Chapter 3
The man was far faster than she would have believed. By the time the sun rose, they were over 100 miles from the shack. She had kept up, but it had been very difficult, even after her rest. It was only when her stomach growled loud enough to echo around them that they stopped. The man was profuse in his apologies as he began trying to collect enough to eat. She tried to wave him off saying that she could wait until they reached a village, but he insisted.
The man was incredibly adept at fishing, and she enjoyed watching him flick fish out of the stream with his bare hand. “You look like you do this often,” she said as he tossed another one to her. “I think we have enough now.”
He looked over at the small pile of fish and nodded his agreement. “Yes, you appear to be right. If you make the fire, I will take care of the rest.”
The way he said it was relatively haphazard, but it triggered something in her head. Instead of saying that she didn’t know how to make fire, the woman focused on the man. She kept her mind occupied as her hands got to work, her eyes following the figure as he cleaned the fish. Before she knew it, a small campfire was crackling in front of her. She watched it for a few minutes, unaware that her companion was watching her.
“You seem to be picking up a few things from your past,” he said, sitting down near her. He placed a few fish over the fire. “Raw fish is good, but right now I think that it would be better for you to have something cooked.”
The woman looked at him. “I don’t know how I did it. Nice though, huh?” A smile flitted across her face.
The man looked at her for a moment, the sun reflecting off of his amazing black eyes. Clearing his throat, he looked at the fish. “It’s very well done, like you are a pro. First you learn to walk, then to run, then to set the world on fire.”
Her melodic laugh resounded off the low banks of the water. “Well, useful skills first. When you have a lesser god after you, it makes sense to be able to bring fire to the table.”
“Sound decision.” He moved the fish and stared into the fire. The man’s expression was so pensive it almost looked painful.
“Keep scowling like that and you will end up looking dour.” She rested her cheek in one of her hands.
The man’s eyes flicked over to her, and half of his mouth twisted up in a smile. “No one has said anything like that to me in a long, long time.”
The woman smiled and looked back at the fish over the fire. “So are you really not going to tell me your name?”
“I’ll tell you mine when you tell me yours.” She could not keep a straight face at his words. He laughed as she gave him a warning look.
Putting her hands out in front of the fire, the woman stared into it for a while. When she felt the blood flowing, she stood up and stretched. The sun shone on her face as she looked around. Her eyes opened wide, and she looked down at the man. “You have yourself a deal.”
Turning to face her, he gave her a quizzical look. “What deal?” He popped a small piece of raw fish into his mouth.
The woman’s stomach growled. Her face flushed as she rubbed her stomach. “It’s not fair that you get to eat when we stopped because of my stomach.” Trying to look more serious, she placed her hands on her hips.
A sincere smile spread across the man’s face, but he quickly looked away as she furrowed her brow. Something about his expression was familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. Clearly he was aware of her thoughts, and was now trying to hide his face.
Instead of pressing him, she sat back down. “I’m Summer.” She held out a hand as the man slyly turned to face her. He kept his face at an angle so that she couldn’t tell what his expression was. There was something in his eyes that gave him away, though.
“Are you quite certain that’s who you are?” His question made the woman doubt the name that had come to her.
“I’m not completely certain, but it sounds right. So, I’ve told you my name, now you have to tell me yours.”
The man turned to the fish and pulled one from the fire. Placing it on a large leaf, he replied, “Carrington.”
Something in his tone set off warnings in her head. “Are you sure that is your name?”
A mischievous grin was on his face as he turned to offer her the fish. “I’m not completely certain, but it sounds good.”
If her stomach had not growled again, the woman would have had words. As it was, he had her exactly where he wanted her, and he knew it. With a shrug, she shook her head and took the fish. “Alright, Carrington, is this the part where we make small talk? Or can we talk about bigger things?”
Carrington pulled a second fish from the fire and added a few other things to it as he replied, “It’s up to you. Keep in mind I do get right of refusal if you want to bring up something that makes me squirm.”
“And what would make a handsome young man like you squirm? The fact that you aren’t human?” He gave her a knowing smile and she laughed. Pressing forward, she tried again. “Perhaps I should steer the conversation towards the bedroom.”
Carrington placed the small spread beside her and leaned back, his face partially hidden in the shadows. “Ah, one of my favorite topics, second only to the sounds that you can make in the bedroom.”
Summer found her face flushing, and she noted the way it felt as if her stomach had been pulled out of her at his words. Something from the way he was postured told her that the man was making an exception for her. Hesitantly, she offered, “So you are a womanizer then.”
This got a full round of laughter that scared some of the birds from nearby trees. “My dear Summer, I never do anything that a person doesn’t ask for.”
“And if I were to ask?”
The silence was so thick that it felt like a cold bucket of water had been frozen over them. Slowly, he stood up and turned his back to her. “You have asked me to help you with something else. You have no interest in me in that way.”
Summer felt flustered and a little hurt. “I haven’t asked you for anything.”
“You did.” He pulled a small dagger out of his pocket and threw it at the ground. “Your eyes begged me to help you find the man from your dreams.”
“I also told you that you owe me nothing.”
