by Anna Hub
Why were they being so stubborn? "Last time, it was only present when danger was nearby, the rest of the time he was himself."
"Then we'll make sure we stay more than half an hour behind," Tara added.
I glanced at Brayden and despite the grey in his eyes, he looked at Tara as she spoke. Could I take that as a sign he'd understood? He shrugged as though in answer to my unspoken question and Tara took it as a signal to make herself welcome.
"Why are you doing this?" I held my hands up as though it might help to release some of my frustration. "You said this place was a death trap, and this mission was impossible. Why the hell are you willing to risk so much to help us?"
Her blue eyes glistened in the firelight. “Everything’s impossible if you don’t try.”
"You can't seriously have changed your perspective so damn easily."
"I think you're crazy for doing this. But I really want this mission to be a success,” Tara said.
I studied her carefully. I believed she wanted me to come out the other side of this but it had nothing to do with rescuing new shadows. I looked at Brayden. His head was tilted away from us. He was still alert but he had no interest in our conversation.
“How do I know I can trust you?”
Tara’s expression finally softened. She looked less like she had a purpose to fulfil and that sight in itself helped me relax a little. “One thing you can be sure of, Selena. In here, we have no choice but to work as a team. There’s no room for anything else. Anything we do to protect ourselves, will be to protect you as well.”
“Safety in numbers.” Matt took a seat beside us and pulled dried meat from his pack and offered me a piece.
Could this really be happening? Were they just going to join us at our camp fire without being invited? Brayden glanced at them briefly then looked into the darkened forest once more. He didn't have the same stiff posture he usually had around them. Had Matt proved himself to the Instinct?
I took the meat, chewing slowly as I tried to make sense of this bizarre union.
Brayden lay back, resting his head against a rock positioned behind him. He was definitely the most relaxed I'd seen him around other people.
"Should I take first watch?" Matt asked as he noticed Brayden closing his eyes.
He didn't reply and both Tara and Matt looked to me for a response. "I don’t think you need to take a watch at all. Usually Brayden sleeps when it's safe and his Instinct wakes him if danger comes near.”
Matt's eyes widened. “What if danger is always near?”
“Then he won’t sleep. But his mind seems to shut off other processes so he uses less energy.”
“How does fatigue factor into it?
“It must run out at some point, but from what I've seen, the Instinct keeps feeding him more for as long as he needs it.”
“That's amazing.”
I must have looked confused, for Matt laughed.
“Really, it’s incredible. He has a gift strong enough to destroy a person’s mind and yet he lives along side it.”
Although I’d spoken about Brayden’s Instinct as though it was a gift at the trial, I'd always felt as though it was somewhat of a burden. I knew I wouldn't have survived my transfer without it, but I'd also spent longer fearing it than I wanted anyone to know.
"What else can it do?"
“It’s not just about fighting, it’s about defence as well. If he's injured when his Instinct's active, he won’t bleed and his body can expel poisons—”
“They don’t need to know this, Selena,” Brayden cut me off and we all turned to stare.
I shut my mouth, marvelling at his ability to participate in the conversation, even if it was only to cut the discussion short. It still felt like a small victory.
Matt sharpened a blade against a rock.
"How did you get so good at this stuff?" I asked him.
He lifted his head and grinned. "I was in the army in the Origin."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"It's pretty much all I've ever known. I joined just two years out of high school and loved it more than I ever thought I would. I reenlisted and I'm probably one of the few people who have thrived on the challenges of being in this world."
"There's nothing you miss about the Origin?"
"Sure, I miss friends and family. But to me, life was always about adapting and surviving. Coming here didn't change that."
I nodded; realising now that his behaviour after the hunter's death was that of a leader. He'd known exactly what to do when the rest of us were overwhelmed. Knowing where his skills came from gave me more confidence in our mission. Matt wasn't just trained from being a sentry for the village, he'd been this person his whole life.
"Matt's been responsible for a lot of the education in the village. He's worked as a sentry from day one but he's also taught other people how to protect the village. It really emphasises the idea that newcomers bring skills that will make us a stronger community," Tara added.
"Did he teach you to be a sentry?"
She smiled. "He made me an even better sentry. But it was something I'd become involved in as soon as I arrived too."
"Did you volunteer, or did they give you the position?"
"I asked to become one. I needed to do something other than sitting around growing food or making tools. Being a sentry is the most challenging job there is. Or was, should I say? Now the most challenging job, is rescuing shadows from the Valley of the Hunters."
I wondered what I would have become if I'd been accepted into the village. Would I have been content with something simple? Or was the drive to do something meaningful with my life stronger than safety? I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was the isolation of living alone with Brayden that pushed me to create something new. In the Origin, I certainly hadn't felt the urge to risk my life, but in that world, it was harder to make a difference.
"Have you had a chance to practice with your bow?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I'm not sure where to start."
She pulled the weapon from the ground, regarding me the way a dress maker would measure her client. “It will take time to get used to it, but this is probably where you can make the most difference. You're small and don't seem particularly muscular, without a weapon you could easily be the weakest link. How's your aim?"
