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“I think I threw up most of it, but I’m not sick or anything. It was just being exposed to that scroll. It’s so evil, it made me nauseated just being in the same room with it.”
“I don’t know anything about this scroll to which you refer, nor do I care at the moment.” His words were cutting but, as usual, delivered in a flat tone. “I am, however, concerned that you’ve disregarded the most basic of rules. You’ve utilized your gifts repeatedly this day without keeping your body nourished.”
“I’m sorry,” she retorted. “I’ve been a little busy.”
His eyes snapped to hers, holding her gaze with equal tenacity.
“So busy that you’ve put you and your soulmate in the precarious position of being unable to transport without risking your lives?”
“No... it’s Kaevin’s injury... the soulmate bond...”
“The injury is grievous, to be certain.” He went back to his sewing. “But are you confident your weakness didn’t begin before he was wounded?”
“No... I mean, yes... I don’t know...”
“I’ve got a few granola bars in my backpack,” Uncle Charles offered. “If I just knew where it was. Markaeus stowed it away some place safe. Where is that boy, anyway? I sent him to fetch my backpack, but he should’ve returned by now.”
“Done!” Laethan declared. Turning to Jireo with a hopeful expression, he asked, “How fares the defender bond? Is our situation any less dire?”
Jireo gritted his teeth. “I would’ve told you our chances were good—the pressure has been lessening steadily as you and Doc proceeded. But less than a finger ago, something changed, and his life is now in more peril than ever.”
Laethan frowned, searching Kaevin’s torso. “I don’t see any other bleeding, but perhaps blood is escaping inside. Where is Markaeus? With his gift, we could be certain.”
The door opened and smoke wafted into the healing house, bringing tears to Alora’s eyes.
“Is Laethan finished?” asked Arista. “We’ve come back to fetch Kaevin.”
“I’ve done all I can do, for the moment,” said Laethan. “But I hope I’ll be allowed to accompany him to Montana. For I have knowledge of matters foreign to the other realm, though crucial to Kaevin’s survival.”
“Of course you can come,” Alora said, belatedly noticing her uncle shaking his head.
“We might need to keep Laethan hidden,” Uncle Charles added. “You see, we’ve got this nosy reporter snooping around.”
“I excel at avoiding notice,” Laethan declared, his lips twitching into an almost-smile.
But Jireo was in no joking mood. “With each breath, I sense Kaevin’s time is shortening. I do not know if his chances will improve in Montana, but we have no hope if we remain here.”
Weak as she was, Alora’s empathy filter failed completely, leaving her to experience every emotion in the room, including Jireo’s despair.
Moving quickly, Wesley and Brian took one side of Kaevin, while Jireo and Laethan lifted on the other. The four gently ferried him out of the healing house with Alora shuffling after them, vainly attempting to hide her wobbly gait from Laethan’s sharp gaze.
Arista helped the men enter the portal with Kaevin, but Uncle Charles lagged behind.
The rising smoke obscured the full moon and would have been suffocating if there hadn’t been a breeze clearing the hilltop. Of course, the wind only fanned the flames of the fire throughout the valley.
Uncle Charles stopped Alora outside the portal entrance. “I need to stay here and find Markaeus. You go with Kaevin.”
Alora sensed Uncle Charles was extremely anxious about something. It made her own heart start racing.
“Is Markaeus hiding again? I can transport him here, unless he has some kind of iron belt on.”
“No!” Uncle Charles’ fingers tightened on her arm until she winced. His eyes were wide, and she shared his panic, almost hyperventilating. “You’re... you’re too weak, Alora. Just go on with Kaevin. He needs you. I’m sure Markaeus’ll be right back.”
“You’re looking for Markaeus?” Arista leaned her whole upper body out of the portal and pointed. “I saw him earlier, running down that road toward the river.”
Though the moon was bright, Alora could barely make out the bridge as clouds of smoke wafted past. Her eyes stung, and all she could think about was getting Mark
aeus back so she could go home and go to sleep. Strangely, she wasn’t even worried about the probability of dying.
