“Altaria! That was uncalled for. You could
have hit her.” He tossed the stick into the fire and released Kira.
“Are you all right?”
Kira nodded.
Why does she hate me so
much?
When Altaria left the clearing with Toran,
Kira felt relief. As much as she loved having Lydia as a friend,
her kindred spirit was different.
“I wish Lydia wasn’t so mad at me,” Kira
said. “I miss her.”
“She is not angry with you. I am the one she
is hiding from.”
“Then why won’t she talk to me?”
Octavion placed a gentle hand on her
shoulder. “She knew what she was doing. She knew the boundaries we
set for our safety.”
Kira’s mind wandered back to the day she’d
erased all the photos of their picnic. The single picture she’d
kept as a memento still hid in the box in her closet. “So, what if
Shandira got a hold of one of Lydia’s photos, what then?”
“It depends. Lydia told me of her plan to put
her photos on your computer or in a gallery to make money. I am
sure Shandira is knowledgeable about your world and if she happened
to stumble upon one of them, she could track it back to us.”
“But what if it wasn’t of Xantara? What if it
was of Lydia up here on the mountain or at school?” She didn’t want
to mention a picture of him, he’d guess to easily what she’d
done.
Octavion thought for a moment. “It could
still be dangerous.”
“How? I mean . . . I don’t understand how a
simple picture could make a difference.”
“Remember I told you that I can travel
anywhere, but that I had to see it in my mind first?”
Kira nodded.
“It is the same with a photograph. Shandira
has perfected her ability to travel. Seeing an image on paper would
be the same as seeing it as a memory, and she would be able to
appear in that place instantly.” Octavion looked at her curiously.
“Why do you ask?”
Kira couldn’t look him in the eye. “If that’s
true, explain to me why you destroyed
all
of them.”
“She knew the boundaries,” he repeated, his
voice raised just enough that Kira knew he was irritated with her
for asking. “I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.” Kira stepped over
to the pile of fruit still lying in Lydia’s shelter, chose another
apple and wiped it clean with her shirt. “You never did tell me
where you get all this food. There’s always an abundance of it.”
Maybe a change of subject would get the photos off his mind.
“Same way you do, for the most part. Lydia
buys the cheese and some of the fruit. She has a baker in town make
the bread how we prefer it. It is not as good as we have at home,
but it is close.” A smirk flashed across his face. “I, um . . .
find the rest.”
Kira glanced down at her apple then over her
shoulder at the pile of fruit scattered on the ground. “What do you
mean, ‘find the rest’?”
Octavion flashed one of his dimples, then
walked over to get a piece of wood from the pile.
“Where do you get all this food?” Kira
persisted.
He turned and shrugged—with empty hands. The
fire wasn’t in need of any wood; he was obviously avoiding her
question. “I help some of the farmers glean their crops.”
“Ha! You mean you steal from them.”
“No, I take the fruit and vegetables that are
left by the pickers and machines. It would have all gone bad if I
had not
rescued
them.” He flashed both dimples this time and
winked.
Kira laughed. “That’s called stealing.” She
took a big bite of her apple and began to chew. She stopped
suddenly when one of her little brain blips popped into view. She
could see the box from her closet on her bedroom floor, its
contents scattered. A shiver ran up her arms and pricked at the
back of her neck. She had to get that photo.
“Kira?”
She blinked hard, bringing herself back to
the clearing. “Yeah. Umm . . . sorry, did you say something?”
He stepped closer. “No, but you look pale
and—” He pointed to the ground in front of her feet.
Kira looked down at the apple that now lay in
the dirt. “I’m fine, it just . . . has a worm in it.” She picked up
the apple and pitched it into the fire. “I’m still kinda tired and
my side is starting to bother me. Maybe I’ll rest.”
“Are you sure you are well, Kira?”
“Yeah.”
