Chapter 9
They traveled until sunset and restedfor the night in a clearing. As the bright moon rose in the cloudless sky, Sage sat on the ground, staring down at the open book. She finished copying the book as Marcus removed the saddle from the horse.
She tucked the copied parchment of the book into her boot. Now she was ready to make her escape. She would do it tonight when he slept. In the meantime, she could attempt to decode the book. The challenge of figuring out the book’s secret was like a shadow constantly following her—the desire to decode the book burned in her veins. Imagine! If she could do this, she could do anything. Her father would finally be proud of her. He would finally see she was capable of more than just picking locks.
Determined, her gaze swept the letters. The words all looked so foreign to her. None of them made sense because they were not words. When she sounded them out, they were incomprehensible. Her shoulders sagged.
She would never decode it.
Two pieces of parchment lay spread out beside the open book, one on either side. She flipped the feather of the quill back and forth across her lips in thought. What word was “zu” meant to be? In? Do?
She looked from the book to her parchment where she had copied the first line. She specifically stared at that two-letter word. “Zu.” There were so many words it could be. She closed her eyes to concentrate. Of. In. To. How was she to know which word it was? She opened her eyes and gazed at the copied first line. If she couldn’t figure that out, she would never figure out the entire book. It was so frustrating. If she could only read longer words.
“Are you hungry?”
Marcus startled her. She whirled, her hand dropping to the pommel of her weapon beside her. Then, she sat back with an exasperated sigh. “No,” she snapped. Then, she forced herself to calm. “Sorry.”
“Tell me what you’re working on.” He sat beside her, looking down at the book and parchment.
“Are you offering to help me?” she scoffed. “I don’t need help.”
“You look irritated, and it might help to talk about what you’re doing.”
She sighed. What would it hurt? He’d never be able to figure it out, but she might get ideas from a fresh pair of eyes. “I’m trying to figure out what ‘zu’ stands for. See here?” She pointed to it in the book. “It must be a two-letter word. But there are so many two-letter words. In, of, to.”
“Hmmm.” He stared at the page.
The light of the moon washed over the parchment, illuminating the dark letters.
She gazed at the first line, “Zgqk sgot xugj kgyz zu loxyz ixuyyxugj,” and concentrated on the “zu.”.
“Both letters are in other words. See here?” She pointed to the first word. “Zis the first letter.Uis here, here, and here.” Her finger skimmed along the line, pausing at theU’s.
He bent forward, scowling. His arm brushed hers. Sage’s body tingled, and she glanced at him. His blond hair fell forward in waves. His brow was furrowed in focus. His lips pursed in a thin line.
He was very handsome. She leaned toward him, inhaling. He smelled of the forest and leather.
“What’s this?” he asked, pointing to the second line in the book.
She mentally shook herself and followed his finger to where he indicated. It was the second line, “Mu.” “That’s another two-letter word.”
“They both have the same letter.”
Prickles raced up her spine. They did.
“What two-letter words have the same second letter?” They asked in unison.
Sage stared at Marcus, a grin on her lips. “An? In?”
“At. It. You should make a list.” He signaled the parchment. “Write the words down.”
Sage agreed and flipped the parchment over. She dipped her quill into the inkpot and started writing the words. She had to go slow because she had to sound them out.
“Go,” Marcus continued, watching her write. “Do. To.”
“On,” Sage offered, writing the letters on the page.
Marcus leaned forward, studying her list. “Do is spelled D-O. Not D-U.”
