“Well, we could discuss the person who sent me here…” He paused letting a dazzling smile dance on his handsome face. “She was under the impression you were seeking her, but perhaps she was wrong.” He shrugged and let the corners of his mouth turn down. “She isn’t usually wrong.”
Amanda’s head was spinning. What was he talking about? Shiphra? The name was almost past her lips when she stopped herself. He was trying to get her to talk about Shiphra. Did the Ancients want to know if Amanda could find her?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said quickly.
The boy shook his head, sending his golden locks into a tizzy, and held up his hands. “Listen, I know that you are scared and confused right now, but I’m not going to hurt you. You think I’m a member of the Guard, and two days ago you would have been right, but I’m not a Guard member anymore,” he said in a sweet voice.
She wished she could ignore his sincerity, but she couldn’t. She believed him.
“I haven’t been a true Guard member for three years now,” he said.
“What do you mean a ‘true guard member’?” she asked in puzzlement.
He took a step forward, gesturing toward a rock. She nodded, and he took a seat. The muscles in her body loosened as he sat. Sitting wasn’t a tactical position if he meant to attack her, and she felt less threatened.
“I’ll get to your question in a second, but can you answer me something?” he asked.
“Umm, depends on the question,” she said curtly.
Amanda didn’t know why she was so short with him. He hadn’t been anything but nice to her. However, something about his good looks and darkness reminded her of Frey.
“Fair enough,” he said with a smile. “Cole is traveling with you, isn’t he?” he asked, tensing her muscles again.
She thought about lying, but didn’t see a point. Everyone had to know he was. “Yes,” she replied.
“Sorry to get you on edge again. Don’t worry. I like Cole. I looked to him almost like a brother at one time,” he said wistfully. “Anyway, I can tell you’re close to him.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Well, your hand did turn into a fist at the mention of his name,” he said with a smile. “Either he’s in trouble, or you were planning on hitting me in the face, and since Cole never gets into trouble—”
“Get on with it!” she yelled. This guy was exasperating!
“Okay, well since you’re close, you probably know he used to be a member of the Guard. He got out, had a nice binding spell put on him and all that. Well, I tried to get out too, only I wasn’t about to ask permission from The Ancients. I wasn’t going to kneel before them and ask to be reassigned. So, I ran. I left the Hovel when I was thirteen.” He paused. “I know, I know. You and I are almost kindred spirits.” He smiled.
“But, you said… two days ago. You stopped being a member two days ago,” she stuttered.
“Yeah well, three years ago I found Shiphra. She asked me to remain at the Hovel. Remain a Guard member.” His voice had become sharp, and she saw the darkness within him come out. He shook his head and replaced his smile. “It was a hard thing for her to ask of me, I could tell, but they wanted people on the inside to watch and help those that needed helping.”
“What do you mean? How would posing as a Guard member help anyone?” she asked skeptically.
“I gave Shiphra information I learned by being close to the Guard members and The Ancients. I helped Healers who didn’t want to be there get out, Healers like you and me. I helped them find their new home.”
“Wait a minute, other Healers left? I wasn’t the only one?” she asked, breathlessly feeling a weight lift off her chest.
He stared at her with understanding eyes. “Yep, you and me were the only ones stupid enough to go back, that’s all,” he said with a grin. “People leave that place pretty regularly. It tears The Ancients up that they can’t stop the steady leak. The thing that makes them crazy is that they know only one thing could put the Healers beyond their reach. Shiphra has them under her wing.”
“Shiphra is hiding Healers from them?” She was baffled. How was it possible she knew nothing about this person a week ago?
“Why wouldn’t she? Unlike us, she never ran from responsibility. She just stood up to oppression. When the other Ancients started to look at the Healers as their possessions, she said no. Anyway, she was forced to run and has been trying to save as many Healers as she could from a distance, leading them to her,” he said. The tone of his voice showed his admiration and devotion to his leader.
“That’s how I found New Hovel. After I ran away, I just went where my feet took me, and a few weeks later, I was standing next to her.” He shrugged.
“So, why are you here?” she asked.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I thought I made it clear earlier. Shiphra sent me to fetch you,” he said.
She looked him up and down ignoring his devilish good looks. He was tall and seemed confident in his abilities, but she didn’t think this baby-faced boy was special enough to be a one- man task force.
“Why did she send you? Just you?” she asked in bewilderment.
His smile faded, and he puffed up his chest.
“If we run into another thirty Guard members, I don’t think one guy is going to be much help,” she said.
“She had her reasons,” he said in a light voice. “You’re more trouble than any refugee I’ve ever helped, do you know that? Nell told me you two were practically sisters… I thought maybe you would be more like her. You know, helpful. But you couldn’t be more different,” he said, shaking his head.
“Nell? How do you know Nell?” she asked in a high voice that made her cringe.
“She was in the last group I took out of the Hovel. Actually, she’s kind of the reason I couldn’t go back to being a Guard member. I beat a guy down, and apparently, word spread that I couldn’t be trusted. I’ll forever be grateful to her,” he said dreamily.
“She’s safe in this New Hovel, right?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, she’s safe. Much safer than she was at the old one anyhow. I wish I could have gotten more out. You don’t know how bad things have gotten back there. It was like The Ancients were being wound tighter and tighter every decade, and this thing with you finally made them snap.” His blue eyes bore into her. “They aren’t pretending anymore. They openly killed a Healer in front of everyone. Guard members line the hallways, preventing escape. It’s crazy. I never thought I’d see it, but then again, Shiphra is never wrong.”
“What do you mean? She knew this would happen?” she asked.
He closed one eye and scratched his head. “Well, I don’t know if she knew exactly how it would go down, but she knew The Ancients would snap. She worried that every Healer they lost was just another straw on the camel’s back, and she was right. I suppose she knows them a lot better than any of us.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Baal told me he might as well be God, which isn’t all that shocking. I saw the way he looked at the Healers, and he thinks of them as power, not people,” she said.
“Wait, he actually said that to you?” he asked in astonishment.
“Well, he told me in my mind so no one else would hear, but yeah he did. He was thinking I’d be dead though. I think he likes showing his true colors to people that aren’t going to be around anymore.”
“You have no idea,” he said, standing up. “The things I saw when I was on the Guard. Baal loved the sight of blood…” He stopped and looked at her apologetically.
“Don’t worry. I know you can’t talk about it. Neither can Cole,” she said.
He shook his head and moved to the stream, dipping the canteen in the cool water. “No, I can talk about it. I just don’t want to. The things I witnessed aren’t topics of civilized conversation.”