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Standing amid what has grown to be a large gathering of people, my cheeks burn with awareness. Awareness of my sudden arrival here. And what I’ve done. I’ve just humiliated the leader of this village and his guards. Though that wasn’t my express intent and I was provoked, the end result was the same. And now, the abrasive, self-righteous head of this place has been brought to his knees. His hair, once as white as freshly-fallen snow, is soiled, and his wrinkled complexion is tinted crimson, marred by shame and annoyance. Though momentarily disgraced, deep in the marrow of my bones, I sense that Arundel will recover. But will his people? Will Lucas, who was kind and trusting enough to bring me here?
A flash of panic bolts through my system. Though I don’t regret standing up for myself or proving the point Arundel refused to hear, a small spark of worry flares. That worry is dispelled, however, when Cassidy, Lucas’s mother, smiles at me with not only approval but another emotion that borders on pride. Her eyes are the color of the land. The soft brown of the earth. The green of trees and grass. The blue of the sky and the soft gold of the sun. Warmth glows in her hazel gaze. I haven’t been looked upon with such warmth since my own mother looked upon me, and that feels like a lifetime ago. My heart clenches. I want to look away. To jerk my head and break the connection, the invisible line between this woman whom I’ve just met and who’s perhaps only a decade older than me, and stare at my feet. But something makes me pause as an answering familiarity flutters desperate wings in my chest. Cassidy resembles my mother. My mother’s image is branded clearly and indelibly in my memory. Time has not faded it. And sometimes, in the darkest, predawn hours of night, I realize time hasn’t faded the pain of losing her either. Life allots each of us one mother. I was fortunate enough to be born to her, and had the privilege of learning she was the kindest, gentlest, bravest, fiercest, most self-sacrificing human being I’d ever met. She gave her life for me. I live because of her.
“You must be exhausted,” Cassidy says. Her voice is smooth and mellifluous. “Please, come with us and rest.” Her tone reaches out to me like wispy tendrils tracing the back of my neck. Fatigue has permeated every cell in my body. Exhaustion taxes my muscles so heavily I wonder how I swung my sword earlier. And nostalgia tugs at the strings of my heart, making me yearn for a time when I was sheltered by my parents’ love.
“Yes,” Ara rises up onto her tiptoes and chimes in. “You can rest in my hut. Their hut smells like a foot.” She gestures among Lucas, Pike and Kohl.
I stifle a laugh, covering my mouth with my hand.
“Hey!” Kohl says. His wide, expressive eyes twinkle with playfulness. “I’ll give you a foot to smell!” He makes a move as if he’s going to lift his leg and place it near her face. “Didn’t get to wash last night either.” He laughs.
I feel my cheeks redden as the laughter becomes harder to contain.
Ara raises her hands to chest height, warding him off as she scrunches her features. “Eww! Gross! No thanks!”
“I was out walking around all day so you can give my feet a sniff if you’d like when you’re done with his,” Lucas jokes.
“Yeah. Mine, too,” Pike adds.
“Yuck! You guys are so gross!” Ara protests.
“Oh I wouldn’t say too much if I were you, Ara,” Colin says. “Especially since you’ll be bunking with them tonight.”
“And our feet.” Kohl grins impishly.
Ara slaps a hand to her forehead. “Oh, brother,” she sighs.
“Oh brothers is more like it,” Cassidy says with a laugh.
“Mom, do I really have to stay with them tonight?” Ara turns and looks at her mother pleadingly. “Can’t I stay with Avery and June?”
“Avery and June are our guests. I’m sure their journey hasn’t been an easy one and they need some peace,” Cassidy says and runs a hand down Ara’s hair, a single, loving stroke.
“Haha, see that? Mom said they need peace that’s why you can’t stay. In other words you’d be a pain in the butt.” Pike raises his brows at Ara and nods.
Though Pike’s words were taunting, his tone was good-humored and without malice, Ara still whirls on him. With eyes narrowed, she plants fisted hands on her hips and glares at him. “No, I wouldn’t and that’s not how Mom meant it!” she snaps.
“Whoa, Ara,” Pike holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I was only playing. Sheesh.”
Ara’s expression softens. She smooths her hands down the front of her shirt. “I know.” She clears her throat. “Avery and June need to rest.”