There was a strange sound from the man as he moved like a serpent toward the dagger. “I am not one to let a woman run off and get herself killed after such an ordeal. What kind of monster do you think I am?” He spoke without any questions, and it was clear he did not want an answer.
Carrington stopped walking and stared at the ground. Feeling upset, Summer retorted, “You are the kind of monster who would consider killing a helpless woman as she lay unconscious in front of him.”
She saw the way the man’s shoulders tensed and knew she had gone too far. “I’m sorry. That was not fair. You must have your reasons, but please, do not ask for my opinion when I know next to nothing about you.”
The man leaned over and picked up his dagger. Stuck to the end of it was a small creature that looked like a rat. Its feet were still twitching in the final spasms following death. Tossing it aside, he responded, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t need your apologies.” He wiped the dagger on a leaf and slipped it back into his clothing. If she hadn’t seen it, Summer would never have known that he was armed. Stepping further into the shadows, he let his voice grow louder. “I already know how this is going to play out and the last thing I want is an apology from you. I have made my choice and I’m not going to go back on it. Besides, you will hate me once you find out the truth anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
All she could see were the man’s black eyes as he looked at her. “The man you are looking for is long gone.”
His words hit her like the dagger he had thrown at the creature. Unwilling to believe him, she narrowed her eyes. “You don’t even know who I am looking for.”
“Oh yes, I do. I really, really do.” He watched as her shoulders slumped. As if to make some sort of amends, he continued, “He isn’t dead, but he is going to disappoint you.”
Summer cocked her head. “So you do know who I am.” The look he gave her told her everything she needed to know. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” There was some hurt in her voice as she looked at him.
“I am using my right to revoke the conversation.” He moved back to the fire and sat with his back partially to her. “So how is the fish?”
“So we are going with small talk?”
“It seems the safest way to go at the moment. I’m not looking for a fight.”
Summer could not hide her disappointment as she looked at the man, but she wasn’t about to press him. He was helping her, and it was obvious that he didn’t have to. The fact that he knew who she was looking for made her feel even more guilty because she had no idea who he was. The look of pain and pleading in his eyes made more sense now that she knew that they had once known each other.
Looking down at her nearly finished meal, Summer smiled and looked back up at Carrington. “It’s really good. If I used to eat like this regularly, it’s no wonder I felt some joy at coming back. There is no eating once you die. Even if you move on, food is a thing of the past. It’s something only the living can enjoy.”
“Would you say you missed it more than breathing?”
The woman laughed into her fish, little pieces flying out as she tried to cover her mouth. “Air has its good qualities, but it doesn’t have anything on fish. There are times when it can be a real burden, too. I didn’t miss the breathing so much. The feeling of warmth was nice. I really missed that. Then again, I was incredibly lucky when I was alive.”
“Yes, it’s true, it’s difficult to be warm when you don’t have a body.”
“Truer words were never spoken.” She picked up the second fish and took a bite.
“Wrong.” The man’s voice was nearly a whisper as he said it.
“Excuse me?”
“I said worrying. You are going through the fish at an alarming pace, and I fear that I will need to return to the stream.”
Summer slowed her chewing and watched as the man poked at the fire. She knew what he said and was unsure why he was hiding it. Pressing him wasn’t likely to go well, so she opted to follow his current topic of choice. “I’m nearly full, so no need to worry.”
He looked askance at her, then stood up. “I was kidding. I’ve saved plenty of other food over there, so you can eat as much as you like whenever you like. As long as you continue to want fish.”
She laughed and leaned back, her eyes following the man as he walked around the fire. He’s patrolling. The thought was startling, but she knew it to be true. Carrington was nervous about something. You are being tracked by a lesser god. Of course he’s on edge. Putting the fish down, she sat up and scratched her forehead. Small talk was incredibly difficult, especially with so many important topics to discuss. Since she wasn’t sure which ones he would nix and which he would welcome, she decided that he could make the choice. She would come up with the topics. “Carrington isn’t a name from around here.”
“And how would you know that?” His eyes were facing outward away from the fire as he stalked near the trees.
“We are in, or near, Senones. I know this just like I knew that I woke in the City of the Dead. It’s part of the innate knowledge that is so frustratingly holey where it counts.”
The man laughed at her words, then covered his mouth and coughed. “Yes, incredibly holy. You may want to turn it into a religion.”
“Not funny.” She smiled as she tried to reprimand him. “Still, my point stands, Carrington isn’t a name from around here.”
“I am decidedly not from here.” He continued to face away from her.
“That’s because we are from neighboring countries.”
Carrington whipped around and stared at her. She could tell that her words put him on edge, and his current reflexes were fight or flight. “Don’t worry, I don’t remember where we were born, who I am, or who you really are. So, no problem.” Her smile was pained as she watched him turn from her.
“Sure.” Suddenly he tensed. “Put out the fire. Damn it, that was so stupid of me.”
“What?” She looked around them.
Seeing that Summer wasn’t going to act fast enough, Carrington flicked his hand. Sand rose from the shadows and poured onto the fire, extinguishing it within seconds.
Summer had stepped back and watched in awe. “You aren’t a wizard or sorcerer. I know you aren’t.”
“Very good. Now we need to get moving.”
A voice from the edge of the woods rang out, “And just where do you think you will be running off to this time? I still have some words for you.”