When I woke this time, Ruby was beside me. I forced myself to sit up so I could find them. The girl was sitting alone, looking completely confused and ashamed, and rubbing her temples. Steed was standing away from both of us, talking to Grey, turned mostly with his back toward me. I could see the edge of a bright red welt on his cheek.
I smiled with satisfaction as I lay back down to recover.
Though no one could have known it was me, I was quiet the next few days. My attack seemed to have quelled the interest of the others in the human and I couldn’t have been happier about it. Silence was the easiest way to mask my contentment.
I knew they’d be getting rid of her soon, though I’d not heard any more discussion on the matter. I tried not to wonder how much longer I had before we found the council, or they us. I could see a few of them now, but I couldn’t recall their names or anything about them. Only random images had returned. I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone; it seemed hardly worth the commotion it caused. Commotion made my head ache.
The grass thickened and the trees began to look more like those of the village, though not near as large. We’d stopped near a pond to camp and I was considering going in as Ruby took the girl for her evening’s privacy. The men gathered nearby, talking in hushed voices. I decided it wasn’t worth eavesdropping so I looked out over the water, watching the dragonflies bounce just above the surface.
Their discussion became heated and I absentmindedly turned toward them. My eyes caught a flicker of movement past them, in a tree line several yards away and then, suddenly, Chevelle was gone and Steed and Grey were posted in front of me protectively before I had a chance to see what it was. Or who it was. Why hadn’t we heard the wolves signal?
Panic washed through me before I could think rationally. Who had come for us? For me?
But I knew, even if it was council, that was who we were looking for. I cursed myself again for insisting I come along. The seconds dragged on as I waited. After a few eternities, I heard a voice I recognized. Junnie. She was speaking with Chevelle in a rush, her voice low. As they drew near, Steed and Anvil relaxed slightly in front of me, Anvil stepping a pace to the side. I realized I was standing, Steed’s arm so close it was almost touching my chest as he stood, still half in front of me. As I stared past him, I noticed his muscles were tensed and I wondered why he’d still be protecting me.
And then I remembered Junnie was council. And my mother’s aunt. Confusion took over and I clutched Steed’s arm in an attempt to focus. I had no idea how to react to her. She was still speaking to Chevelle, a flood of words running together, she hadn’t even seemed to notice me.
When she finally looked my direction, it was not at me. I barely had time to turn and see Ruby approaching before it happened. The spots in my vision came just as fast. Through them, I saw a flash of Junnie’s cloak flying past as she picked up the limp body of the girl. The human.
Chapter Four
Paranoia
I should have caught on by then that the fainting was a protection mechanism. But I didn’t often think rationally. And shock wasn’t exactly an easily controlled reaction. It was just that I missed so much every time I blacked out. All the important stuff.
Before my eyes opened the first time, I heard someone. “… she took Snickers…” Recognition came. The puppy. And confusion was back. Junnie had seen the girl, the human, and her reaction was so fierce. I’d heard a low oath just before the girl’s body hit the ground with a thud. She hadn’t even waited for an explanation. My stomach churned. I hadn’t even tried.
My eyelids fluttered and the blackness came again. But this time, there were dreams.
I was in the practice rooms. A tall, dark man with a large scar across his brow was threatening me, or pushing me too far, I couldn’t be sure. There was darkness again; it was creeping in on us, closer and closer. And then I was alone in the darkness as it swirled around me. But I couldn't have been alone because I heard voices. My chest tightened as I realized what they were saying about me. Comparing me to them, like dumb animals. It ached. How could he? I didn’t understand. I ran to my mother, she had been right.
It was a long time after I woke before I could bear to open my eyes. When I did, they were all quiet. But I didn’t question them. And I’d forgotten about the girl, about Junnie. All I could think of was the dream. It had twisted my reality. I couldn’t get it to fall in place in my thoughts. I had known the voice this time. But it couldn’t be right. My grandfather must have been killed in the massacre, he hadn’t ruled since. He must have been gone.
But the man in my dream was not gone.