Broken Forest: Book One of the Daath Chronicles (21 page)

When I reached Raven, her cute face was bright red. I handed her back the apple. “Here you go, and if you’re still hungry, there’s plenty more.”

“Grr.” Her forehead scrunched, and she stomped down the street.

“What’s the matter?” I called after her. “I thought you were hungry?”

“I was,” she grumbled.

“Raven.”

She whirled around, furious. “Why did you have to do that? Are you trying to make me feel like an idiot?”

I laughed and brushed the hair out of my face. “Who’s the idiot who stole the apple?”

She scowled and stormed off again, this time walking a lot faster. I sped up, but the closer I got, the faster she walked. I didn’t feel bad. Short of starvation, there was no excuse for stealing. And with Anna’s cooking, nobody was starving.

After what seemed like forever, she slowed, and I draped my arm around her shoulders. “You still mad at me?”

“A little,” she mumbled, crossing her arms.

I closed my arm around her neck, pulling her into me. “But you were being bad.”

She gave me a tiny smile, grabbed my wrist and twisted.

“Feisty.”

She sighed and laughed, tossing my wrist aside. I refused to let her know that move actually kind of hurt. I pointed to a nearby bench. “Can we sit for a minute? I’m tired of walking.”

She nodded, and we sat. I chomped into the apple. It tasted nice and crisp. “What’s your story? Why would you steal? You can get killed for that.”

She smirked. “I never get caught.”

Eyeing her, I asked, “I’m sure, but why do it?”

Raven leaned her head back, gazed up at the sky, took a deep breath, let it out and said, “It’s a rush.”

I coughed and punched my chest, dislodging the piece of fruit I almost chocked on. “You’re going to risk your life for a rush? There are other things you can do than stealing.”

“I know, but it’s fun. The anticipation, the way your heart races … there’s nothing like it,” she sighed.

I slid closer to her until our legs touched.

“If you want your heart to race,” I said softly in her ear. “I think I can manage that.” My arm slipped around her, and my fingers brushed the side of her neck. I could see her chest rise and fall under her white chemise.

“What are you doing,” she whispered.

I licked the bottom of my lip and watched her eyes go wide. “Is your heart racing?”

It took her a moment to get my hint. When she did, she scooted away from me, giggling. “I bet you dazzle all the girls back home,” she said.

“Me? Never. I was simply making a point.”

“I’m sure, but that’s not the kind of rush I’m looking for.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Only trying to help.” My voice took on a serious tone. “Promise me you’ll stop.”

“Give me one good reason why.”

I saw the challenge in her eyes.

“I’ll give you five,” I proclaimed.

She folded her arms, grinning. “They better be good ones.”

“Oh, they are.” I threw the apple core on the ground. “One, you’re the most beautiful girl I ever set eyes on. Two, your smile warms my soul. It’s invigorating. Three, you have these deep eyes that suck me into their dark depths and I can’t pull away. Four, you could have the whole world if you wanted, all you have to do is ask. Five, stealing is a disgusting habit and the only thing it does is taint your beauty, making moot everything else I just said.”

Her eyes glistened, and I thought she’d kiss me right there. We stared at one another, her looking starry eyed and me starting to feel foolish. I bet my father would never say anything romantic like that, but I was only doing it to sweeten her up. I needed more information about Lucino. Something useful.

“Were those adequate reasons?” I asked, hoping to diffuse this strange moment.

“I’ve … I mean … they were okay.”

“Promise.”

“I promise. No more stealing.”

She gathered her hair into her hands and ran her fingers through it. I watched as her eyes desperately tried to avoid mine, but I wouldn’t let them.

“How long will you be staying?” she asked, biting her lip.

“I’m not sure, a few days, maybe more.”

She looked in the opposite direction. “Oh.”

Her hair blocked her face, which I didn’t like. Our knees barely touched, but it was enough to make my blood heat. Sitting next to a pretty girl, flirting, her flirting back—it was distracting. Everything in me said to stop, but it’d been long since I’d felt anything other than pain. This was a nice change.

Her leg moved, rubbing against mine. I needed to walk.  

I stood. “You ready to show me the rest of this town?”

Her mouth opened, but then she shut it. “Sure, let’s go.”

We walked down a back street and an old woman crept out of a shabby house. “Have your fortune read, sweetie?” the hag asked while trying to coax us inside.

“No,” I said, coldly.

Raven tugged on my arm. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going in there.”

“Pleeease.” Raven cupped her hands to her chest. “We won’t be long. I promise.”

She made it hard to say no. “Fine, let’s go.”

The hag brought us inside and to a small wooden table surrounded with white candles. The candles had melted onto the table, creating a pile of messy wax. The place stunk of sage, dried bundles of it hanging throughout the house. Strange knick-knacks cluttered the room on crooked shelves, making the place seem even smaller and stuffier. A small cracked window was partly open.

We sat, and I motioned for Raven to go first. Raven held out her hand for the hag to examine.

