Thane took a step forward. Though suspicious, he thought he had figured out the truth. His expression was full of cautious hope.
“You don’t have to be Caw if you don’t want to be,” he added. “But I’d like you to be…”
Ellie finally spoke, though she did not craft away the invisibility. It was easier to face him without having to show him her fear that she had lost a friend. “You're not mad?”
Thane sucked in a deep breath. His expression turned into one of relief. He had feared the worst when she had not spoken right away.
“Far from it.”
Thane dug in his pocket and pulled back with the book he had given her. He held it up for her to see. The front cover was torn in a couple of places, and it showed the abuse of being thrown out of a moving van. The sight of it brought Ellie hope. He had gotten her message. She was not certain he had chosen to believe the message but at least she had the chance to tell him the truth.
“That was pretty fast thinking.”
“Do you believe me?” Ellie said.
“Yes,” Thane said. “You would never hurt my mom. I know that.”
“I tried to bring her back to your family, but Cousin’s truck crashed. We got caught in the middle of the fight between Neveah and your papa. I think your papa managed to get her back. I’m not sure what happened afterwards. I had to run.”
“I heard about that,” Thane said.
“You did?” Ellie asked.
Thane nodded. “Yeah, I ran into Rachel. She told me about how the others followed me and how Dad got Mom back from your sister. She said she saw you in the woods headed for town. I’ve been trying to find you since I left your house.”
“You were at my house?” Ellie asked.
“I tried to sneak through the woods to get to you. I thought I could save you both,” Thane said. “I guess I was wrong…Your house got burned down, by the way.”
“I know,” Ellie said. “I was the one who burned it down.”
Thane was surprised. His eyebrows lifted to his hairline with his disbelief. “Why?”
“A distraction to get your momma out,” Ellie said.
Thane focused on the spot Ellie’s voice was coming from. He tried to see beyond her illusion, but her craft was too strong. She had forgotten to release the craft. Their conversation distracted her.
“Did you not want me to see you?” Thane asked. “Or are you starting a new thing between us?”
Ellie took a deep breath at his question. Part of her still thought he was going to back out of their friendship over what had happened with his mother. Ellie released the craft and stepped out from behind the tree. Caw let out a squawk of welcome and flapped his wings once.
Thane smiled at them. His smile turned to guilt. He had another confession. “Connor killed your sister.”
“I know,” Ellie said. “I was there.”
“So, what do we do now?” Thane asked. “Neveah killed my cousin, Connor killed Neveah…it’s just a mess.”
“And your papa killed my papa…on and on it goes,” Ellie said. “It never ends. Not unless we make it.”
Thane’s eyes were huge. He had never suspected his father guilty of killing Ellie’s father. She could see the truth in his expression. He had not known. He would have told her if he had. Ellie could sense him wondering if she wanted revenge. He wanted to know if something had changed. Ellie was not eager to continue the feud. The fighting had moved to the forest, but that did not mean she had to bring the feud to their friendship. They could maintain their truce for as long as both were willing.
“Neither of us done any of those things,” Ellie pointed out. “We didn’t kill anybody.”
“But-”
“I'm not looking to hold a grudge,” Ellie said. “You’re the only friend I got. You came for me, even when you could have believed I was the one who told Neveah about your momma. You trust me. That’s all I gotta know.”
Ellie put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Thane hugged her back, his hands tentative as he wrapped them around her waist. Ellie put her chin on his shoulder and sighed. They could set aside guilt, but that did not take away the pain of yesterday.
“I’m sorry about your momma,” Ellie whispered.
Thane sighed. “I’m sorry about your sister,” Thane said.
Ellie released Thane and looked at him. He was covered in soot and had scratch marks over his face from where the foliage had slapped him during his run to catch up to her. He was sweaty and looked as if he had spent the whole night running. Thane looked right back, trying to see her story in the marks on her body. Her story was infinitely more violent than his was. He had not faced down his own sibling in a fight to the death.
His eyes lingered on her bloody nose and the gash on her forehead. “Do you want me to heal you?”
“Heal me?” Ellie asked.
Ellie had forgotten about the cut on her forehead and that her ankle hurt with every step. Seeing him had erased the memory of the pain. Thane gestured at her forehead, his eyes concerned. Ellie’s hand moved to the cut.
“Your forehead looks as if someone took a knife to it, and your nose looks broken,” Thane said.
“I forgot,” Ellie said.
“Sit down,” Thane commanded.