“Yeah, and if Avery bunked with us, we’d want to ask her a million questions about her, this place, everything,” June chimes in.
June’s words cause Ara’s face to brighten and a small smile to tug at the corners of her mouth. Ara works hard to contain it, but can barely hide the joy in her expression. I have no idea what it’s like to have one brother, let alone three brothers, one of whom is a twin. I’d imagine it has its challenges at times. Particularly since she is the only girl in the family, apart from her mother. The fire in her seems to be fueled by both an inborn drive and the external force. That external force being her need to prove herself to her brothers. I admire both.
“We wouldn’t want that,” Colin says with a wink over Ara’s head. “Not when we have so many questions for you. So much to learn about you and the world beyond this forest.”
“Thank you for letting us stay,” I reply. “We need rest, for sure. And we’ll tell you everything there is to tell about life beyond this forest, though I’m afraid there’s nothing good to share anymore.”
In my periphery, Arundel looks as though he might pipe up and protest the offer that’s been extended to us. He parts his lips fleetingly then clamps them shut as if he’s thought otherwise.
Colin’s expression remains unchanged, as does Cassidy’s. Ara gestures to June and I, waving us forward as she begins walking. “Come on. Follow me. I’ll take you to my hut.”
An involuntary smile tilts the corners of my mouth upward. There is a quality about Ara, a light within her that glows brightly and warms me. I can’t help but smile. She bounds ahead of us, turning at times and walking backward as she points out the various places we pass and explains the function of each. We follow the stone path as it winds its way between squat structures until we reach a section comprised of huts. Composed of a stone base and a thatched roof, the huts are small and closely spaced. When we’ve almost reached the end of the path and run out of huts to pass, Ara stops.
“This is mine,” she says. She pushes open a door made of branches tied together tightly and trimmed to form a rectangle that perfectly seals the entrance. Beyond it, three beds of straw rest along the perimeter. “You guys can sleep in whichever bed you like. I usually sleep in that one.” She points to the one in the farthest corner of the room. I can’t tell whether she’d rather we steer clear of it or honored if one of us sleeps in it. “Come on in.” She steps over the threshold and ushers us inside. She inhales deeply. “Smell that?” she asks.
I inhale and immediately smell lavender and rose. “I do,” I say. “Is it lavender and rose?”
“Yes!” Ara bounces and claps her hands in front of her chest.
“I don’t see any flowers though,” June says.
This causes Ara’s smile to broaden. “Nope. My secret is that I dry the flowers and sprinkle the petals around. If you look closely, they’re hidden around here.”
“That’s fantastic,” June says. “What a great idea!”
“It really is,” I agree. “And from what I heard back there, maybe your brothers could use some sprinkled around their room.” I wink at her.
Ara’s eyes dance with merriment. “I’ve tried! But that stench needs more than dried flowers to mask it! Three boys. Six feet. I could put a bucket of roses, lavender, peonies, daisies, marigolds and lemon grass in their room and it would still smell like a foot.”
I laugh aloud and June does, too. When the laughter calms, June yawns.
Noticing, Ara takes it as a cue to leave. “You guys are exhausted. I’ll leave you to get some sleep and see you later.”
“Thank you so much for letting us stay in your hut,” I say. She and her family have been not only welcoming and kind, but generous, as well.
“You’re welcome,” she replies with a sweet smile. “I’ll see you soon.” She parts with a small wave then closes the door.
Left alone inside the small hut that is fragranced by dried lavender and rose pedals, I look at June. She allows her body to collapse onto the closest bed of straw. Her shoulders slump and, with her elbows resting on her knees, her head drops into her hands. “I can’t remember being this tired,” she says. Her voice is slightly muffled by her hands. “I’m sure I was, but it’s been such a long time.”
“I know. Me, too.” I nod. “Ten years of peace and not fleeing every place we find, being on the run, is a long time. I got used to sleeping at night. Well, before I had John and Will,” I add quickly. Becoming a mother of twins meant that every day was one long day with little naps here and there for the first three years. I’d rip my heart from my chest still beating to hold them right now. To hold them both in my arms and know they’re safe. Heavy-hearted, I heave a sigh that comes from somewhere deep inside my aching chest.
