“You all stay close to the tent,” ordered Arnon.
Nashua began to stretch and pop his joints. “I’d prefer to search in my wolf form,” he told Arnon. “My senses are much stronger.”
Arnon nodded, understanding. He’d seen a few of the Tunkapog transform into their animal forms before. It still astonished him. He took a quick glance back at Kanda.
She knew what he was thinking. What animal did she transform into?
With Nashua it was fairly easy to tell. His clothing was made out of white fur, and in some places, it seemed to naturally soak into his skin, almost like it was a living part of him. And yet he claimed he could remove the furs whenever he wanted to.
Nashua’s body began to quiver and shake, rocking side to side. Violently at first, and then faster and faster, soon moving so fast it was more like a vibration. And then boom! A wolf had taken his place and ran off into the night. Arnon took off right behind him.
Milo looked over at them all. “I do hope they’ll all be all right.”
“They will,” insisted Kanda. “It’s just precautionary anyway. We have no way of knowing if what Juliska saw is happening right at this moment, has already happened, or will happen in the future.”
It was a sad truth. She wished her visions could be more precise.
Kanda patted her on the arm and she, Milo and Balloch headed back inside.
Eddy sauntered up to her wearing a sly grin. “You’ll do anything to get out of that walk, won’t you?”
She let out a timid laugh.
Eddy stretched and sighed arrogantly. “Yup. Getting under your skin. I think my work here is done for tonight.”
Why did the man have to be so devilishly charming? And disarming?
“I’ll leave you to your work,” he whispered more seriously, joining the others inside the tent. She lowered her head and sighed. There was more to Eddy than first met the eye. He did know when to actually let her be so she could focus.
Although she found it harder to do now that he had done this. She stepped into the tent and straight into her room in order to be alone. She opened a small bag and removed a few candles, lighting them. And waited. For anything to show itself to her.
But nothing came. No new visions, only that same one.
A man, at least she was pretty sure it was a man, based on the build from the silhouette she saw. And he was definitely around here somewhere, or had been, or would be. Which meant even if it was a future vision, it would happen soon as they were only supposed to stay here a few days.
It was a long, restless, night.
Cornell returned hours later having tracked nothing out of the ordinary. He was concerned though, that he wasn’t familiar enough with the magical energy in this place and he might have missed something.
Nearing dawn, Arnon and Nashua returned. He was in human form again, but they had spotted nothing. They decided to set up a round the clock watch, just in case. And they decided that during exploration they’d each stay within a group, and no one should remain alone.
Cornell wasn’t in the mood for sleep, so he told everyone he’d take first watch at the tent door. Nashua decided to stay with him. The others piled into their beds to try to get a few hours sleep before it was time to explore the valley.
It was difficult to get excited about it though. With the worry of someone out there spying and following them. What did this man want? Who was he? Did he know about magic? Or just a stranger who happened across them?
Juliska gazed into a flame, hoping that at some point she might get the answers they needed.
#
She awoke a few hours later having fallen asleep on the ground with her head propped against the side of the bed. Someone had wrapped a blanket around her. The candle was spent, the flame doused.
Guilt fluttered through her. She had hoped to leave her room with more news. It was the reason she’d been asked to join the quest. But no one even asked her upon her exit. They just greeted her with their usual good mornings.
“You slept?” Eddy asked her.
“Yes. A little. I didn’t think I would. You?”
He shrugged. “A bit here and there. Nothing to write home about.” He poured another coffee and motioned at an empty mug.
“Yes. Please.”
He filled the mug for her and she grabbed it. “Thanks.”
“Made this pot myself,” he boasted. “I make a pretty good cup of mud.”
“It’s um…” she exhaled a surly response. Always so sure of himself… but not wrong. “Yes,” she agreed. “You do.”
“Why, thank you.”
She took a seat at the table. There was a pile of toast and a pan of eggs and bacon. She wasn’t hungry though. Just needed coffee.
“Do your visions make you tired?” Eddy asked, taking the seat next to her. “I mean, do they drain you, physically?”
“Um…” no one had ever asked how her visions worked before.
“Sorry. If it’s too personal…”
“No. It’s fine. It’s not so much physically tiring, as mentally so.”
“I always wondered and wanted to ask. But you’re the only seer I’ve ever been on a first name basis with.”
“Lucky me,” she joked half-heartedly. “The visions don’t wear me out as much as they used to. Like with anything I guess, the more you do it, the easier it gets.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me, Juliska. I hope you were warm enough last night.” He grinned at her obvious displeasure that he’d pulled the blanket around her.
“Where did Mr. Sensitive Guy suddenly come from?” she retorted coolly.
“I’ve already broken down your defenses. This is the showing you my other, softer side, stage.”
Juliska opened her mouth to say something but her tongue got flustered and nothing came out. She hid it poorly by sucking down a big mouthful of coffee. After setting down the mug, she turned to him defiantly.
“And what stage comes after this one, Eddy? I’d just like to prepare myself.”
Her question caught him off guard, but only made him grin even wider.