She'd called me a weak link, but she'd said it so casually that I wasn't sure whether to be offended or shrug it off. "Ah, I'm not too sure. I never really invested in sporting activities. I guess I wasn't much good at them."
"We'll find out then." She motioned for me to stand up and shaped my body into the correct stance. “These are your bow fingers.” She grabbed the first three fingers on my hand. “When you pull the string, it should rest in the first crease.”
The string was surprisingly difficult to stretch.
“Keep pulling. Don't be shy with it."
My arm quivered under the strain as strands of knotted hair blew into my face with the wind.
“Hold your bow arm straight. You need to be able to pull the string back as far as your chin.”
I sucked in a breath and pulled it as far as I could.
“In the Origin, the string would have a little more give, but here, we have to make do. Try it again.”
I worked on my posture and bow position before Tara gave me an arrow.
"Aim for that tree. Make sure you're focusing on your target."
I drew the arrow back and release it. It sailed past the tree and disappeared into the darkness. I stifled a laugh.
"Hmm. Something to work on." Tara collected the arrow and came back, instructing me to try again.
We worked on it for an hour but the frustration soon became counterproductive. I sat down, and Tara watched me struggling to tame my hair. "Do you want some help there?"
"What?"
"With your hair. I could help you braid it."
I tried to work my hands through it once more. "I can probably do it myself."
Tara ey
ed me as I struggled to separate the knots. She pulled a piece of string from her bag and pushed my hand aside. "Let me."
"Oh ..." I flinched as she tore at the tangles. "Okay."
"I find the braid lasts longer than a regular ponytail, especially because the bamboo string doesn't have the elasticity to tie it tight."
She worked her hands through my hair as I watched Matt and Brayden, marvelling that they'd both fallen asleep alongside each other. It surprised me that Matt had so much trust in Brayden's Instinct despite the friction between them. But everything I'd said was true. The Instinct would alert us to danger.
Tara finished with the braid and tied string around the end. I moved to Brayden's side of the fire and settled on the ground, resting my head against his shoulder. He didn't hold me against him the way he usually would, but the memory of the night before was still rich in my mind.
Tara found her own place to settle for the night and both of us stared at the flames, lost in our own thoughts.
Despite my fatigue, sleep felt too far away.
"I have to say, Selena, you have more guts than I gave you credit for."
"What do you mean?"
"Going after that hunter's shadow was a dangerous move. I didn't realise you had it in you."
I couldn't stop thinking about the way his arms had hung lifeless by his side. "I just wish it hadn't ended the way it did."
"If he hadn't died, we would have."
"Brayden has beat hunters before without killing them."
She frowned. "How?"
I told her about the fight in the river. Brayden had escaped the hunter that day without killing him.
"Surely he's killed others."
"Not that I'm aware of." It was strange how I found myself hoping Matt had killed the hunter, yet when I looked at him I didn’t feel different, I didn’t see murder on his face. With Brayden it wasn't the same. He wasn't quite a hunter but he wasn’t completely human either. I was afraid human life could easily become meaningless to him. As though killing another hunter would bring him closer to the dark side of himself.
Tara nodded to herself; as though she'd realised that was only my perception, not the truth. "Killing a hunter isn't the same as killing another human being.”
To me, that line was a little blurry. “That depends on how you define a hunter.”
“He would have killed all of us. You don't need to feel remorse for him.”
My heart beat hard with anger. Someone could have easily said the same thing about Brayden. "No matter what he is now, he was once just like us. In the Origin, he had a life, with friends and family. Just because he turned in the Shadowlands, and just because he appeared as a hunter to us, doesn't mean he isn't a human being."
She sighed as she glanced at Brayden. "Maybe you're right. Maybe there's more to them than we realised."
A sharp screech broke our conversation and Tara reached for her bow. Brayden's eyes remained closed as the whip cats screamed in the distance. Tara shifted nervously as Matt woke and moved into a crouch. They both looked at Brayden.
"They're far away, and they're not hunting," I said, remaining where I was.
"How do you know?" Matt asked.
"They're not cracking their tails. They only do that when they're after prey."
They shared a look, perhaps unsure if they could trust me. I found myself smiling a little. I was afraid of the cats but I knew them well and I'd been a hell of a lot closer to them than we were right now.
"Trust me. If Brayden isn't worried, we don't need to be."
Chapter Nine
We were all tired in the morning. Even though Brayden appeared to have slept well while Tara and I had been up, he still had dark bags beneath his eyes. Perhaps the fight with the hunter had taken more out of him than I'd realised. Back in our small shelter by the village, he'd looked healthy and refreshed but one day in the Valley of the Hunters had already started to gnaw away at him.
I rubbed my face to shake away fatigue and felt the remnants of the spider web. I picked at it absentmindedly while Brayden tucked arrows into his bag. He had a full set again so he’d either disappeared in the night to collect the ones he’d lost, or he’d made more. Who knew how long he'd been awake.
