Page 86 of Rising

She’d claimed he’d shut her out, no longer confided in her or sought out comfort. That fight had been one for the ages. Seth had berated her for being worried about such a ‘ridiculous’ thing considering what was at stake. She’d doubled down and said her feelings were valid. She’d be damned to spend her last days tied down to a selfish idiot. Reina, Alexiares, and I were subject to hearing it all.

Reina had been acting weird too, a little more than two weeks shy of reaching Duluth she’d gone quiet. Originally, I’d assumed it was a mix of the intensity of the travel and the constant use of her magic finally taking its toll and her wearing down. But the first snow of the season had forced us to find somewhere to wait it out for a few days, allowing her to recover and rest. We’d even been lucky to find some food, yet still she was lost to herself. Secluding into the other room, lost in her gaze out the window, watching the snowfall.

The snow had disoriented Alexiares, setting us back half a day before anyone had noticed the Missouri River off in the distance. That’d been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Seth had been livid, a list of insults rolling off his tongue. They’d circled each other. Fists raised, breath visible in the cold air, quick and fast, making each breath a dancing ring of smoke and ice. A few seconds passed, and neither had moved, their frustration and anger simmering just below the surface, the cold and fury coloring the little exposed skin on their faces red.

Suddenly, they both lunged forward, colliding in a flurry of fists and kicks. The sound of their bodies meeting thunderous as they fought with fierce intensity. They looked like idiots. Jack rabbits squabbling in ill-fitted layers, Seth’s fur pelt latched over his neck as his hat fell into the snow. Part of me wanted to let them fight, see who’d come out on top, too tired to break it up, but the General in me said enough was enough.

I drew my knife, flipping it in my fingers and swiftly moving to knock them both on the head with the pommel of the knife. It’d take too much effort to talk them down, and I found myself wanting to go with whatever the easiest option was.

Team morale was non-existent in the week that followed. Artichoke had been a blessing, the lake there not yet frozen, the carp and minnows plenty. We’d feasted that night, a few fish each until our bellies were full and spirits were lifted. Alexiares and Seth had taken off to clear the perimeter as Reina and Moe helped me curate jerky to carry wish us. It wasn’t enough to get us to Duluth. But it would buy us some time, give us some energy, allowing the others to find bigger game to sustain their bellies while the rest of the portions could transfer to me.

We found ourselves delayed another two days for snow as we passed through Clontarf. The small historic town was occupied, but not enclosed. It was interesting, seeing the smoke rise through the chimneys of the Victorian style homes without a care in the world. They either lacked common sense and welcomed death, or had other security measures in place that kept them from worrying about intruders or the dead entering their homes.

Their carefree approach made it simple for us to figure out which homes weren’t occupied. The snow made the options slim. We didn’t need any questions on the cluster of footprints going from home to home, deciding on a charming one near the corner of town. We weren’t lucky enough to find it stocked in any capacity. The home was bare and dust coated the wood floors.

At least we were warm,I’d thought on the second morning. My small fire brimmed in the fireplace a few feet away. My body stiffened at the weight on the other end of the mattress, shocked to find Alexiares lying there beside me. He’d likely settled in after his shift, sure to move slow and quiet.

A small tingle of fear crept from behind my ear at the thought of him being capable of moving that close to me without me knowing. This wasn’t the tree, or Elko. I wasn’t injured. I’d had a full night’s rest in a warm house, with a decent amount of food. There was no excuse to not have my wits about me, no excuse except the false sense of safety in the presence of others. And him.

* * *

Albany was less than impressive,but the deer scat and signs in the area had Reina feeling confident she could have us ending the day with dinner. Seth trusted his sister’s abilities, opting to search for dry firewood, but we all knew it’d been a ploy to get away from Moe. No one had heard what’d happened, but the silence between them was loud enough. They hadn’t spoken since we’d left Clontarf three days ago.

Moe, in turn had insisted on accompanying Reina on her hunt, claiming the feeling of being an apex predator gave her joy while glaring at Seth’s back as he’d wandered into the tree line. That’d left Alexiares with me on weapon duty. He’d been less grouchy the last few days, but we still hadn’t said more than a few words to each other, and I didn’t plan on starting now.

The rhythmic clanking of metal scraping against a sharpening stone filled the air as Alexiares sharpened the knives from each of our packs. The effort had become a routine each night, making sure they were sharp and ready to use the following day. Flesh and bone dulled knives faster than Hollywood would let one think, especially when it was rotted.

I watched him as I blew down the disassembled gun before clicking the pieces back into place. The chiseled contour of his jawline and sharp angles of his face focused and fixated into a scowl. A deep exhale left my chest. Even after all this time, there was something satisfying about cleaning your weapon, knowing it’d be there for you, a working vessel when you needed it.

When I was finished, I returned my gun into my holster, moving to grab Reina’s next. The bag scraped against the side of his thigh as I brushed by unfocused, not realizing how close I had passed.

A chuckle escaped his mouth, almost as if the sound itself wasn’t quite sure it knew what it wanted to do. Starting out rough and giving way to a strained, uneven rhythm. His mouth twisted into an awkward smile, eyes darting nervously to the ground.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, turning back around to face him.

“We just gonna keep on pretending like that day never happened?”

“You mean when you almost kissed me?” I threw back.

He ran his fingers through his wild, overgrown dark hair, eyes meeting mine in challenge. “Correct, also known as the day you almost let me.”

Two figures came shooting out the woods at the same moment Seth came up from behind Alexiares. My mind pulled, not knowing where to focus before settling on Tomoe and Reina. Knees to their chest, their weapons flailing loosely at their sides as their arms pumped, pushing them forward.

Seth sprinted towards Moe’s side, wood hitting the ground with a solid thud as he let go.

“What did you do?” he demanded.

“Nothing!” Reina chimed in out of breath, while checking over her shoulders on either side.

A howl rang out in the distance, then another, followed by two more.Hounds, not wolves,I determined, as if either option meant I’d walk away from this. We’d faced wolves already, and I wasn’t ready to go toe to toe with them again. But hounds had owners, and people were far worse than whatever we’d faced this far out in the wild.

“Okay, we may have committed just a tiny act of war,” Reina admitted, drawing our attention away from the trees and back at dumb and dumber standing before us.

My eyes shot to Tomoe who was a bittooquiet. I took in the blood on her shirt, reaching to grab her hands, raising them to show Alexiares and Seth. “Is that blood?” I asked.

She looked at me, cheeks red from the sprint here and a bit of guilt, as she meekly smiled. “Don’t worry it’s not mine.”

“That’s supposed to reassure me?” I exclaimed as I turned to grab our belongings and go.

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