Chapter 23 Old Enemies
Chapter twenty-three
Old Enemies.
Percy Flores
We awoke early the next morning, as the dawn was breaking in front of us.
“I’ve slept better,” Ana grumbled next to me.
“You drool in your sleep,” I replied.
“What? I do not!” she sat up and putted down my shoulder. I couldn’t help laughing. “Percy, this isn’t the time for making jokes,” she complained.
“Now is the perfect time for jokes. Laughter is the cure for fear,” I told her.
“I don’t know about that. Have you ever seen a clown?” she asked.
“I saw a picture of one in a book once,” I offered.
Ana laughed.
“One day, if we ever forget what it’s like to fear for our lives, we can go and pay to see one, and you’ll understand,” she told me.
“It’s a plan,” I answered.
“What is our actual plan?” Ana asked as we crawled out of the root shelter I had made for us.
“We head east and keep walking until we reach the edge of the forest. I don’t know after that. Arvid didn’t give a specific pick-up location; he just said to follow the trails east,” I told her.
“We’re not on the trails,” Ana said, “And how far is the edge of the forest from where we are anyway?” she asked.
I stretched; my legs and back felt tight from the cramped position we'd been in all night.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“That’s helpful,” Ana grumbled, and I heard her stomach rumble.
“You’re hungry,” I stated.
“I don’t think I could eat,” she said, and then immediately asked, “Do you have food?”
I laughed.
“I can get us something to eat,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said and linked her arm with mine as we began to walk.
We walked east. Quickly, I found a frozen blackberry bush and then, far rarer, a little blueberry bush.
The blackberry bush had some berries that were surviving to the end of autumn, and we picked them all, careful not to get snagged by their thorns.
The blueberry bush was bare, but it didn’t take much to have it full of fruit.
I hummed to it softly and felt it perk up, shake off the frost, and produce small, well-formed blueberries.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to watching you do that,” Ana commented as she walked forward and picked a blueberry. “I’ve seen you work your magic countless times now; it’s effortless for you to produce something so beautiful and nourishing.”
“Thank you for the compliment, but it’s not effortless. I get tired, and I can’t even harness my magic. When I do, it destroys everything,” I replied.
I hated my novel ability. It was the opposite of everything I wanted to be, everything I thought I was.
“It’s real death: the absence of all life,” I told her. “It shouldn’t be possible, and everyone wants to use me as a weapon of war.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. They can’t actually force you to use your magic,” Ana reassured.
I nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, but I wasn’t sure how true that was; it certainly didn’t stop anyone from killing me if I refused.
We walked all day, and it felt like we would never reach the end of the forest. The sun moved lower and lower in the sky, the world becoming a dull grey, and I remembered Arvid’s warning to be there before sunrise.
If we didn’t reach the edge of the estate soon, night would reach us and we wouldn’t be able to find our way.
Just as I was beginning to panic that we were somehow walking in the wrong direction, the trees began to thin, and then suddenly we were at the side of a long dirt road, the kind of private road only found in the deep countryside.
“Maybe we should stay in the treeline,” Ana suggested.
“I don’t know, Arvid’s meant to have someone waiting for us, looking for us, how will they know where we are if we’re hiding?” I asked.
“They’ll probably be able to smell you out,” a terrifyingly familiar voice said behind us.
I turned around so fast that I lost my balance and fell to the ground, my hands stinging against dirt and stone.
Ana was quick to help me up, holding onto me with one hand and holding out her other in front of us in defence.
“Percy?” she asked.
“It’s Valen,” I told her as I looked at a man I thought dead months ago.
He was thinner, his hair a little overgrown and wind-swept, his eyes were stormy and dull grey, and he was dressed in slacks with a white shirt visible under an open puffer jacket. Arvid had betrayed me. He had gotten what he wanted from me and had sent Ana and me to our deaths.
He was getting rid of us.
“Stay back,” Ana warned, closing and opening her hand as if preparing to use her magic.
Valen laughed and held up his hands.
“Calm down, blood-witch. I’m your ride out of here,” he said.
“Sorry if I don’t believe you,” Ana said.
