Chapter Seventeen #3
“It’s not quite done. Give me another quarter hour.
” The sun would be higher in the sky then and any Hollows straggling behind the pack that had passed us last night would be less likely to be threats.
Taio sat quietly while I finished his weapon then handed it to him.
He studied it and nodded approval. I pulled the dried berries from my pack and shared them.
We both ate only half a dozen, but it was better than nothing.
Finally, we shouldered our packs and weapons and climbed down the tree.
I went first, finding the climb down far easier than the climb up last night.
At the base of the trunk, the leaves were disturbed, which meant Hollows had passed under us the night before.
I shivered at the thought of having been so close to them and tried not to think about what might have happened if we hadn’t managed to hide up in the branches.
Taio dropped down beside me and motioned toward the lake.
I followed him, ignoring my dry throat and grateful for the little sunlight trickling through the trees.
The air was cold enough that I saw my breath.
More and more leaves were falling from the trees, making the ground crunch no matter how quietly we tried to move.
On the other hand, if the leaves crackled when disturbed, we’d be able to hear anything coming for us as well.
We walked for what seemed like hours. I tried not to think about how thirsty I was or how much my legs and back ached.
I struggled at times to keep pace with Taio, and though he must have noticed, he did not comment.
He moderated his stride until I was beside him again.
“I’m slowing us down,” I said, annoyed that my breath was coming in short gasps.
“You are.”
Well, so much for preserving my pride.
“We will be home soon.”
Home. His home, not mine. Perhaps if I kept my thoughts trained on the food and water waiting at the end of this journey, I might keep up.
“Shall I carry you?” he asked.
I recoiled. “No.” I still had some pride.
I would finish this trek, even if it killed me.
I felt as though it might just. I walked on ahead of Taio, pushing myself and drawing on reserves of strength I didn’t know I possessed.
When I heard what sounded like the trickle of water, I initially thought I was imagining it.
I was so thirsty that all I could think about was my pounding head and my dry lips.
My tongue felt too thick to fit in my mouth.
“Do you hear that?” Taio asked.
I nodded, not trusting my fuzzy tongue to allow me to speak coherently.
A small bubble of joy rose within me. I hadn’t imagined the sound of water.
Taio motioned for me to move toward the water, and we walked together until we came across what was really no more than an empty creek bed with a drying burble of water.
“The snow on the mountains is frozen,” Taio said. “The stream will be full when the weather is warmer.”
I didn’t care about the frozen snow or the trickle of water.
I’d take it. I cupped my hands, filling them with more mud than water, and drank the little water I could manage.
Taio moved upstream, and I forced myself to follow him.
As much as I wanted to drink the water again, no matter how muddy, a mile or so upstream, more water flowed through the bed, and we were able to dip our hands in it without scooping up mud.
I drank until I thought my belly would burst. My throat was still dry, and my head still pounded, but my sense of hopelessness was fading.
When we moved further upstream, the bed widened, and one offshoot was full enough that we were able to fill our flasks.
I searched for berries as well but found none.
The trees had grown sparser, and we were leaving the forest behind.
The sun was low in the sky by now, and Taio and I really should begin to look for a place to camp. My body rebelled at the idea of climbing another tree, but it would be the safest option. If we walked too much further, we wouldn’t have as many trees to choose from.
“Can you go further?” Taio asked.
I glanced up at him. His bruises had turned from yellowish-green to greenish-black. He’d washed much of the dried blood away, and both eyes were open now, though one was swollen. “The sky is growing dark,” I said.
“We will be safer if we reach the lake.”
He was right. Having the lake at our backs would be safer, but walking in the dark to get there was suicide. I sighed and looked at the sky again.
“We are close, Mara,” he said. “One more hour. If we have not reached Igo by then, we will camp.”
Close. “Have we crossed the border?” I asked.
He nodded. “I do not know when, but I sense in my heart, we are in Zulen.”