Thane threw his bag to the ground and waited for her to sit. Ellie sat, being careful with her ankle. It was back to throbbing in a painful reminder that all was not well. Thane raised his hand and started to work the healing craft. His craft was strong but Ellie could tell he had never tried to heal someone before. She let him do the work alone, appreciating the fact that he was so willing to help her. As he healed her, he demanded to hear her story. She told him everything, starting with Neveah banging on her door. Thane had moved on to her ankle when she finally finished her story. He was pensive. He did not seem to know how to phrase his thoughts. His first thought was of his mother.
“My mom actually crafted?” Thane asked.
“Yeah,” Ellie agreed. “She wasn’t exactly herself, but she definitely protected me.”
“I didn’t think she could craft anymore,” Thane said.
“I think it was because of you,” Ellie admitted. “Something woke her up when she saw the bracelet you crafted me.”
Thane was silent for a long time. He did not try to respond to Ellie’s comment. He was better not trying to figure it out. He finished healing her ankle then rocked back on his heels to look at her. He had a question in his eyes. “And what are you going to do now?”
“There’s nothing left but for me to go. My family won’t have me, not that I would want to go back now. It’ll be good to be away from here.”
“Where are you going?” Thane asked.
“I’ll know when I know,” Ellie said.
“I want to come with you,” Thane said.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Ellie said.
“Why not?” Thane asked.
“'Cause, you have a chance at family. You never had my circumstances, exactly. Your family sees you as family. You can stay here and do your part and have their support. You don’t have to be a nomad.”
“I don’t think my family cares as much as you think,” Thane said.
“Rachel cares about you,” Ellie said.
“She’s the only one,” Thane said.
“I don’t think you mean that,” Ellie said.
“You don’t know what I mean,” Thane said roughly. “Besides, the feud is stupid. It’s messy and pointless. Maybe my father shouldn’t have sent me away, because all it did was give me perspective. Maybe if we hadn’t met, I wouldn’t know that Bumbalows aren’t as bad as everyone said. I don’t want a part of it anymore.”
“I don’t want to be your reason for running away,” Ellie said. “You gotta have a better reason than that.”
“You’re a perfectly good reason to run away,” Thane argued. “Why are you so reluctant to let me come along? Do you not want my company?”
E
llie looked at the ground. She played with the hem of her blood-soaked dress thoughtfully. Caw was next to her, searching for bugs in the undergrowth. Looking at Caw, Ellie understood her feelings. She had always been alone. It was easier that way. She did not know how to begin again without the threat of Neveah taking everything from her. She did not know how to allow someone like Thane to come with her on her journey when she was not certain where she was going. She was not certain she could depend on the fact that he would want to stay. He had tried to run away several times. He had always gone back because of his mother. She did not want to take from him all the things she never had.
“I'm not opposed to you coming along. I just want you to understand. I'm not coming back. Never. If you want to come back, I don’t want to have to face that later on, you understand?” Ellie said.
“You’re worried I’m not going to stick around?” Thane asked. “That I’ll get homesick or something?”
“Yeah,” Ellie said.
“If I wasn’t certain, then why would I come to your house and search through the woods for you with the express purpose of running away with you?” Thane asked.
“You did?” Ellie asked.
Thane opened his bag as proof. He pulled out a pair of boots. They were the ones Ellie had crafted on their trip to town. He had several of her books stacked inside, as well as books and things that looked as if they belonged to him. It was a bag meant for traveling. It was proof he had planned to run away before he had even left town. He had gone to her shack and had gotten the things he thought she would miss most in the hope that she would run away with him. There was no denying that proof. He could not have known Ellie’s plan to run away then.
“I’ve been running all night just to catch up to you,” Thane said. “I thought you were already gone. Good thing you didn’t craft a car, or I would have never found you.”
Ellie smiled at him. He had really thought about his decision. He knew what he wanted. That was all that mattered to her. She did not want to be his reason, but she was glad he wanted the same thing she wanted. She was glad to have her friend back.
“Alright then,” Ellie said. “What are we waiting for?”
“For you to stop wasting time doubting me,” Thane said.
“Well, there’s that,” Ellie said.
She grinned at Thane. It was a mocking smile full of friendly teasing. Ellie moved to his bag and looked inside. She realized that if they were going to leave, she would have to look the part. That meant shoes. Ellie put on the boots Thane had brought with more excitement than when she had crafted them. They were part of her coming journey.
Her feet hidden by the boots, she waved her hand. The dirt and sweat that had covered her body disappeared. With another wave of her hand, she changed dresses. It was a new dress for a new adventure. She jumped to her feet and held her hand out for Thane. She helped him stand. Thane smiled at her, pleased she had stopped arguing with him. She was not fighting his choice to leave. Content, they moved toward town.
