by L. S. O'Dea
Mirra lunged at her. Before she could move, the Tracker had scooped her up and climbed the nearest tree, dropping her on a large branch.
“Shhh,” whispered Mirra, crawling to the end of a branch, overlooking the lake.
Her heart beat double time. Something must be coming, something that caused a Tracker to flee. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what it was, but she followed Mirra anyway. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her gasp as Jackson and Kim moved into the clearing. Kim held onto his jacket, trying to slow him down.
“Why won’t you believe me,” yelled Kim.
“Because you’re lying.” He continued walking, dragging her behind him. He twisted his back attempting to free himself from her grasp. “Let go.”
“Not until you stop moving.”
He turned to face her, breaking her hold. “You can quit shouting. You’ve succeeded in warning your lover.” He sniffed the air.
Kim fisted her hands. “For the last time, I don’t have a lover.”
He took a step toward her and then another until there was only an inch or so between them. “Then what were you doing here last night with only a Grunt to accompany you?”
Her backpack lay on the ground near the lake. There was no way they weren’t going to see it. She nudged Mirra in the side. Mirra glared at her. She pointed to the backpack. The Tracker frowned and shook her head. There was nothing they could do but wait.
Kim poked him in the chest. “I was not...”
“Don’t even try to tell me that you weren’t here,” he said. “I asked Cack.”
“Grunt’s don’t talk.”
“But they do communicate. He made it clear that you came back to the Lake of Sins.” He shot a glance at the statues. “Believe it or not, this is not a hard place to describe, even without words.”
Kim opened her mouth and then shut it.
Jackson stepped back. “You look like a fish.” He turned his head and sniffed again. “Do you smell that?”
Trinity’s heart skipped a beat. Could he smell them? She inhaled and the comforting odor of pine and herbs filled her lungs. Mirra had masked their scent.
Kim hit him in the chest knocking him back a pace. “How dare you check up on me?”
“How dare I?” He leaned forward until their noses almost touched. “Perhaps, I should speak with your father about your midnight rendezvous.”
Jackson was furious. Would Kim cave in and tell him about last night? If she did, what would Mirra do to them, to her?
Kim stood her ground. “You wouldn’t. You’d get in more trouble than I would.”
He raised his hand, tracing a scar that ran from his eye to his chin. “Yes, I suppose I would.”
Trinity perked her ears. She hadn’t noticed the scar before. It was thin and had been stitched well. What had happened to him?
The anger fled Kim’s face. She reached up to touch his cheek.
He grabbed her hand, stopping her. “Who were you meeting?”
“No one.” She pulled free from his grasp.
“It’s not safe for you out here.” He clutched her shoulders with both hands and shook her. “Listen to me. Even your father can’t protect you, not from a group of Guards turned wild. Once they start running in packs it isn’t safe for anyone.” He turned his head, sniffing the air again.
“Stop that,” said Kim.
“What?” he asked distractedly, his nose in the air.
She rolled her eyes. “Sniffing.”
He turned toward the lake. “Don’t you smell that?”
She inhaled deeply. “Smell what?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t quite make it out. I can smell fish and older scents from yesterday, but there’s something else. I’ve smelled it before. It’s kind of like fresh pine but muskier.” He tipped his head farther back and drew in a deep breath.
Kim scanned the area. Her eyes widened when her gaze landed on the backpack.
Trinity poked Mirra. The Tracker swatted her hand and raised her body into a crouch, her lean muscles tense and her tail twitching slightly. Mirra was getting ready to attack. The Tracker would easily kill both of them. She couldn’t allow Mirra to hurt Kim. She was Jethro’s sister, plus the Almightys would hunt Mirra down and kill her for harming one of them.
“What do you see?” Jackson gazed in the direction that Kim was looking.
Kim grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her.
