Page 86 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“I didn’t like the sound of thatthingearlier. I don’t know what it might be. We need to find someplace to stay tonight.” He stood, a resolute figure in beaten clothes, as he looked upstream. “Let’s find shelter.”
I rolled to my feet and wrapped my arms over my stomach. The temperaturewasdropping, and it was growing darker. We really did need to find someplace safe. But…
“What about the others?” I asked, following his gaze. “Won’t they be looking for us?”
“Probably. But it will probably take a while, and they won’t be able to get too far in the middle of the night, not even Titus,” he added, squeezing my hand. “Let’s get going before it’s too dark. I have some supplies, but they’re wet. We’ll come back here in the morning and follow the river back. Maybe we will even meet up with them before lunch.”
He seemed so sure, and it made perfect sense. We had, after all, a pretty obvious trail to follow.
But in that case, what was this sinking stone in my stomach?
We’d been walkingfor a good hour before the smell of the air changed, and I shivered and grabbed the back of Miles’s shirt.He stopped in front of me, looking back, as I said, “I t-think there’s s-something nearby.”
Hopefully it was a shelter. My teeth were rattling, and our bodies had to be nearly frostbitten. Plus, even though the moonlight helped, it was still far darker than I’d liked.
He’d stopped once, when I’d begun to steadily shake, and tried to unsuccessfully make a torch. But even though there was the beginning of a spark, the matches were too damp to be useful.
“What?” He glanced back at me over his shoulder. The bleeding on his face had stopped, but the sight of his injury caused my heart to ache. Still, that seemed to be the last thing on Miles’s mind. “How do you know?”
I bit my lip, unable to explain with words how the darkness—no matter how much it affected me—seemed to sharpen my senses, at least in this type of environment. This wasn’t a perfect navigation tool—I’d tripped over Finn’s big head not long ago—but it was better than stumbling around blindly while trying to find someplace to stay.
I also didn’t know anything for sure. Only a vague sense that something was near, an odd prickle at the base of my spine, urged me forward.
But I had to believe. Following this feeling kept me alive so long ago.
“C-come on,” I said instead. I grabbed his hand and took the lead.
“But…” Miles began but then paused, hand tightening over mine. “Okay then.”
It was harder to do while touching someone—his warm hand was incredibly distracting—but I pressed forward, following my senses before we finally arrived… somewhere unexpected.
“Oh…” I released Miles’s hand and touched the flat, wall-like surface. In the near darkness, the stone seemed to go on forever.
This was new. What’d happened to my tranquil grottos and mossy beds?
“Oh,” Miles echoed, although he seemed slightly more enthused. He stopped beside me, placing the palm of his hand against the surface, and when he spoke, it was without an ounce of sarcasm. “Good job.”
I glanced at him—I’d led us into a dead end.
But he didn’t seem disappointed. Instead, he grinned. However, the moment was ruined by his muffled curse as he pressed his hand to his cheek.
Well, at least he had seemed happy, even if only for a second.
He didn’t let it affect him, and he moved past me, trailing his hand over the stone’s surface as he walked. “There’s some sort of cave up there,” he said, not elaborating on where ‘up there’ was. “It’ll work.”
“Um…” I began, following behind. “How did you…” It seemed almost silly to ask how he’d known, considering—
“You’re not the only one with a few tricks up your sleeve,” he answered before pointing to a place I couldn’t see. “There should be a path up here,” he said, wrapping his fingers around my forearm. “Let’s go. I’ll guide you this time.”
“But before…” I began. If we shared a similar ability, why had he been lost in the forest? There was dirt everywhere there.
“The trees,” Miles said, picking me up by my arms and placing me on a boulder before he followed me up.
I frowned at him. “How do you know what I was going to ask?”
“Because I know you,” Miles replied, guiding me around the twisting, earthen path. I had no idea where we were now, and the climb grew steeper.
“I’m not that predictable,” I pouted.
