Raven (27 page)

“
Awake already?”

I heard Heather’s voice then, and I looked back, seeing her face through a few wisps of smoldering wood. I nodded.

“
Are you alright?” She began to stand, glancing at Heidi as she continued to burn the end of the stick.

Heidi was old, and I was amazed that she was even out here. Perhaps she knew, though. Perhaps something told her to find me.

I exhaled. “Yeah. I’m just a little sick from all the berries. I need something real to eat.” A flash of macaroni and cheese crossed my mind, causing my stomach to rumble, the sick feeling forgotten.

She smacked her lips. “Yeah, I feel weak as though I were up all night drinking. Clearly
that
was not the case.”

I laughed.

“
Here, let me teach you to fish.” She walked away from the fire and to the river’s edge beside me. She grabbed my hand and yanked me up as my head rebelled, whirling once more as I leaned away from her and threw up again.

“
Whoa there. I think sick was an understatement.” She rubbed my back, slowly lowering me back to the ground.

I leaned forward, once again washing in the river.

“
Well, maybe you just sit and watch today.”

She grabbed something from her pocket and began to unwind it. I watched as she knelt at the water’s edge and began to dig in the mud, finding something to use as bait and shoving it onto the little hook on the end of whatever it was she’d unraveled. She then tossed a small wad of it in the air as she began to swirl her arm above her head, causing the line to go taut before she released it forward, leaning her body into the river. As the hook and bait hit the water she leaned back, wrapping the end of the line around her hand and giving it a few soft tugs.

I began to doze as I watched her hand, but after a second she yelped and yanked back hard.
“Not very hard to catch anything these days,”
she struggled to speak as she wrapped the twine around and around her hand, reeling it in as the line thrashed about.

“
Wow,” I said under my breath.

She gave me a proud smile as the fish began to jump above the water, revealing the fact that it was huge. With one last tug she flipped the fish onto the bank, grabbing a nearby rock and smashing its head before I had time to look away. The nausea rose in my stomach once more, but this time there was nothing to throw up, so I just dry heaved instead. The bones in my chest felt as though they had been crushed together, my stomach muscles flexing uncomfortably.

Heather looked at me with alarm. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

I heard Heidi laugh again, like she did when I was little and the older foster kids teased me.

I grimaced and looked away from Heidi and back at Heather. I had my hand on my chest. “No, it’s alright.”

My mouth was pursed and stung, the acid eating away and leaving a bad taste. I walked to the river and dug a hole that was about a foot from the water, allowing it to fill. I cupped my hands inside it and brought water to my mouth. The sand would filter it; at least enough that I hoped it didn’t trigger another kind of sickness.

I watched Heather take her prize and walk back to the fire where she stoked the coals and added leaves. I was afraid to walk back and sit, afraid that the scent would be too much to handle. Heather combed the beach for a long stick, finally finding one. She brought it to Heidi, handing her both the fish and the stick. Heidi shoved the stick through the center of the fish and then held it over the fire.

I looked away, trying to find something more appetizing to watch. Jack was grazing nearby. Living like this was hard. I was used to the pampered lifestyle of the house in the meadow. My whole body ached and I saw now why it was so many people always seemed so grumpy. The human body was soft and I was amazed that they had lasted so long. It was as though I’d downgraded, finding that what I thought was pain before was nothing in comparison. I took a deep breath and slowly stood, feeling a little bit better as the fresh air by the river cleared my lungs. Willing to try again, I walked to the fire and sat between Heather and Heidi.

“
So how long does this take?” I asked, pointing at the slowly charring carcass.

Heidi shrugged. “A bit longer.” She turned the stick, cooking the other side as the fins curled.

“
Tell me about Edgar.” Heather was fidgeting with her hands.

“
Heather,”
Heidi scowled at her, as though asking me about Edgar was a dumb thing to do.

Heather scrunched her nose at Heidi.

“
No, it’s okay.” I added, defusing the situation.

Heather smirked. “You mentioned him yesterday, quite a bit, actually. I was just curious who he was to you?”

I watched Heidi’s face from the corner of my eye, seeing it stretch into a smile. I felt my heart tighten in my chest. The first real feeling of anguish I’d felt toward the subject.

“
Edgar was my husband,” I said plainly.

Heather looked a little shocked. “You had a husband? But you’re so young!”

I laughed. “Not really.” I watched Heidi, judging her reactions and hoping it was acceptable to divulge myself to Heather. I was
The One
after all. I suppose I could do what I wished. “I know that I look eighteen,” I continued. “But I used to be immortal. I have been alive for over a millennium. Edgar and I have been married for a long,
long
time.”

“
Millennium?”
she gasped. “Wait a second. I don’t believe you.” Her eyes narrowed, her fox like features sharp with doubt.

“
I’m serious. Given all that’s happened, can’t you believe that?” My face held no hint of a smile.

“
Then why didn’t you tell me that yesterday?” she challenged.

I laughed again. “I was telling you about magic, not immortality.”

Heidi scowled at Heather again, now learning about the conversations we’d had while she was sleeping. “Heather, your manners?” she threatened.

Heather ignored her. “But now you’re no longer immortal, right? Clearly I can see because of the gash on your leg, and the obvious fact that you are quite ill, and famished.”

I tilted my head in thought. “I suppose not anymore.” I pinched the skin on my arm. “I’m not used to feeling so soft and vulnerable. When I was a little girl—”

“
Little girl?” Heather interrupted. “I thought you were immortal?”

Heidi chimed in then. “She was re-born, into my care.”

