Page 3 of Clouded by Envy

Suddenly, the Stone shuffled backward. Brenik thought the Stone would leave them both there, but then it spoke. “I will grant access, but only because of her—how badly she wants to save you. She is pure and will be granted a gift to survive where I will be sending the both of you. If you agree, you may pass.”

Brenik did not understand why Bray was to be granted a gift and not him. His shoulders slumped, and his heart sank because this was how it always was and always would be. Again, he was only second best. But for their escape, he would agree to anything. “We agree,” he murmured.

The Stone of Desire nodded its head and slid a hand across the dirt, flipping its palm upward for them. Brenik stepped onto the stone with his bare feet pressed against the roughness, while Bray flew down toward the middle, grabbing his hand.

Casually, the arm coasted backward, and Brenik grew afraid that they were going to be eaten, but since the creature had no mouth he was not sure how that would be possible. They were pulled under and farther back into the depths of shadows, until there was a sudden flash of white light, and then another bout of darkness.

2

Bray

Present Day, 1995

Bray tossed the note against the tree wall and let out a frustrated sigh. He left again. The drawing from the letter played over in her head: a basic sketch of their tree, and Brenik flying away from it. That meant he would be gone for a while.

Should I be so desperate for him to stay? Just because I want him to?she thought. Brenik was her brother, and he should be able to go off whenever he wanted. But she was so alone here.Ruth.Bray couldn’t think about her either. Ruth was gone—had been gone for a year.

This world was supposed to be so much better than Laith and for a time, it was, until it wasn’t. Brenik had been distant since Ruth died, and now Bray was completely alone. She lay back down on her myrtle-green hammock and tilted her head up toward the roof of the tree, staring at the words she and Brenik had carved in the ceiling over the years. Their first word wasJunah, so they would always remember her, and the next wasLaith, to remind them where they had come from. The last word they carved wasRuthbecause she had given them everything. Brenik would always stand close by as Bray carved each word with care.

No new words since then.

A shuffling sound ripped Bray from her torturous thoughts. It sounded like Ruth was in her garden, but she reminded herself that Ruth wouldneverplant any bushes or flowers again.

More stirring—the sound of digging—spread through the tree. Bray leaped from the hammock and crept to the edge of the hole to peer out, just as she heard a loud grunt. A shovel struck the ground, and two filthy hands held the tool in his sweaty grip. No shirt, a headful of brown hair that fell past his earlobes, and no face. Well, he did have a face, but Bray couldn’t see it yet.

Quietly, Bray pulled her small body from the edge and tightened her wings against her back, prepared to flee.

Though she was practically on her stomach, Bray lifted her head back up to peep out of the hole to get a better look. Natural brown skin reflected the sun’s rays, and the guy was lean with well-defined muscle—but not to the point where it was ridiculous.

Turning away from Mystery Face, Bray discovered he had a whole garden waiting to be planted: white roses, yellow daisies, and green bushes. She had no idea what the last ones really were, so she would just call them green bushes. Ruth had a beautiful garden once, until everything died, along with her.

“Hey, I’m heading to school now. I’ll see you after,” a voice called from farther away. Bray’s gaze automatically turned to the back of the house where a small boy—who must have been about seven—stood. Bray was not very good at guessing ages, so maybe he was six. She wasn’t sure. He had a haircut that looked like a bowl sat on the top of his head with the hair parted and split smoothly down the center. It wasn’t as bad as some of the hairstyles she had seen when she used to watch TV with Ruth and Brenik, though. The boy’s baggy striped shirt fell to his knees, almost the same length as his shorts, hiding the remainder of his thin upper arms and legs.

“Okay, Lu. Do you want me to drive you today?” Mystery Face twisted his neck to look over his shoulder at the little kid. Not a mystery anymore. He had a nice face that matched the kid’s younger one.Might be about twenty-five, possibly had the kid a little young, she decided.

“No, I like the walk.” The kid smiled wildly and shifted the backpack on his shoulder.

Nice Face set down the shovel and walked closer to the kid. “You sure, Luca? I’m about to head off to work, and it’s on the way.”

“I got this. I gotta learn to take care of myself.”

Nice Face’s expression turned into not such a nice face. “Someone bothering you at school?”

“No, just gotta impress.” The boy’s—who Nice Face had called Luca—wild smile became a bit tamer and practically said there was no bullying to worry about.

“O—kay,” Nice Face said almost skeptically, studying the kid for a few extra seconds. His tight shoulders seemed to relax a fraction. “Well, I’ll be home around four, so see you then. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Luca pivoted on his heels and gave Nice Face a tilt of the head goodbye.

Nice Face picked the shovel back up off the ground and resumed his digging. Bray wondered where the mom was—probably already at work. Ruth’s house had been sitting there for a long time with a for sale sign in the front yard until about a month ago. Bray guessed the new family was finally there and must have moved in the day before.

Growing bored of watching the guy dig holes, Bray crawled away from the open space and stood. She crashed down on the hammock, letting it sway her back and forth.What is on the list of things for me to do today?she wondered.Oh, that’s right, my usual—sleep. If Brenik was there, they would probably just sit in silence—at least that was better than being completely alone.

Bray wasn’t sure how long she had drifted off for, but there was a puddle of wetness against her cheek when she woke up—okay, so it was only drool from herself. Lifting a hand up toward her cheek, she swiped the saliva away and rubbed it on to the hammock.Classy, she thought, but there was already some gathered there anyway.

Remembering the events from earlier, Bray headed straight to the hole and peeked out. She shifted her head from left to right.Nothing. Bray looked up and down—she could see a few bushes had already been planted in the dirt.

Then she saw it: a circular stone bowl filled with water sitting on top of a long thick stem, attached to a circular bottom.A birdbath!Almost giddily, Bray stepped on the ledge of the hole and leaped off, flapping her wings hurriedly to the nearest pink and yellow peach. Opening her jaw wide, she bit into the thin skin. A juicy one. The fruit filled her mouth with delicious pleasure, and she took one more long bite before diving down to the birdbath.

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