Powers of the Six (21 page)

“I’m as much a Rol’dan as you,” Emery said.

Alec glared at Emery, and then at his own Rol’dan uniform, now dirty and torn. “Well, I can make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Alec removed his bag from his shoulder, walked toward the edge of the forest line, and drew his hand back as if to toss it into the woods.

Nolan staggered to his feet. “N-no, Alec. Please …”

Alec gawked. “After all that, and you still want it? No. It’s for your own good.”

“Alec, may I see it?” Emery asked.

Alec stopped the forward momentum of his throw, frowned, and chucked the bag toward Emery instead. Emery opened it and handed items to Taryn: a clean Rol’dan uniform wadded into a ball; a small dagger; bread wrapped in cloth, suspiciously looking like linens from Alton Manor, and a flask that sloshed with water. As he dug deeper, the contents deteriorated: a ratty, bloodied tunic, a leather belt, some cloth bandages—some slightly used, and a half-eaten apple turning brown.

“Disgusting. Don’t you ever clean out that thing?” Taryn said quietly.

Alec cast her an annoyed glance, but ignored her. “I told you. Nothing important.”

“Wait a moment.” Emery reached to the bottom and pulled out a palm-sized bundle wrapped in a frayed white cloth. The color and age of the fabric didn’t just look old, it looked ancient.

Alec’s eyebrows went up. “What the—”

“Is this yours?” Emery asked.

“I’ve never seen it before.”

Nolan leaned forward, the bundle in Emery’s hand pulling him. Nolan swallowed. He’d never felt like this before. He held his breath as Emery unfolded the layers of cloth. Inside, a smooth, translucent stone filled the entirety of his palm.
It’s just a rock
?

Kardos scowled. “Where’d you get that, boy?”

Alec stared in wonderment. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Kardos said. “How can something appear in your bag without you knowing it?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

“Didn’t you feel the thing knocking around?” Kardos asked.

“It’s light,” Emery said. “Much lighter than it should be.”

“Where’d you leave your bag? Someone must’ve put it in there,” Kardos continued.

“I didn’t leave it anywhere!”

“You must have,” Kardos said, “otherwise that rock wouldn’t have ended up in there, now would it?”

Alec jerked his bag from Emery’s hand. “I already told you!”

“What about the lodge?” Taryn said.

Both Kardos’s and Alec’s heads jerked toward her.

She swallowed, like she regretted speaking at all. “After the Speed challenge, when you were unconscious at the lodge.”

A muscle twitched in Alec’s face, making the scar on his cheek lighten.

“Unconscious?” Kardos said.

“It’s nothing.”

“How is unconscious nothing?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Alec stuffed his things into his bag.

“Do you think there might’ve been a chance for someone to put it in?” Emery asked.

“No. I mean … I don’t know. I suppose it could have been then. Why should it matter? It’s a rock, for Brim’s sake.”

“What were you doing unconscious?” Kardos asked.

“Father, just drop it!”

“I taught you well enough. You shouldn’t be knocked out by anything. Why weren’t you keeping your guard?”

The bickering continued as Nolan staggered toward them. He felt as if his limbs had gained five times their weight. Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, he trudged to where they argued. With a tap on Emery’s shoulder, the yelling ceased.

“Nolan? You shouldn’t be up. What are you do—?”

“May I see it?” he asked, holding out a shaking hand.

They all stared at him, blank faced.

“Please,” Nolan begged.

Emery didn’t hand it over immediately, but examined it first. “Nolan, we don’t know what this stone is or where it came from.”

Nolan’s skin crawled with anticipation. “For Brim’s sake, Emery. Please …”

Emery pursed his lips. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. “All right, Nolan, though I don’t approve of it in the least.”

As soon as Nolan’s fingertips brushed across its smooth surface, an overwhelming peace came over him. His tense muscles relaxed. His fatigue melted away. He cupped it between his palms and a breath escaped his lips. And strangely enough, his strength returned.

Chapter Eighteen

A WHITE FLAME DANCED across the logs, licked upward, and then sank into the orange glow from where it came. Nolan stared at the hypnotic fire and listened to the quiet drone of conversations. It had been a long day. With one hand in his bag at his side, he fingered the stone. He didn’t know what it was, or how it had helped him, but now he couldn’t put it down.

Behind their small camp, Emery arranged the travel torches to protect them from any threats. Nolan felt safer with the fire. Though they saw no sign of the Dor’Jan, Nolan swore the creatures watched them just outside the circle of trees.

With both the campfire and the torches, the stifling heat made Nolan drowsy. He inhaled a cool breeze and glanced to Megan. She sat with her foot propped on a rock, her elbow on her knee, and her chin resting on her fist. The firelight flickered across her thoughtful expression … her full lips … her slightly upturned nose … her green eyes. Those eyes came up, and Nolan strangled a breath and jerked his attention back to the fire.

Crows. She made him act like he was ten years old! And to top it off, guilt kept prodding him. She’d risked her life because he’d been an idiot, yet Nolan didn’t have the decency, or courage, to thank her.

“Thank you” was easy enough, wasn’t it? Nolan grabbed a twig and dug it into the earth. No. It was harder than dodging a grip of arrows. But at some point, he’d have to say
something
.

“So, Nolan,” Hakan said. “What does a scribe do? You know, besides jotting bits of this and that.” His eyes sparkled and crinkled the corners of his eyelids while the fire’s light flickered off his weatherworn face.

Nolan smiled, thankful for the change of thought. “I wrote documents and summons and recorded day-to-day events in the manor.”

He grunted. “So you just wrote all day?”

It sounded boring when he said it like that. “Yes, I guess. We did have other things from time to time.”

