Chapter 18 #3
I almost believed him. My fingers dug into my legs, and my muscles were wound so tightly that I felt sick. I opened my mouth, but no sound escaped.
What could I say?
His shoulders dropped as he inclined his head. “Come sit with me.”
I was unable to resist when he asked me like that—especially with those eyes. I crawled around the fire and curled into his side as he wrapped his left arm over my shoulders.
“That’s better.” He pressed his cheek against my head. “Now sleep. I’ll take first watch; I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.”
Miles did not, in fact, wake me for the second shift, and when I opened my eyes, the fire had already gone out and the ground was cold.
My nose itched as I brushed Miles’s shirt back from my face. He’d slumped over me and his soft snores sounded over my head.
I’d slept in more annoying conditions before—so why had I woken up now?
The air was lifeless and still, and our surroundings were eerily calm. Probably a good thing, though, as most of the dangerous animals would be hibernating. Probably.
I was just tired… and cold.
My eyes drooped and I rubbed at them. I was exhausted, but the fire had to be rekindled or we were in very real danger of freezing to death tonight.
“Miles…” I moved to my knees—he fell forward without my support. However, he caught himself in his sleep and pressed his face into the bark of the tree we rested against. I pushed his chest. “Miles, the fire went out.”
I hoped he had more matches—I hadn’t even thought to ask earlier. Thankfully, the moon was bright enough to light our immediate surroundings.
He stirred—slowly at first. Then after a sleepy blink, he was fully alert.
“I fell asleep.” He glanced around, as if surprised by this fact.
“The fire is out,” I said again, glancing toward it, as I rubbed my arms in an attempt to stay warm.
He groaned, reaching into his pocket with stiff movements. “Sorry about that. Let me get it.”
But then he looked past me, freezing, as his attention remained riveted at some place over my head.
“Miles—” I began, my heart pounding. What did he see? But before I could speak further, he snapped toward me and grabbed my hand. I could barely follow what was happening as he pulled me to him and shoved me behind him.
“What’s that noise?” His question pulled me from my half-asleep state. He pulled out the knife and pointed into the darkness. “Something’s there!”
“W-what?” I asked. His fear was almost contagious, but he was not the only one with experience in the wild. I forced myself to remain calm and to ignore my rising heartbeat. “No, there’s not,” I told him. “Bears are hibernating right now. We’re fine.”
“What if it’s a ghost?” Miles’s voice shook. “What do we do? You should go see.”
My panic quieted as I lowered my hands and studied him.
His skin had turned pale, and his hands shook.
And he apparently didn’t think twice about sacrificing me to some unknown entity…
Jerk.
“That’s always a possibility.” I frowned in the direction he was pointing.
One of us was going to have to be brave.
And it certainly wasn’t going to be him.
“If only there was someone present who could tell if a ghost was nearby. I guess there’s no choice but for us to be sitting ducks for a vengeful spirit’s murderous wrath. ”
“I know!” he whined, missing my glare. “We need Bryce!”
We absolutely did not need Bryce. Not for this.
“What if…” Then his words trailed off, and he shot me a disapproving look. “That wasn’t nice!”
“What in the world was that?” I asked. What was this nonsense about relying on Bryce for ghostly needs? This better not have been a habit of his. I smacked his arm. “Why would there be a ghost here anyway?”
“It’s possible.” His wounded eyes caused my heart to clench painfully. “People die in the mountains all the time. Do you know how often people come here to hide or live?”
“Like who?”
He put the knife away, counting off on his fingers. “Criminals, people who get lost and never make it back to civilization, the homesteaders hiding from the government—”
“Isn’t this a state park?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem very discreet.”
“What do you know about it?” Miles asked, wiggling closer to the fire and rebuilding the stick teepee.
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, a husky female voice cut into our conversation. “What are you doing here?”
I screamed and jumped against Miles’s back. The witch had a similarly alarmed reaction—but at least this time he was more manly. He rested his hand on my hip as he held me behind him.
