Neve preceded me out the door of Phelan\u2019s room a little while later.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t speak until we were about halfway to the campfire.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far is the lake from here?\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked at her, then cocked my head toward the sound of snow and ice lashing the rooftop above us.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know anymore,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cIt rose before the snows began to fly, but I never quite figured out how close it got to us.\u00a0 Not too far, I guess.\u00a0 You\u2019re not seriously thinking of heading in that direction in a raging blizzard, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the weather breaks, you and I and Thordin will ride out to the shore,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t tell Thom or Cameron or anyone else we\u2019re going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I at least get to know why we\u2019re doing it?\u201d\u00a0 I drew alongside her as we exited the narrow hallway and she purposefully made her way toward the secondary cookfire, where some of our fellows had taken up fletching, knitting, and sewing as useful pastimes.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure that I\u2019d linger there once she was settled, but she\u2019d probably pull out her knife and start working on another bundle of arrows to go with the arrowheads my brother and Thordin had been churning out from molds at the forge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to get the answers that he won\u2019t give us,\u201d she said firmly.\u00a0 \u201cThe answers that your gifts haven\u2019t shown you yet and the ones that I\u2019m afraid to look for.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.\u00a0 \u201cAbout what, Neve?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur children,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cTheir futures.\u00a0 I could care less what happens to me.\u00a0 I only care about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a lie, one that made me shiver.\u00a0 She looked so determined, though, all I could do was sigh.\u00a0 \u201cSo why are we involving Thordin in this?\u00a0 Why do we need him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has runes that would be useful in the scrying,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cHe doesn\u2019t talk about it, but he\u2019s got a gift, too\u2014made more powerful by the fact that he was kind of dead for a while, but he got better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2014wait, what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve laughed weakly.\u00a0 \u201cCome help me with the arrows and I\u2019ll tell you all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cRight, sure.\u201d\u00a0 This I have to hear.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cIt sounds too absurd to be true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore absurd than gods walking the Earth and sending snowstorms and other nastiness our way?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPoint.\u201d\u00a0 I sighed.\u00a0 \u201cLead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Neve preceded me out the door of Phelan\u2019s room a little while later.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t speak until we were about halfway to the campfire. \u201cHow far is the lake from here?\u201d I blinked at her, then cocked my head toward … Continue reading