questioned, at least to myself,
the idea of separating the children from the group. Even animals knew there was
safety in numbers. But I had been weak, I hadn’t had a voice in this group, I
still didn’t.
“Here.” Carla strolled toward me
and dropped a few daggers into the pile I’d been cleaning. I smiled up at her,
but she didn’t bother to respond, merely headed back to Sam and started
whispering.
It was obvious they were talking
about me. Their laughter drifted my way, sending the heat of embarrassment to
my face. I forced myself to keep my attention on the daggers I cleaned. According
to Kelly, Carla had arrived at the camp only a year ago, yet she had been openly
accepted. Which meant they didn’t dislike me because I was a newbie, but most
likely because of the time I spent with Will.
“Jimmy,” Will snapped out as he came
strolling into camp. “You know the rules, no fire.”
To say I was relieved to have
him back would be an understatement. The more friends I had nearby, the better.
Will and Tony were supposedly surveying the area, making sure there were no
beautiful ones lurking. But we all knew the truth: they were searching for
signs of the children. By the drawn look of Will’s face it was safe to assume
they hadn’t found any clues.
“Ah, no!” Jim whined, sticking
his hands toward the flames in an attempt to soak up as much heat as possible.
“It feels so warm and good!”
I hid my grin as I rubbed the
rough cloth against my dagger, trying to remove the rust patches. I’d been
given the task of cleaning and sharpening everyone’s weapons, a tedious but necessary
job. I had a feeling I was being punished for leaving camp, but if I had to
clean them until my eyes went bleary, so be it. The pile of flashing blades
should have made me feel better, safer, but it didn’t. Swords and daggers would
do little against the strength of a beautiful one.
“Keep the fire,” Thane said, emerging
from the dark shadows and into the ring of firelight. “I did patrol and didn’t
sense any blood drinkers.”
I stiffened at his approach, my
heartbeat faltering. How did he always know where to find us? He didn’t bother
to glance my way. In fact, we hadn’t had any contact since I’d returned to
camp. But then again, he barely paid attention to anyone. Thane kept to
himself, sitting along the outskirts when he was here, making only the minimum
of conversation with Will. He appeared and disappeared when he wanted, and I
never knew when to expect him. It made me feel on edge for some reason.
Last night I’d woken in the
middle of the night when everyone slept. Restless, I’d rolled to my side only
to find Thane sitting there watching me from across the camp. He merely leaned
against a tree, his gaze direct, as if daring me to react. Finally, I’d broken
eye contact, turning so my back was to him once more, but unable to sleep the
rest of the night.
He strolled to a fallen log on
the outskirts of camp. His movements were easy, unhurried, graceful, like the
animal he was. He pulled his sword from the sheath on his back and began to
clean and polish it, not asking me to do the job. In fact, he never asked for
anything. Not water, not food and certainly not help. It had been two days
since I’d left camp and returned. Two days wondering when he would collect that
second debt. Did he keep me in suspense on purpose? I frowned, picking up
another dagger. Of course he did.
Will settled on the ground next
to me. The dhampir might have been confusing, but Will was rather easy to understand
and that was exactly why I liked him. Will was all about the group; everything
he did was for the better of us all. Whereas Thane…well, Thane was about
himself.
“Hey.” I smiled up at Will as I
replaced the clean dagger with a rusty one.
“You okay?” he asked.
He’d shaved. I’d seen him do it
before with a sharpened blade. While others seemed to cut themselves, Will
hadn’t. My fingers curled as I
the idea of separating the children from the group. Even animals knew there was
safety in numbers. But I had been weak, I hadn’t had a voice in this group, I
still didn’t.
“Here.” Carla strolled toward me
and dropped a few daggers into the pile I’d been cleaning. I smiled up at her,
but she didn’t bother to respond, merely headed back to Sam and started
whispering.
It was obvious they were talking
about me. Their laughter drifted my way, sending the heat of embarrassment to
my face. I forced myself to keep my attention on the daggers I cleaned. According
to Kelly, Carla had arrived at the camp only a year ago, yet she had been openly
accepted. Which meant they didn’t dislike me because I was a newbie, but most
likely because of the time I spent with Will.
“Jimmy,” Will snapped out as he came
strolling into camp. “You know the rules, no fire.”
To say I was relieved to have
him back would be an understatement. The more friends I had nearby, the better.
Will and Tony were supposedly surveying the area, making sure there were no
beautiful ones lurking. But we all knew the truth: they were searching for
signs of the children. By the drawn look of Will’s face it was safe to assume
they hadn’t found any clues.
“Ah, no!” Jim whined, sticking
his hands toward the flames in an attempt to soak up as much heat as possible.
“It feels so warm and good!”
I hid my grin as I rubbed the
rough cloth against my dagger, trying to remove the rust patches. I’d been
given the task of cleaning and sharpening everyone’s weapons, a tedious but necessary
job. I had a feeling I was being punished for leaving camp, but if I had to
clean them until my eyes went bleary, so be it. The pile of flashing blades
should have made me feel better, safer, but it didn’t. Swords and daggers would
do little against the strength of a beautiful one.
“Keep the fire,” Thane said, emerging
from the dark shadows and into the ring of firelight. “I did patrol and didn’t
sense any blood drinkers.”
I stiffened at his approach, my
heartbeat faltering. How did he always know where to find us? He didn’t bother
to glance my way. In fact, we hadn’t had any contact since I’d returned to
camp. But then again, he barely paid attention to anyone. Thane kept to
himself, sitting along the outskirts when he was here, making only the minimum
of conversation with Will. He appeared and disappeared when he wanted, and I
never knew when to expect him. It made me feel on edge for some reason.
Last night I’d woken in the
middle of the night when everyone slept. Restless, I’d rolled to my side only
to find Thane sitting there watching me from across the camp. He merely leaned
against a tree, his gaze direct, as if daring me to react. Finally, I’d broken
eye contact, turning so my back was to him once more, but unable to sleep the
rest of the night.
He strolled to a fallen log on
the outskirts of camp. His movements were easy, unhurried, graceful, like the
animal he was. He pulled his sword from the sheath on his back and began to
clean and polish it, not asking me to do the job. In fact, he never asked for
anything. Not water, not food and certainly not help. It had been two days
since I’d left camp and returned. Two days wondering when he would collect that
second debt. Did he keep me in suspense on purpose? I frowned, picking up
another dagger. Of course he did.
Will settled on the ground next
to me. The dhampir might have been confusing, but Will was rather easy to understand
and that was exactly why I liked him. Will was all about the group; everything
he did was for the better of us all. Whereas Thane…well, Thane was about
himself.
“Hey.” I smiled up at Will as I
replaced the clean dagger with a rusty one.
“You okay?” he asked.
He’d shaved. I’d seen him do it
before with a sharpened blade. While others seemed to cut themselves, Will
hadn’t. My fingers curled as I
Similar Books