He stood up while Matt and Tara were still eating and gave me a meaningful look. The grey still hanging at the edge of his eyes. I followed him to the outskirts of our camp site.
"We need to keep going. The sooner we can get out of here, the better," he said.
I glanced over my shoulder. "And Tara and Matt?"
His jaw tightened. "I don't want them walking near me."
I nodded. "Okay."
I turned back but Tara and Matt had already stood up with their bags slung over their shoulders. I warned them to stay a few metres away. It wouldn't be enough to keep the Instinct at bay but that's how Brayden wanted it.
Tara and Matt had their weapons loaded in front of them—ready to act at any moment. We walked alongside each other as we reached the Valley slope, keeping a two metre gap between us. The sun streamed through the trees like a spotlight and the sentries shifted their bows to one side and used their free hands to collect their shadows.
I paused to do the same and as I took a step forward, Brayden turned back sharply. I paused and he retraced his steps until he stood in front of me. I wasn't sure how to interpret his sudden interest. I imagined him scooping me into his arms as he'd done so many times outside the village but he kicked my shadow from the ground instead. As it rose through the air, the wind rushed between the folds. For a moment, I was captivated by the various sensations.
Brayden caught it and handed it to me. I held it to my chest and waited for him to find what he was looking for. His hand reached behind my neck, his fingers searched through my hair before he pulled the string out and shook the braid apart.
A deep line formed between his eyebrows as I caught Tara and Matt frowning. Then suddenly he lost interest.
“What is it?” I asked but Brayden didn’t reply. Instead, he carried on walking, leaving us all bewildered.
I gently probed my neck and ran my fingers through my hair in search of something unusual. Tara took a step closer and examined my face.
"Is there something there?" I asked.
She blinked and leaned closer. "I can't see anything."
Brayden had disappeared and I was left unsure whether it was a danger he'd sensed or if it was something else.
"Maybe he didn't like the braid," Tara joked.
I checked my face one last time, unable to share her humour. He'd acted so suddenly that there had to be something the rest of us couldn't see. But if I was truly in danger, he wouldn't have walked away.
"Let's keep going." I took a hesitant step forward but nothing happened.
Tara and Matt followed as we hurried to catch up to Brayden.
We stopped for lunch and ate some of the food Tara had packed. Tara and Matt talked quietly amongst themselves but Brayden and I sat in silence. I turned to attempt a conversation but he stood up abruptly, his eyes cast in the distance as he mumbled, "Don't follow me."
"Where are you going?" I swallowed a mouthful of food.
He pushed a plant aside, crouching beneath a low hanging branch before he stepped through and the forest snapped back into place.
I remained in my seat, listening intently for any sign of a battle beyond the trees. Matt walked over and looked around.
"Can you see anything?" Tara asked.
He shook his head. "Where do you think he's gone, Selena?"
"I don't know. He's never really done that before." I lost my appetite and set my food aside. "He'll come back."
Matt nodded and offered a forced smile. "I guess we just have to wait until he returns."
"I guess."
He took a seat again and scratched at his nose. "Any updates on your shadow? What was all that with Brayden and your hair?"
I scooped hair behind my ear. "I still have no idea."
&n
bsp; “And he's unlikely to know what it means either?"
Should I answer that question? Brayden had been uncomfortable with me sharing knowledge of his ability. But what harm could it do?
“Often he doesn’t even know it's happening. He just does whatever it wills him to do.”
“Doesn’t it kill you with curiosity sometimes?”
“Usually the danger becomes obvious not long after his reaction.”
“I have to admit, I’m fascinated,” he said. “That hunter used his shadow as a sling shot, can Brayden do that?”
“Probably.”
Matt looked at the trees while he digested his own ideas. “I wonder how much of it can be taught. I mean, we all have shadows. Maybe with practice, we could all do some of the things he can do. Hunters rarely escape the cats and storm the village, but it would help us to know how they work.”
Right now, Matt seemed to be on my side but how could I be sure he wouldn't use any knowledge I gave him to hurt Brayden in the future? Matt watched me struggling with my thoughts.
“I need to know the truth about why you’re here,” I said.
“To help you bring back new shadows.”
I stared at him. “I know that’s not true.”
Matt looked at Tara. She was busy fixing the feathers on her arrows. He placed his hand on mine and spoke quietly, as though it might keep Tara from hearing. “You’re right. We’re here for our own reasons but our top priority is keeping you alive. Right now, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. By the time we make it out of here, you’ll be ready to make your own decision about us.”
Again, I searched his face for any further hints.
“We’re here to help you, and this mission will take us closer to the predators of this world than we’ve ever been before. For years, the village has lived in fear of this valley. The more we know about it, the safer we'll be when we return home.”
I slowly nodded. He was telling me as much as he could get away with right now. “If you’re so afraid of the Valley, why do you live so close to it?”
“This world is all about territory. You choose a home and you guard it,” he explained. “If you're strong enough, other creatures will stay away, if not, you live in oppression.”