Drake. So like his mother. Strong, stubborn and willful. If only the Seeker had been blessed with more backbone, he might have survived.
Mr. Steele smiled. "And how do you know that's not exactly what I want?"
Chapter 89 – Lucy
As Lucy meditated, her mind buzzed with thoughts.
Finding a way out of the valley proved more difficult than she'd thought. They'd built a camp, and spent hours exploring the clearing, to no avail. They did, however, find some of the tastiest fruits ever, as well as savory vegetation that worked well in a stew. Mr. K had been instrumental in helping them find food sources that were safe.
Lucy's mind wandered, the scent of rainbow flowers, as she called them, stimulating a recent memory with Hunter.
***
In the distance, the setting sun glinted off the hard shells of the beautiful beetles. Lucy felt no compulsion to chase them. Not after last time.
She stood alone under a tree and let her mind wander. So many small decisions had led her to this moment. For better or worse, Lucy's life began to feel like a series of impulsive leaps, none of which actually led to what she expected. She'd been instrumental in leading the resistance at Rent-A-Kid, but so many had died. Could she have done things differently? Could she have saved more of them?
The scent of honey and rain and sweet perfume filled the air around her. Hunter stood next to her, holding out a star flower.
Lucy took it and inhaled deeply. "How do you sneak up on me like that? You're so quiet."
His I'm-not-going-to-tell-you grin should have irritated her, but it didn't. Not much, at least. She enjoyed how mischievous and charming it made him look.
"I'm a secret agent. It's in my job description to be stealthy."
"Uh-huh. Thank you for the flower. It's beautiful." Of all the amazing and magical things they'd seen since entering this Wonderland, she liked the star flower most, with its deep blue petals and diamond sparkles. But how did Hunter know that?
A slight breeze caressed his disheveled black and silver hair, and a faraway look crossed his face. "I always liked making wishes on stars as a kid. I thought...." He shrugged in the self-conscious way of a man not used to intimacy. "I thought this could be a wish for you." He plucked it from her hand and slid it behind her ear, then he leaned forward, his face inches from hers.
She braced herself for a kiss that never came, at least not as she'd expected it to. His soft lips brushed so gently against her forehead she could have imagined it.
"It looks lovely in your hair."
With a snort that totally broke the mood, Lucy laughed. "Yeah, sure. My nasty hair that hasn't been washed with real soap in who knows how long!"
"Doesn't matter. A beautiful woman is a beautiful woman, no matter what her hair looks like."
***
Mr. K's voice popped her memory like a bubble. "Earth to Lucy."
She opened her eyes and sighed. "Sorry. I tried, but it's so hard not to let my mind wander."
The leaves around her rustled in what sounded like laughter. "You actually did surprisingly well. A full five minutes of inner stillness before your boyfriend took over your thoughts."
"He's not my—"
A branch slapped her gently. "Hush, girl. I have eyes and ears everywhere. Call it what you want, I know what it is."
"Fine. Whatever." She scowled on the outside, but glowed a bit on the inside in a teenage-girl-crush way that made her want to throw up a little.
Time to focus on something else. "I think I can go longer. I'd like to keep trying." If being still would make her stronger, more focused, and more capable of finding a way out and rescuing those kids, she'd master it, no matter how hard.
"I know you're anxious to progress in this, but right now I want to teach you something new. Meditate again, only this time, instead of focusing inward, I want you to focus outward."
Lucy closed her eyes again, but didn't know how to start. "What do you mean?"
"Pick out each sound. Identify what each is. Become one with all that is around you. Let it become a part of you."
She smiled. This would be way easier than trying to still all her thoughts.
She centered her breath and relaxed her body, then allowed her mind to sense the world around her. A slight buzzing, soft at first, became louder the more she focused on it. Probably a firefly. She followed the sound as it flew through a world that must seem far different than what Lucy experienced.
Footsteps pulled her from the buzz. Hunter or Luke? She listened more deeply. It was Luke. A soft scuffle accompanied each step. His limp sounded different than Hunter's walk.
The more attention she paid to the sounds around her, the more they exploded into her consciousness. The sway and crackling of Mr. K's branches, the scurry of tiny bugs under the rocks, the sound of the waterfall in the distance—the world felt smaller and bigger, louder and quieter. Impossible to explain, but so alive and present.
"Good." Mr. K's brown, bark-like eyes looked straight into her. "Excellent. Do you feel the difference when you open up?"