The hag rubbed her knobby fingers over Raven’s palm. “You’re quite the adventurer, aren’t you, my dear?” the hag cooed.

Raven bobbed her head in excitement. Anyone could guess Raven wasn’t your typical girl. What girl doesn’t wear a dress and knows how to fight?

“But you’ve been hurt,” the hag continued, “I see a lot of pain in your past and betrayal … someone very dear to you hurt you.”

Raven’s smile faded, and her hand clenched into a fist.

“Don’t worry, my child. There is love in your future,” she said, and her glance drifted towards me.

Why is she looking at me
? I pretended I hadn’t heard her, or seen Raven sneaking a glance my way.

The hag laughed, softly, and dropped Raven’s hand. “Your turn dear.” She held out her hands, waiting for my palm.

I have a bad feeling about this.
Raven nudged my arm, and I grunted.

The hag’s brow furrowed in concentration. Her glassy white eyes widened, and she muttered. I leaned in closer, trying to hear what she said.

Then her deathlike eyes glared at me. “You are a special one. Come to see the visitor. Fate has something special for you boy, but you should not be here. You don’t belong in Daath … outsider.”

My heart beast so fast I thought I’d puke. I pulled my hand back, but she tightened her grip, keeping me in her icy grasp.

“Death awaits you if you stay. You must leave now.”

I jerked my hand away from her. “I don’t believe in fate.” I stood and stormed out, almost knocking over the table.

“Wait!” Raven yelled, “don’t listen to her. None of that stuff means anything.”

I ignored her.

Death, whose death? How could that old hag know about me?

“Avikar, slow down!”

I waited for her then continued running.

“Where are you going?” She asked. “Why are you so upset?”

I stopped, turning to face her. “Death, Raven. She said death was close by.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “She also told me true love was in my future. Should I believe her?”

“ … that’s different … ”

“How so?”

“It is. I’d rather have love in my future than death.” Before she got misty eyed, I started walking.

Why, why were we back at the lake? Raven wanted to race, and once I realized where she was running, she was too far ahead. How could I tell her that her favorite place made me sick, and every time she brought me here, I wanted to scream.

She stood at the bank, gazing in. “Turn around,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because I’m hot and want to go swimming, and I don’t want you to see me undress.”

Immediately, images of her naked torso popped into my mind. I put my back to her. I could hear the brush of her clothes as she took them off.
One peek, that’s all I need. What’s the worst she’ll do?
My head turned slightly, but the only thing I saw were her toes sticking out of the water.

“Okay, I’m in!”

The lake still tormented me, but with her in the water, smiling, happy, it didn’t seem so bad.

I still wasn’t going in.

Sitting on the grass, I thought about how stupid this was. Even though Raven wasn’t completely nude—thanks to her undergarments—I should have been in there with her. Laughing, tickling her, maybe even kissing her. But I couldn’t.

“Won’t you come in?” she hollered, her pretty eyes begging me to say yes.

I can’t.

“Can’t you swim?”

I frowned. “Of course I can swim. I just don’t feel like it.”

Her smile faded. “It’s the lake isn’t it?”

For the first time since I met her, I didn’t want to look at her. Panic consumed my chest, squeezing it until I couldn’t breathe. I rested my arms across my knees and dipped my head, taking in deep, slow breaths.
1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 5 … 6 … 7 … .

Something touched my back and I jolted.

“I didn’t feel like swimming, either,” she said.

She leaned her back against mine. For a minute, I thought she was undressed, but I noticed the pile of clothing gone. I knew she was going to prod. Every girl prods.

I’m not telling her a thing,
I thought. And it wasn’t just the lake. It was everything. My sister, my brother, my fear. Fear that I’d fail. Fear that I’d get someone else killed. I wanted to brush it all aside, disconnect from the emotion. Back on the farm I could do that, but not here.

But to my surprise, she said nothing. Instead, she hummed. My stomach twisted with nerves, waiting for her to ask me about the lake, but she never did. She rested her head on my shoulder, humming; until that turned to soft breathing.

Staring at the lake, hearing her sleep, made me feel all sorts of crazy. I wanted to break down, cry my eyes out, and I wanted to reach around, grab her and thank her for doing nothing. People had treated me different after Jimri’s death. They were careful and always had a sympathetic look that made me feel like dirt. Raven didn’t do any of that. She didn’t know about my past and she didn’t force me to talk about it—which I found refreshing. She was content to just sit.

In the distance, I could see Bruno chasing after a rabbit. I closed my eyes, hoping sleep would take me far away.

A scratchy, wet object licked my cheek. I opened my eyes to see a white shaggy face drooling over me.

Bruno panted, and I pushed his furry body away. It was dark already. I stood and stretched. Raven lay on the grass, still sleeping.

I knelt by her face. Her hair was draped over her side and small breaths came out of her mouth. “Raven,” I whispered.

“Hmm.”

Gently, I shook her shoulder. “Time to wake up.”

She grunted and frowned.

“Raven.”