Mirra didn’t move, but she didn’t relax either. Did the Guard see the backpack? Suddenly, Christian leaned out of the water and pulled the pack into the high grass by the lake. Once it was out of sight, he slipped under the surface. Mirra shot her a queer look. She fidgeted. Mirra would want an explanation, but that could be a good thing. It might take the Tracker’s mind off Kim’s actions.
“We should go,” insisted Kim as she pulled on his arm.
“Is your lover here?” he snarled, breaking free from her grasp and scanning the area.
“Yes, Jackson, that’s it. Even though I’ve told you a thousand times that I don’t have a lover. He’s here.” She glanced at where the backpack had been, her mouth dropping open.
Trinity shut her eyes for a moment in relief. The Guard had not seen the backpack and Kim had not seen Christian. Mirra still remained on alert, but she didn’t know that Kim was a friend. She breathed deeply. They were fine. No one would die.
“So, you are meeting a Guard.” Jackson’s shoulders slumped. “Why?”
“What? I’m not good enough for a Guard? I didn’t take you as a purist.” Kim peered around the lake.
“Not good enough.” He barked a laugh that was harsh and without humor. “I’m hardly a purist. I don’t care who mates with whom in this world. If you like it then do it, is my motto.”
“Figures,” Kim said disgustingly.
He stepped toward her again and pushed a curl back behind her ear. “You deserve better than someone who would put you in danger.”
Trinity rested her chin on her fist. This was getting interesting.
Kim swallowed. “I swear. I was not meeting a Guard.”
“Then who?” he whispered.
“No one.” She leaned in closer to him.
He bit his lip, shaking his head and took a step back. “It kills me that I can’t protect you anymore. So, please don’t come out here alone. It’s not safe.”
Kim grabbed his hand and pulled him back toward the trail. “I won’t leave town again. I promise.”
He looked at her hand in his and let her drag him along. “I don’t believe you.”
Kim smiled up at him as they disappeared into the forest. Mirra turned and glared at her.
“My backpack,” she whispered, trying to refocus the Tracker on something besides the scene that had played out before them.
“Stay.” Mirra jumped down from the tree and cautiously approached the high grass. She bobbed back and forth and then growled. Her arm shot out and retrieved the backpack. She darted back to the tree. “Come.”
She dropped to the ground and Mirra led her into the forest. They stopped in the exact area where Gaar had left her two days ago.
“This good spot,” said Mirra. “Better than lake. Gaar-Mine know this.”
“This is where Gaar left me.” She was going to have to think fast. How much could she tell without it being too much? Mirra and Gaar would not be happy with her for making friends with two Almightys, especially Benedictine’s children.
“Then why you out forest?” barked Mirra, the hair rising along her back.
“Earlier, I was trying to get water, and I lost my canteen in the lake. Christian, the River-Man, returned it to me last night. I went to the lake to thank him.” That wasn’t a lie; it just wasn’t the full truth.
The hair on Mirra’s back lowered. “River-Man bring stuff to forest tree?”
“Yes,” she said, relaxing a bit. An angry Tracker was not something to take lightly.
“Forest far for R
iver-Men. They no like be out water.”
“Really? What do you know about them? I know a story, but nothing real.”
“I know they taste good.” Mirra grinned, showing her large sharp teeth.
“Mirra,” she chided, unable to keep from smiling. It really wasn’t funny. Not when the Tracker could say the same thing about her. “Tell me what you know about them.” This was good. She’d focus Mirra’s attention on Christian instead of why Kim would try to keep the Guard from seeing the backpack.
Mirra sat and patted the ground next to her. She dropped down and rested her head on the Tracker’s shoulder.
“They live in water. Can live out water, but no safe. They eat others.”
“What others?” she asked.
Mirra shrugged and stroked Trinity’s head. “Any other. Eat you. Eat me. Eat any go near water. Water bad. They grab. Pull under. You dead. Then eat you.”
She shivered. The ride to the island and back took on a more dangerous hue. Thankfully, she’d decided not swim.
“They live groups.” Mirra paused for a moment. “And they taste good.”
