by Jeri Baird
Father Chanse stepped back at the force of the angry parishioners. His face matched his red hair as he stumbled from the altar and disappeared through the side entrance. Melina Odella darted after him.
Alexa held up her hand. “There’s more.” She glanced nervously at Elder Warrin. “Dharien blackmailed Melina Odella into moving up the quest. She stole Zander’s tokens for him.”
Elder Warrin crossed his arms over his chest. “What proof do you have?”
“I heard them talking.”
“So, no proof.” He twisted in his seat to stare purposely at the other elders. “My son had nothing to do with this.”
The others nodded and Elder Warrin turned back to Alexa. “The board will investigate the relationship between the priest and the fortune-teller. If we find you’ve lied, there will be consequences.” He stood to leave.
Panic rose in Alexa’s throat. This wasn’t going as she expected. “What about the quest?”
“Moira has decreed that it begins this week.”
“But . . .”
His eyes grew steely. “You question Fate?”
When Alexa shook her head, Elder Warrin strode to the back of the church and out the door with Dharien close behind. The others trailed down the aisle and lingered outside. Their outraged voices drifted into the church. Alexa had set off a maelstrom, but it didn’t go as she’d hoped.
The bewildered questers milled around at the front of the church, unblessed.
Merindah whispered, “You could have waited until we were blessed. Your plan to save us had better work, Alexa. It better work.”
The others murmured in agreement as they drifted out the front door to join their parents. A chill spread from Alexa’s head to her toes, but she wasn’t done. Now, she had to find the fortune-teller.
Once outside, Alexa spied her mother in tears and rushed to her side. “It’ll be all right, Mother. Go home. I need to stay here and talk to Melina Odella.”
Alexa’s father appeared behind her mother. His voice cracked. “Where’s Zander? Cobie said you know.”
“He’s in the forest. He’ll return for the quest.” It wasn’t wise, but she added, “Father.” When her mother clasped her hands to her heart, Alexa added. “Zander and I know we’re twins.”
Her father caught her mother as she collapsed.
“No, you cannot know.”
Alexa reached out, and then dropped her hand. She should have waited. When she glimpsed Melina Odella leaving the side door of the church, Alexa whispered, “I’m sorry, Mother. I have to talk to the fortune-teller.” Regret chased her as Alexa rushed to catch the one person who could help Zander.
Alexa waved to catch her attention and waited as Melina Odella strode to meet her.
She grabbed Alexa’s arm. “What have you done?”
Pulling her arm free, Alexa straightened her shoulders. “I spoke the truth.”
“You don’t know the truth,” the fortune-teller spat.
“I know enough of it.”
Melina Odella slapped her.
Alexa’s cheek stung, but she smiled. “Melina Odella?”
The fortune-teller glowered.
“Your secret is out. Dharien no longer controls you. Zander doesn’t have to die in the quest.” When Melina Odella paled, hope swelled in Alexa’s chest. “Will you help him?”
“Why should I?”
“Because Zander didn’t do anything wrong.”
Confusion washed across the fortune-teller’s face. She pulled Zander’s heart necklace over her head from where it lay under her scarf. “This belongs to him. It’s small, but holds strong magic.”
Tucking the token into her bag, Alexa asked, “Dharien can’t blackmail you now. Can the quest wait?”
Melina Odella shook her head. “Chanse and I both vowed Moira requested the change. The elders would imprison us for lying.”
“And what of Moira? Are you not afraid of what she will do?”
The fortune-teller pursed her lips. “I know what the village will do. I’ll take my chances with Moira.” She turned to leave, and then stepped back to Alexa. She brushed the cheek she’d slapped and whispered, “I didn’t want to steal his tokens. I’ll do what I can. I don’t want Zander to die.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Two Days until the Quest
Zander
Defender of all. Zander pondered those three words. If Tshilaba was right, and he had no reason to think she wasn’t, he held a responsibility for the safety of the questers. Not just himself and Alexa. When Zander searched his heart, he knew it was true. He would sacrifice to save any of them. Even Dharien, as perplexing as that seemed. Did his parents realize when they named him they were giving him such responsibility?
What about Puck’s ghost, whom no one else seemed to hear? Zander had listened to his whispers all of his life. Why him? How did Puck expect Zander to unite the tribes after two hundred years of division?
And then there was Moira. Her role in his life confused Zander. He’d once believed she had his best interests in mind, and he’d tried to do right, to please her. But after finding Alexa, he wasn’t as sure. Was the curse of the twins because Moira hated them or because twins never followed the rule of questing alone? Either way, with the black panther omen in their bags, he and his twin were in trouble.
As he thought of her, Moira shimmered in front of him and then faded away. Zander was uncertain if she was real or if he’d imagined her, but a flat black and white stone the size of his palm appeared at his feet. He held it for a long while, unsure whether it was token or omen, turning it round and round before he added it to the others.
As night fell, he curled into a ball with Shadow next to him and slept next to the oak tree. In the morning, he would return to the village. He needed to see Father before the quest.
