myself again for insisting I
come along. The seconds dragged on as I waited. After a few
eternities, I heard a voice I recognized. Junnie. She was speaking
with Chevelle in a rush, her voice low. As they drew near, Steed
and Anvil relaxed slightly in front of me, Anvil stepping a pace to
the side. I realized I was standing, Steed’s arm so close it was
almost touching my chest as he stood, still half in front of me. As
I stared past him, I noticed his muscles were tensed and I wondered
why he’d still be protecting me.
And then I remembered
Junnie was council. And my mother’s aunt. Confusion took over and I
clutched Steed’s arm in an attempt to focus. I had no idea how to
react to her. She was still speaking to Chevelle, a flood of words
running together, she hadn’t even seemed to notice me.
When she finally looked my
direction, it was not at me. I barely had time to turn and see Ruby
approaching before it happened. The spots in my vision came just as
fast. Through them, I saw a flash of Junnie’s cloak flying past as
she picked up the limp body of the girl. The human.
Chapter Four
Paranoia
I should have caught on by
then that the fainting was a protection mechanism. But I didn’t
often think rationally. And shock wasn’t exactly an easily
controlled reaction. It was just that I missed so much every time I
blacked out. All the important stuff.
Before my eyes opened the
first time, I heard someone. “… she took Snickers…” Recognition
came. The puppy. And confusion was back. Junnie had seen the girl,
the human, and her reaction was so fierce. I’d heard a low oath
just before the girl’s body hit the ground with a thud. She hadn’t
even waited for an explanation. My stomach churned. I hadn’t even
tried.
My eyelids fluttered and
the blackness came again. But this time, there were
dreams.
I was in the practice
rooms. A tall, dark man with a large scar across his brow was
threatening me, or pushing me too far, I couldn’t be sure. There
was darkness again; it was creeping in on us, closer and closer.
And then I was alone in the darkness as it swirled around me. But I
couldn't have been alone because I heard voices. My chest tightened
as I realized what they were saying about me. Comparing me to them,
like dumb animals. It ached. How could he? I didn’t understand. I
ran to my mother, she had been right.
It was a long time after I
woke before I could bear to open my eyes. When I did, they were all
quiet. But I didn’t question them. And I’d forgotten about the
girl, about Junnie. All I could think of was the dream. It had
twisted my reality. I couldn’t get it to fall in place in my
thoughts. I had known the voice this time. But it couldn’t be
right. My grandfather must have been killed in the massacre, he
hadn’t ruled since. He must have been gone.
But the man in my dream was
not gone.
Lord Asher.
My mother’s father, the one
who had driven her to the massacre, the man who had pushed us both.
I felt the pain associated with the memory. It couldn’t have been.
How could that man have been the same Asher, the same man that had
met with Chevelle? I remembered the first time I had seen him. The
look he’d given me, the way his knuckles whitened as he gripped the
staff, his shabby cloak. I remembered thinking it must have been a
disguise because of the way he carried himself, and then chastising
myself for being so paranoid.
I realized I was staring at
Chevelle as I recalled their meeting. He was watching me, concern
on his face. A thought flashed that maybe he knew that I was on to
him . But it was
all so wrong.
My head spun and I closed
my eyes. I tried to find something to grasp, something to steady me
before I blacked out again. I needed a way to fix the conflict.
Asher couldn’t have been my grandfather . I struggled to sit up long enough
to reach my pack. I felt around for the only thing real I had. My
fingers finally caught the edge of the binding and I pulled
come along. The seconds dragged on as I waited. After a few
eternities, I heard a voice I recognized. Junnie. She was speaking
with Chevelle in a rush, her voice low. As they drew near, Steed
and Anvil relaxed slightly in front of me, Anvil stepping a pace to
the side. I realized I was standing, Steed’s arm so close it was
almost touching my chest as he stood, still half in front of me. As
I stared past him, I noticed his muscles were tensed and I wondered
why he’d still be protecting me.
And then I remembered
Junnie was council. And my mother’s aunt. Confusion took over and I
clutched Steed’s arm in an attempt to focus. I had no idea how to
react to her. She was still speaking to Chevelle, a flood of words
running together, she hadn’t even seemed to notice me.
When she finally looked my
direction, it was not at me. I barely had time to turn and see Ruby
approaching before it happened. The spots in my vision came just as
fast. Through them, I saw a flash of Junnie’s cloak flying past as
she picked up the limp body of the girl. The human.
Chapter Four
Paranoia
I should have caught on by
then that the fainting was a protection mechanism. But I didn’t
often think rationally. And shock wasn’t exactly an easily
controlled reaction. It was just that I missed so much every time I
blacked out. All the important stuff.
Before my eyes opened the
first time, I heard someone. “… she took Snickers…” Recognition
came. The puppy. And confusion was back. Junnie had seen the girl,
the human, and her reaction was so fierce. I’d heard a low oath
just before the girl’s body hit the ground with a thud. She hadn’t
even waited for an explanation. My stomach churned. I hadn’t even
tried.
My eyelids fluttered and
the blackness came again. But this time, there were
dreams.
I was in the practice
rooms. A tall, dark man with a large scar across his brow was
threatening me, or pushing me too far, I couldn’t be sure. There
was darkness again; it was creeping in on us, closer and closer.
And then I was alone in the darkness as it swirled around me. But I
couldn't have been alone because I heard voices. My chest tightened
as I realized what they were saying about me. Comparing me to them,
like dumb animals. It ached. How could he? I didn’t understand. I
ran to my mother, she had been right.
It was a long time after I
woke before I could bear to open my eyes. When I did, they were all
quiet. But I didn’t question them. And I’d forgotten about the
girl, about Junnie. All I could think of was the dream. It had
twisted my reality. I couldn’t get it to fall in place in my
thoughts. I had known the voice this time. But it couldn’t be
right. My grandfather must have been killed in the massacre, he
hadn’t ruled since. He must have been gone.
But the man in my dream was
not gone.
Lord Asher.
My mother’s father, the one
who had driven her to the massacre, the man who had pushed us both.
I felt the pain associated with the memory. It couldn’t have been.
How could that man have been the same Asher, the same man that had
met with Chevelle? I remembered the first time I had seen him. The
look he’d given me, the way his knuckles whitened as he gripped the
staff, his shabby cloak. I remembered thinking it must have been a
disguise because of the way he carried himself, and then chastising
myself for being so paranoid.
I realized I was staring at
Chevelle as I recalled their meeting. He was watching me, concern
on his face. A thought flashed that maybe he knew that I was on to
him . But it was
all so wrong.
My head spun and I closed
my eyes. I tried to find something to grasp, something to steady me
before I blacked out again. I needed a way to fix the conflict.
Asher couldn’t have been my grandfather . I struggled to sit up long enough
to reach my pack. I felt around for the only thing real I had. My
fingers finally caught the edge of the binding and I pulled
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