Page 58 of Spirit Trials
I climb off my horse and tie it to a post that honestly doesn’t look like it will hold, but I have no other choice. Kinsley grabs my hand and pulls me over to the group. Curious eyes take me in, and I smile at the varied group. It’s impossible not to notice the tattered, torn clothes, the gaunt cheekbones, and thin shoulders.
Harper sees me coming and points me out. “This is our friend, Farrah. She’s going to win the spirit trials and get rid of the rules that keep the banished outside the city.” Silence falls, and I could kick Harper.
“Um, hi,” I wave.
“Are you from the Wolf Kingdom?” somebody asks.
“Oh, no. I’m from a village about a week’s ride from here,” I tell them.
“Are you really going to win the trials and help us?” somebody else asks, and I don’t know what to say. I look at the people in front of me and recognize the hopelessness. Nobody should have to live this way, especially when the Wolf Kingdom has more than enough to share.
“I’m going to try,” I tell them. Something moves deep within my heart, and I know I won’t go back on my word. Somebody needs to help these people. It may as well be me. Somebody tugs at my hand, and I look down to see a little girl smiling up at me.
“You’re pretty.”
I squat down, so I’m at her level. “You’re pretty too.”
She giggles. “Want to watch me spin?”
“I would love to.” I watch her spin and spin, wondering how she doesn’t get dizzy. When she finishes, I clap for her and then wander back over to where Harper has set up a distribution area of sorts.
“Eleanor,” she calls out. I watch a hunched woman shuffle over to the table.
“I brought you some oil,” Harper says softly. I watch as the woman reaches out gnarled, twisted hands.
“Thank you,” the woman says as she takes the little bottle. “You’re an angel.”
Kinsley laughs. “Yes, that’s exactly what she is.”
Harper scowls but gets back to work. “Rita.” She waves over a young mom who’s holding a baby and has a toddler hanging on to her legs and another little one following close behind. Harper gives her just a few things—I can’t even see what they are. And yet, you’d think she just gave the woman the moon.
“Thank you, Harper. Thank you.” Harper nods, and I can tell she’s choked up. It makes me choke up too. I don’t understand it. I don’t understand how these people have nothing. Somebody tugs on my shirt, and I turn around. I nearly stumble back in surprise at the woman standing in front of me.
Chapter 31
The woman’s eyes are milky white, her hands withered, and her hair pure white. “Wolf girl,” she says in a voice that sounds rough, like maybe she hasn’t used it in a long while.
I turn around to try to figure out who or what she’s talking about, but she grabs both my hands. Her grip is surprisingly strong for an old woman. “The seas are rough and turbulent, and all who fall therein drown without any way out.” I try to pull my hand away because I have no idea what she’s talking about. “Strong winds blow and snap both the weakest and the strongest boughs; it knows no prejudice.” I look over my shoulder, hoping Kinsley or Harper can be of assistance. The woman tugs at my hands again. “And you, Farrah Bromean,” I go still at the use of my full name. “You will die a watery death before you rise in victory.” She grasps my hands tighter. “Stay true to your path.” She loosens her hold on my hands. “A flower may turn to follow the path of the sun until they no longer have need of its light. The stars align and no one knows their meaning.” She continues to rattle off things that don’t really make any sense, and I manage to pull my hands from hers. She turns and walks away, and I stare after her, feeling unsettled.
“Farrah?”
I nearly jump out of my skin. “Kinsley, you scared me.”
“You okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, I just...” I shake my head. “That lady that talked to me. Do you know her?”
“What lady?” Kinsley asks.
“The lady with white hair and eyes that weren’t clear.”
“Oh, sounds like you had a run-in with Nolara. Don't worry; she unnerves everybody. Some people say she’s a seer, but mostly everything she says is gibberish. Don’t let it get to you. I need to make sure she has food, though, so I’ll be right back.”
I watch Kinsley run after the woman, and I take in the others still gathering around. But there’s a chill in the air that I didn’t feel before. I’m not a superstitious person, never have been; but I find myself having a hard time shaking her words from my mind. A group of three tall, lanky guys approach the table and start teasing Harper. I head that way to get my mind off what just happened. I look in dismay at the meager things left; there won’t be enough for these guys. They don’t look upset, though. They seem to be having a good time. That is, until one of them shoves Harper.
“Hey,” I call out. I’m suddenly glad that I stashed a few knives on my person; I didn’t bring my bow because I didn’t want to appear threatening. “Don’t push her.” I stride over to the men.
But when Harper turns around, she’s laughing. “It’s fine, Farrah. These idiots are like brothers to me.”