“Yeah, you didn’t sleep much at all after they were born.” June lifts her head. Her smile is bittersweet.
Thin beams of light filter through the small window. Still in the east, the sun is not yet overhead, therefore midday is not yet upon us. The thatched roof, layered with straw and rushes woven so intricately I’m positive it guards against the elements, does not allow for any sunlight to penetrate.
“No, I didn’t.” I shake my head and envision their tiny infant bodies. The faces they’d make. The sounds and how I came to learn them all. “And I didn’t really sleep soundly since.” I shrug. “I guess that’s what Mom and Dad always meant when they said ‘once you become a parent, you never really sleep again’.”
“I don’t remember Mom saying that, but I remember Dad saying it.” June was very young when our mother was killed by the Urthmen. Her memories are few. At times I envy her for that. Sometimes remembering hurts too much. It punctuates the pain. The loss. The absence of someone for whom hope of reunion doesn’t even exist.
“I bet,” I say of the remembrance of our father. He was so many things. An excellent swordsman, a skilled tracker and hunter, honest and patient were just a few. He worried about June and I. And we were always in sight. The worry I feel for my own sons is overwhelming.
As if reading my mind, June says, “Avery, we’re going to be okay. We’ll find them—John, William, and Sully. We’ll find them. Alive.” Her eyes meet mine, resolute and clear.
I nod feebly.
“But we need our strength. We need to rest so we can get out of this forest and find them.”
I sit on the bed of straw beside her. “You’re right,” I say. I swing my legs around, extending them, and lie back. As soon as my head is even with my body, exhaustion claims me. I feel as if I’m being rocked, though I know the bed is still. Within seconds, deep, dark oblivion reaches out to me with its velvety embrace, and I fall fast asleep.
The sun no longer shines in the east and the earliest hints of dusk tint the sky, turning it from a brilliant cobalt blue to a cornflower blue banded with lavender wisps. I bolt upright. In the bleary seconds just after waking, I forget what’s happened. I forget the Peace Treaty has been broken and that my husband and children are gone. That my people are dead. It comes rushing back to me. Fresh and raw. It returns.
Breaths short and shallow, I wipe the dampness from my brow. It takes a moment to collect myself before I decide to wake June. I tap her foot and she rouses. It takes her eyes a moment to focus and when they do, they widen. “Where are we?” she asks. She sits upright.
“We’re in a village in the Great Forest,” I remind her.
Focus returns to her eyes and her features relax. The crease between her brows smooths. “Oh. I sleep so deeply.” She sits up slowly. “I don’t even remember dreaming. Just...nothing. And then this.” She rubs her temples.
A soft knock at the door draws our attention to it. “Come in,” I say.
The door opens, revealing a sliver of light and Lucas’s voice asks, “Is it okay if I come in?” The light grows brighter slowly. “It’s Lucas.”
“Of course,” I reply. “It’s your home. Well, technically it’s your sister’s,” I fumble. “Oh, you know what I mean.”
Lucas chuckles. “Oh, everyone knows this is Ara’s hut. I’d probably take an arrow to the behind if she knew I was in here without her.” His eyes widen and sparkle with amusement. I also think he’s only half kidding.
Soft laughter is shared among us. When it stops, Lucas clears his throat. “Are you guys feeling any better?” he asks.
I want to tell him that waking with the fresh reminder of what happened made me feel worse, and so did sleeping only a few hours. “Not sure yet,” I respond. It’s the closest possible answer to the truth I can give. “I feel kind of beat up. I’d probably need to sleep for three days to feel rested.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” he replies.
“You know we can’t. But thank you,” I say somberly.
“You need to find your kids and your husband.” Lucas nods. The act and his tone of voice are a grave combination.
“Yes, I do,” I agree.
“Then the best I can offer is that you sleep the night through and then we can leave at first light. But first you need to eat. It’s almost dinnertime.”
“We are leaving at first light,” June says and gestures between she and I. “Just Avery and I.”
“And me. I’m coming, too,” Lucas announces.
“No, you’re not,” June answers immediately.
For a moment, Lucas is speechless and looks as if he’s been slapped.