She turned toward Octavion’s lean-to. What
she wanted was to put some distance between them for a while,
figure out how to get that picture back and try to let everything
he’d told her about the curse and his gifts sink in, but as she
stood looking at his shelter, she realized something. Nothing here
belonged to her, not even a place to lay her head. The fact that
this was not her home hit her hard, and she was homesick—even if
home was merely a symbol of her abandonment.
Kira looked down at her clothes. Her dirty
jeans were shredded at the knees, her shirt had a tear on the
sleeve and her shoes were muddy from standing near the creek. She
didn’t even have a change of clothes. Maybe if she could convince
him to take her home to get a few things, she could destroy the
photo without him knowing. She had to try.
She turned in time to see him step to the
fire and kick one of the logs, pushing it further into the pit.
Sparks flew into the air and created a spiral of hot ash as it rose
above their heads. The aroma of baked apple filled the
clearing.
“Octavion?”
He looked up from the fire and their eyes
met. “Did you need something?”
“I was wondering. Could you take me home to
get my stuff? I have no clothes. I don’t even have a comb or
toothbrush.” She stepped closer and put her hand on his shoulder.
“It’s just—nothing here is mine. Can you understand that?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Kira. It is
too dangerous to take you there. Have you forgotten so soon? You
were nearly killed.”
Kira cringed. “I remember. I’ve played it
over and over in my head so many times, I’ll never be able to
forget.” She dropped her hand and fingered the Crystor, spinning it
around her wrist. “I’ve put us all in danger because of my stupid
mistakes.”
“Then how can you ask me to take you
home?”
Kira searched his eyes for answers, but only
found more questions. It
was
too dangerous, but so was
taking the chance that Shandira might use the photo to find them.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just keep thinking about my house.
I know it shouldn’t be important, but—you blew the front door right
off the hinges and the back door is busted too. All my stuff is in
there and it’s all I have left to my name. What if someone steals
it or an animal gets in?”
Octavion paused for a long moment. He sighed.
“I will go. Make me a list of what you need and where to find it. I
will board up the house and retrieve your things.”
“Oh sure, that’s all I need is you rifling
through my underwear drawer. If I can’t go, then . . . just forget
it.”
“Kira, why do you have to be so stubborn? I
said I would go.”
“Stubborn? I just said forget it. You’re
right—it’s too dangerous. It was stupid for me to ask. It’s just, I
thought if
you
took me, we could be back in five
minutes—tops.”
“And how long did it take Bastian to put a
blade to your throat?”
His words sent dark images flashing through
Kira’s mind. She remembered Bastian’s hollow eyes and it made her
insides quiver. She stepped back. “That’s not fair.”
“I’m sorry, Kira. You just don’t seem to
realize the danger.”
“How can you say that?
I
was the one
who felt his blade on my throat, remember? What I don’t understand
is why we aren’t doing something about it. If we’re in that much
danger, why don’t we pack up everything, and find a new place—one
that’s safe?”
He turned his attention back to the fire.
“Lydia would not go.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she told me. She wants to go back to
Xantara, but we must finish this first. We will not take this
battle home with us.”
“So you’re planning on fighting them
here?
” The very thought of meeting Bastian again terrified
her. She didn’t know the first thing about fighting or using
weapons. How was she supposed to survive something like that? “You
have to teach me to fight. I need to know how to protect myself.
What if they come and you’re not here?”
His brow furrowed as he turned to face her
again. “This is not your battle, Kira. I will not allow you to
fight.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. What am I
supposed to do, stand back and watch?”
Octavion went to her and took her face in his
hands. His eyes were only inches from hers. “You will
not
fight, Kira. I will not lose anoth . . . You will
not
fight.”
Kira pushed his hands away. “This isn’t about
me, is it?” The only person they’d mentioned dying besides their
mothers was Serena, but how could the death of Lydia’s friend have
such a lasting effect on Octavion—unless he’d done something to
cause it. “Is this about Serena?”
The hurt look on his face made her regret
mentioning her name. “What do you know of Serena? What has Lydia
told you?”
