cigarette.
“You’re disgusting,” she muttered.
“I try.”
Alone again, he went back to staring up at the stars.
“Unless you carry the Gipsy eyes,
That see but seldom weep,
Keep your head from the naked skies,
Or the stars'll trouble your sleep.”
He laughed bitterly. “Musta’ gotten my tată’s eyes, cuz I can’t fuckin’ sleep.”
And wasn't that just like his tată. To fuck everything up.
CHAPTER SEVEN
While exploring the next morning, I found a cluster of camping cabins located close to the lake. There was no road through this part of the park and the cabins were heavily concealed by the forest.
“Maybe,” I told the stack of Skin Eater bones I had carried with me. “We can hole up here for the winter. How would you feel about that?”
Burying the element infused bones in a large circle around the cabins and a large portion of the forest, I created an even stronger circle of protection. Bones, after infused with spirit, could absolutely not be moved. You couldn’t dig them up, you couldn’t break them. The fifth element, once summoned into osseous matter, stuck like super glue, fossilizing the magic inside. Why exactly, I wasn’t sure, maybe death just likes death. The only problem with using spirit to create wards was you could never remove them. The last thing I wanted to do was leave a magical trail of death in my wake.
I was painfully aware that I lacked understanding of all things magic. Xan had given me the basics about both light and dark magic, but at the time, I had never thought to ask about either in depth, never actually expecting to become a bearer of either. Everything I’d learned I discovered either by accident or through my own trial and error. I knew there had to be more, much more, and I knew the knowledge was inside me. I could feel the untouched energy radiating out from my power core. Sadly, it would remain that way.
The cabin I picked for my own felt like a palace compared to the tiny trailer I had lived in at camp. It looked like an authentic log cabin from the outside, but it was an illusion. The logs had been split down the center, the inside had been varnished and the windows were modern, double paned with secure locks. In the living room, there was a working wood-burning stove, a large stack of firewood next to it, a rickety table with four ladder-back chairs, and a futon doubling as a couch. A small kitchenette was built-in at the very end of the room.
To the left of the kitchenette and down a small hallway, a bathroom boasted a bathtub, toilet, and sink, not that I would be using them, but I was happy for the vanity mirror. I would no longer have to walk around unaware that I had leaves in my hair and mud on my face.
The bedroom at the end of the hall was a delightful surprise, consisting of a small dresser, a bedside table, and a double bed. The thin, stained mattress that sat alone on a basic metal frame was the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long time.
I laughed aloud and spun around with my arms spread wide. I’d hit the jackpot. I’d found a home far enough away from any sort of compact civilization. I was heavily warded. There was a gods damn lake in my front yard and plenty of wandering animals to hunt. And I had a Jeep! What else could an apocalypse survivor ask for? Companionship, you say? These days a girl can’t be too fussy. I would settle for survival instead and put the rest out of my mind.
Maybe I should start fishing? First, I would need a fishing pole. Damn, I didn’t even know how to use a fishing pole.
I should probably stop talking to myself. No need to end up watching a blank television screen. Although, if I drew faces on it…
I spent the rest of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon cleaning out the dust and bugs and moving my own meager belongings inside. My food supply was low, not that I minded hunting, but I wanted to stock up on canned goods for winter. A storm could blow in, trapping me inside. I
“You’re disgusting,” she muttered.
“I try.”
Alone again, he went back to staring up at the stars.
“Unless you carry the Gipsy eyes,
That see but seldom weep,
Keep your head from the naked skies,
Or the stars'll trouble your sleep.”
He laughed bitterly. “Musta’ gotten my tată’s eyes, cuz I can’t fuckin’ sleep.”
And wasn't that just like his tată. To fuck everything up.
CHAPTER SEVEN
While exploring the next morning, I found a cluster of camping cabins located close to the lake. There was no road through this part of the park and the cabins were heavily concealed by the forest.
“Maybe,” I told the stack of Skin Eater bones I had carried with me. “We can hole up here for the winter. How would you feel about that?”
Burying the element infused bones in a large circle around the cabins and a large portion of the forest, I created an even stronger circle of protection. Bones, after infused with spirit, could absolutely not be moved. You couldn’t dig them up, you couldn’t break them. The fifth element, once summoned into osseous matter, stuck like super glue, fossilizing the magic inside. Why exactly, I wasn’t sure, maybe death just likes death. The only problem with using spirit to create wards was you could never remove them. The last thing I wanted to do was leave a magical trail of death in my wake.
I was painfully aware that I lacked understanding of all things magic. Xan had given me the basics about both light and dark magic, but at the time, I had never thought to ask about either in depth, never actually expecting to become a bearer of either. Everything I’d learned I discovered either by accident or through my own trial and error. I knew there had to be more, much more, and I knew the knowledge was inside me. I could feel the untouched energy radiating out from my power core. Sadly, it would remain that way.
The cabin I picked for my own felt like a palace compared to the tiny trailer I had lived in at camp. It looked like an authentic log cabin from the outside, but it was an illusion. The logs had been split down the center, the inside had been varnished and the windows were modern, double paned with secure locks. In the living room, there was a working wood-burning stove, a large stack of firewood next to it, a rickety table with four ladder-back chairs, and a futon doubling as a couch. A small kitchenette was built-in at the very end of the room.
To the left of the kitchenette and down a small hallway, a bathroom boasted a bathtub, toilet, and sink, not that I would be using them, but I was happy for the vanity mirror. I would no longer have to walk around unaware that I had leaves in my hair and mud on my face.
The bedroom at the end of the hall was a delightful surprise, consisting of a small dresser, a bedside table, and a double bed. The thin, stained mattress that sat alone on a basic metal frame was the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long time.
I laughed aloud and spun around with my arms spread wide. I’d hit the jackpot. I’d found a home far enough away from any sort of compact civilization. I was heavily warded. There was a gods damn lake in my front yard and plenty of wandering animals to hunt. And I had a Jeep! What else could an apocalypse survivor ask for? Companionship, you say? These days a girl can’t be too fussy. I would settle for survival instead and put the rest out of my mind.
Maybe I should start fishing? First, I would need a fishing pole. Damn, I didn’t even know how to use a fishing pole.
I should probably stop talking to myself. No need to end up watching a blank television screen. Although, if I drew faces on it…
I spent the rest of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon cleaning out the dust and bugs and moving my own meager belongings inside. My food supply was low, not that I minded hunting, but I wanted to stock up on canned goods for winter. A storm could blow in, trapping me inside. I
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