~
After a breakfast of wild strawberries and golden chanterelle mushrooms, Zander hiked out of the forest with a lighter heart than he’d had in a very long time. As the noon bells rang, Zander reached his house but found it empty. While he and Shadow waited inside the simple room he’d known as home, memories came unbidden.
Father hadn’t always been a drunk, and when Zander was younger, he’d acted almost cheerful. It was as he grew older, Father spent more and more time slumped over a cup of mead.
Sitting at the table reminded him of when Father taught him his letters and numbers. He’d been pleased when Zander learned quickly. He recalled his father showing him how to pull a bow, and the first time they’d hunted. He was five, but he’d shot a rabbit on his second try. Father had told Zander he’d grow to be a great hunter, and Zander had worked hard to prove it true.
He never went to bed hungry like Odo and Kaiya. Zander remembered the good moments he’d buried beneath the images of his father’s drinking and bad temper. He welcomed the memories into his being like a dry sponge draws water.
After an hour of waiting, Zander hiked to the market in search of Alexa. He stood outside the bakery windows, transfixed. Alexa sat next to their mother and their resemblance made him feel soft inside. Father sat across from them with his broad back to Zander. He’d cut his hair and combed it behind his ears. The family he’d dreamed of drew Zander closer to the window, and when his mother glanced up, her hands flew to her mouth.
Alexa’s grin split her face. She darted out the door and tugged him inside.
Once inside, his mother folded him into a cautious hug. The scents of vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon surrounded Zander as they embraced. He’d ached for his mother’s touch as long as he could remember.
As they sat together as a family for the first time in fourteen years, Zander listened to Alexa’s animated stories as she laughed with their father and showed off an embroidery cloth. Father looked impressed as stitched doves circled an ash tree and the scene moved.
&nbs
p; Questions rolled around in Zander’s head. It might be his last chance to find the answers. He cleared his throat and when the other three looked up, he said, “I know about the curse of the twins, but why did you think separating us would work?”
His mother blanched, but set her lips as if determined. “After your second birthday, we decided you were still too young to remember, so we made a plan to raise you apart. We pleaded with the other villagers to keep our secret, although Melina Odella warned us Moira would do as she pleased.” Her eyes filled with tears. “It was the only thing we could think of. We had to try something. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing one of you.”
“So Zander and I lost fourteen years of our lives together?” Alexa glared. “And now we might still lose our future.”
Father moved to put his arm around Alexa’s shoulder. “We did what we believed was best. We didn’t think you’d discover the secret. If you’d both survived the quest, we would have told you when you returned. We agreed the risk was worth the pain.”
She leaned into his hug. “And if only one of us returned, we never would have known?”
Father shook his head, and Alexa burst into tears.
Zander blinked back his own tears. When Alexa’s crying turned to sniffles, he asked another question. “Did Elder Warrin know when he paid my way out of jail that I might not live to repay him?”
“Of course not,” his father said. “Unless it involves money, the elders are oblivious to what happens in the village—even Elder Warrin.”
After they sat in silence for a few minutes, Father rubbed the back of his neck. “Any other questions?”
Alexa’s eyes sparkled. “I have something I’ve wondered about since Zander and I found out we were twins.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “Who’s older? Me or Zander?”
Leave it to Alexa to ask that question.
Father laughed. “You came first. We didn’t know there was a second baby, although I think the midwife suspected it. She didn’t act surprised when Lark’s contractions started again and a few minutes later, Zander came.”
“I knew it! I knew I was the oldest.”
Zander leaned across the table and patted Alexa’s arm.
“I’m bigger.”
“Sibling rivalry.” Father turned to Mother. “See what we missed?”
They laughed together, but Zander couldn’t help noticing Mother’s worried glances at him. He smiled to reassure her, but unease ate at him. As much as he’d wanted a family, he longed for the silence of the forest, where his feelings were clear and not the jumbled mess that threatened his calm.
When it grew late, Zander stood. “I’m going home. It’s an important day tomorrow.”
Father clasped his shoulder. “This is our home now, Son. We’ll sleep here.”
His mother’s voice cracked as she whispered, “I have a room for you.” She kissed his cheek and searched his eyes. “Promise me, Zander, you’ll follow the rules of the quest. You and Alexa need to stay away from each other.”
Zander gulped to swallow his rising panic. How could he promise? Instead, he said, “I’ll do what’s right to see we both survive.”
She accepted his answer and led him up the stairs to a small room at the end of the hall. A real bed, not a sleeping mat, sat in the middle with a clean comforter tucked over a fluffy pillow. After he changed into the nightclothes folded at the end of the bed, a knock startled him.
Father stood at the door fiddling with his hands. “Your mother and I never should have broken our family for the quest, but you need to understand. She was terrified of the curse. I couldn’t reason with her; and finally, you and I moved to the mud hut. I knew we couldn’t cheat Fate, and I was right. You were bound to find each other.”
“Is the curse real?” Zander whispered. “We can’t escape it?”
“I don’t believe in any curse, but this I know. Your mother will be devastated if you don’t both survive. You’ll be fine. You have experience in being alone in the gulch, but your sister—Alexa has little knowledge of the dangers.”
Father didn’t know how wrong he was. Zander had experience, but almost no tokens.
