“The lake has many small streams.”
“You seem to know it well.”
“I do.The capital city of Zulen is on the other side.”
I almost dropped my knife at his words.“We’re that close to the border?”
“We will sleep in Zulen tonight.”
I let out a slow breath.This was my last day in Earsleh.I had promised to return, but after everything that had happened, everything I had learned, I didn’t know if I would return or if I even wanted to.Still, Earsleh was all I had ever known, and I had no idea what was to come.
“That’s good work,” Taio said, nodding at his makeshift weapon.
“It’s not quite done.Give me another quarter hour.”The sun would be higher in the sky then and any Hollows straggling behind the pack that had passed us last night would be less likely to be threats.Taio sat quietly while I finished his weapon then handed it to him.He studied it and nodded approval.I pulled the dried berries from my pack and shared them.We both ate only half a dozen, but it was better than nothing.
Finally, we shouldered our packs and weapons and climbed down the tree.I went first, finding the climb down far easier than the climb up last night.At the base of the trunk, the leaves were disturbed, which meant Hollows had passed under us the night before.I shivered at the thought of having been so close to them and tried not to think about what might have happened if we hadn’t managed to hide up in the branches.Taio dropped down beside me and motioned toward the lake.I followed him, ignoring my dry throat and grateful for the little sunlight trickling through the trees.The air was cold enough that I saw my breath.More and more leaves were falling from the trees, making the ground crunch no matter how quietly we tried to move.
On the other hand, if the leaves crackled when disturbed, we’d be able to hear anything coming for us as well.We walked for what seemed like hours.I tried not to think about how thirsty I was or how much my legs and back ached.I struggled at times to keep pace with Taio, and though he must have noticed, he did not comment.He moderated his stride until I was beside him again.
“I’m slowing us down,” I said, annoyed that my breath was coming in short gasps.
“You are.”
Well, so much for preserving my pride.
“We will be home soon.”
Home.His home, not mine.Perhaps if I kept my thoughts trained on the food and water waiting at the end of this journey, I might keep up.
“Shall I carry you?”he asked.
I recoiled.“No.”I still had some pride.I would finish this trek, even if it killed me.I felt as though it might just.I walked on ahead of Taio, pushing myself and drawing on reserves of strength I didn’t know I possessed.When I heard what sounded like the trickle of water, I initially thought I was imagining it.I was so thirsty that all I could think about was my pounding head and my dry lips.My tongue felt too thick to fit in my mouth.
“Do you hear that?”Taio asked.
I nodded, not trusting my fuzzy tongue to allow me to speak coherently.A small bubble of joy rose within me.I hadn’t imagined the sound of water.Taio motioned for me to move toward the water, and we walked together until we came across what was really no more than an empty creek bed with a drying burble of water.
“The snow on the mountains is frozen,” Taio said.“The stream will be full when the weather is warmer.”
I didn’t care about the frozen snow or the trickle of water.I’d take it.I cupped my hands, filling them with more mud than water, and drank the little water I could manage.Taio moved upstream, and I forced myself to follow him.As much as I wanted to drink the water again, no matter how muddy, a mile or so upstream, more water flowed through the bed, and we were able to dip our hands in it without scooping up mud.I drank until I thought my belly would burst.My throat was still dry, and my head still pounded, but my sense of hopelessness was fading.When we moved further upstream, the bed widened, and one offshoot was full enough that we were able to fill our flasks.I searched for berries as well but found none.The trees had grown sparser, and we were leaving the forest behind.
The sun was low in the sky by now, and Taio and I really should begin to look for a place to camp.My body rebelled at the idea of climbing another tree, but it would be the safest option.If we walked too much further, we wouldn’t have as many trees to choose from.
“Can you go further?”Taio asked.
I glanced up at him.His bruises had turned from yellowish-green to greenish-black.He’d washed much of the dried blood away, and both eyes were open now, though one was swollen.“The sky is growing dark,” I said.
“We will be safer if we reach the lake.”
He was right.Having the lake at our backs would be safer, but walking in the dark to get there was suicide.I sighed and looked at the sky again.
“We are close, Mara,” he said.“One more hour.If we have not reached Igo by then, we will camp.”
Close.“Have we crossed the border?”I asked.
He nodded.“I do not know when, but I sense in my heart, we are in Zulen.”
I looked downstream, feeling somewhat cheated by the lack of any marker or sign that I’d left Earsleh behind.Taio held out a hand, and I took it without thinking.“One more hour.”He pulled me to my feet, and we walked along the side of the stream, our boots slipping on the muddy ground.The water was still a trickle in most places, but at least we had access to water.I drank from my flask and knew I would be able to refill it.