I looked downstream, feeling somewhat cheated by the lack of any marker or sign that I’d left Earsleh behind.
Taio held out a hand, and I took it without thinking.
“One more hour.” He pulled me to my feet, and we walked along the side of the stream, our boots slipping on the muddy ground.
The water was still a trickle in most places, but at least we had access to water.
I drank from my flask and knew I would be able to refill it.
Fewer trees meant we could see the sunset ahead of us. The sky was a mix of indigo, purple, and wisps of pink. The pink gradually faded as the indigo swallowed it. “Taio,” I said. “We have to camp.” If we waited much longer, we’d be stumbling about in the dark.
“You’re right,” he murmured. “We will—”
We both stilled at the sound of a twig snapping.
I had my sharpened stick in my hand and at the ready.
Taio was almost as fast. He pushed me behind him, which annoyed me, but I knew covering our rear was as important as protecting our front.
I scanned the shadows under the few trees behind us.
The tall grass between trees made it impossible to tell if someone or something crawled toward us.
At least we had the stream on one side. It didn’t hold enough water to stop a Hollow crossing it, but we’d hear splashing.
Another snick sounded in the silence. Except it wasn’t exactly silent. I heard the buzzing of insects, which meant whatever was out there wasn’t a Hollow.
That realization didn’t reassure me.
We heard no other sounds for at least two minutes.
I held my breath, listening and watching for any movement.
And then I stiffened as I spotted the dark figure on the other side of the stream.
It stood unmoving near a tree, surveying us.
Slowly, I reached for Taio’s hand and caught it, squeezing hard.
He squeezed back and turned to face the same direction as I. We both stared, holding our breaths.
Until the figure came charging at us.
***
TAIO PUSHED MY WEAPON aside and moved to greet the attacker. Except it wasn’t an attacker at all. The figure crossed the stream in one long-legged jump, and I realized it was a woman.
Not just any woman, Omira.
All caution was immediately discarded as Taio and Omira shouted in Zulenii.
Taio dropped his stick and met Omira on the edge of the streambank.
He embraced her, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around.
She was laughing and crying and hugging him hard.
I felt an immediate sense of shame. Taio must have been missing his sister and friends terribly, but I’d hardly comforted him about their possible loss.
And yet, when I’d lost Finnrey, he’d been gentle and understanding and caring.
He'd been my only source of comfort.
I bent to pick up his weapon, hiding my shame-reddened cheeks. When I straightened, I was almost knocked over as Omira threw her arms around me. “Mara! You are safe!” Her voice was full of joy.
I stood stiffly, not deserving her affection at all.
I’d hardly thought about her since we’d parted.
These last few days with Taio I had felt all sorts of emotions and given in to many of them, but I’d been deluding myself if I believed I had any real emotions.
If I had, I would have been worried about Omira and comforting Taio far more than I had.
I was as cold and unfeeling as everyone always claimed.
Omira stepped back, hands on my arms. “Thank you for keeping my brother safe.” She’d lowered her voice now that her initial excitement had passed.
I shook my head in confusion. “He kept me safe just as much as I protected him.”
“Your tutoring on how to kill the Twilight Men kept Kintle, Yung, and me alive.”
I let out a relieved breath. “Yung and Kintle are well?”
“We all managed to kill about a dozen Twilight Men before we ran. Most of the pack followed you.” She glanced at her brother again, tears in her eyes. “I thought you were lost for certain.”
“I am not so easy to kill,” Taio said, ruffling Omira’s hair.
“Thank the gods for that.”
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“We fanned out, looking for any signs of you two,” Omira said, taking the lead as we crossed the streambed. She spoke quietly, turning her head so we might hear. “We were to meet at the lakeshore.”
Taio, walking just ahead of me, put a hand on her shoulder. “We are close to Lake Igo then?”
“Three-quarters of an hour walk,” she said. “I should not have gone so far—”
“I am glad you did. You know the way?”
“I will take you there.”