“Son, whatever it takes, promise me you’ll bring Alexa home.”
That was a promise Zander could make.
“I will, Father. I promise.”
But the hard question was—would Alexa be safer with his help or without it? And would he have to lose Shadow to save her?
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Quest Day One
Alexa
Alexa woke as the sun peeked through the curtains and warmed her face. Fiona jumped across the bed and tumbled head over paws to the floor. Alexa slid out of her covers and cuddled her patron. One tear rolled down her cheek.
The quest began at noon.
“I’ll try my best not to call for you.” She sniffed in Fiona’s neck. “I don’t want to lose you.” But it would be worse to lose Zander.
Her family risked being torn apart because of Moira’s test. After she dressed, she pinned the embroidery under her tunic and slipped her bag of tokens and omens over her head. She fished out the black panther and brooded over the memory of how she had earned it.
Cheating.
Did she cheat with her plan to bring the questers together? That was the unanswered question. Didn’t the priest and fortune-teller cheat when they changed the quest? And didn’t Dharien cheat when he had Zander’s tokens stolen? She needed answers, but none were forthcoming. Moira had better be prepared to explain when she came to Alexa after the quest.
She wandered into the kitchen, led by whiffs of apple bread and something spicy. She found Zander, hunched over the table as he talked with their mother. Across from him, Mother’s plate of food remained untouched, although she pushed at the sausage links and poached egg with a slice of oat bread.
As Alexa entered, they stopped talking. Zander’s forced smile didn’t reach his eyes, but the worry on his wrinkled forehead did. Maybe he shared her dark thoughts of the panther omen.
She squeezed Zander’s shoulder as she settled on the bench next to him. “Today’s the day.” Dread settled in a lump in her stomach.
Father placed a plate in front of her. “Eat. This will be your last hot breakfast before the quest ends.”
As she picked up a sausage, she peeked at the father she didn’t know. His strong arms triggered a hazy memory of laughter as he carried her upside down through the kitchen. She’d been cheated out of years of memories because of her parents’ fears, and now she and Zander still might not survive.
“Father? The Raskan fortune-teller told Zander his name means defender of all, but she wouldn’t tell me what mine means.”
Father sat back and smiled at Mother. “Your names are a split of one name. Alexa plus Zander becomes Alexander. Together they’re whole. Together they mean defender of all.”
Stunned, Alexa felt for the embroidered cloth she wore hidden. It was the sign she needed. She would cheat Fate and save them all.
Mother touched her arm. “But you must stay apart during the quest. In the past, it has always been because one twin saves the other. If you quest alone, you’ll be fine.”
As she scanned Zander’s face, Alexa lied. “Yes, that’s what we’ll do. Don’t worry, Mother. We’ll both return.” Zander’s face darkened when she covered the snake omen that materialized next to her plate.
She leaned forward to hear their father’s quiet voice. “You know how to use your tokens? No omens you can’t fight?”
Alexa snuck a glance at Shadow. He could fight a panther. She shook her head along with Zander and covered a second snake omen as Zander did the same. She was thankful their parents’ eyes were on each other’s and didn’t notice.
Zander stood. “Alexa, it’s time to go.”
She kissed her mother’s cheek and hesitat
ed before running to her father. He crushed her to his chest. “Daughter of mine,” he whispered. “Zander will keep you safe.”
Father was wrong. She would save Zander. And apparently, based on her name, she’d save the others as well.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Zander
Zander grabbed Alexa’s hand. “Ready?” he whispered. Her energy, strong and determined, filled him with hope. Mother wanted them to fight alone, but Father asked him to work with Alexa. He had a choice to make, and he wasn’t sure of his decision. Would he help or hinder Alexa if he fought beside her?
What their parents didn’t understand was that it was more than their name that bound them. Only together were he and Alexa whole. The day with the night. The curse was the bond that called them together like a lodestone pulled at iron. Whatever Mother and Father wanted, Zander wasn’t at all sure it would be possible to stay away from Alexa in the quest.
As they approached the church, doubt squeezed Zander’s heart. He clutched at his bag of tokens where it hung securely at his neck. If Alexa’s plan of fighting together didn’t work, how would he defeat his omens? He touched the heart token Alexa had returned to him from the fortune-teller. She’d offered help, but Melina Odella had betrayed him. Could he trust her?
Zander walked to the church for the first time since learning Melina Odella had stolen his tokens. His steps slowed the closer they came.
“I know you’re nervous, but Melina Odella promised to help,” Alexa said. She clenched her jaw as Dharien strode past them and disappeared through the church door. “Moira will surely punish him when he uses your tokens. I hope he dies.”
“No, Alexa, don’t say that.” Zander stopped and pulled her to stand in front of him.
“Please? Forget about Dharien. He’s questing alone.”
Alexa nodded, but Zander could feel her hatred. “You need a clear head during the quest. Don’t let anger cloud your judgment. I learned during my time in the forest that hate holds you down.”
Together they walked into the church. Zander didn’t want to hear Melina Odella’s lies. They weren’t ready for the quest. None of them. If they had been given the remaining six weeks before the quest, they could have learned from their mistakes and then earned more tokens than omens.