’s not wearing his shirt.
I stop, watching him, feeling my legs become wobbly. There’s a large colorful tattoo covering his entire back, and I immediately recognize the pattern. I blink a few times, refusing to believe my eyes. Am I still hallucinating? Samuel and Gabriel had identical tattoos. But it’s impossible. It would only mean that he is…
Wreck lied to me. His parents weren’t merchants. He’s a member of the high master’s family.
CHAPTER 35
Confused and shaken, I walk slowly toward him. Wreck glances at me, picks up his shirt and hurriedly pulls it on. He continues washing his face, but I know he knows I’ve seen his tattoo.
“Hey, Kora! Wild night, huh?” He winks at me. “Feeling well?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” I answer curtly, handing him the wolf skin. “I believe this is yours.”
“Well, you took it from me yesterday. You don’t remember?”
“No. I don’t even remember how I made it back to your place. Did you carry me?”
“No, we walked back together. But for sure, I thought you might have been in some sorta blackout. You were saying something about the creation of universe and how we all are brothers and sisters. Honestly though, I didn’t understand any of it.” He laughs. “You also told about half of the rangers how much you loved them. Although they were so drunk I doubt they’ll remember anything.”
I offer no comment. My adventure yesterday doesn’t trouble me at the moment, but his tattoo certainly does.
“Can you show me your tattoo?” I ask.
“”I don’t have a tattoo,” he lies, looking straight into my eyes.
I frown. “Wreck, you know I’ve already seen it.”
“Come on, Kora. You still must be hallucinating.”
Could I be? I don’t think so, but need to make certain.
“Take off your shirt,” I demand.
“Kora! Why do you want me to undress?” He moves in closer, smiling broadly. “What do you have on your mind? Somebody may come along and see us here, you know. We ought to at least wait until we make it back to my place.”
“Stop trying to distract me!” I give him a hard look. “Take off your shirt. Now!”
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
His refusal to show me his back makes me even more certain that my guess is correct. He’s concealing the fact that he’s a member of the high master’s family, which means that most of the things I know about him are untrue.
I lunge forward, grabbing his t-shirt. He easily pushes me away.
“What the hell, Kora?”
“Show me your back!”
I grab his shirt again, trying to pull it off. Astonished, he staggers back, clutching his shirt and pulling it back down. The fabric starts tearing.
“Are you crazy?!” Wreck yells.
