Page 105 of A Soul to Guide

“Fine, here.”

He placed his massive hand on the top of her head, and Raewyn smiled as she waited. She kept her face pointing towards him, and after a few moments of him thinking – likely trying to figure out the spell – the first thing she saw was her own expression.

Raewyn looked like a mess. There were sticks and leaves in her hair, as well as a dirt smudge across her cheek.Holy maiden. I need a bath, immediately. I can’t believe he touched me like this!

Then, his sight drew away from her and spanned over the entire area.

The Veil looked spooky, despite the treetops glowing with the sun shining over them. It was far denser than the forest above, and the white mist made it appear haunted and dreary.

She could do nothing to change the focal point as he drew his gaze over the three boulders he’d spoken about earlier. They were between two trees relatively close together and weren’t far from the lake’s edge.

The water was a crystal-clear blue, clean and not muddy at all from what she could tell. Already, she wanted to go for a dip and scrub her body from head to toe. The water raining into it was frothy near the bottom, and it sprayed a mist over the water’s surface, seeming to blow into the Veil to make it more prominent through the trees.

Then, finally, the decently sized entrance of his home came into view. A cream burlap curtain was latched to it by loops and hooks to keep leaf debris from blowing inside. Although she couldn’t make out what it was, there was a charm hanging from the very centre of the rocky, round archway. It was purple, blue, and red, fluttering in the wind like ribbons.

The cliff wall here wasn’t straight; it had its own concave pattern before bulging out to the right, close to the entrance of his cave. She couldn’t see where the ward ended because of the wall that became convex there, especially with the small group of four or five trees.

They’d walked past those trees as they’d entered.

There, Merikh’s sight spun at a dizzying speed, making her stumble, as he twisted his head back to her. She hadn’t even realised he’d been looking over his back with ease, like a bird would, until he’d done that.

He removed his hand and the image of her woozy, greening face disappeared.

“There. Now, let’s go inside.”

Using her cane to tap against the ground, Raewyn followed him with no physical contact. She didn’t know why, but for the past week, whenever they weren’t touching, she could always tell where he was.

At least, not by any normal means; she still couldn’t hear his footsteps or breaths. It itched at her brain – being able to sense him like this was nagging at her.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the change.She just wanted to figure out why.

Before she could even ask, he placed his hand on top of her head again.

His home rushed into her vision, and Raewyn blinked rapidly in surprise. The entire process was disorientating, and the more he did it, the less she liked it.

“There isn’t much,” he commented as his gaze roamed.

She couldn’t help thinking he was just being modest. There was far more here than she’d been expecting.

Carved like an oval, the cave was long and deep, both ends having a curve to them rather than giving the room corners.

On the left was a chair covered in animal fur that looked surprisingly plush, far too big for her thin frame. At the very back was a bed that would have been completely circular if he hadn’t cut off the very top pressing against the wall. It looked kind of soft, with leather laid over it to hide what it was made of.

What really caught her attention, though, was everything to the right: two long shelves filled with leather-bound books and odd knick-knacks. She wouldn’t say the knick-knacks were cute, considering two of them were skulls, but some were large crystals.

There was a thinner shelf that held an assortment of ingredients. From what she gathered, most of it was dried herbs, ground-up crystals, and other various earthy materials.

The last pieces of furniture were a long, rectangular stone island bench and a decently sized cooking hearth. There wasn’t much on top of the bench currently, perhaps a knife, a mortar and pestle, and a cutting board made of the same stone.

There was an animal skin rug underneath the bed, and it took up most of the floor space. Nothing hung from the roof, no chandelier for light. She also couldn’t see many candles lying around.

She figured he could see perfectly in the dark.

The sight faded, and Raewyn was left wondering why he’d choose to abandon this place when he’d obviously styled it. There were a few pieces of décor, and the bookshelves gave her the impression he collected books that interested him. Why do all that to just leave it behind?

She sighed, wanting to ask, but she knew she’d get some dark or sad answer. It was something that had bothered her over the many weeks she’d been travelling with him.

Not once, except for when he’d spoken of Jabez, had Merikh said anything positive about his past. He had no friends, and his family was a touchy subject for him. It didn’t seem as though he enjoyed anything.

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