She playfully slapped Mirra on the leg. “Well, I heard...know a story about how they came to be.”
“Be what?” asked Mirra.
“Be what they are. Half-fish half-Almighty.”
“Tell me. Mirra like stories.”
She recited the legend of Christian and Harold. Mirra was as interested as she’d been. Apparently, a good tale transcended the different groups. Afterwards, they climbed a tree and took a nap.
Several hours later, she was awoken by a hairy hand shaking her none too gently.
“Wake up, Little One. Gaar-Mine back.”
She rubbed her eyes. She didn’t see him. “Where is he?”
Mirra pointed into the forest. “He coming. He take long way. No one follow.”
There was no movement in the brush. “How can you tell?”
Mirra crouched. She pointed to her nose. “Smell him.” She touched her ears. “Hear him.” She put her hand over her heart. “Feel him.”
She inhaled deeply trying to catch a whiff of Gaar but her nose was not that sensitive. She strained her ears, positive that she’d hear him since yesterday, she’d done so well with the Guards but she could not detect a sound. “I can’t tell he’s coming.”
“Concentrate.” Mirra tapped her on the temple with a long claw. “Tell me when find him.”
She sat very still, feeling the forest around her. She tried to pick up subtle odors and sounds but it was at least twenty minutes before she caught a hint of his scent. “Now,” she said excitedly. “I can smell him now.”
Mirra scoffed. “Too late. You no time escape if he hunt you.”
She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I’m trying.”
Mirra cuffed her on the ear. “Try harder.”
She held the side of her face and looked the other way so that Mirra wouldn’t see her tears. She was doing her best. She wasn’t a Tracker or a Handler. She was just a Producer...and House Servant. She wiped at her eyes. She was a failure at being a Producer and now she was failing at being whatever the heck Mirra wanted her to be. She was tired of never being good enough. Jethro had been the only one who had known her secrets and had accepted her exactly as she was, and she’d never see him again.
About ten minutes later Gaar came into view, carrying a couple of backpacks. He walked directly to the tree where they sat hidden in the branches and put down his supplies. Mirra dropped to the ground, wriggling and rubbing against him. The joy the two found in each other’s presence made her even sadder. If things were different, could she have found something like that with Jethro? She sighed. Life was unfair but she’d learned that a long time ago. She forced a smile and lowered herself out of the tree.
He stroked a hand down Mirra’s back. “Hi, Little One. Has Mirra been with you this whole time?”
“No, she arrived this morning.” She needed to change the subject. Gaar wouldn’t be as easy to distract as Mirra had been. “Did you get what you needed?”
“Yes, I’m starving. Let’s eat.”
He pulled cooked beans out of a sack along with bread, nuts and fruit. He opened another bag and brought out a large hunk of something brownish that smelled like the dead rabbits. She wrinkled her nose. If that was meat, it was the biggest rabbit she’d ever seen. He cut it into chunks and handed two thirds of it to Mirra. He put the other third on a plate and then added some of the other foods. He handed her a dish and she loaded it up with the beans and fruit. Too bad there weren’t any cookies. She frowned. One more thing she’d never see again.
He finished eating and separated the supplies into their backpacks. “Take us to the Tracker camp first.” He stood. “Mirra”—he waited until the Tracker met his gaze—“this is a reconnaissance mission only. We need to find out the patterns of the camp before we free the Trackers.”
“Bah. I no need pattern.”
“We can’t just go in there blind. We need to know how many Guards, when they change shifts, how often the Almightys visit, the...”
“No matter. I kill them all. Free Trackers.”
“No, we do it my way or not at all.”
The two glared at each other, neither backing down. The tension was palpable. What would happen if they came to blows over this? Would they fight to the death like the ones in the camp? She didn’t want either of them hurt. She was getting ready to say something, anything to diffuse the situation when Mirra glanced down, grumbling under her breath.
