‘Sorry,’ I muttered, rubbing my palms together. ‘This doesn’t usually happen.’
‘It is my fault,’ said my savior. She looked slightly amused.
‘What? No, don’t be silly.’
She smirked. ‘No, really. I’ll step outside and show you.’
She quickly left the windmill and walked several paces away. I tried again, but the fire did not appear.
‘Anything?’ she called.
‘Not yet!’ I called back.
‘I’ll go further,’ she said. I could hear her marching down the hill. ‘Try now!’ she bellowed several seconds later.
I tried again, and this time the fire shot from my hands, igniting the wood, as well as my rucksack in the far corner.
‘Crap!’ I hurried over to my bag and quickly extinguished the flames. I’d been trying too hard to use my Power, and I’d overdone it.
‘Did it work?’ she called.
‘Yes!’ I replied, sticking my head out of the windmill door. ‘It worked!’
She ran back up the hill and smiled when she saw the blazing hot campfire.
‘It always takes me hours to kindle the fire,’ she said, crouching beside the flames sulkily.
‘It doesn’t usually take me so long,’ I said. ‘What happened? Why did you have to leave?’
She wrapped her arms around her knees, appearing quite small and frail; nothing like the girl I’d seen in the forest.
‘I dampen the Power of those around me,’ she said, poking the fire with a stick. ‘So your fire will not work around me.’
I raised my eyebrows and sat across from her. ‘That’s really strange,’ I said. ‘I’ve never heard of that before.’
She shrugged. ‘It is nothing special. Though it is quite funny when people do not know it. I once went to a circus as a little girl, and the performer was meant to contort his body into strange positions. Needless to say, he ended up at the Healer’s tent.’
I smiled. ‘Ever play practical jokes on people?’
She too, smiled. ‘In school, my friend would often try to impress the girls by showing off his Power. He was telekinetic. I’d hide somewhere nearby … so it never went very well for him.’
I laughed, and she blushed sheepishly.
‘So, are you going to tell me your name?’ I pressed.
She poked the fire for a few seconds before responding. ‘My name is Fae,’ she said.
‘Fae,’ I repeated. ‘And what are you doing in Belgium, Fae? With a weapon, no less. You don’t look very old.’
It was true. Now that I saw Fae in a softer light, she looked much younger than I’d first thought.
She shook her head. ‘I’m sixteen.’
‘Where are your parents?’ I asked.
‘You are awfully nosy,’ she said, brow furrowed.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered.
Shoving the pheasant on a stick, I proceeded to cook it on the fire. Fae watched it hungrily. It looked as though she hadn’t had a decent meal for days.
‘So how long have you been on your own?’ I asked, forgetting that she’d accused me of being nosy.
‘A year,’ she said.
I raised my eyebrows, surprised. However, I could see that Fae did not wish to talk about it, so I dropped the matter.
Soon the pheasant was cooked through, its delicious smell filling the windmill. Fae licked her lips anxiously as she waited eagerly to sink her teeth into its plump breast. I took the pheasant off the fire and divided it into two using Finn’s dagger, and handed Fae her half.
She ate it greedily, the grease from the pheasant smeared across her mouth. She didn’t seem to care that it was extremely hot either.
‘Whoa, slow down,’ I said. ‘You’ll get a stomachache.’
Fae ignored me and continued to wolf down the meal until the bones were picked clean.
‘Huh. I guess you were hungry,’ I said looking down at my own meal, which I’d barely touched. ‘Here.’
I handed Fae my half of the pheasant, and she looked down at it, unsure.
‘Aren’t you hungry?’ she asked.
I shook my head. ‘I’m fine,’ I lied. It was the least I could do after she had saved me from Finn.
Fae took the pheasant and began to eat it quickly.
While she ate, I asked, ‘What should we do with Finn’s body?’
Fae shrugged and said through a full mouth, ‘Just leave him there. Nature will take care of it.’
I worried about Fae. She had just killed a fully-grown man without batting an eyelid. Surely that would send any normal sixteen-year-old girl into a state of shock?
I tried broaching the subject. ‘So … uh … you’re pretty good with that bow,’ I said as casually as I could.
Fae shrugged. ‘It was a hobby, at first. But it comes in useful.’
I nodded. ‘I’ll say. I mean … you killed Finn so … quickly.’
Fae nodded. ‘What else was I supposed to do?’
I chewed on the inside of my lip. ‘Have you ever … done that before?’
‘Done what before?’
‘Killed a person?’