The Edge of Nothing_The Lex Chronicles_Book 1

by Crystal Crawford

  “So you’re from the village?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Me? No. I’m from Alta.”

  The name meant nothing to Lex. “Is that far from here?” he asked.

  She tilted her head again, a smile playing on her lips. “Don’t get out much, do you?”

  Lex faltered, unsure how much to reveal. “No… not really,” he said.

  “Hm,” Amelia murmured, her mouth curling into a half-smile again. “That’s a shame.” She stepped toward him.

  Lex felt heat rush to his face as his pulse quickened. “So… what brought you here? To the village, I mean?” He stepped backward, putting distance between them despite his sudden desire not to.

  Amelia stopped, letting him keep the space he’d put between them. Amusement glinted in her eyes as she studied him. “Oh, the usual… spy stuff, murder, massive governmental conspiracies.”

  Lex gaped. “Really?”

  Amelia tipped her face up as her bright laugh rang through the clearing. “No, of course not,” she said, meeting his eyes again. “Do I look like a spy to you?”

  Lex examined her face, the clever spark in her eyes, her confident stance, and thought back to how she tracked him through the woods and how the panther fled at her presence. “Maybe,” he said, beginning to think it wasn’t so unlikely.

  Amelia laughed again. “I was just here to get a few things from the village,” she said. “Or I was, until everything went crazy.”

  “What exactly happened back there?” Lex asked. His heart sped at the chance to finally get some answers, but he still didn’t know what he should disclose, so he chose his words carefully. “I was in a building, then… boom. When I came out, it was total chaos.”

  “I was hoping you could tell me. I mean, this is your village, right?” Amelia said. “Why were those farmers after you? Did you kill one of their cows or something?”

  Lex ran a hand through his short hair, masking his disappointment. “No. I mean, I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  Lex looked at her, those blue eyes locked on his, and felt he could trust her. He wanted to trust her. He took a breath, then said, “I can’t remember.”

  Amelia didn’t catch the weight of his statement. “Oh yeah,” she joked. “I’m sure I’ve killed lots of cows and just not noticed it.” She stopped, her eyes scanning his face. “Wait,” she said, and Lex could almost see the thoughts turning behind her eyes. “You can’t remember what?”

  Lex squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, weighing his options. She could be working with them – the assortment of farmers and a panther who all seemed to be after him – but that didn’t really make sense. Why would the farmers have turned back and sent her after him alone, and why would the panther have run away? She could really be a spy, or after him in some other way, but… no. He had seen for himself how she fled from the village, how the creature attacked her, and how the farmers passed right over her to come after him instead. He was just being paranoid. Besides, he had to trust someone. There could be more people after him, more wild animals and traps around every bend, and he wouldn’t know until it was too late. He didn’t have enough information to survive on his own.

  He opened his eyes to find Amelia studying him, and the concern on her face was enough to make the choice for him. “All of it,” he said. “Any of it. I don’t remember anything.”

  Amelia stepped toward him. “Really?” she asked, and her tone was sober, all joking gone.

  “Really,” Lex said, not bothering to conceal his despair anymore. For all he knew this could be a huge mistake, but he wanted so badly to trust her.

  She placed a hand on his arm, and energy pulsed through Lex at the contact. This time, he didn’t pull away. He looked down at her hand on his skin, her fingers delicate despite the dirt inhabiting her fingernails. Her touch sizzled through his veins.

  Lex turned to look at her, their faces inches apart.

  “Let me help you,” she said.

  Lex didn’t have it in him to say no.

  “So you really remember nothing other than those glimpses?” Amelia asked.

  They sat in the forest clearing, backs against a tree, shoulders pressed together for warmth. Night had begun to creep in over them, but they couldn’t build a fire – even if they had the skills and materials, it might attract too much attention. The clearing was like a world of its own, an open circle rimmed by trees and lit with moonlight. They were hungry and thirsty, but Amelia had produced a canteen of water and some kind of protein squares from a small sack Lex hadn’t even noticed she was carrying on her back, and they had decided that would get them through until morning. Neither of them was eager to venture into the forest in the dark. They would shelter in the clearing for one more night, then face the outer world tomorrow.

