Aerenden: The Child Returns (Ærenden) (8 page)

“Why?”

“Because
there’s too much to learn.” She let go of his hand. Lifting her palms to her
face, she rubbed away more tears. “It would be so much easier if I didn’t have
to learn how to read you. If I could sense your emotions, I would know more
about what’s happening.”

“That
would be true if you were a mind reader, but you’re not. You don’t know what’s
happening. You guess. You guessed right more often than not on Earth because
you were familiar with your environment. You don’t know anything about this
world and being able to read my emotions could lead to bad guesses, which could
get you hurt, or worse. I can’t have that. It’s my job to protect you and I
won’t let anything happen to you.”

“What if I promise not to
guess?” she asked. “I can—”

“You
can’t,” he said, then took her hand in his again when she looked away. “It’s
second nature to you, and until you learn to control your power, you’ll fall back
on that habit.” He brought his fingers to her chin and guided her eyes back to
his. “I’m sorry I found this humorous. I shouldn’t have. It was difficult for
me to learn to live in a new world with stifled powers, and I’m sure it’s not
any easier for you. It will get better though.”

“Are
you certain?”

“Absolutely.”
He withdrew his hands and stood, reclaiming his seat on the log. “I think it’s
time for bed. Starting tomorrow, I’ll answer all your questions, so ask me
instead of wondering, okay?”

Meaghan
nodded and stretched out on the blanket. Silence descended over the forest,
interrupted only by the passing song of a few crickets and the occasional
curious hoot from a distant owl. She turned onto her stomach, propping her head
up on her fists to look up at Nick. “Will you answer one question for me
tonight?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“What
did you mean when you said it’s your ‘job’ to protect me?”

He
leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “I guess the simplest way to
explain is I’m part of a special group of people with a rare combination of
powers. Our powers are designed to protect. Some of us are assigned to protect
specific people and others are assigned groups of people.”

“And
you’re assigned to me?”

“Yes.
Shortly after you were born, I began training for that purpose. Vivian
protected you when you were on Earth and now it’s my job.”

Meaghan
yawned and flopped onto her back. “Why was I on Earth?”

“That’s
your third question and I only promised to answer one. I’ll explain it all in
time, but not tonight. You need to sleep.”

“One
more question,” she said, then pushed forward when he did not object. “Does
your group of people have a name?”

“Guardians,”
he replied. “We’re called Guardians.”

D
AWN CAME
too soon. Meaghan
watched the sun push a crimson curtain through the sky, then waited a few extra
minutes before she turned on her side to search for Nick. He stood over her, studying
the forest with an intensity that left her wondering if the shadows blanketing
his face had little to do with the disappearing night. Her sleep had been
plagued with dreams of her parents and she had woken several times with tears
soaking her cheeks. Nick had stirred beside her each time, drawing an arm
around her body to offer comfort, and she doubted he had slept any better than
she had.

His
eyes drifted from the trees to meet her gaze. Understanding passed between them
before he sat down next to her, taking her hand with the movement.

“Is
it time to go?” she asked, sitting up.

He
nodded, squeezing her hand before standing and pulling her up with him. “I
found some fruit for breakfast. It’s over by the log. Why don’t you go eat
while I fold the blanket?”

She
did as he asked, and soon they found their way deep into the forest.  The
leaves overhead formed a canopy so dense Meaghan felt dawn had slipped back into
twilight.  There appeared to be no set path and at times the vines and
overgrowth made passage slow. Nick used a stick to push limbs out of their way
as they moved. Only an occasional noise greeted them from the depths, the
warble of a bird or leaves rustling as a small animal ran from them, and it
added to the darkness pressing down on Meaghan’s senses.

Her
heart ached, squeezed by memories of her parents’ deaths and she gave in to the
pain, allowing a sullen mood to fill the hours. Neither of them spoke until
Meaghan caught sight of a bright blue bird flying overhead. By the time a
second and a third darted past, recognition had brought a smile to her face. “Those
look like blue jays,” she said.

Nick
glanced up without breaking their pace and nodded. “They are. I’m surprised to
see them. They’re usually skittish around people.”

A
noise rustled to their left and Meaghan turned in time to catch the tuft of a
white tail. A few seconds later, a flash of brown bounded in front of them,
almost knocking Nick over. The brown paused long enough for Meaghan to
recognize it as a deer before it disappeared into the forest as fast as it had
appeared.

She
took one look at Nick’s ashen face and the oppression that had eclipsed her all
morning dissolved into laughter.

Nick
scowled at her, and then chuckled as he rubbed at the back of his neck, his
cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I should’ve seen that coming. I was
concentrating too much on sensing my way, I guess.”

“You
couldn’t sense him?”

“Sensing
deer is not one of my skills. I didn’t know he was there until he jumped in
front of me. I think we scared him.”

“Not
as much as he scared you,” Meaghan teased, and then curbed the urge to laugh
again when Nick narrowed his eyes at her. “I didn’t realize so many of the
animals would be the same here. It’s comforting to think this world isn’t so
different from my own.”

“Some
of them are the same, but some aren’t, even if they appear to be. You need to
be cautious until you’re certain of what you’re facing.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I
mean being too comfortable with something which appears familiar can get you
hurt.” Nick placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “Look into
the higher branches.”

She
scanned the trees surrounding them. When a blue bird twittered at her from a
high branch to her right, she frowned. “Are you trying to tell me the jay is
dangerous?”

