Page 85 of The Seeker
“The woman I love…,” Roch started. “Mymateis sick in her mind. You helped her once. I think you can help her again.”
“When was this?”
“Nearly two hundred years ago,” Roch said.
“In the past.” Atawakabiche frowned. “I help anyone who comes into the swamp if they are not of the Fallen.”
“Her name is Sabine,” Roch continued. “She was hurt and calling for you when you found her.Anya niyah, mashak tamak.”
The warrior closed her eyes. “Old magic. Child’s magic. There have been many.”
“Children?” Rhys asked.
“If they are lost, my foxes find them. If they mean harm, my wolves find them.”
Apparently her canines had good instincts. The Grigori had said they’d been attacked by wolves.
“And what happens if they seek knowledge?” Rhys asked.
Atawakabiche examined him. “You have a seeker’s face. And you are mated to the somasikara.” She rose and three foxes circled her legs. “You may come with me.”
Roch started. “Mother—”
“No.” She raised her hand. “I know what you want, old son, but I’ve given her everything I can. It is up to you now. Wait here and think about what your mate needs.”
Meera turned to Rhys and Roch with wide eyes. “Roch?”
Rhys turned to his brother. “If you want us to stay—”
“No,” Roch said. His jaw was tense. “Go. I knew it was probably… Just go.”
“I’ll try to get more.”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “You can try.”
Rhys frowned. “She said she’d given Sabine everything she needs.”
“Don’t make the mistake of equating age with virtue or wisdom,” Roch said in a low voice. “Just because a singer is old doesn’t mean she’s kind. Doesn’t mean she knows more than you do.”
Rhys glanced at Meera and Atawakabiche, who were huddled together. The Wolf was hanging on everything Meera said. “Okay.”
“You don’t believe me.” Roch nodded at the two women. “Watch. She wants something from Meera, otherwise she’d have stayed as hidden as she has before. You watch out for our girl, Rhys.”
“I will.”
Roch’s eyes softened. “I know you will.” He clasped Rhys’s hand. “I’ll get your packs ready and stay with the boat. You know how to mark a trail?”
“I’m not completely useless.”
“Good.”
“Do you have it?”Rhys held his hand for Meera as she jumped down from a fallen log.
“I’m good.”
He grabbed her hand before she passed him. “This isn’t how I’d planned to wake up this morning.”
Meera raised her eyebrows and started to speak, but the Wolf interrupted.