“After this, comes the stage where I make you fall madly in love with me.”
Something caught in her throat. “Well… you can try… I guess.” Had she just said that? And there was no argument forming.
“I don’t think I’m going to have to try too hard.”
She looked at him and saw it all so clearly. Not a true vision of her future.
This was something else. Something in her gut. A strong intuition.
How did this man tear down her defenses, almost like he’d built them himself?
“Damn you, Edward Gillivray.”
Her cheeks blushed, but she never took her eyes away from his.
He was totally right. And she thoroughly hated him for it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
They left the valley inside the Witch’s Head Mountain Range without further incident from the man following them. Juliska had no new vision of their secret spy. And no new traces of the man were found. They hoped it was the end of it now they were moving onward.
Kanda and Nashua led them to their next magical portal. It was a little bit of a hike, and uphill. Juliska had to stop and catch her breath a few times. They finally reached it and stopped for a moment.
It looked so unassuming. A simple arch made out of tree branches.
“Ready?” Milo asked everyone. He stepped through first. Everyone else followed. Arnon came through last. Upon exit he froze, alongside everyone else. There was a smoldering fire not too far away. Someone had been here, quite recently.
Cornell was looking for traces of magic. Kanda motioned for Arnon to remain where he was and let him finish. Nashua was gone. Arnon assumed he’d gone wolf and was searching the woods in a form no one would suspect was actually searching for anything.
Cornell finished, looking relieved. “No magic here.”
Everyone relaxed… a little.
“So what
is this then?” Arnon questioned.
“A stray passerby,” alleged Kanda. “This is a remote place.”
“Hiker,” a voice called out. They turned to see Nashua rejoining them. “Tracked him easily. Just a lone hiker. Already a half mile down a path.”
“Do hikers come here often?” Arnon already didn’t like this place.
“Didn’t used to,” Kanda replied. “We were here just a month ago to set up the portal, there hadn’t been any traces of recent visitors.”
“Balloch… Eddy…” Arnon started.
“Already taking note,” Balloch replied. He nodded at Eddy who actually wrote it down.
Milo tried to ease the tension. “I suspect we’re all just a little jumpy. After Juliska’s vision and all.”
“But that was of the Witch’s Head,” she reminded. “Not here.”
“Exactly. So let’s set up camp.” Milo opened the trunk to pull out the tent.
It was strange, but more than once that afternoon, Juliska had to stop and look around, just to be sure someone wasn’t watching her. She couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Everything okay?” Eddy asked her later that day.
“Yeah. Fine.”
“You don’t sound confident in that answer.”
“Can’t explain it. Just feels like there’s someone close by. Watching me.”
“But you didn’t have a vision of this?”
“No.”
“Still, from what I’ve heard, all seers are naturally intuitive. Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Does your gut tell you it’s nothing?”
She gave him a short shake of the head. He took a walk around the campsite but saw no signs of anyone. He made his way back around to her and shrugged.
“It’s nothing, Edward. Really. I think I’m just a little jumpy. Nothing a good night’s sleep can’t fix.”
“You sure?” He looked concerned.
“Yeah.”
“Looks like the meeting’s about to start.” He let her go inside the tent first. He glanced around behind him, suddenly unable to shake that feeling as well; there was someone near. Someone watching them.
“Okay,” started Milo. “I didn’t have the chance to fully explain where we are after our distressing arrival earlier. Anyway… as you each noticed, this place isn’t so different from the last one. Except there are no mountains surrounding us. To be honest, we almost crossed this one off the list since there seemed to be so many other better contenders…”
“Let’s go back to the oasis,” Cornell jested. Everyone agreed.
“This place has a dreary sort of feel to it,” Balloch noted.
“It’s odd you say that,” said Arnon. “As the morning went on, I started to feel bit like that too.”
Juliska and Eddy sighed at the same time.
“You too, I take it?” Arnon asked both of them.
“Yes.” Juliska gave him a tense smile.
“It hit me not too long before this meeting started,” Eddy said.
“What do you think causes it?” Arnon looked first to Cornell for his take on it.
The tracker shook his head. “I can’t be sure, but I’ll run some tests. The gloom did get noticeably stronger as the morning went on. I thought I was just… tired. A little off my game.”
“It wasn’t like this before,” Nashua informed them.
“No. Whatever this is, it’s something new,” Kanda backed up her brother.
“What’s the deal with this place?” Cornell asked Milo.
Milo diverted to Kanda and Nashua.
“There used to be a village here. Long time ago, obviously. We’re surrounded by woods now and one would never know.” Kanda paused for a moment. “It was a magical village, very popular in its day, and we hoped because of that it might become one again. Perhaps we were wrong this time, Brother?”
Nashua took a moment to answer. “Perhaps. As you said earlier though, we were here a month ago preparing the portals and neither of us got such a foreboding feeling while here.”
“That’s what worries me most,” revealed Arnon. “I think we should put it to a vote. Stay? Continue on? On my part, I say we move on. Something doesn’t feel right here.”