“Not
the bird. That,” he pointed at a spot above the bird. At first, Meaghan saw
nothing, but then a flicker caught her attention. A small monkey, no bigger
than the size of a kitten, hung from a branch by a long, thin tail. It watched
them, cocking its head back and forth with interest. She took a step toward it,
stopping when Nick’s hand tightened on her shoulder.

“Don’t
get too close,” he said.

“Is
he really dangerous?” she asked. “He doesn’t seem big enough to cause harm to
anything larger than a banana.” She took another step so she stood underneath
the tree. The monkey swung on top of the branch, scurrying away from them.
“Darn it. I scared him.”

“Not
quite,” Nick said. The monkey reappeared in a lower branch, only feet from
Meaghan. It crept toward her, and then froze again.

 “I’ve
never seen a monkey this close before,” she said. The monkey chattered in
excitement. It extended a small paw toward her and she reached up in turn.

“Don’t!”
Nick snatched her hand from the air seconds before the monkey’s fingers had the
chance to close around her wrist. The animal leapt from the tree limb, catching
the branch with its tail so it swung in front of them before it turned its
focus on Nick. Its eyes glowed red and it hissed, baring a mouth full of jagged
teeth.

Meaghan
jumped, and then clutched her hands in front of her heart as the monkey swung
back onto the branch, screeching in anger.

“That’s
not a monkey, is it?” she whispered, refusing to take her eyes from the animal.
It spotted the jay moving through the tree and swung after it, an unnatural
silence masking its movement.

“It’s
a type of monkey called a dranx,” Nick answered and put an arm around her
shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,”
she assured him, though her voice shook. “Could it have hurt me?”

“Its
teeth are laced with poison. It wouldn’t have killed you, but it would have
made you ill for a few days.”

Meaghan
trailed her eyes to a limb further up the tree where the bird had found a new
perch. The dranx landed in front of it.

“You’ll
want to look away,” Nick told her, though the warning came too late. The dranx
pounced on the bird, sinking its teeth into the feathered body of its prize
before disappearing with it into the canopy of the tree.

Meaghan
gasped, and then turned, burying her head in Nick’s chest. “That was terrible,”
she said, her voice muffled against his sweater. He wrapped his arms around
her.

“I’m
sorry. I needed you to understand the danger here, but I didn’t mean for you to
see that.”

“Not
everything’s the same,” she repeated his previous warning and stepped out of
his embrace. She glanced toward the tree once more to ensure the dranx had gone
and then returned her attention to Nick. “Why didn’t the bird fly away? It had
time.”

“It
couldn’t. The dranx monkey has the power to paralyze its victims when they look
into its eyes.”

“But
you looked at it and you’re fine.”

“Its
power is in proportion with its size. It only works on birds and other small
animals. Its poison is deadly to those animals as well.”

“Oh.”
Meaghan crossed her arms over her stomach, controlling the shudder that crept
up her back. “So it’s poisonous and it has the ability to paralyze its victims.
Can it do anything else?”

“It
can move without making any sound, which is why you didn’t notice it at first.
This particular dranx has been trailing us for a few miles. We heard it only
when it wanted us to hear. Let’s start moving again,” he said. “We have a long
walk ahead of us today.”

Meaghan
nodded and he turned, leading the way again. She stayed close behind him,
scanning the forest with more vigilance and wariness than she had when they had
started out in the morning. Although she could no longer see the monkey, and
she had no doubt it had fled the area, it refused to leave her mind.

“How
did you know it was there?” she asked after a minute. “If you couldn’t hear it,
how did you know?”

“My
ability to sense things isn’t limited to people,” he answered. “And it isn’t
random. I can tune into magic when I want to, like the pulse stone I left at
the portal, and danger triggers that sense automatically.” He glanced at her
over his shoulder. “Even the smallest forms of malicious magic can trigger my
power.”

Worry
lines creased Meaghan’s forehead, and Nick stopped again. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m
confused,” she said. “Is your village magical?”

“Not
to the point where I can sense it from here.”

He
reached a wall of vines. Tapping them with the stick, he waited a moment before
parting them with his arms. He let her through and then followed.

“But
you know where you’re going,” she said when he took the lead again. “You told
me last night you weren’t sure where we were, but it was dark. You seemed more
certain this morning, so I assumed you were following the trail again, like you
followed the pulse stone at home.” She hesitated. “You do know the way, right?”

“Not
exactly.”

They
stopped at a tree lying across their path. Its trunk rose higher than Nick’s
shoulders. Its length disappeared in both directions through the thickening forest,
its ends nowhere in sight.

“You
need to boost me over,” Nick decided. “I’ll pull you up from the top.”

“All
right.” Meaghan crouched on the ground and cupped her hands, launching him into
the air when he stepped his left foot into her palms. He straddled the tree
before leaning down to grab her hand, and hoisting her up beside him.

She
faced him, swinging one leg over the tree to mimic his posture. “What do you
mean by ‘not exactly’?” she asked. “When we were on Earth, you said we were
five miles away from the portal to your village. We’ve travelled at least that
far today, so we should be close by now. Are you lost?”

“Not
exactly,” he repeated. He looked over the side of the tree and she followed his
gaze. Thick underbrush hid the ground, as well as any rocks that might pose a
danger to their landing. He frowned. “I think it’s best if I—”

“Stop,”
Meaghan begged. She pressed her hands into the tree and leaned forward, not
caring about the pain the rough bark brought to her palms or the surprise that
overtook Nick’s face. “You promised you’d answer my questions. ‘Not exactly’
doesn’t answer anything. Are you lost or not?”

“I’m
not lost,” Nick responded and then sighed when she raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m not,” he reassured her. “I just have no idea where we are.”