Chapter 7
Just after dawn, Zeph and I faced off in the training circle on the side of the barn. Sam made it a mandatory part of our daily education even though it was clear Zeph had surpassed my strength and ability in the past year. My hands vibrated with pain as my staff clashed with Zeph’s. “You don’t have to hit so hard…this is only practice.” Short of breath after only fifteen minutes, I felt Will’s eyes on me and I fought to stand my ground. Sweat dripped down my temple as Zeph spun and countered with another blow. I blocked and sidestepped, swinging the long pole made of ash in a wide arc, aiming for the back of his knees.
Zeph launched into the air and rolled, easily avoiding my attack. He was on his feet before I could advance. “You can do better than that, sis.” His dark eyes gleamed in the smoky mist of morning light. He circled me, twirling his long bow and spinning it over his head.
“Stop showing off.” I took a poke at him with the end of the stick but he jumped back and laughed, having way more fun than I was. With Will watching from the sidelines, my concentration wavered, giving my brother a huge advantage that I couldn’t afford. My heart pounded with exertion, but Zeph didn’t let up. He came at me with an animal cry. The full force of the bow arced through the air and came down hard on an overhead strike. I gripped my staff with both hands and blocked the oncoming assault, but the strength of my block was no match for the momentum of his. My knees gave way and I dropped to the ground as my staff cracked under the pressure.
I heard Will’s voice over the rush of blood in my ears. “That’s enough!”
Zeph and I both turned to see Will jump the fence and rush to my side. “Are you okay, Lily?” His face was crimson as he glared at my brother.
I caught my breath and climbed to my feet with Will holding my hand and helping me up. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I shot a hard look at Zeph, my cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment.
Zeph stared at his feet and tossed his stick into the wood pile, his expression contrite. “Sorry, Lily. I didn’t mean to…” He glanced from me to Will and then turned his back, stomping off toward the house.
“What was that all about? He really could have hurt you.” Will handed me the towel that hung on the fence, looking me over once more to see if I really was all right. I wiped the sweat from my face and pulled my ponytail tighter, gathering a few golden strays that were plastered to my neck.
I watched Zeph disappear into the house. “He’s struggling with…being a teenager, I guess.” I knew it was more than that. Zeph’s ability was growing just as mine was, and he was clearly having difficulty controlling himself. I could only imagine what it was like for him to live with such a dark force growing inside of him. Add to that the guilt I knew he suffered over our mother’s death and normal teenage boy hormones, and you had a recipe for a catastrophe of epic proportions. “He’ll be okay,” I said, more hope in my voice than I felt.
On the way into the house, I noticed Will smiling. “You were pretty amazing with the staff. It looks like you’ve been training for a long time.”
“Sam wants us to be prepared for anything,” I said, my cheeks heating up as Will walked close beside me.
“Well, remind me never to make you angry. I’m not sure I would fare as well as your brother did if you ever decided to turn on me.”
It seemed strange to hear him talk as if he wasn’t leaving in a day—as if there would be a future time when we would know each other well enough to be fighting. “I don’t think you have to worry about me “turning” on you.” I glanced over at him, noticing the glint in his eyes, which looked more blue than grey in the sunlight. “I can’t imagine ever being mad enough to really fight anyone. It’s not really me.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “You looked like a warrior to me.”
An hour later, after I’d showered and dressed, pulling on my nicest green shirt—the one I knew brought out the blazing green of my eyes—I stood in the kitchen fixing breakfast, my hair in a long wet braid. Zeph burst into the kitchen with a basket of eggs hanging over one arm and bumping at his side. A pail of goat’s milk sloshed in his hands. I reached into the freezer and pulled out a quarter pound of ham. “Be careful. You’ll break the eggs,” I said glaring at my little brother who had the coordination of a Great Dane pup since his body seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. Every day he seemed a half inch taller and his dark hair got a bit wilder.
He shot me a dirty look and emptied his burden onto the counter. “Meat with breakfast? What’s the special occasion?” He smirked and turned his attention to Will who appeared in the doorway. “Never mind,” he said, and grabbed his usual seat as if to prevent Will from taking it.
“I forgot to ask about your shoulder this morning,” I said as I cracked some eggs and scrambled them briskly before sliding the bowl into the infrared and setting the timer for a minute.
The blue short sleeved shirt and worn jeans that Sam had given him hung on Will’s lean frame, but would serve their purpose. He pulled out a chair and sat, eyeing Zeph curiously.
“Much better, thanks.” His head swung my way and an indecipherable expression had him studying me hard. “As a matter of fact, I feel great.” He rotated his shoulder and then shrugged. “I thought for sure my shoulder would ache like mad today, but it feels fine.” His fingers went to the cut on his forehead, which was nothing more than a fine white line. “That salve you gave me must have worked magic. I’ve never healed so fast.”
Sam walked in and overheard the comment. I turned my back to avoid both Will’s curious gaze and Sam’s disapproving glare. “Calendula salve is a powerful healing ointment,” I said.
I risked a glance at Sam who plunked two dead rabbits and a squirrel on the counter. “These ought to make up a nice batch of stew for supper.” He turned away and focused on Zeph. “You can clean them after breakfast.”