“But I—” he starts when finally he finds his words.
“No,” I say with more force than needed. Softening my tone, I add, “You can’t come with us. It’s too dangerous.”
“Too dangerous? For me? Are you serious?” He stares at me incredulously. “I was the one who found you out there and got you here. I’m the one who lives in the Great Forest and knows it well.”
Now it is I who am without words. Several beats pass before I speak again.
“Lucas, I can't let you come with us. I’m so grateful that you’d even offer, but it’s far too dangerous,” I say. “Please, just tell us the direction we need to go and give us as may tips as you can. What to avoid, places that’re especially dense and difficult to travel and so on.” I place my feet on the ground and stand. The movement is too sudden and makes my head spin.
“I'm taking you,” Lucas says adamantly. He eyes me as if he knows exactly how weak and awful I feel.
“I won't let you,” I reply with strength I don’t have at the moment. “And do your parents know what your plan is?” Mentioning his parents should be enough to back him off of the idea.
“No, not yet,” he replies in a voice far less assertive than the one he used moments ago.
“I’m sure they won’t allow it and I don’t blame them.” I speak to him as I would have spoken to June when she was his age, with tenderness and reason.
“But you need my help.” Lucas’s eyes plead with me. He wants to help. His intentions are genuine. That much is evident from the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes.
“We do. I won’t argue that.” I concede that point. He’s right. His help would expedite our exit from the Great Forest exponentially. But for the same reasons I’d never have allowed June to do what he wants to do when she was his age and a few more, I can’t accept his help. “But the people here need you more. The answer is no. Absolutely not.”
Lucas’s head, hanging seconds earlier, snaps up. He looks at me curiously.
“Of course I don’t want to put you in danger. That’s my first reason,” I continue. “But I also see that the people in this village need you here even more than June and I need you to help us out of the forest.”
Lucas’s head sags once again. “I don't know about that,” he says in a deflated tone.
“I see a need here for young people like yourself to step up and lead. Lead by example.” Recalling Arundel and the guards’ dismal performance is only part of the reason why I feel the village needs Lucas. The other is that I sense that he’s a natural leader. He seems calm and composed, keen and willing to listen and learn. The mark of every great leader is not only his or her ability to make decisions and create rules, but to learn. To listen and watch and learn. Lucas seems adept at all of those skills.
“Avery, not all of us here are as bad with their sword as Arundel and his guards,” Lucas says with the slightest edge of defensiveness. “My father is a very good swordsman actually. Not nearly as good as you, but really good. He’s trained me, and I practice daily because I want to be better.” Every trace of defensiveness has left his tone. It’s been replaced with passion and excitement. Eyes wide and glittering with interest, he says, “I want to learn. I’ve listened to every word my father has said and watched every move he’s made when training. And I practice every spare second I have. Most people here don’t. They don’t care that much about it. But I do. And after seeing what you did today, I want to be as good as you.” He takes a deep breath, as if steeling his nerves. “Can you teach me? Can you teach me to swing a sword the way you do?”
The spark in him—his enthusiasm—is contagious. He’s a wellspring of all that a leader should be. All that a leader needs. I regret the words before I say them. “It's not something I can teach in a day, Lucas. I’m sorry.”
“I know.” He nods his head with a note of regret. “Could you show me what to work on so I can improve my technique on my own?”
“I’d be honored to,” I answer with a respectful bow of my head. “Why don’t we go now? Do you have time now?”
“Absolutely,” Lucas replies. He leads me out behind Ara’s hut. No one is around and there’s a level stretch of grass. June is just a few steps behind me.
As soon as we reach the grassy clearing, Ara appears. Slung over her shoulder is a quiver filled with arrows. She carries her bow. With her coloring so similar to June’s and armed as she is, she looks like a miniature version of my sister. “What’re you guys up to?” she asks.
Lucas eyes her suspiciously. Even I can tell she knows but is being intentionally coy. “As if you don’t know and weren’t eavesdropping.” Lucas arches one eyebrow at Ara.
With an impish smile she says, “Maybe I was,” and shrugs. “Maybe I overheard Avery say she’d teach you some sword-fighting stuff. And maybe I thought while she did that with you, June would give me some arching pointers.” She flashes a smile and waggles her eyebrows.