Ellie had never felt so free. She realized her adventure had never really ended. What she had started with saving Thane’s life could continue for as long as she wanted. It was her choice, her adventure to have. No one would dictate her course any longer. She would finally be free of the feud. Walking away felt like the bravest thing she had ever done.
Thane and Ellie walked for the rest of the day. At dusk, train tracks appeared out of the forest. Caw flew in front of them as they walked. He marked their path as he swooped from tree to tree.
The second Ellie and Thane stepped out of the trees a gunshot rang through the forest. The bullet landed directly in front of Ellie’s feet. Ellie and Thane both jumped at the unexpected attack.
The two men they had first encountered on their way to town stepped out of the trees. The older one held his rifle pointed at Ellie, while the younger one was trained on Thane. Thane started to take Ellie’s hand, to run, but Ellie shook him off. If they were going to face the world, they were going to face it without running. She had run long enough.
“You know what your problem is?” Ellie asked the pair.
Father and son looked at each other. They were confused at the question. “No…” the younger man said.
“You’re scared of all the wrong things,” Ellie said.
Ellie waved her hand and both of the rifles bent backwards. Father and son shared a look of fear. No one had ever taken away their weapons before. They had always surprised the crafters that came on to their property. They suddenly had no way to fight off Ellie and Thane. Ellie waved another hand, and the men lifted up into the air by their ankles. They yelled and struggled against the pull of her craft. They could not escape despite their struggles.
“You should stop killing people,” Ellie said. “Someone might decide they don’t take kindly to that.”
The men were terrified. They looked like trapped animals, only their cage was magic. They did not respond to Ellie’s words. They kept struggling to free themselves, not understanding what was going on. No one had dared craft at them directly.
Thane was laughing. “Well, that’s one way to deal with things.”
“Yep,” Ellie agreed.
A light appeared on the horizon. It was dim at first, but steadily grew brighter. The tracks were not as empty as last time. A train was headed along the weed-choked rails for an unknown destination. Ellie was immediately drawn to the sight. It was the first train she had ever seen but she thought it looked perfect. Her imagination was not disappointed by the sight of it.
The nose of the train was covered in bright pink polka dots. Loud music circled the train, creating a siren of sound through the forest. There was an air of festive joy around the slow-moving train. It was a feeling Ellie wanted to be closer to after the darkness of the forest. Ellie knew she had found their ride.
Ellie pointed the train out to Thane. He did not need an explanation to know she wanted to hitch a ride. A part of him had known that she was heading for the tracks all along. It was why he had not tried to cut her off at town. The expression on her face when they had first seen the tracks was not easily forgotten. It was the same look that was on her face now. Thane knew there were better ways to escape town, but he could not deny the look on her face.
With the curses of the men Ellie had strung up in the sky as background noise to their task, Thane pulled Ellie away from the track. Ellie followed him, though she did not understand why he was pulling her away from the tracks. The whole point was to jump on the train. Thane saw her confusion.
“We need to let it pass a little, so the guy driving the train doesn’t see us,” Thane said. “We’ll hop on the back.”
“Okay,” Ellie said.
They impatiently waited at the tree line for the train to pass. Caw circled overhead as they waited. Around Ellie’s excitement, it seemed to take forever. The train did not move very fast.
Finally, the front of train moved beyond them and car after car slowly trudged past. There were unusual designs and drawings on the outside of the train, but Ellie did not focus on them. She focused on Thane. She waited for a sign that it was time to move. There would be time to look at the train later.
Thane slung the bag over his shoulder and ran toward one of the cars as the back end of the train came into view. Ellie eagerly followed him. He opened the heavy door with a flick of his wrist and threw his bag inside. He jumped on, pulling himself up easily. He turned and held his hand out to Ellie. Ellie took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. Her feet dangled in the air for a moment, then they fell back on to the floor with the force of his tug.
At the fall, Ellie started laughing. The laughter was infectious. Thane laughed with her. Their laughter carried them through the landscape of trees.
Above the train, Caw circled twice more. He let out a low sound at the joy and freedom of flying, then circled higher. He saw many strange things as he trailed above the train. He saw animals in cages, men and women wearing strange costumes,
and rows of bright tent fabric, equipment and gear. Without knowing what the words meant, Caw saw, ‘Harper’s Traveling Circus,’ printed across the top of the train.
Below him, Ellie and Thane hung their legs out over the edge of their car, to watch the trees glide slowly past. Their laughter still circled the forest.
They, like Caw, were glad to be free. There would be no looking back, only forward. Their next adventure was waiting.
Caw let out another caw of joy and raced the train toward the horizon.
Craft Page 25