“C’mon, it’s Lily’s turn.”
“It’s whoever’s turn I say it is.” Sam’s tone left no room for argument, but Zeph didn’t let go.
“Why don’t you ask him to do it?” I looked back to see Zeph narrowing his eyes at Will. “It’s the least he can do since he’s eating our food and wearing your clothes.”
“Shut it, Zeph.” I took the food out of the infrared and threw a slab of ham on each plate, adding on a pile of eggs. I shoved plates in front of each of the men and felt the tension hum between them. I eyed my brother harshly.
Zeph ducked his head, dug into his eggs, and answered me through a half full mouth. “You’re getting bossier every day, you know that?”
“And you’re getting to be more of a pain in the…”
“That’s enough, you two.” Sam put an end to our fight and I sat down to my own plate of ham and eggs.
The table got quiet while the three of them ate. Finally, Sam lifted his head. “So, Will, that was some little bombshell you dropped last night…about your father I mean. I can understand why he might be a hard man to track down. He’s got to be persona non grata at Presidential headquarters.”
Will lowered his fork. A nervous energy rolled off him and he darted a glance from me to Sam. “I’ve heard rumors about him working at the trading post in Albany. I hope to find him there.”
“You planning to travel all that way on foot?” Sam asked.
“I’ve come this far.” Will drank down his milk and resumed eating.
Sam and I exchanged a long look. Just because Will hadn’t killed us in the middle of the night and stolen whatever was worth a trade didn’t mean he was trustworthy. If I invited him to travel with me, it would ease Sam’s concerns about me traveling alone. Something about him—maybe the hollow look in his eyes or the fear and grief that lay buried deep in his heart—gave me hope that he was someone I could trust.
I nodded to Sam silently. His shoulders were tense but he released a heavy breath. “Lily will be heading into Albany in a few days. There’s a trading caravan that’s probably got room for one more if you’re
interested. It’ll save you weeks of traveling on foot.” He added in a serious tone. “I can’t guarantee it’ll be any safer though. There are more and more thieves scouting the countryside just waiting for a chance to rob travelers blind.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ve run into a few of them myself. My belongings were stolen a few weeks ago outside of Providence. Three guys jumped me and took everything I owned. I’m lucky they left me my boots.” He pushed his hair back from his face and gave me a concerned look. “Are you sure you should be traveling to the city at all?”
“I don’t have much choice. We need supplies. But I won’t be alone. There are several men from town—and some women, too,” I added, trying to reassure Sam as well as myself. The truth was I knew I was asking for trouble on this trip. Robbers were the least of my concern. Avoiding Industry agents, city Guardians, and Josh Johnson were tops on my list. “Besides,” I said grinning, “I have a secret weapon—two actually.” I was thinking of Bo and Pappy and how the wolves were sure to add an element of safety for me and the caravan.
“Oh?” Sam looked at me quizzically.
“I’ll tell you about it later.” I turned my attention to Will. “So are you in or out?”
I could see him mulling over all the possibilities and after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. “I guess I’m in.”
Sam sipped the milk thistle and dandelion tea I’d brewed for him and made a face but didn’t complain. “Well, that’s settled then. You can stay here until the caravan leaves on Monday. That gives you a few days to recover and get your strength up. It sounds like you’ll need to be on your game if you intend to track down your father without alerting the government to his whereabouts.” Sam’s tone was critical as he added, “I’m sure your aunt has people looking for him as well.” He eyed Will curiously, “When was the last time you saw the President?”
Will shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “I haven’t seen or spoken to her since I left Chicago. For all I know, she thinks I died in the storm that…destroyed our house and killed my family.” He stared at his plate, his bangs covering his eyes.
Wanting to ease his discomfort and draw Sam away from another interrogation, I interjected. “You’ve come this far on your own. I’m sure you’ll be able to find your dad if he’s in Albany. I know the city pretty well. I’ll help you look for him when we get there.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Sam said harshly. “It’s dangerous enough in the city without you snooping around and sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong. There’s a reason Brian Callahan is trying to hide from his sister and her cronies. He caused a lot trouble for her and the Assembly, and I’m sure they would just as soon see him dead.” He stopped his tirade when he realized the impact his words were having on Will, who had turned a sick shade of gray. In a softer tone, he said, “You two will need to be very careful who you talk to. And Lily, I want you to remember why you’re going on this trip. You have more than enough responsibilities with delivering our goods, getting the supplies we need, and making it back here safely. Stay out of Will’s business. Is that understood?” He glared at me and looked to Will, waiting for a nod of acknowledgement.
“I’ll keep Lily out of this, Sir.” Will leveled his gaze at Sam and the two men exchanged a nod of agreement as if I weren’t in the room and had no say at all. It didn’t seem to matter to either of them that I knew the city and the right people to talk to if we wanted to find information. And they didn’t seem to care that I knew how to get around security and avoid the Guardians who patrolled the city. What they also didn’t understand was that once we made it to Albany, there was no way either of them could stop me from doing whatever I could to help Will find his father.