Chapter 40 Hell
My trip into Stanhope’s mind with Raf yielded nothing.
It was strange. It was as though his mind was expecting us and closed itself off.
The unsettling children that took up residence there had formed a barrier that we could not get through.
I came out of it feeling ill and entirely out of place.
Liv and Raf concluded that because of his power of manipulation he was able to manipulate even his own mind and that is how he created his defenses.
It was a theory only, but it made sense.
Sleep had been difficult, even knowing that I had to do the supply run with Liv tomorrow.
Each time I closed my eyes all I saw were the empty stares of those boys.
“Wake up!” The voice was faint, but I could feel my entire body rocking.
I begrudgingly opened one eye and even through the blur of sleep I could see Liv standing over me.
“Hell! It is time to get up!” She shoved me again.
“Now!” With her last shout she took hold of the blanket I had cocooned myself in and flung me off the bed.
I hit the floor with a dense thud. Still with only one eye open, I tilted my head to see past her.
“The sun has not even broken the horizon, Liv.”
I groaned and reached for a pillow to bury my head in.
Liv was having none of it. She yanked the pillow away, and it was my head that hit the floor this time.
It sounded offensively hollow. I pushed myself up on my elbows and grimaced at her. “Fine, I am awake.”
“The path we chose avoids Forsgeth, but at the cost of distance. If we hope to make it before sundown we must go.”
She threw my clothes at me and left the room, thoroughly convinced I would follow.
If it were anyone but her, I would not. I stumbled down the stairs, thankful that the rest of the house had not stirred.
I was certain I looked like death resurrected and would not want to frighten the children.
Liv was standing against the counter, surprisingly chipper for the hour.
She sipped a cup of tea as she took the bowl Margaret was offering her in her other hand.
“Just us?” I asked as I splashed water on my face from the wash basin. Margaret thrust a bowl of porridge into my hand.
“Eat.” Liv’s command was muffled through her mouthful of mush. I heard it clearly enough.
“Have you always been this commanding in the morning?” I stared at what Margaret had shoved into my hands.
“Yes.” She continued to shovel the lumpy gray breakfast into her mouth.
“Ezra is a stronger man than I realized.” I took a bite, it was surprisingly good. More so than the look of it would have suggested.
“We will be taking Dinah, and Johanna.” I raised my brow, and she answered my question before I could ask it.
“Arabella would be better suited based on her experience, but after her ordeal in the sea, I wanted to give her a rest.”
Her bowl clattered on the counter as she set it down and wiped away the bit of cream that dripped onto her tunic.
“In truth, we need to allow the other girls to gain experience as well. They will not be nearly as prepared for battle with only sparring.”
“Logical. Nothing will prepare you more than having your life threatened.” I nodded as I handed my empty bowl back to Margaret. “Ready?” Liv nodded. “Where are the girls?” She pointed to the door, and when we stepped outside they were already waiting with the horses.
“Horses?” I shot Liv a concerned look, it was not as inconspicuous as I would have liked for this mission.
“We have a long list of provisions.” She pulled a rolled piece of parchment from her rucksack.
The list was almost as long as her torso.
“There was no way to carry it all back on foot. And this will help us to save time as well.”
She brushed her hand through Charm’s mane.
Charm was a beautiful white horse with a thick braided mane, and a black streak in her tail.
Liv said she reminded her of the horse she had as a child, and she was quite attached.
I grumbled as I mounted my own horse, Strega. She was midnight black with flecks of white, she looked like the sky. I chuckled at the name I gave her. Fitting. Liv mounted Charm and Johanna and Dinah bounded effortlessly onto their saddles, just as we taught them.
“Woo! Girls’ trip!” Liv shot her fist in the air, and we spurred our horses into motion.
With winter approaching, the wind had grown biting, making my eyes sting from the cold.
The sky, however, was clear, without a single cloud to block the sun.
Its warmth settled over what little skin I had exposed and made me regret not wearing a winter coat a little less.
Dinah and Johanna had long given up on comfortable conversation and were playing a game of spots.
One would give the other an item or a color or a shape and whoever could spot it first would shout ‘spots’ and they won the round.
Their required spot got more and more ridiculous with each play and I could not help but chuckle.
I looked to Liv, eager to see if she found it as amusing as I did, but she was not listening to them at all. She was staring at me. I narrowed my eyes. “What?”
“Nothing.” Her mischievous grin grew wider.
“That is not your nothing face.” I let go of the reins and crossed my arms.
“I do not have a nothing face.” She stuck her tongue out. Actually stuck it out and blew a raspberry like a child, sending spit flying everywhere.
“You absolutely have a nothing face. And that is not it,” I deadpanned. She looked forward, and completely ignored me, whipping the reins and picking up her pace.
“Spots!” Dinah shouted.
“That does not count!” Johanna pouted.
“You said something yellow.” She huffed.
“I meant a flower!”
“You did not say flower!” Dinah rolled her eyes. Johanna laughed. I ignored them. Liv was still smiling.
“Out with it,” I demanded, catching up with her.
“I haven't said anything.” She still did not look at me.
“Precisely. It is unsettling.”
“I just find it absolutely adorable. That is all.” She smiled wider.
“Find what adorable?”
“Your anchor?” She wiggled her eyebrows. My own smile fell, and I felt heat spread from the back of my neck to my cheeks. I stared at her completely blank, trying not to let anything show. My body decided to betray me with a blush that covered my entire face.
“I despise you.” I looked down at Strega, running my fingers through her wild mane.
Liv laughed. “That is not a denial.”
“There is nothing to deny.” My voice was higher pitched than I expected.
“He called himself your anchor…”
“Because I was falling out of a boat!” I interrupted her before she could finish.
“While holding you by the hips…”
“Would you have preferred he held me by the ankles?” I huffed and spurred Strega forward a little faster, only so that we were no longer face to face. She caught up to me, of course she did.
“He called you good girl, and you practically forgot that words existed.” I froze entirely, even as Strega continued forward.
“I was offended,” I said after my heart stopped racing.
“You blush when you are offended?” I did not answer her. I would no longer entertain this.
“I did not mean…” Liv frowned for the first time since we left the manor. “It is only… you seem to care for him.” She whispered.
“I…” I was not mad at Liv, only irritated at the insufferable butterflies that erupted in my stomach when his name was uttered. “He means…something… to me.” Liv’s expression softened at the admission and the light returned to her eyes.
“I knew it!” She shouted. “You are completely enamored with him!” Typical Liv. I had opened the door merely an inch, and she kicked it from its hinges.
“Ugh!” I rolled my eyes and spurred Strega into a hasty trot. I did not have to go far. As we crested the hill, Morietha unfolded before us. “There it is.”