Heather nodded slowly. “Oh, I get it now. So that’s how you two know each other. I didn’t quite understand before. You keep everything so
secret.”
She was mocking Heidi.

I let out a slow breath, trying to think of a way to explain it more clearly. “I am immortal, or rather
was.
There was a time when I was badly injured and I sort of died, but really I was being held by the gods.”

I saw Heather was trying to follow as she mindlessly watched the fish.

“
They eventually let me go, and I was re-born. I grew just like any child, and I had no memory of my life before. I was always different and I knew it, but I never understood how.” Heidi was nodding. “I was sad and alone. Nothing brought me any joy. I couldn’t smile or laugh, and because of that, I was never adopted. Nor did I want to be. I hid my talents from everyone,” I paused. “Well, I guess you knew, Heidi. And well, it was that emptiness that brought me up here. I thought that by getting away, I could remain inconspicuous, but then I met Edgar.”

Heather’s face lit up. “Tell me more. Did you recognize him right away?”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t that I recognized him as much as I felt something pulling me toward him. Now that I know, it was our soul that had brought us back together. By then, I was back to being who I was before. Back to the same age, and I think fate knew that. It was my time to return to what I was meant to be. Together, Edgar and I shared the same soul, and the heart of the raven that you saw on the tree.” I smiled. “You cannot understand how it felt for me to feel that way again. It was beautiful.”

“
Are you sad now because he’s gone? I mean, of course you’re sad, but are you sad like you were before?”

I shook my head, touching my cheek and remembering the feeling of his touch. “I still have a piece of our soul, enough to be human. But, he has the rest of it.”

“
So you seek to feel that again, with him?”

I wanted to scream that of course I did, but I did not want to be rude. My body erupted with chills, remembering his touch like a drug. “Yes. Whatever it takes, I will feel it again, even if that means waiting.”

“
I wish I could love like that,” she added under her breath. Heidi took the fish from the fire.

“
You can. You are no different than me. You have a soul mate out there, just as I did. It’s harder for you because all the feelings you have are so numb, it’s hard for you to find each other. But you will. It could take many lifetimes, but I do believe that when you do find him, that lifetime will be your last because you are finally together.”

Her eyes looked into mine with hope. “Like the stories you hear of the old couples dying together in their old age. They’re true soul mates, aren’t they?”

I blinked a few times. “Yes, they are. Love is the one thing we all truly crave in the world, but we are faced with so many challenges, that we forget that. Money, power, and greed have no place here. But, they are put in our path to make our journey to love more fulfilling. The gods never wanted us to be happy. They wanted to use us for their entertainment. Now, though, I believe we can get back on track. This new world will be free.”

Heidi poked the fish and then began to pull it apart. “Here.” She handed me a chunk from near the tail.

I took the chunk greedily, the white meat now appetizing. I ate like a pig, the protein bringing me back to life. When I was done, I could only hope that the food would remain in my stomach this time.

“
Thanks for that.” I announced to both of them. I felt helpless for relying on them, but I could not survive alone. That much was obvious.

Heather swallowed her last bit of fish. “Shall we get going? If we leave now, we can make it there by sundown.”

I stood, holding my stomach with my hand. “Yes, I think walking would be good for me.” I whistled to Jack as his head shot up out of a patch of grass and he walked toward me. Sugar also came, following behind Jack.

By evening, we had made it far enough that I no longer recognized the peaks I had grown so used to seeing everyday. The valley was wider now, and I knew we were getting closer to the foothills. Heather was pulling me and Heidi as we both sat on the horses’s backs. I had grown used to Jack’s lulling motion as he stepped with his large hooves, rocking me to sleep. Unfortunately, the fish had not stayed in my stomach as I had hoped, leaving me even weaker than I was before.

The sun’s rays sliced through the branches of the trees, a deep orange as it began to sink below the mountains. My eye lids were heavy and tired, longing for a good night’s sleep someplace warm and comfortable. It was then that I saw a long straight log jut from behind a tree up ahead. I felt Jack’s pace pick up in time with Sugar’s, Heather tugging at both their manes.

Heather said nothing as I watched the log, now growing into more logs, lined in rows near the river. My excitement grew, now seeing smoke and hearing the echo of voices off the hillside.

“
Are we here?” I asked, rather shakily.

Heidi nodded beside me, looking at me with a grave expression. “We are. You can rest now.”

Heather looked up at me then. “Yes, time to get you something real to eat. Introduce you to the
world!”

Heidi hushed her, seeing that I was too weak and tired to handle the excitement.

I blinked a few times, finding my eyes had a hard time staying focused. My stomach ached with starvation and I had already lost weight, my arms thin and frail and my ribs showing.

I heard a cry of happiness echo from a distance away. I squinted as I saw a small figure burst through an opening in the log wall. Its miniature legs beat the earth with such fervor, that I knew this small being must have thought Heather was rather important.

“
Aunt Heather!” The being got closer now and I saw it was a boy of about four. I couldn’t help but smile as he ran into Heather’s arms with the trust of a mother.

Another figure emerged from the opening in the log surrounding, walking toward us slowly at first, then very fast. He was stumbling over the ground as he came, his red hair bouncing on his head. He grew close enough for our eyes to meet, and I saw him nearly topple over in shock and happiness.

“
Elle!
Elle!”
He yelled, now running, his arms flailing at his sides for balance. “I never thought—” his voice trailed off as he reached us, reaching up to hoist me from the horse and into his arms.

“
Scott,” I murmured. He seemed stronger now.

“
What’s wrong with her? I’ve never seen her in such a grim state.” I heard him ask Heidi and Heather.