Page 84 of Wraithwound

“Lena! I’m happy to see you made it out of the forest,” the woman said. Her voice just a note too cheery for Lena’s mood. Little did she know that Lena, the woman she’d been then, had not, in fact, “made it out of the forest.”

Lena tried to smile but knew by the look on the woman’s face that it probably looked more like a grimace.

“Oh no, are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine. I just had some trouble sleeping,” she said, trying to shake off her bad mood.

“I’m sorry about knocking you out, by the way,” she said.

And the woman looked so genuinely sorry that Lena couldn’t help but laugh. It was preposterous.

“As opposed to the alternative?” Lena said, shaking her head. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry, I’m Jade,” she said, “Are you hungry?”

“Where is Cross?” Lena asked, peering past Jade.

“A pack of raberdins wandered in through the eastern tunnels,” she said. When Lena’s brows twisted in confusion, she added, “The size of a large dog, beady eyes? No? They infiltrate tunnels and underground caves searching for prey. A pack can take out fifteen men, easy. Riley asked Cross to assist in getting rid of them. So, I’m here to take you to breakfast. Come!”

Lena considered Jade’s invitation for a moment but didn’t have to for long. It was the first time in a long while she’d felt hungry, and her sour mood made her feel a little reckless.

Jade led her out into the corridor, and they walked together to the dining hall. She took Lena over to the serving line where she made herself a plate of food and then walked over to one of the smaller tables that sat at a distance from the others.

“I’m so sorry about the chains,” Jade said before dropping her tray on the table, one of the biscuits she’d selected nearly toppling over the side.

“The—” Lena started, but she didn’t have to finish her sentence because one of the guards pulled up a metal clamp attached to a chain bolted to the wall.

Oh.

Lena extended her leg, just as she’d gotten used to doing while on the plains with Cross, and the guard fastened it to her ankle, giving her an apologetic smile. Lena couldn’t be upset about the precautions.

“How do you know Leonid?” Lena asked.

“I’d heard rumors about The Collector, much like everyone else, and I decided to investigate. Let’s just say I’m good at finding people,” she said.

“The Collector?” she asked, making sure she heard Jade correctly as realization set in.

“Yeah, that’s what they call him. Out there,” she said gesturing above them.

“What does he collect?” she asked, her curiosity shifting to suspicion.

“Everything, from what I’ve seen. But mostly, people,” she said casually.

“What do you mean people?” Lena asked.

“He collects the lost, the oppressed, the displaced. The infected. He gives them a home, hope, and a purpose,” she said.

Oh.

They sat together and chatted for a while. Apparently, most everyone there knew who she was, and word had spread that she had somehow overcome the infection. The first person to do so. Jade told her there was a renewed sense of hope amongst those staying there, and they attributed that to Lena.

Any enjoyment she’d felt in meeting Jade was gutted. The taunts she’d heard while hallucinating on pollen spores seemed to whisper to her again: liar, murderer, fraud. That was what she really was, not a signal of hope.

“What’s wrong?” Jade asked.

“I need to speak to Leonid. Do you know where he is?” she asked, eager to learn when they might move forward with their agreement so Lena could obtain the answers she was seeking and leave this place.

Every day that passed without answers put them all at risk but especially Henry.