“Everyone in the village knows you’re the best archer here,” Lucas says to his sister as he retrieves a pair of practice swords from beneath pine-tree branches. He hands me one and keeps the other.
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have things to learn. I want to keep getting better,” Ara replies.
I begin to think that leadership skills are in their blood.
“I like that,” June says to Ara. “I like your attitude! Let’s practice together.” Ara smiles. “Come on. Take me to the target.”
Ara leads June away, to an area with a solid black circle at the center of three other concentric circles. The circles are on animal hides stretched over tightly-packed hay. Within seconds, the shrill scream of arrows carving the air is followed by the loud thwap of them hitting their mark.
“June is an amazing archer. I’ve never seen anyone like her.” He blushes deeply then stammers “Er, uh, I mean shoot like her. I’ve never seen anyone shoot like her.”
“She’s something else.” I watch her pull her bowstring tight and release an arrow. She’s deadlier than anyone I’ve ever met with her bow and arrows.
“She sure is,” Lucas agrees, his eyes never leaving her and his voice distant and dreamy.
I want to laugh but keep it to myself. I didn’t come with Lucas to tease him about his obvious interest in my sister. I came to spar with him and teach him as much as I can in the short amount of time before June and I eat, sleep, and then leave.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“Oh, uh, yeah.” He stumbles a half step then grips the handle of his sparring sword more purposefully. His expression transforms from lovesick to determined.
Lifting my sword, my stance is prepared when he advances. With speed and agility far superior to Arundel and the guards, Jonah and Zachariah, Lucas comes at me. The clack of our wooden swords is the only sound we make. Lucas is focused and his movements cannot be anticipated. It requires effort to deflect each swipe of his blade. Deciding to intensify our session, I go on the offensive and strike. Lucas, dauntless, shields a strike intended for his skull and blocks the blow. Though caught off guard at first, he manages to immediately regain his footing and retaliate, forcing me back with his block. He then swings his wooden sword, carving the air and aiming at my ribs. I twist and step, dodge and block each blow. Fleetingly, I catch sight of Lucas’s expression. Brow low and eyes alert, he is fully engaged. A natural who seems to not only enjoy sparring, but shows aptitude, as well.
Sweat beads my brow and trails between my shoulder blades. Hunger gnaws and a headache throbs in time with my pulse. Our swords clack and bang. Our movements become like an intricate dance. And though I best him each time, it requires more effort to do so with each second that ticks by. He’s absorbing strike patterns. Studying my motion. My strengths. He’s actively seeking out any vulnerability I may have. His instincts are spot-on. He has the markings of a warrior. As fierce a warrior as I’ve ever seen in fact.
We continue a while longer before fatigue and hunger halt us. The angle of the sun is low and Lucas informs me that we need to meet the rest of his family for dinner.
We catch our breath and walk our swords back to the place where they were stashed. I take the opportunity to share with him the observations I made while we sparred. “Lucas,” I stop and say. He turns to face me, his aquamarine gaze trained on me. “You have incredible skills.” My words are not a lie. I believe them wholeheartedly and only hope that the sentiment translates. “You need to hone them. Work as hard as you did today and practice daily. This village needs you.” A sense of foreboding, inexplicable and intangible, washes over me, prickling my skin and causing goosebumps to raise my flesh.
Lucas kicks a tuft of weedy growth with his foot, his eyes cast to the ground. “I don't know about all that, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And I know what I just saw. I saw the markings of a warrior. A leader.” He lifts his gaze and it meets mine. “You need to promise me you will train every day,” I plead.
“I promise,” he replies.
We exchange smiles and begin walking back toward the huts. We find June and Ara then Pike and Kohl. We stand in a small circle chatting when Cassidy approaches. “Dinner’s ready.” She places a loving hand on Lucas’s shoulder.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Lucas replies. “We’ll head to the gathering hall now.”
“No gathering hall tonight,” she says with a wink.
“What?” Lucas regards her curiously.
“Nope. Your father and I prepared something back here.” She bobs her eyebrows. “Follow me.” She turns and begins walking. We file after her until we find ourselves at the outermost perimeter of village. There, a worn wooden table with a bench on either side of it is set with greens, meat and a bowl of stew. Colin is placing a final platter of berries atop it. “Dinner is served,” Cassidy says.