“Nothing,” Kira said. “
You’re
the one
that told me Serena died healing Lydia. She refuses to talk about
it. What
really
happened? Why don’t you want me to
know?”
“It is not my place to say.”
“If you’re afraid the same thing will happen
to me, it
is
your place. I need to know what kind of danger
I’m in.”
Octavion’s focus shifted from Kira’s face to
something behind her. Then he went back to the fire. “Like I said,
it isn’t my place to say.”
“Ugh. I hate when you do that. One minute you
want me to stay here and be a part of all this, and the next you
treat me like the outsider I
really
am. Why won’t you tell
me?” When he didn’t answer—or even acknowledge her presence—she
spun around to leave, only to be met with a familiar face.
“Because it isn’t his story to tell—it’s
mine.” Lydia said. Her eyes appeared swollen and red like she’d
been crying. “But first I must speak to my brother . . . alone.”
She glanced at Kira and then looked away.
Octavion stepped closer, but stopped when
Lydia took a step back. “Where would you like to go?” he asked.
“Your lair. I need to show you
something.”
As Kira watched them leave the clearing, she
felt that all-too-familiar sense of displacement. She didn’t belong
here. Lydia’s words had made that very clear. Maybe Octavion was
right about wanting to take her away. She’d made so many mistakes.
If they had to come to her rescue again they would be risking their
lives and that wasn’t fair to them. Perhaps leaving was the best
option after all. As soon as Lydia finished with Octavion, Kira
would ask him to take her away. Then she’d run—hide away so even
they wouldn’t know where she’d gone.
A cool morning breeze brushed across her
face, leaving her chilled. When she wrapped her arms around her
torso, she caught a glimpse of the tiny strand of silver that still
bound her to her friend. Its powers as a divining tool surely
worked both ways and Lydia would easily find her.
She glanced around the clearing before
spotting Altaria’s knife where it hung on her shelter. Kira pulled
it from its sheath and placed it between her skin and the bracelet.
With all the strength she could muster, she drove the blade upward.
Pain instantly shot up her arm, but she kept the pressure on,
determined to rid Lydia of the bond their friendship had put on
both of them. As Kira increased the force of the blade, a scream
rang out through the trees.
Kira, stop!
Lydia’s thoughts entered
Kira’s head, like she’d been shot with an arrow between the eyes.
The pain ran across the top of her skull and down the back of her
neck, before numbing her fingertips. The clearing grew still,
shrouding her senses. She dropped the knife about the same time
Octavion appeared in front of her.
“What are you doing?” He pulled her hand up
to examine the Crystor, turning her wrist over, and spinning the
tiny strand of silver around to make sure it was still in one
piece. “Why would you do this?”
“I want it off.”
“Come with me.” Tightening his grip around
Kira’s wrist, he gave it a yank as he pulled her through the
forest.
“Octavion, stop!”
He turned to face her. “Shall I carry
you?”
“No, just stop pulling on my arm, it
hurts.”
As he loosened his grip, she gave in and
walked freely by his side. They’d only gone a few feet when they
passed several large boulders, stopping at the cave entrance.
His lair
, she thought to herself. It made sense, now that
she knew about the curse that left him with the heart of a wild
cat. Of course, he would call it that.
With the light of the sun shining through the
opening, Kira could make out more of the cave’s contents. In
addition to the bookshelves filled with dusty volumes of tattered
papers, and his colorful display of bottles, there were old wooden
crates, metal trunks, and textiles stacked along the back wall.
Above them hung several weapons, most of which looked medieval,
with their long sharp blades and leather strappings. To the right,
a blanket draped the wall, she assumed to cover an opening that
went deeper into the cave.
She took all this in with a quick glance,
before turning her full attention to the small bench where she’d
sat the night Octavion had shown her the Crystor.
Lydia sat holding her bloody wrist in her
hand, tears streaming down her face. She said nothing, but Kira
knew her stupidity had caused the injury. She pulled loose from
Octavion’s grip and went to Lydia, taking her hand.