Page 16 of The Lost Fae
"No not force like physical force. I meanthe Force.Have you ever watched human movies?"
"Uh, no?” He weaves around the scattered bodies, looking down smugly at each of them.
"First thing after this...mess... is all done you and I are going to have a movie marathon. I'm gonna blow your mind." I wiggle my fingers in an outward motion from my skull and make the best explosion noise I can.
Lincoln's mouth tilts down. He looks from my hands to my mouth then meets my gaze still unsatisfied. "That sounds disturbing."
"We really have to get you caught up on human terminology," I sigh.
"Where are the pieces?"
"I hid them."
I point in the general direction and begin walking, less worried about having quiet steps. As Ziko follows me, I turn and point at the Fae bandits.
"Are they gonna be okay?" I say slowly.
He cuts his hand through the air. "They'll be fine. They'll sleep like babies for a day. Hopefully that's plenty of time for us to get this ship up, running, and out to sea."
"You want to show me how to do that?" I try to remember what path I took, exactly how to get back to where I so masterfully hid.
"This way." Lincoln beckons. "I'll gladly show you... but another night. It's kind of exhausting. I need a night’s rest before I give it another go."
"How do you know which way to go? And you don't look tired to me..."
He holds up a finger. "First of all,Briar Andersor should I sayBriar Nightwaters,I can smell you. Everything you touched on the way here left behind the slightest trace of your scent."
I scrunch my nose at the thought and pray that I leave behind a pleasant aroma.
He holds up two fingers. "Secondly, adrenaline... is still pumping." He nods his head as finishes his sentence.
"So could Barnabus and the rest of the Fae smell me...? Could they have caught a trail like a hunting dog?"I offer a shy smile, tucking back the loose strands of honey brown hair from my face. Lincoln eats it up watching me with mischief dancing in his eyes.
"I mean, yes. If they stopped and thought about it they totally could have."
"And what do I smell like...?"
"Cinnamon," he says it so quickly it's as if he knew the question was coming.
"How spicy." I laugh. "Cinnamon makes me sneeze."
Lincoln twists and turns through the trees, the forest just as quiet as it was before we found the traps. I recognize the grouping of trees and pause. Ziko stops just a step away, his attention spanning the ground.
"Did you... is this...? You hid them under leaves?"
The scattered 'leaves' I'd tossed over them now looks much more like decay and dirt. Every place my foot drug them over the metal is a line scraped in the mud... like arrows pointing to my little hiding spot.
Lincoln squats and plucks them from the small hole. "Shit. I hope these rusty pieces will do the trick."
A rough wave of guilt washes over me all over again as I look at the parts clutched against his chest. I trail behind him without a word as he moves back toward the sandy beach. I keep my face turned down, lost in the tornado of thoughts and the image of the pirate woman, Ellie, falling unconscious. And it wasn't in the sweet way Lincoln did it. It was by the brash nervous reaction of my elbow.
"What's wrong?" Lincoln's voice is gentle as it enters through my thoughts.
"Nothing."
"Oh, it's something." He doesn't turn but in the dark I can see him tap his temple.
"If you already know then why are you asking?"