  Lex had been talking for what seemed like hours, giving Amelia the details of the past couple of days. She asked few questions, mostly listening. It had initially made Lex uncomfortable. He had thought it odd for her to be so quiet, since she had seemed so full of questions before. But with her eager nods and her gaze fixed on him, eventually he realized she was being quiet out of sincere interest. She really wanted to hear what had happened to him. It had been far easier for Lex to continue talking after that. He told her about waking up in the shed, the farmers, not understanding why they were holding him captive, the explosion, his escape – she had let out a soft oh when she realized what he had risked to stop and help her – all the way up to when she found him in the clearing. He left nothing out, not even his own confusion, not even the admission that he didn’t even know who he was, beyond a name and age and a few scattered memories. It had been a relief to tell someone, to feel not quite so alone.

  “I really don’t,” Lex answered her. They both stared frontward, side by side, keeping watch on the circle of trees. He was beginning to get used to the ever-present hum of her energy after sitting so close to her for the past few hours. It was like electricity constantly pulsed through her, though she didn’t seem to notice it and he hadn’t yet worked up the courage to ask about it.

  Amelia was silent a moment, then shifted beside him, pressing her shoulder more firmly into his. He knew she had only pressed into him because she was cold – he could hear her teeth chattering – but he couldn’t help his pulse quickening a bit at the contact.

  The world tilted. He was in a clearing again, but a different one. A campfire crackled in the center, casting shadows across the tents that ringed it. Voices chattered from inside one of the tents, then laughter. Beside him was someone warm and familiar, her soft hair spilling onto his shoulder as she leaned against him. The flames of the firelight cast their spell upon its strands, shifting the color from blonde to orange and back again as the flames flickered. Her scent was intoxicating. A blanket hung around their shoulders, linking them together. The girl shivered against him and a surge of feelings flooded through him – concern, fondness, longing. He scooted toward her, letting his entire arm and side make contact with hers, hoping his closeness would warm her. She looked up at him, blue eyes reflecting the light of the fire.

  Lex blinked. Blue eyes stared up at him, but the fire and tents were gone.

  “Lex?” a voice asked, anxiety edging it. “Lex, what’s wrong?”

  Amelia. She knelt in front of him, her face filled with concern.

  Lex shook his head. What had just happened? Had he and Amelia traveled to a different moment, somehow? A different place? But no, it hadn’t been Amelia. The face was similar, but not exactly the same. And the hair was different, blonde where Amelia’s was brown. He had been transported again, witnessing someone else’s moment. Was it happening in real time or showing the future, like some kind of psychic vision? Or was it a memory? He was certain the girl was not Amelia. But those eyes… there was so much likeness in their eyes.

  Lex squeezed his own eyes shut, trying to process the vision – memory, dream, whateve
r it was – before it faded. The images were already slipping from him, but the emotions were as crisp as if they were his own. Whoever that girl had been beside him, the guy in the vision had felt strongly about her… but he had also felt cautious, afraid for her to see how much he cared. He had been in love with her, but she didn’t know.

  “Lex,” a soft voice pleaded, almost a whisper. “Please, talk to me. What did you see?”

  Lex opened his eyes. Amelia had pieced things together; she knew he had seen another glimpse, as she called them. He wanted to tell her what he had seen, but the feelings were still so strong he couldn’t put them into words.

  Amelia watched him for a moment, then sighed. “It’s alright,” she said, placing a hand on his face. “Tomorrow we’ll head to Alta; there are people there who might be able to help you get some answers.”

