Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (34 page)

The
wagon went over another large bump, jarring me from head to toe. If
it Kurt weren't here, I would change into my second form and burn
this wagon to the ground. They probably put him in here with me
because of that. I felt cold, so I hugged my knees tight to my chest
and buried my face in my tangled hair.. I spent an hour like that,
trying not to topple over when the wagon turned. After that hour,
Kurt started to stir.

“
Kurt?”
I asked.

He
looked at me blearily. “Ivy? Where are we?”

“
We're
in the back of a wagon,” I answered quietly. “I don’t
think they know that we’re awake.”

He
sat up more and rubbed his head. “Maybe we can escape somehow,”
he said. He crawled forward and looked at the door. “This door
doesn’t look very strong, so maybe I can break through it as a
griffin.”

“
It
wouldn’t hurt to try,” I said.

He
closed his eyes, his forehead creased in concentration.

I
waited for his form to shift, but it never did.

“
What’s
wrong?” I asked.

“
I
can’t change,” he said. “There must be a magical
barrier around this carriage or something. You try.”

I
imagined the morning sun, but when I didn't shift, the sun blackened
and melted back below the horizon.

“
You’re
right,” I whispered. “It’s impossible.”

Suddenly
the carriage lurched to a stop, and I pitched forward, bracing myself
on my hands and knees.

Outside,
I heard something clunk to the ground and then footsteps came around
to the back of the wagon. The door squeaked open, and bright light
shone in my eyes. I squinted until I could see clearly.

The
person that had opened the door wasn’t someone I recognized. It
was an older man, perhaps Burton’s age. “You’ve
been plotting, haven’t you?” he asked with a toothy grin.
He carried a tray of food—stale bread and dried meat—a
pitcher of water, and a chamber pot. I grimaced at the last item. “My
sister sensed that you two were trying to change form.”

“
What
do you expect?” I growled.

He
took me in with watery eyes. “I expect nothing less than that.
I would do the same thing in your shoes, but let me tell you
something. There is no escape when my sister is in charge.”

A
woman’s voice—Sheena’s—came from the front of
the wagon. “Stop chit-chatting!” she shouted. “We
need to get back on the road.”

While
he was distracted, I was going to try to bolt past him, but when I
reached out my hand for a grip on the side of the wagon, my hand
smacked against a barrier that was cold, like frosted glass.

The
man gave me a sympathetic look and put the tray at our feet. “Like
I said, there is no escape,” he reminded me.

“
Wait,”
Kurt said just before the man shut the door.

The
man paused and looked at him.

“
Where
are we?” he asked.

The
man shook his head. “I can’t tell you that. I can tell
you how long you’ve been unconscious, though. It’s been
almost a week, with the help of Sheena's preservation spell.”

Kurt
clenched his jaw.

“
Take
it easy on the food,” the guy said. “The preservation
spell usually makes one's stomach a little queasy, but you don't want
to get sick on this trip.” Then, the door slammed shut and we
were confined to the darkness once again.

I
reached for the pitcher first because Kurt hadn’t yet, and
gulped down my share. Then I ate only a small amount of bread. I
stopped when my stomach started to hurt, and tossed the remainder of
the loaf back onto the tray. I curled into a ball on the floor and
groaned.

“
Are
you okay?” asked Kurt.

“
I’ll
be fine,” I said through gritted teeth.

“
Tell
me if it gets worse,” he said. “I'll bang on the door
until the horses are so riled up that they'll have to stop the
carriage.”

I
smiled into the corner. “Thank you, Kurt... I'm glad that you
look out for me.”

There
was silence until I was almost asleep. Before I drifted off however,
I heard him say softly, “That's what a brother should do for
his little sister.”

*****

The
next time I woke up, the wagon was still. If I listened closely, I
could hear the chirp of crickets outside.

It
was nighttime. They must have either stopped to make a camp or
stopped at an inn. It was darker in the wagon than it had been the
first time.

“
Kurt,”
I whispered. “Are you awake?”

“
Yes,”
he answered.

“
For
how long?” I asked.

“
Since
last time you were up,” he answered.

“
How
long ago was that?” I asked.

“
It
felt like days, but it was probably only a few hours.”

“
Could
you not sleep?”

He
paused before answering, “I can never sleep in captivity.”

I sat
up straighter. “You’ve been in captivity before?” I
interrogated, wondering why he had never told me before.

“
Many
times,” he said. “But only twice in the way that you’re
thinking of.”

“
Who
was it, the one that held you prisoner?”

“
Once,
it was just some bandits that got the better of me. There were too
many of them and they tied me down with a net. Another was the
Ginsian king—”

“
The
Ginsian king?” I interrupted. “He held you in his
prisons?”

