“Then we don’t speak to her, or to each other, while she’s near. We move away when we need to discuss our plans. It’ll work.” Alina turned to her. “Can you do that, Jade?”
She closed her eyes and nodded.
“Will you carry her this time?” Alina whispered to Rex. “I want to walk a few steps in front to be a shield. We have no idea what’s out there.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” he answered, and grunted as he hoisted Jade onto his back. “I have this gnawing pain in my stomach. Am I hungry?”
“Yes, most likely,” Alina answered. “The pangs get worse the longer you wait to eat.”
“How bad can it get?” Rex sounded worried.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never went long without eating in Pria. Food was always around.”
“Do you know what can or can’t be eaten around here?”
Alina looked around. “Not really.”
“What about the leaves on the trees?”
“Maybe, but I suggest looking for fruit first.”
They edged through the trees, Alina scanning the horizon for signs of movement. Jade looked pale as she clung to Rex’s back. He kept his eyes on the ground, his brow wrinkled. Jade could be dying, but Rex seemed more fixed on his hunger pains.
After several minutes, they reached the top of an incline, and Alina heard rushing water in the ravine below. She raced down the slope toward the sound.
Large rocks broke the surface of the shallow river, clear enough to see the stony bottom. “Come, Rex!” she called.
Rex shrieked behind her and a cascade of pebbles tumbled down the slope. “HELP!”
Alina dashed up to where he and Jade lay motionless on the hill.
“If I move, I’ll fall,” Rex whimpered, barely moving his mouth. Alina suppressed a laugh.
“It’s okay. I got you.” She picked up Jade and put her on her back, then reached out to Rex. He lifted his hand, then screamed as the pebbles slipped from under him and he tumbled down to the riverbank.
He lay on his back and pointed up at Alina. “Don’t ever run off like that again!”
“Sorry,” she called. He wobbled as he stood and brushed the dirt from his clothes.
“Jade, we have some water for you,” Alina said as she reached the bank. “We don’t have anything to scoop it with. We’ll have to help her,” she told Rex.
Rex helped Jade lie down near the stream and then flopped onto his belly and brought his cupped hands to her mouth.
Alina walked along the bank, eyeing a clump of prickly bushes with flecks of red inside the leaves. She thrust her hands into the center and felt around, then pulled out a handful of berries. She tasted one and made a face.
She brought them to Rex. “I found these. Do you want to try them?”
Although he’d complained of his starving belly only minutes before, Rex backed away from her outstretched palm. “Are they safe?”
Alina shrugged. “How should I know? Anything here can kill you, I suppose. But who knows how long it will take us to find Stormport? Do you want to be hungry the whole way?”
“I’ll have some,” said Jade, holding out her hand. Alina gave her a few berries.
“Jade, no!” Rex shrieked. He flinched as the berries ruptured under her teeth, then grabbed her arm. “Do you feel sick? Is your stomach going to explode? Your eyes are closed! Are you dying?”
“Rex, I’m supposed to keep my eyes closed, remember?”
Alina stifled a giggle. Jade couldn’t contain herself, and soon the two of them roared with laughter. Jade wiped a tear from her cheek. Rex glared and frowned.
“I’m fine, Rex. They aren’t bad. Why don’t you try some?” Jade suggested.
He took a berry from Alina, studied it for a moment, then popped it in his mouth. He spat the pulp out a few seconds later, his tongue hanging over his lips.
“That’s the worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth! How can you eat those?”
“Yes, they’re nothing like Prian fruit,” said Alina. “I suppose we’ll have to get used to lots of changes here.”
“Easy for you to say,” Rex grumbled. “You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want to.”
“True, but I think since you have to eat them, you’ll come to like them,” Alina replied. She looked around. “We should follow the stream so we have water, and it will probably lead us to Stormport.”
“Good idea, Alina,” said Jade. “I feel better now I’ve had some water. Are there any more berries?”
“There’s plenty along the river,” Alina answered. “Another reason to stay near it. However, we may run into more creatures.” She dropped her voice as she addressed Rex. “Can you lead Jade? I still want to be a shield in case something happens.”
Rex chuckled. “I’m sure Sampson hadn’t planned on this.”
“Does this mean I’m no longer a threat? Did we solve his biggest problem?” Alina asked.
Rex frowned. “We’ll talk later, when Jade isn’t around.”
“You mean when Sampson isn’t around.” Alina pinched her lips together. “I hate the control he has over her.”
“Maybe something can be done about that here.”
They continued along the path, Rex leading Jade as she walked with her eyes closed. Alina offered to carry her, since they’d seen no creatures, when a splash of water and a rustle in the bushes stopped them in their tracks.
Alina took out the quills from her pocket. She didn’t know how she’d use them, but they were better than nothing.
After a long silence, she heard a hard gulp, and the sputter of coughing. I’ve done that before. Water down the wrong part of the throat. Do animals cough?
“Who’s there?” she called out.
Another long pause followed, then something rose from the bushes. Rex gasped.
“Stan?” Rex narrowed his eyes. “Is that you?”
The pale, skinny man looked frightened. He gave a small nod.
“What are you doing here?”
Stan coughed again. “S-Sampson sent me here when he found out I h-helped you,” he stammered.
Rex started toward him. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he snapped. “I just