  Lex leaned into Amelia’s hand, the feel of her touch mingling with the fading memories of the touch of the other girl. She thinks I didn’t want to tell her what I saw, Lex realized, and in a way he didn’t. What he had seen felt private, like he had witnessed someone at their most vulnerable. What was happening to him? Whose life was he glimpsing? Or if these were his memories, then who and where was that other girl?

  Amelia’s words finally sank in – head to Alta tomorrow. Yes, that was a good idea. Maybe her family or someone in Alta would be able to explain what was happening to him. “Okay,” Lex said. “Tomorrow we go to Alta.”

  Amelia nodded, then dropped her hand from his face and scooted back against the tree, pressing her shoulder against Lex’s once more. She shivered.

  Lex fought down a wave of emotion triggered by her movement, a flood of feelings he wasn’t even certain were his own.

  “Will you hold me?” Amelia asked suddenly.

  Lex turned to her, surprised.

  “Not like that,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

  What had she read on his face?

  “Just for warmth?” She gestured to his arms as if asking him to embrace her.

  Lex swallowed. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “For warmth.”

  She leaned into him, pulling his arms around her like a blanket. “There,” she said.

  The feel of her against him sent sparks zinging through Lex’s veins. Whatever the energy was when they touched, it seemed to only go one way; Amelia gave no sign she felt it. She adjusted his arms around her, and any remaining thoughts of the other girl slipped away from Lex as the solidity of the present enfolded him.

  Amelia tipped her head back, looking up at him. “That’s better, isn’t it?”

  He could feel the warmth of her body all along his. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s better.”

  “Good,” she smiled, then squirmed and tucked her head beneath his chin, curling against him like a kitten.

  Who is this girl? Lex thought. He realized suddenly he still knew very little about her; they had spent the whole time talking about him. He looked down to ask her about Alta, the village she said she came from.

  She was already asleep, breathing softly into his chest.

  CHAPTER 3

  Lex woke to the chatter of birds in the trees. The sun filtered down through the branches above him and the sky had a faint orange tint, as though not quite done with sunrise. When the memories of the previous day and night settled upon him, he startled upright. Amelia was gone.

  There was no sign of her in the clearing, and other than the birds, no sounds of anything moving nearby. Lex’s first thought was that Amelia had betrayed him and gone to get the farmers, but he pushed it back, ashamed for assuming the worst. She could be lost or in danger. He stood and turned in a slow circle, double-checking the clearing for footprints or a sign of where she had gone.

  “Looking for something?”

  Lex jumped and spun around. Amelia. “Where did you come from?” he asked. He should have heard the noise of her shoving through the branches.

  Amelia tilted her head, the half-smile on her lips once more. “A bit jumpy?” she asked.

  “Where were you?” Lex shouted, but caught himself halfway through the statement, lowering his voice. He hadn’t meant to yell at her; his nerves were getting the best of him. She didn’t move away, exactly, but something about her presence pulled back. I’ve upset her, Lex realized, feeling immediate guilt.

  “I was in the woods,” Amelia said, a bit defensively. “You know, doing what everyone has to do in the morning?”

  She was using the bathroom. Or whatever you called it when your “bathroom” was the woods. Now he felt like a jerk. He hadn’t heard her walking up, that was all. He must have been more distracted than he had realized. Lex inhaled and exhaled once. “Right,” he said, feeling his face go hot. “Sorry.”

  Amelia relaxed. “Whatever,” she said brightly. “So, back to Alta, right?”

  “About that,” Lex said, steadying his voice. “I wanted to ask you some things before we go. Just so I know what to expect.”

  Amelia flopped to the ground, crossing her legs in front of her. “Sure,” she said. “Go for it.” She looked up at him expectantly.

  Her agreeability surprised Lex, but he sank down to sit across from her. But what to ask? He started with something easy. “How far is it from here to Alta? How long will it take?”

  Amelia looked to the side, thinking. “Two days, maybe? It took me three days to walk here, but I stopped a few times on the way.”

  “You walked for three whole days?”

  Amelia shrugged. “Yeah, but not without stopping. Like I said, I didn’t come straight here.”

