Even now, weariness pulled at my muscles and mind, insisting rest was necessary. I was conditioned and used to pushing through the chemical warnings. It was also why I did not wish to face the Soul Eater so soon again. I would not last long in my state. I needed some time, and meditation if it were available.
“And a Propheros?” Emma asked, nodding to Travis. “I heard the… mist monster call him that.”
“He is…” I trailed off. I shouldn’t be telling her any of this. If my Master were here, he would say the girl was of no importance, especially under the circumstances. At the very least, I should drop her off somewhere after this, leaving her with as little information as possible. But the soul eater might find her, and I couldn’t bear the thought.
I took a breath. “He is an important figure of a prophecy written over a thousand years ago. He is to protect the world from the coming darkness.”
She scrunched up her nose and shot Travis a skeptical look. “No offense, but I think you should nominate a new prophecy guy. I doubt Travis has even killed a spider.”
I shrugged as I grabbed the empty oil drum then pulled it into the aisle between Travis and Emma. I didn’t name the Propheros. My job was just to protect him.
Anotherbang bang bangand Emma retreated into the coat like a turtle into its shell.
I walked over to her and reached into the pew in front of her. The movement forced me to lean close to Emma. Her eyes rounded like marbles behind her thick-rimmed glasses, and her lips parted. This close, I could feel the heat of her body radiating out from under the confines of my thick coat. The temptation to lean forward and capture those lips in a kiss was so strong it made my entire being ache. It ached like it had when I returned from the trials, broken and bruised from surviving the elements, except this ache had a fire to it. With a jerk, I ripped the rotted wood out of the pew and made a pile of broken wood.
Soon I had a contained blaze burning. Emma removed her hands from the coat pockets and held them up to the fire. “Nice dumpster fire skills you got there.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling proud I was able to impress her, but then I realized there was something in her voice I missed, at first. Sarcasm. I was unused to it and ducked my head away so she couldn’t see the heat in my cheeks.
“It’s weird seeing such a manly warrior type blush,” she said, keeping her gaze on me which I avoided. “Especially one who can fight a soul eater, whatever that is.”
“It’s a kind of malevolent spirit,” I explained, bypassing the other comment she made.
“Funny,” she said, “Last I checked, spirits weren’t supposed to take physical form.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her this time. “You are smart indeed. It must be from all those books you read. It was astounding to watch you absorb one a day.”
She reared back, startled, but I wasn’t sure why.
“You’ve been watching me?”
I shrugged, uncomfortable. I moved to sit across from her, next to Travis. I hunched over the fire. “No, or I mean yes. I mean, I was keeping an eye on the area. I tracked the soul eater to Smoky Badger.”
She blinked. “You knew it would attack the liquor store?”
I continued, avoiding her intense gaze. “No,” then in a quiet voice I added, “But it was warmer in there than keeping watch on the town from outside all day and night.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Warmer, huh?” It was like she knew I was withholding information.
I wasn’t lying. Smoky Badger Liquors was considerably warmer than outside, but I had no problems posting up in a pine tree to keep watch. It was sometimes quite cozy perching in a place where I could see everything from a bird’s eye view. But I certainly spent more time in the liquor store than I intended, because of her.
“Yes, I like to read. I don’t always finish a book every day.” She muttered under her breath, “Sometimes it takes me two days.”
“You must be terribly wise, consuming that much literature,” I said.
Her face twisted up in disbelief and I knew I said something wrong again, but I wasn’t sure what.
“Is that a joke?” she demanded, a hard edge to her tone once again.
I sat up and shook my head. “No, it’s not a joke. Even the best of scholars I know cannot finish a book in a year. From what I understand, it sometimes takes them years to finish reading one volume. You must be very wise to read so much.”
She shook her head slowly and asked, “Where did you come from?”
Travis let out a long groan and brought a hand to the already darkening bruise on his cheek where Emma punched him. “Wha- what happened?” he mumbled before he jerked up as if hit by lightning.
CHAPTER FIVE
Travis’s eyes were wild as they rolled around, taking in his surroundings.