Moonlight streamed through the branches, casting a soft blue glow on the elderly woman pressing her way past the foliage, and her path was further illuminated by a small lantern in her grip.
The woman was short and slightly round around the middle.
Her silver hair fell in waves across her heart-shaped face and over her shoulders, and she wore a threadbare dress that reached her mid-calf, thick boots, and an open coat that touched her ankles.
She walked with a limp, leaning heavily on a knobby wooden staff until she’d crossed the clearing.
She paused, looking at us with an indiscernible expression, before she asked, “Are you lost?”
I clutched at Miles’s shirt. I wanted to respond, but my heart was still racing, and my throat closed.
Miles sucked in a sharp breath. “Kathleen?”
The woman gasped suddenly. “Miles?”
He lowered his arm, relaxing slightly, but his voice was thick with disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
I glanced between them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked instead, and her gaze traveled over me. She narrowed her eyes, gaze disapproving. “You’re not running from the Council, are you?”
“The Council?” Miles sputtered, and I let him go as he shakily moved to his feet. He brushed at the remains of his pants nervously. “No, I’m on a pilgrimage.”
“You’re half-dressed.” She frowned deeply. “And you brought a woman. What kind of pilgrimage is this?”
“I’m supposed to graduate.” Miles frowned at the ground, ignoring her query about my presence. “And Jonathon asked about my quest. I wasn’t sure what else to do.”
Her face softened and she sighed, glancing at the almost full moon. “He’s so dramatic,” she said. “Please don’t tell me you’re taking him literally. Besides, that doesn’t explain your companion.”
I’d stayed on the ground, my legs folded under me as they spoke. I hadn’t been sure how to react to the woman’s presence. Obviously, they knew each other. The idea of interjecting myself into the conversation made my stomach twist.
“Sorry!” He forgot about the woman at once, kneeling in front of me. His calloused hand brushed down my arm, and his lips twisted in a lopsided grin. “We’re okay. We can relax now. It’s just Kathleen,” he said, even though I had no idea what that might mean.
He pulled me to my feet, and I stepped to him until I was half-hidden behind his form.
Kathleen looked between us, seemingly curious as Miles’s touch lingered along my arm. He squeezed my hand gently as he said, “Kathleen, this is Bianca. Bianca, this is Kathleen. She’s Jonathon’s mother—and my Elder Er Bashou.”
“Oh,” I said, biting my lip. It’d been growing increasingly difficult to ignore the way that neither one of my adoptive parents had reached out to me since Bryce had broken me out of the hospital.
It was a good thing, though—right? That was what I wanted.
Even so, why did my chest hurt?
“Bianca—” Miles began.
I stepped around him, and the sky seemed to darken as I asked, “Did you know too?”
“Know about what?” She frowned as she shifted her weight to the right.
“I doubt she did,” Miles said, wrapping his arms around me. He rested his chin on my head, and his voice soothed away the edges of my anger. “Kathleen has been gone for a long time—long before I moved to France. I doubt she’s seen Jonathon, Abigail, or Hanah in years.”
Kathleen narrowed her eyes. “That is true,” she replied.
“It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen my family and quintet.
Why did you move to France? Is that why you’re behind on your training?
” Her attention moved to me, and she leaned more heavily on her cane.
“And tell me about this one—why is my son protecting her?”
“What?” Miles asked, his arms tightening around me.
“You can’t feel it?” She glanced back at him and wrinkled her nose. “She’s covered in magic.”
Miles released me and stepped back, looking down into my face. “I don’t sense it—” he said.
“You will,” Kathleen pursed her lips. She glanced between us once more before waving her hand, “I only came to pick something up—I’m not wasting time standing around here, and from the looks of it, neither should you. We’ll continue this once we’re sheltered and fed.”
My pulse was racing as I looked between them. Should we trust her? Miles had visibly relaxed and certainly seemed inclined to.