Page 46 of For the Strange and Surprising

“No, Ada. We’re all concerned and watching now. Ecaeris thinks that our attention will put a stop to it, but Connak isn’t so sure. He wants to give it a few days and then search for fresh tracks.”

“And if he finds them?”

“Then Connak will find whoever left them,” Imryll assures me. “If he doesn’t locate them soon, then we’ll move you into a different room.”

I nod. “I’m playing bait?”

“Afraid so.” He stands in the doorway, grimacing as he adds, “But Ecaeris has decided to move a few rooms closer; that way, he isn’t so far from you.”

I huff. “You mean, so he can see if anyone is in the woods.”

Imryll shakes his head, looking away for a moment. “He may say that, but we know he isn’t an asshole, despite how he acts toward you. It’s just that, an act.

“We’ve had enough Shades come into the village for his assumption to be justified. We’ve also seen enough from you to know that you aren’t a Shade, so we’re just waiting for him to realize it too.”

“I won’t hold my breath,” I admit. “Thanks for walking me back, Imryll.”

“I’ll see you soon, Ada.” He smiles before he closes the door behind him.

Why do I like the way he says my name so much?

I peek through the curtain at his retreating back, then glance to the empty treeline. There’s no lock on the door, so I decide to drag the chair in front of it for tonight. I’ll ask Isolde if they even have deadbolts here when I see her next. But it won’t matter in the long run. I still want to go home.

The issues in the Mongrel community are intriguing, though so different from what I’m accustomed to. Animal attacks on Earth have led humans to slay entire species. Attacks from another territory lead to war.

Is that what’s really happening between the Mongrels and the Shades?

With such a small population, a war on the island would be detrimental to the people and their numbers. That’s not considering any other issues that would follow, like orphaned children or food shortages. I can’t wrap my head around what losses the tribes would face.

I peer around the sitting room, trying to clear my mind, when a stack of books catches my eye. They sit on the table with a small note from Isolde on top. It says she’ll see me in four days, and she hopes that I’ll find the books enlightening.

I take the first one, looking at the blank spine and the cover before setting it back down. The second is much the same: old, leather-bound, nondescript. But my thoughts won’t settle enough to read right now.

Under the third book is a piece of neatly folded cream paper. I open it gingerly so I don’t rip the worn seams, and I have to blink a few times to understand what I’m seeing.

It’s a map of the island. The borders between the four tribes are easy to guess, though there are no dividing lines. The environmental changes shown on the image are too detailed not to know where one territory ends and the next begins.

“Where have the attacks been happening?” I wonder aloud.

What I really want to know is where Connak was attacked. I’d like to avoid that kind of bodily damage at all costs.

“Why do you care, Ada?” I hate the tone of my voice, even if I am talking to myself.

“I’m going home, so none of this matters.”

The man from the clinic briefly crosses my mind. I know he was lying, but he’d had the same initial response as Connak.

It’s just a limb.

Why does that bother me so badly, though? I can’t decide if it’s the man or the situation that makes me uncomfortable. Pavelo used a real issue to look… What? Stronger? I have no idea.

Maybe the newness of everything has put me on edge. Today was eventful, and I learned more than I can digest.

I move the books to the chair and stretch the map across the table. I lean closer, studying the difference in the lands to distract myself.

The areas are so different, but I guess that makes sense when I think through what I’ve been told. Each tribe represents an element; water, fire, earth, air.

The stamps of trees in the Dwellers territory look more prominent on the map, so does that mean they’re bigger in person? Or is it a fault in the printing? I suppose it could be designed to show that they’re the earth element.