Bernard looked at each of us and laughed. "Nine companions. So be it. You shall be the fellowship of the ring."
Everyone joined in the laughter, though I did hope it ended better for us than it had for that fellowship. I watched each person who would be helping me get my daughter back and save the other kids. Could I trust them? Mary had spent years doing everything she could to ruin my life. Drake had abandoned me when I needed him most. The others... well, they'd been trustworthy enough. But Darren... would his feelings for me sour when they went unrequited? Would that jeopardize the mission?
Susie had said that without faith, there is no trust. So I chose faith in hopes that I could learn to trust, and that it wouldn't be betrayed.
Chapter 100 – Lucy
Lucy opened her eyes to a bright morning. The grove of trees they'd fallen asleep under the night before shaded her from the harsh light of the sun, and had probably kept her more delicate parts from getting sunburned. Hunter's arm tightened around her, and she sighed deeply and rested her head on his bare chest, enjoying the feel of his heartbeat thumping against her cheek.
He kissed the top of her head. "Good morning, Beautiful."
She smiled and titled her head to kiss him. "Morning."
Her body ached, but in a very satisfying way. They'd spent the night tangled in each other's bodies, and Lucy had never slept better, but.... "Oh, crap, Luke's going to freak!"
She jumped up, realized how naked she was, and blushed from head to toe as she scurried to find her clothes. "Don't look!"
Hunter sat up, clearly unashamed of his own naked form—and for good reason. "Nothing I didn't see last night."
Lucy tore her eyes off of his body and focused on buttoning her pants and getting her shirt on. "Last night was dark. This—" She waved her hand. "—is far too much exposure."
He laughed, lunged for her and pulled her back down to the ground, then pinned her with kisses. She struggled, albeit half-heartedly, then submitted to his mouth.
She pushed him off. "Ugh, I need to freshen up. I feel icky."
"Icky? Is that a technical term?" He still made no move to dress.
If she'd had a pillow she'd have thrown it at him. Instead, she walked to the water with the intent to drink and clean up, but it looked a bit murky for her taste. "I'm going to find some fresh water for us. I'll be back. You--" She eyed him pointedly. "—should get dressed. I don't want Luke thinking we were both eaten by wild animals."
She walked past the trees and found a small stream that looked clean enough. She drank deeply, then filled up their water bottles and splashed cool water on her face. A bird landed on a nearby branch and sang a sweet song to greet the morning.
The note soured with thoughts of her brother. She shivered, afraid of facing him. But why? He could be an ass, but he wanted her to be happy, and it's not like she was a virgin before this. Luke knew she'd fooled around a bit at school, and had never really cared that much, so why would he care now? Especially when she actually loved this guy?
At the thought of Hunter her knees turned to jelly, and she sat on a rock and daydreamed about his kisses and his arms around her. She thought about their future, playing through scenarios of them traveling together or going dancing. She wondered if he was a good dancer. Given how well he used his body, she'd have been surprised if he wasn't.
So Luke will be happy for me, right? She tried to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about, but she couldn't help it. She was scared of what he'd say when they arrived back at camp, just like she was scared of telling him about the sphere. Would her brother try to ruin her happiness? Would he try to take her sphere or break her and Hunter up?
Lucy hated hiding anything from Luke, so it was time to fess up—about everything.
She made her way back to Hunter, but stopped. Everything felt too still, too quiet. Hunter should have been packing up, making some kind of noise, but she didn't hear anything. A shiver of fear trailed up her spine. On instinct she reached for her gun, but she'd left it and her pack with Hunter.
She moved closer to their camp. "Hunter?" No response. Crap.
Wind blew across the valley, carrying Mr. K's voice with it. "Lucy.... Run, Lucy!"
Oh, God, something bad did happen. She couldn't leave Hunter in trouble.
At full run, she reached the grove of trees where they'd docked.
Hunter stood in the center, but he wasn't alone. Beleth's large hands were wrapped around his mouth and throat.
No! Not Hunter. "Let him go!"
Beleth tightened his grip. "You haven't completed our deal."
No, wait, I'm not out of time yet. She counted backwards. It had only been a few weeks. She had a month. "I still have time."