“
Yes…for
some time. It was weeks until the king of Leviatha got me out.”

“
You
have this amazing story, and you’ve only decided to spit it out
now?”

He
chuckled. “Sometimes, I don’t like people to know.”

“
So
have you met King Giddon?” I asked.

“
Yes,
but very briefly. The only reason he rescued me out of Ginsey’s
prison was because he’d heard of all the work that I’d
done for the country. What a valuable citizen he had in the prisons
of his enemy. I almost started a war.”

“
How
did you get out of that?” I asked.

“
King
Giddon gave a lot of money to King Ciaran.”

“
So
basically, he bought you.”

“
Kind
of.”

“
I
wouldn’t be surprised if they wrote a book about your life,”
I said, sitting back against the wall.

He
was quiet for a while. “Perhaps they will,” he said. “But
it won’t be nearly as big as the book they write about you.”

I
wrinkled my forehead. “What do you mean?”

“
I’ve
heard talk.” I could barely hear his voice. “I overheard
the headmaster talking about a phoenix and a prophecy…this was
before you were ever at the school. He was saying that you were bound
to show up soon. That it was only a matter of time…. I didn’t
catch everything, but your destiny, whatever it is, is important.”

I
fiddled with the hem of my dress. “I certainly hope not. I
could do without that weight on my shoulders.”

“
If it is
true, I know you will be able to get through it
.
You have a strong will...and a good heart.”

His
words warmed me. “Thank you...but I still can't help but hope
that it's not true.”

He
chuckled. “Unless my ears are failing me, it's almost certain
that it is.”

I was
silent. After a moment, I looked over at him, trying to make out his
form in the darkness. All I could see was a shadow. “Where did
you get your scars?” I asked.

I saw
his hand reach up to his face. “They're from a long time ago,”
he said, his voice quieter than before. “The person that gave
them to me was once my best friend...But then, he betrayed me and
gave me scars that would alter my appearance for the rest of my
life.”

“
For
the record, I think it adds character,” I said.

“
Perhaps,
but tell me... Would you want a scar this obvious?”

I
scoffed. “That's not fair. It's better for a man to have scars
than a woman.”

He
chuckled.

We
sat quietly, listening to the crickets.

After
a few moments, I reached out and groped for the tray that the man had
left before, hoping that there was still some food left. I tried to
avoid the chamber pot, and did a pretty good job of it, considering
that I couldn’t see anything. I found the same loaf that I’d
thrown down and ate the whole thing without getting sick. I was
thirsty, but when I grabbed the pitcher, there was no water left. I
supposed that I’d have to wait until morning.

*****

The
next day, I woke up when a door slammed nearby.

“
Where
are they?” asked a man’s voice. I knew that voice,
although it was several degrees colder than what I was used to.
Roland.

But
he was a stranger now, as far as I was concerned. “Tell me
where they are!” his voice yelled suddenly, making me jump.

I
looked over to see if Kurt was awake to hear this. He was.

Sheena’s
voice was panicky. “Roland! I…I didn’t expect you
so soon.”

“
No,
I’ll bet that you didn’t,” he said. “Now tell
me where you put them.”

“
Yes,
sir. Right this way, sir,” she said, worry lining her voice. I
hurried to straighten my dress and my hair, and then chastised myself
for it. It didn’t matter what he thought about me anymore. He
betrayed me.

The
door opened, but this time, the dim, gray light of morning filtered
in.

Roland
took in my appearance, barely even glancing at Kurt. If I looked half
as bad as Kurt, I would look horrible.

“
Sheena,”
he hissed under his breath. “You’re fired.”

Sheena
looked at me and then at him. “What? They look fine! They’re
still alive, aren’t they?”

Roland
glared at her. He glanced back at me one more time and then steered
her away a few feet. I still could hear their conversation, despite
his efforts.

“
I
trusted you with her. I told you she was to be presentable when we
got to our destination. Since you have failed me on this small task,
I will not provide you with a horse, nor your weekly pay. You will
fend for yourself from here on out. You knew the mistake that you
were making when you didn’t do as I said.”

“
You
can’t do that,” Sheena said, her voice rising. “The
only reason I even consented to being under you was because you
employed my brother.”

“
I
really don’t care,” he said coldly. “Sean!”
he yelled. The older man that had given us our food yesterday showed
up beside Sheena. “You are given the choice either to stay or
go, but your sister is banished. Do as you wish.”

He
walked away from the wide-eyed siblings, and back toward our
carriage. “Bryson,” he yelled. A young man appeared
beside him. “You get Kurt. I’ll help Ivy.”