Chapter Twenty Seven
“How is she?” Marcus questioned Kevan, who hovered over Kaitlyn by the fire.
“Better,” Kevan admitted. “She quieted down a while ago, and other than running what appears to be a low grade fever, she seems to be coming through this quite well, all things considered.” Kevan watched Marcus, seeing a heightened agitation. “What?”
“We spotted guards. It would seem that they are working their way down the more dangerous path,” he stated.
“So we need to get moving, that’s what you’re telling me.” Marcus nodded.
“I wish that I could give her more time to recover, but time isn’t on our side this night. We need to find a way behind the waterfall, and fast, or we will be trapped,” Marcus explained to Kevan.
“She’s not well enough,” Kevan argued.
“Kevan, we don’t have a choice.”
“I feel so useless. Without being able to draw on power, we can’t even use magic to protect ourselves. You must really hate it,” Kevan said to Joseph.
“You know the situations here as well as we do. Magic is hit or miss in Elden, so we can’t rely on it,” Marcus spoke before Joseph could. “Kaitlyn is strong, she can do this. She’s too stubborn to let a stupid bug get to her.”
“She is awake and fine, and will be ready to go in ten minutes,” Kaitlyn told them. She pushed herself to a seated position, looking very un-Kaitlyn like, all pale and fragile.
“I’m glad that you are okay,” Marcus told Kaitlyn, as he stepped away, not trusting himself to say anything more. “Ten minutes is fine; we will get everything ready to move out.”
Kaitlyn watched him closely, nodding her agreement, before she spoke up. “Oh, just to set the record straight, I am not too stubborn. That prize definitely belongs to my big sister, Kevan.”
“Hey,” Kevan wailed in protest. “Don’t you dare put that one on me? I can be reasoned with. If you want to talk about stubborn, I have one name for you: Brennan.”
Kaitlyn smiled at her sister. “I stand corrected,” she told Marcus. “Kevan is right; nobody is more stubborn than Brennan. We’re pussy cats, compared to her.”
“Fine, ladies, I stand corrected. Now, ten minutes, then we head out,” Marcus told them, rolling his eyes, as he turned and stalked away. Kaitlyn’s eyes fixated on every movement of muscle in his body.
“And to think I was concerned about you,” Kevan teased.
“Excuse me?” Kaitlyn questioned.
“Tongue back in mouth, sis,” Kevan laughed.
“What are you babbling about?” Kaitlyn questioned, as she reached over, taking the warm cup of chira that Kevan handed her.
“You know, if it wasn’t so familiar, I would be laughing my ass off at the lust in those eyes.”
“Now I know that you’re losing it,” Kaitlyn told her. “I am not lusting after Marcus. He was really nice, when he helped me out earlier, but that’s all there is to it.”
“Ooh, nice try kiddo, this is me you’re talking to. I know you, and I know that look in your eyes. You would jump his bones in a second, given the chance.”
“Kevan, you’re crazy, just because you fell for Caleb in thirty seconds flat, doesn’t mean that I will follow suit, and even if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be with Marcus McLaren.” Kaitlyn struggled to her feet; she avoided looking at her sister. “Now, we don’t have time for your foolishness. We said that we would be ready in ten minutes, and we had better get moving.”
“This isn’t over,” Kevan warned her.
“Yes it is,” Kaitlyn muttered under her breath, as she walked away from her grinning sister.