“We’ll observe this time and go back later without Little One,” he said. “If we do this right, the Almightys won’t be able to trace this back to us.”
She let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. How much longer before Mirra didn’t bow to Gaar’s authority? Would the serum help? She’d have to ask him later when Mirra wasn’t around. She also needed to convince him to tell her the fate of the Harvest Listers. She was going home no matter what, but after what Kim had said she wasn’t sure that she’d be staying. She would, however, be bringing, at least, her mom with her when she left, hopefully, others. Gaar was not going to like that.
CHAPTER 13
TRINITY WAS EXHAUSTED. THEY’D BEEN traveling all day and for most of the time Gaar had made her practice her survival skills. She’d had to scurry up trees on a moment’s notice and had to leap from limb to limb. Sometimes, Gaar or Mirra had played predator and had chased her or had lain in wait. She’d always been caught and according to them, she’d always been dinner. This had not improved her mood or her confidence. Finally, all lessons had stopped when they’d entered the less dense area of the forest. Mirra had left to travel ahead, masking their scent.
She pushed aside some bushes, but there was nothing there but more vegetation. She should have found the Tracker encampment by now. It was around here somewhere; she was positive. Well, she was almost sure. The area looked the same but truthfully, she hadn’t been paying much attention the day she and Travis had stumbled across the camp. Sweat trickled down her back. She was running out of time. She had to be home by tomorrow night and she still needed to go to the Finishing Camp.
“Are you positive that you saw Trackers?” asked Gaar for, at least, the tenth time.
She spun around. “Enough. I don’t know why your great sense of smell didn’t discover them.” She stomped over to him. “All I know is that I saw them.”
He cocked a brow. “Where? All I see is a grouchy House Servant.”
She took a deep breath and counted to ten. She could do this. She had to. All she needed was a better look at the area. “Wait here.” She climbed a tree and gazed out at the forest. A familiar landmark caught her eye. “Over there,” she shouted, pointing to the right. She climbed down and darted through the brush toward a large tree that was split like a giant fork. “It’s around here.”
Gaar followed, sniffing. “Are you sure? I should be able to smell them.”
She gritted her teeth
. “Yes, I’m sure.” She moved farther into the bushes, shoving aside the underbrush and revealing a large stone wall. “We go through here. It’s a secret doorway.” She moved her hand over the rock, feeling for the release lever and paused, turning around. “Shouldn’t we wait for Mirra?”
“She’s here. Has been for some time.”
That was impossible. She would have known. Even that first day in the forest, she’d been sure something was following her and now, after all her lessons, she was much more aware of her surroundings.
There was a slight rustle in the leaves of a nearby tree. It was so minor that it could have been the breeze, but it wasn’t. The Tracker dropped to the ground a few feet from her, landing silently, the odor of pine and herb wafting around them.
She shook her head. How had she not known that Mirra waited on a branch only a few feet away?
Gaar frowned. “That means more lessons. A lot more.”
She groaned but nodded.
Mirra paced. “We go. Now.”
The Tracker was anxious which was understandable. Mirra was going to see others of her kind for the first time in years. She started to turn back toward the door when Gaar grabbed her shoulder.
“Before we go any farther, what’s it like inside? Are there trees or brush where we can hide?”
“Yeah. At least, there was before.”
He let go of her and she began searching for the release lever again.
Gaar sniffed the stone. “There must be something in or on this that hides their scent. Otherwise, Mirra and I would have found them years ago.”
“Guards coming.” Mirra stared into the brush behind them.
He stilled, listening to the forest. “We have time, but the sooner we get inside the better.”
Her hands trembled. She was doing the best that she could. Travis had stumbled upon the lever the last time. It wasn’t like she really knew where it was. She tried the other side. There was a small indentation in the stone. It was smooth, too smooth to be natural. She pressed inward and a click sounded. “I’ve got it,” she said excitedly. “Help me push. It’s heavy.”
He stepped behind her and gave a slight shove. The rock door slid open easily.