“Such as notorious traitors being dragged in?” Emery stepped into the circle and sat next to Nolan. Smiling, he rested his arms on his propped up knees. Bonty handed him a steaming plate and patted his arm.

Nolan chuckled. “One or two, maybe. Though you topped them all.”

“You flatter me.” Emery shoved a bite of roasted rabbit—Hakan’s latest kill—into his mouth.

“And what about your spare time?” Hakan asked. “What’d you do for fun?”

“The fine art of crafting words isn’t fun?”

Hakan laughed. “I suppose someone might think so. That is, if they were quite dull.”

Nolan flinched. “Well, I did read.”

Megan leaned forward. “Oh, really? The manor had lots of books?”

A bead of sweat dripped down Nolan’s face; he promptly brushed it away with the back of his hand. “No. I mean, yes. But not the type you’re probably thinking of. My room had two huge cases, stocked with historical documents, some of the oldest known books I’ve ever seen. All filled with Adamah history.”

“And you enjoyed this sort of reading?” she asked.

Nolan considered lying, but he did enjoy studying history. “Well, yes. I did, actually. I learned a lot.”

Hakan snorted. “What about sport? Did you get out much? Do some hunting?”

Nolan laughed. “I’ve never hunted.”

“What a waste!” Hakan said. “You’d be quite a hunter with that Accuracy of yours. Just think! I’d track the biggest buck in the forest, and you’d bring it down with a single shot.” His eyes glinted.

“He’s always trying to find a hunting partner,” Emery noted.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Hakan asked.

“I’ll tell you what,” Nolan said. “When we get to this camp of yours, I’ll hunt with you. Promise.”

Hakan beamed. “Aye! And I won’t forget your promise, either.”

“You have no idea what you’ve gotten into,” Megan said.

“Gotten into?” Hakan said. “Why, I’ve done him a favor, I have. The only thing he’s done is look at dusty old books.”

“I’m sure he had lots of things to do besides reading,” Megan said. “Do they have lots of parties at the manor?”

“A few,” Nolan answered. He didn’t mention how he’d hidden during those parties. He hated crowds.

Afterward, conversation thankfully drifted from Nolan. He rose from the fire, went to the edge of camp, and stood next to one of the travel torches embedded in the ground. The darkness of the forest sang its usual sounds as night followed its routine. Sometimes, Nolan wondered if his escape was pointless. It wasn’t as if he could fight like Alec. All he could do was read books and write well. Really well. But a good map wasn’t going to help them in a fight. He supposed he could sling a little. That did come in handy when they were trying to get away.

Taryn laughed with Alec, Daren, and Rylan. Nolan relaxed his tense shoulders. Yes. The escape wasn’t totally pointless. He saved Alec and the others, too. Now they’d have a chance at a real life … whatever that was as a traitor.

“Nolan?”

He whipped around to find Megan standing close. He’d been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t heard her.

She bit her lip. “Mind if I join you?”

He gawked before answering. “Sure.” He shifted, making room next to him. He touched the metal sconce holding the torch by mistake and yanked away, welts forming on his fingertips.

Megan sighed, and before Nolan objected, she touched him. A pulse of healing energy surged into him.

“Um … thanks.”

She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry. It’s what I do.”

He wiggled his fingers. She was good. “Speaking of … thanks for the other day too.”

She shrugged. “You don’t need to thank me.”

“Megan, you nearly died.”

“Not true,” she said, green eyes twinkling. “
You
almost died. I merely saved you.”

She had a point. An embarrassing one. He’d been quite an idiot to grab that bag, but at least now he knew the stone made him do it. It wasn’t his fault.

“Besides,” she said. “You’ve already thanked me. With your eyes.”

He snorted. His eyes had been grateful … and guilty … and a lot more. He’d struggled to keep back all the strange feelings inside him, especially with her brother, Flann, watching. Nolan had never met anyone quite like Megan. And though he barely knew her, he was starting to really like her.

She stared beyond the light of the torches to the forest. The remnants of a smile faded on her lips and her brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Nolan asked.

“There was one other thing I wanted to ask you.” She frowned before continuing. “The stone. The one you got from Alec? Can I see it?”

He stared at her. Why would she want it? He reached into his bag, and his hand instinctively closed around it. Once again, an overwhelming peace came over him. As he placed it into Megan’s outstretched hand, a tremor of apprehension came over him. It took all of his willpower to let go.

Megan studied it, running her fingertips across its smooth surface. “It might be a healing stone.”

“How so?”

“Well, it restored your strength.” She tilted her head. “As a Healer, I can mend wounds, but restoring strength is beyond me.”

Nolan shrugged. “It didn’t restore me.”

“Yes, it did.”

“No. It did more than that. I feel lighter. More alive. I haven’t felt that way for … Well, I’ve never felt this way before.”

She turned the stone over in her hand. “And it doesn’t go away? You’re still rested and strong?”

“I’m still rested, yes.” Nolan smiled. “Hard to gain back strength you didn’t have to begin with.”

She nudged him and laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“I can walk around and not be a limp rag, yes.” A tremor of impatience went through him as he stared at the stone. “Can I have it back now?”

She placed it into his palm, but her hand lingered. He met her eyes, and a tremble of excitement went up his arms.

A pulse of Empathy touched Nolan’s emotions, probably Flann checking up on him. Nolan yanked his hand away.

“Well now, everyone.” Emery stood and stretched. “We’d better rest as much as we can. Hakan, how much farther do we have?”

“A good four days, I think.”

Emery sighed. “Well then. We best get a good night’s sleep. We’ll leave at first light.”

The wind shifted and Daren gagged. “For Brim’s sake! I think something died.”

“No, lad,” Hakan said. “It’s much worse.”