“Wow, Mom, everything looks amazing,” Ara compliments.
“It really does,” Kohl agrees. “How’d you manage to do all of this?”
“It was nothing really.” She shrugs and swats the air, refusing to take credit for her and Colin’s hard work.
“Thank you so much,” Lucas says.
“Yes, thank you,” June adds.
I’m about to thank them as well when Colin speaks.
“Arundel wanted to have you in the gathering hall with the entire village, but we thought you would like something simpler than that. A little less formal and overwhelming. I hope that’s okay,” Colin says.
I nod, my mouth watering at the sight of the feast before us. “Of course. And you were right. This is so much better than any dining hall. We cannot thank you enough for this.” I gesture toward the table. “For letting June and I stay in Ara’s hut. For everything,” I say earnestly.
“Oh good. I assured him we’d relay information you share with us,” Colin says with a wink. The expression on his face divulges that he knows as well as I do that Arundel wouldn’t believe a word we say and that relaying information would be a waste of time. “Please, sit. Eat.” He waves us over.
June and I hang back as Lucas, Ara, Pike and Kohl seat themselves on the bench. Everyone begins serving him or herself, scooping food onto plates in a very polite and orderly manner.
“More rabbit?” Kohl asks Ara.
Ara hesitates. “No. I shouldn’t,” she says softly.
“Yes, you should,” he replies with a firm yet loving tone. “You’re growing and training and you need meat.”
Ara’s head whips in his direction, an unspoken question in her eyes.
“Yeah, you heard me. Training. I watched you with June today.” He smiles proudly. “You were incredible.” He scoops rabbit meat onto her plate then sets it down. He snags a leg from it and bites into it. While chewing, he says, “I’ve watched you shoot before and you’ve always been good. But today,” he pauses to drink from a tankard of water beside him. “Today, you were outstanding.” Then to June, he says, “You really rubbed off on her. She’s got the raw talent, but whatever you did brought it out even more.”
“Nah,” June says. “I just gave her some minor little hints. The rest was all her.” She clips her chin toward Ara. “Ara’s going to be better than me if she keeps training. I’ll have to come back and get pointers from her.”
Ara’s cheeks burn a deep scarlet hue. But her spine lengthens so that her posture is perfectly straight and she tips her chin slightly. “Thank you, June,” she says with so much gratitude I feel my eyes burn with tears when I see hers shine with them. She swallows hard then sips her water before eating some of the generous helping of rabbit her brother served her.
“It was my privilege to shoot with you.” June’s tone matches Ara’s. A bond has formed between them. A chance occurrence with the happiest of outcomes, their meeting is serendipitous.
Cassidy serves me a mixture of root vegetables that consist of onions, carrots and tubers. Roasted in a brine with herbs, their scent floods my mouth with saliva. The smell is only surpassed by the flavor, which rolls on my tongue decadently. Closing my eyes, I savor the rich taste. “This is delicious,” I say as soon as I swallow. I continue to eat, relishing each bite until my plate is clean.
When everyone has finished, June and I help clear the plates. Once we’ve cleaned and the table is empty, we return to it. Colin sits down next to Cassidy opposite June and I and says, “Please, tell us everything.”
Taking a deep breath, I glance at June first. She nods and I begin. I tell them everything about us, starting from when we lost our mother. I continue telling our story. At times June takes over, recounting stories of us narrowly escaping death, whether it was at the hands of Urthmen or the claws of Lurkers or other nocturnal creatures, until finally the Peace Treaty was formed. We share with them what peace was like. What is was like to live among Urthmen for a decade without threat or battle. We share with them what the ten-year celebration was, that it was a mass, multi-city slaughter orchestrated by the Cadogan regime.
Darkness has fallen and deepened so that the sky is a navy abyss by the time June and I finish. Trembling and fraught with emotion, I’m unsure of how much time has passed. What am I sure of is that Colin, Cassidy, Lucas, Ara, Pike and Kohl have listened. They’ve heard each word we’ve spoken. At different points, each of them has swiped at or blinked back tears. And at no point in time did any of them look as though they didn’t believe us. After all, why would we lie? What would we gain from imparting them with anything but the truth?