Milo agreed. “I don’t see us choosing this place as a new home. We’ve been to others that far out compare. But the day is getting late, so perhaps a night’s rest here and we all see how we feel in the morning.”
“I can agree to that,” said Balloch.
Eddy nodded in agreement with his mentor.
Kanda and Nashua looked at each other and agreed as well.
Cornell rubbed the stubble on his chin. “If everyone else wants to stick around for the night, I’m fine with that. I think we could all use a good night’s rest.”
They all looked to Juliska. Her throat thick and dry, she nodded her acceptance silently. What she really wanted to say was, “Let’s pack up and leave, now. There’s something terrible here.” But she didn’t want to frighten anyone. Especially since she’d not had a vision of this and could not say this with any certainty.
“Okay then,” said Milo. “We’ll take a rest until the morning. Decide over breakfast what to do next.” He let out a discontented sigh. “Anyone care for a whiskey? I think I could use one.” A few of the others made a few offhanded comments and joined him.
Juliska almost broke her no drinking rule and asked him to pour her one. But she held her tongue, needing a clear head, no matter what her intuition was screaming. She didn’t realize she’d been sitting and staring into nothing for far too long, until there was a gentle hand lifting her face.
“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
She looked up and stared at him.
“Still can’t shake that feeling, can you?”
“No,” she whispered softly.
“C’mon. Let’s go a for a walk. Get it off your mind.” His tone was gentle, concerned.
She agreed without argument, allowing him to take her hand and lead her outside. It was late afternoon now but the sky was gray and it felt more like nightfall. They didn’t stray too far, it wasn’t a wise idea given the circumstances. Eddy found a downed log and motioned for Juliska to sit. She did. He sat down next to her.
The woods were quiet. Too quiet. Not a bird or an insect. Even the air was still and lifeless. She’d be much happier once they moved on from this place.
“Are you any better?” Eddy asked her.
She turned a little to look at him. “Why do you even care?”
He looked slightly offended by her question. “I thought I made that pretty clear.”
“You really haven’t.”
“What happened, Juliska, that you have so little trust?”
“You do have a bit of a reputation, Edward. And I’m a Firemancer. A seer. People need me… all the time,” her tone insinuated extra meaning.
“Ah. Now I see. You think I want something.”
“Most people do.”
“You mean other men do…”
She shrugged. “People don’t need me, they need what I can do. So what’s your angle?”
“Juliska… I…”
She stood up. “It’s okay. I’m used to it. Just tell me why you’re really being nice to me, so we can get it over with and move on.”
He stood up and faced her.
“Why can’t you just admit you like me? Why are you pushing me away?”
She stood up, folded her arms and glared hotly in reply.
“Is this what you always do? Just push and push until people leave you alone?”
“Like I said, everyone wants something, Edward. It’s just a matter of time until your charming façade disappears and the truth comes out.” She turned to leave. He grabbed her and spun her around.
“There’s only one thing I want.”
She eyed him, vindicated.
“Juliska Blackwell, you are… infuriat
ing.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. Can’t you understand…”
“Understand what?”
“You’re going to make me say it. I’ve never actually said it before you know. It’s not an easy thing to tell someone.”
“You don’t seem to have a problem talking. Words spew quite freely out of your mouth.”
“Damn it! I’m in love with you, Juliska Blackwell. Insanely in love with you.” He let go of her. “There.” He cleared his throat, unsure what to do now.
She stumbled back a little. “How can you even know that? I’m not… people don’t… we don’t even…” the words she wanted to say would not formulate. “I’m not something people want. I fulfill a need.” It wasn’t exactly what she was trying to say, but it was as close as her flustered brain could get.
“It’s all I want. This one thing. Let me love you.”
“That’s a big thing, Edward.”
“The biggest.”
“How can you be so sure of how you feel?”
“I look at you and see all your layers. Everything that’s so perfectly you. You’re smart. Witty. Devoted, almost to a fault. You’re fiery and prickly but it’s a front. I can see that now too. You don’t trust anyone, and yet you have this innate need to please everyone.”
Juliska started to argue with him but he shushed her. She closed her mouth.
“You’re funny. I don’t think you’re trying to be, but you make me laugh just the same. You’re beautiful. And you have a wicked temper. And you make me angry… so angry I think I could turn you over my knee and spank you.”
“You’re crazy,” she gasped.
“Yes. And so are you. A good kind of crazy. My kind of crazy. Your mood can change in an instant. You’re passionate. Strong willed. And yet so vulnerable it’s almost like you’re cut down the middle, and I want to wrap my arms around you and hold you together.”
She just stared at him, wordlessly.
“I’d never need anything from you, other than what you want to give,” he swore to her. “I have no doubt others have tried to use you for what you are. And I have no doubt other men find you intimidating… but you don’t frighten me, Juliska Blackwell. I see you for all you are. You’re the most imperfect and perfect woman I’ve ever met, and I love every layer.”
Forsaken (The Seer's Apprentice, The Pearl Dragon, and The Devoted Ghost) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 8) Page 7