“I know you and I,” he said, addressing me, “parted ways before on less than amicable terms, but we’ve clearly both found ourselves one way or another in need of making a deal with one Arvid Halvorsen,” he said his name like a curse and his face scrunched in disgust. “Part of my deal is making sure you make it out of here alive,” he finished.
“And why should we trust you? What’s in it for you?” Ana asked.
He threw his arms in the air and spun around.
“Everything. My life, freedom, and future depend on me holding up my end of the bargain,” he answered.
“What has Arvid offered you exactly, and what do you have to do in return?” I questioned.
“Still got that spark I see.” He stepped towards us and then clutched at his chest as Ana let out a low whistle.
He smiled at Ana, despite being clearly in pain, and held up his hands, stepping back again.
“I asked for my life, for my titles, and power. In return, I must complete several tasks. The first is getting you out of here,” he answered, gritting his teeth against the pain.
“Why should we believe you?” Ana asked.
“Who else is coming to save you?” he asked in return, “It’s only us out here, unless you want to try and walk back to Borealis alone.
I doubt you’d get far, not with The New Foundation already searching the woods for the two of you.
Not when you can’t trust a single person you might meet along the way; they have spies and supporters in every village, town, and city.
You wouldn’t make it much more than a day alone,” he ground out, clutching his chest.
“Ana,” I said softly, pushing her arm down.
Valen visibly relaxed when Ana released him.
“He’s right,” I whispered to her.
“I can hear you, and of course I’m right,” he said smugly, standing straighter and adjusting the sleeves of his jacket.
“He kidnapped you not that long ago, have you forgotten?” Ana hissed in reply.
“I’ve not forgotten anything,” I assured her, “But we can’t get back on foot, and we can’t know if anyone we come across isn’t working with The New Foundation.”
“I don’t see any car,” Ana stated, never taking her eyes off Valen.
“It’s hidden, a quarter mile that way,” he pointed down the dirt road, “I suggest you decide if you’re coming with me or not. I can hear the search party out looking for you. It won’t be long until one of those shifters picks up the scent of you two, and then it’s over.”
“He’s trying to put us under pressure, so we’ll go with him,” Ana said.
“Maybe, but I don’t know what other choice we have,” I replied.
“Excellent.” Valen clasped his hands together, not waiting for Ana to agree. “This way,” he said and began walking ahead of us.
“Ana, relax,” I said, feeling her grip on my arm become painfully tight. “If he tries anything, you’re more than capable of putting a stop to him. Aren’t you?” I asked, not really sure of the extent of Ana’s powers and hoping I wasn’t wrong in my estimation.
“Yes,” she said confidently, and Valen laughed.
“Then we should go with him,” I encouraged.
“Okay, but if he so much as sneezes in our direction,” she warned.
“I trust you,” I told her.
“I don’t trust him,” she replied.
“I know, but we’ll be home soon,” I tried to reassure.
“I’m taking you two across the newly named Oskar River, into Viridis, from there you’re on your own,” he said and looked over his shoulder at me as he walked.
“You’re meant to get me back to Borealis,” I said.
“I’m meant to get you out of House Halvorsen and clear of The New Foundation. The rest is up to you girls,” he replied.
“We can make our own way to Borealis,” Ana told me.
“We’re all going to get what we want,” he stated.
I saw the outline of what looked like a car, covered in a green camouflage tarp with forest litter helping to hide it, off the side of the dirt path.
“Not that well hidden,” Ana commented.
“It is, if you’re looking at it from above,” Valen stated.
“Synoptic,” I said. “They’re guarding the base.” It made sense. Idonea might have been a cousin, but she was of Flores and Synoptic. What were the chances that other Synoptic witches were guarding the grounds?
“Won’t they see us now, out here?” Ana asked anxiously, looking around, “Any bird could be one of them watching us and reporting back where we are.”
“Exactly, all the more reason that we'd better get moving,” Valen replied as he pulled the covering off the car to reveal a dark blue SUV. He reached under the driver's side wheel cap and found a key. “Get in,” he instructed as he unlocked the car.
“We’ll sit in the back together,” Ana said.
“I’m not leaving your side,” I promised.