Swallowing hard, I breathe against the tightness in my chest. “The Urthmen haven’t hunted humans in a decade. But they are now.” I make eye contact with Colin, Cassidy, Lucas, Ara, Pike and Kohl. “Every person here needs to prepare. They need to prepare to fight. Prepare for battle.” Fear is etched in each face before me. “They’ll look to exterminate every last human. They’ll never risk another human uprising again. The world beyond this forest is theirs again. You need to stay hidden and prepare.” Cassidy and Colin exchange worried glances. I do not bother trying to soften the severity of what’s happening. The truth is necessary now as it always is. Armed with the truth they have a chance at defending themselves. “Hopefully they’ll never find you,” I express my truest wish for them. “But if they do, you need to be ready.”
“We’ll share with everyone that training needs to begin tomorrow,” Cassidy says.
“Will they listen?” June asks.
“They won’t have a choice. We’ll have to keep talking to anyone who won’t and convince them. Our lives are at stake here.”
“Word spreads fast here. We’re really not a village but more like a family of a hundred thirty six.”
“And Arundel is like the cranky grandfather to one hundred thirty five of us,” Kohl says.
Laughter bubbles from me unexpectedly. And I’m not the only one. June, Cassidy, Lucas, Ara, Pike and Kohl join in too. Even Colin laughs. In times of extreme emotion, sometimes laughter is the only line of defense we have in the struggle to maintain perspective. Or sanity. In this case, I think it reminds us all of what we fight for. We fight to live. To laugh and love. I’m fighting to hear my children’s laughter again. To hold them in my arms and breathe again.
“He sure is,” Ara agrees. “He isn’t always as bad as he was today, but close.”
“Nah, I have to disagree with you on that one, sis,” Pike chimes in. “He’s been grouchy for as long as I can remember. He kind of just made himself leader because he’s the oldest in the village.”
“Not exactly,” Colin cringes and says. “We voted for him.”
“Why?” Kohl asks. “Why did we ever vote for him?” He shakes his head and exaggerates a confounded expression.
“The majority of the people here believe that elders deserve the highest honor possible,” Colin replies. “There was a time when the life expectancy of a human was maybe twenty years.”
“It sounds like that time is returning again,” Ara adds gravely. She shudders.
“I hope not and plan to do everything in my power to ensure it isn’t the case,” Colin says.
A short pause passes between us. I am without words. Ara is right. The time may be returning. After all I have seen in the last three days, I am far from optimistic. I want to offer this family something more than what I have. They’ve extended kindness and hospitality to June and I. Food, shelter and warmth. I want to offer them hope at the very least. But words elude me. And hope is fading fast.
“If living as long as Arundel means being as grumpy and stubborn as he is I don’t know if being an ‘honored elder’ is all it’s cracked up to be. I mean doesn’t he aggravate himself?” Kohl says.
For a moment, no one responds. We’re frozen as Kohl’s words settle and his unintentional humor takes hold. But within seconds, everyone is doubled over laughing. I laugh so hard my eyes tear and my abdominal muscles are sore. But I don’t care. I’m giddy and it feels great.
“I-I agree.” Pike can barely get the words out. He’s laughing so hard there are prolonged pauses between sounds. Watching him laugh only intensifies my laughter.
When the laughter quiets, Colin clears his throat. “Ah, he is a grump. No one here would argue that.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Cassidy says and pats her husband’s back affectionately.
I want to agree but don’t feel it’s my place.
Cassidy, as if reading my thoughts, says, “I’m sure Avery and June would agree with me that grumpy might be too polite a word for how he was with them.” She looks at me and lifts her brow, her eyes wide and expressive.
“Yeah, belittling them and calling them liars and trying to turn them away was a lot more than grumpy. It was mean,” Ara says. “Right?” Ara looks to June.
June nods. “Pretty much,” she replies.
“What he did was awful. I’m ashamed of him. Ashamed that he was elected to lead,” Lucas says in a clear, confident tone.
Colin looks around, wary of being overheard. In a tone low enough so that only we can hear, he says “I’m disgusted by how he was. And surprised. I’ve seen him be dismissive of new ideas and curt at times, but never downright hostile as he was with you two.” He looks from June’s face to mine. “I only hope it was an isolated incident.”