  Lex looked at Amelia, seeing her in a new light. She didn’t look like someone who would travel cross-country on foot. But maybe she was; he hardly knew her. In any case, Lex didn’t like the idea of walking two whole days, with or without stopping. “Is there a faster way? Like a shortcut, or something we could ride?”

  “You mean like a horse?” Amelia asked.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Lex said, unsure what resources were available. “Is that how you usually get places?”

  Amelia narrowed her eyes. “Usually? No. But around here it’s probably your best bet. I saw some horses in a little pasture back toward the valley.”

  Lex tensed. He couldn’t go back toward the village. The men would be looking for him.

  “Not that valley,” Amelia said quickly. “Haven’s Edge – where we are, I mean – is like a thin strip of forest. The village you came from is on one side, but if we keep pushing through that way,” she gestured to the far side of the clearing, “we’ll come out into another valley. That’s where I saw the horses. It’s on the way to Alta.”

  “I don’t have any money,” Lex said. “You don’t mean steal horses, do you?”

  Amelia mumbled something that almost sounded like not this time.

  “What?” Lex asked.

  “I have money,” Amelia said, offering him an innocent smile.

  Lex relaxed. “Okay,” he said. Then something occurred to him. “You had to come through Haven’s Edge to get to my village? I mean, the village where I first saw you?”

  “The village is called Dalton,” she said. “It’s still weird that you don’t know where you came from.”

  Imagine how weird it is for me, Lex thought. “Okay, Dalton,” he said. “You came through Haven’s Edge alone to get there?”

  Amelia shrugged again. “It’s not a big deal,” she said. “Other than that panther, there’s nothing much in here. Usually there’s not even that.”

  At the mention of the panther, Lex felt his skin prickle. He glanced around the clearing again, just to be sure.

  Amelia kept talking. “There’s a little path, if you look for it. I mean, the people of Dalton have to get in and out somehow, right?”

  Lex thought back to the village and the people fleeing outward across the farmland. “What do you think happened down there?” he asked.

  Amelia hesitated, just for a moment. Then s
he said, “I have no idea, and I don’t want to go back to check. But I’m sure word has gotten to other villages by now. And there’s a larger city at Morrow’s Lake. Merik’esh, I think the sign said. I went around it on my way here, but it’s on the way to Alta and I think it’s a trading hub for merchants or something. Maybe we can ask there. Someone should know what happened.”

  Alta, a two- or three-day walk away. Less, if they could ride horses. But first they had to get the horses. Lex felt his stomach growl. “How far is this pasture with horses?” he asked. His body ached from the strain of the day before and from sleeping on the ground, and he knew they would need fresh water and food before the day was up.

  “Maybe half a day?” Amelia said. “Give or take.”

  Lex stifled a groan. “Right,” he said, feeling his muscles complain as he stood. “Then let’s get going.” He offered her his hand.

  She took it, and Lex did his best not to react as the hum of her touch moved through his veins again. Does she really not feel it? In a moment of rashness, he decided to ask her. After all, if they would be traveling together, there needed to be a certain level of trust, right? Currently, his many questions were getting in the way of that trust. There was something going on with her that both intrigued him and made him wary. He met her eyes as he pulled her to her feet, and opened his mouth to ask–

  Amelia’s eyes went wide. Before Lex could ask why, the ground beneath them rattled. A strengthening quake spread through the forest floor, raining loose leaves and twigs down on them. The earth below them began to fracture, dry cracks appearing in its surface. The ground heaved like a massive inhale and they both stumbled, Lex catching Amelia as she tripped. His fingertips buzzed at the touch but he ignored it.

  The quaking eased almost as soon as it began, fading away into a dull rumble. The birds – which had gone quiet a moment before the tremor, Lex realized – squawked and scattered into the sky in all directions. The rumble stopped, and the forest fell silent. The ground beneath was still but bulged upward from the quake, with shallow fissures webbing its surface.