Red by Liesl Shurtliff Page B

what sprites do,” I said. “They lie to make you believe they can grant your heart’s desire, and then they drag you down and feed on your wishes.”
    “But they were so beautiful,” she said. “And their voices made me feel safe and warm.”
    “Yes,” I said. “I guess that means beautiful and good are not the same.” I removed my cloak from Goldie’s arm and inspected her cut. It wasn’t too deep. It would heal quickly.
    “Then how am I supposed to know who’s good?” Goldie asked. “How can I trust anyone?”
    How was I to answer such a question? It’s true, you can’t tell just by looking at someone. You can’t always tell by talking to them. And sometimes even the things they do don’t speak to their character, because you don’t know
why
they’re doing them.
    “You can’t really ever know,” I said. “I guess you have to take risks.”
    “You saved me from the sprites,” said Goldie. “You could have died saving me, even when I was so mean to you before.”
    “I was even meaner to you before that,” I said. “You just don’t remember.”
    “What did you do?” she said.
    “I made you go away,” I said. “I wouldn’t let you come with me, even though you just wanted to help.”
    “Well, that’s rude!” said Goldie. She sounded a little more like herself.
    “It was,” I said, “but that didn’t stop you from saving my life the very next day.” I lifted the sleeve off my arm and showed her the cut from the bear. “A bear nearly killed me when I tried to get some honey from a honey hive, but you saved me. You must have gotten fifty bee stings to save me.”
    “Is that why you saved me from the sprite, because I saved you first?”
    “I saved you for the same reason you saved me. Because we’re friends. Even though you don’t remember.”
    Goldie placed her scratched arm next to mine. Two wounds from two friends saving each other.
    “I should like to remember,” she said.
    “Me too,” I said.
    Goldie smiled shyly and then yelped as she noticed Wolf. He stood just a few feet away. I could feel his slight fear of Goldie. It made sense, I supposed. When people are afraid of you, it makes you afraid of them, and it’s the fear that makes you both dangerous. I suddenly heard Granny’s voice in my head.
    Don’t be afraid, Red.
    “Don’t be afraid,” I said. “Wolf saved us both. We might have drowned without his help.”
    “Oh,” said Goldie, letting out her breath. “Well, then I suppose I ought to thank him, too.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you…um…Mr. Wolf.”
    Wolf dipped his head in acknowledgment, and then he limped toward me, keeping one of his paws entirely off the ground.
    “You’re hurt!” I ran to Wolf and inspected him. I couldn’t see a wound, but when I touched his leg, he growled a little, then whimpered. I winced as I felt a wave of pain rush through me. “I don’t think it’s broken,” I said. “Maybe just sprained.”
    He wouldn’t be much good for traveling today, and Goldie and I were soaking wet. Now that all the excitement had worn off, we started to shiver.
    I looked around for the fire we had built and the rabbit that was surely roasted by now, only to realize that they were on the other side of the river. I could see the smoke from the fire, rising above the trees. We’d have to gather breakfast all over again, though Wolf wouldn’t be going on any hunts.
    “Let’s build a fire,” I said. “We can hang our clothes from branches to dry.”
    I built another fire near the place Wolf was resting. We took off our sopping clothes, down to our underthings, and hung them on a tree.
    “I’m hungry,” said Goldie. “I wish we’d caught some fish while we were in the river.”
    “We still can,” I said.
    “What about the sprites?” Goldie said. “You can’t go in the water!”
    “I won’t. I have an idea.”
    Granny had a spell to make the fish jump right out of the water. I’d never tried it before. I always