“Me, too,” Cassidy agrees. “If he were to start acting like that all the time and we’re stuck with him, we’d have quite a problem on our hands.”
“The Urthmen hunting for us and a tyrant for a leader.” Ara huffs. “I’d say we have pretty big problems already.”
No one replies to Ara’s comment. No one really can. She’s right. I only met Arundel once and I can tell his need to have the final say and his smugness are problematic. He will only get worse as time goes on. That coupled with the Urthmen’s renewed determination to exterminate the whole of humanity leaves them and their village exceptionally vulnerable.
Silence spans among our group. All that can be heard is the scrabble or chirp of creatures beyond the wall. The occasional howl of Night Lurkers is an eerie reminder of what June and I could be hiding from. I’m grateful that Lucas found us. Grateful we are here.
“I guess we’d better get to our huts” Colin says and breaks the silence. “You two need to get a good night’s sleep if you’re going to continue on your journey out of this forest.”
June and I agree. We stand and thank everyone, especially Cassidy and Colin for the lovely meal. Ara leads us to her hut and wishes us a good night. Left alone, I remove my boots and settle in to the bed of straw. June does as I do. Within moments of my head reclining, I am fast asleep. It is not until a gentle tap on my shoulder is felt that I’m woken.
Blinking, my vision is blurry, but I’m able to make out Lucas’s features. “Hey, good morning,” I say. My voice is still thick with sleep. I notice the sun has yet to rise.
“Good morning. It’s not light out yet, but I figured you have a lot to prepare for before you leave.”
“We do. You’re right.” If we leave as soon as the sun rises, we’ll have the entire day. Every hour counts.
“I’ll let you wake June and pull yourselves together,” Lucas says then slips out the door. He closes it behind him.
June is awake when I sit up and tap her foot. “Are you ready to venture back out into the forest?” I ask her.
“Not really,” she replies with a wry smile.
“You can stay—” I don’t even get to say the rest of my sentence when June interrupts.
“Don’t even say it, Avery. There’s no way I’m staying here and we’ve been over this already.” Her tone leaves no room for further discussion. I simply nod and stand. June follows suit and we step out into the brisk and foggy predawn air. Cassidy, Colin, Lucas, Ara, Pike and Kohl are on the path outside the hut waiting for us. Sacks filled with food have been packed for us. Cassidy hands one to me and one to June. “Thank you,” June says.
“Thank you,” I say as well. “For everything. You’ve been extraordinarily kind and extraordinarily generous with us.”
“It was our pleasure,” Cassidy replies warmly.
Lucas and his family walk with us along the winding pathway. The entire population of the village has turned out to see us off. They line the pathway to the right of the courtyard. Once we’ve said our good-byes and thanked them for their well-wishes, we’re left with just Colin, Cassidy, Lucas, Ara, Pike and Kohl.
Cassidy hugs me tightly and in my ear she says, “Be safe in your travels and find your babies.” She doesn’t let go right away, but when she does, she looks into my eyes and holds my gaze. “You will find them. I know you will.” A fierce love only a mother knows burns brightly in her hazel eyes.
Blinking back tears, words are stuck in my constricted throat. All I can do is nod. Cassidy does the same and moves on to June. I say good bye to Colin, Ara, Pike and Kohl. Lucas is last.
“Lucas remember everything I told you and what you need to do,” I say to him. I need him to know what I see in him. I need him to feel it in his marrow as I do.
“I’ll remember. You have my word,” he promises. “I’ll train and I’ll remember.”
“Good,” I say. I embrace him. “Thank you, Lucas. And please be safe.” I tighten my hug briefly before I release him.
June approaches and places a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.” She already wrapped up all of her other goodbyes and saved Lucas for last as I did. The kiss and her words leave him breathless, wordless and blushing. He tries to speak but can do little more than mumble nonsense. He hasn’t composed himself fully when the gate opens and June and I step over the threshold and back out into the forest. It closes behind us with a loud and final clang.
June and I are left alone in the Great Forest once again. We will find our way to its end at the border of the Urthmen city of Elian and we will find my family.