Aleksandra by Heidi Vanlandingham

Author:Heidi Vanlandingham
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Shadowheart Press
Published: 2020-04-22T04:00:00+00:00

11

Aleksandra watched the play of emotions on Jakob's face. Her smile widened, and she sent heartfelt thanks to Freyja for allowing her one talent, her ability to fade into the background, to remain intact—if not a bit enhanced. She had used it, perfecting it, so she could learn so much more about people and her surroundings without actually participating. That being said, not taking part in things was probably not a good thing, but it suited her just fine.

She tugged on his arm and pulled him down the road. The last thing they needed was for the German soldiers to find them standing in the middle of the lane and become suspicious. "We can talk on the way to Vilna, and you can ask as many questions as you want."

"We're going to need to find another vehicle. Driving, it's a little more than a two and a half-hour trip. Walking would take us about thirty-eight hours."

She rolled her eyes at Jakob's grumpy tone but had to agree. She wasn't about to walk that long. Glancing around, she studied the surrounding fields. Some had been harvested but most hadn't, their crops moving in the steady breeze. Sniffing, she smelled something burning. Her eyes moved along the horizon. In the distance, maybe three or four miles in the direction they traveled, a narrow stream of smoke rose into the sky. "What do you make of that?" She pointed to the darkening gray plume.

"I saw that. Hoping it's just a farmer burning off trash, but we won't know until we get closer. Resistance intel reports a sharp increase in German takeovers in this area."

"Meaning scorched earth policy?"

He stared at the distant fire. "Possibly, but I hope not. The Wehrmacht has pushed out the Russians, so there's no reason for it—yet."

"The Belarusians won't take kindly to Nazis here. These people are known as White Russians and, much like the Germans, place an inviolable belief in their 'pure blood'. They fought for the tsar in the 1917 Revolution—the Bolsheviks against Stalin. Needless to say, it didn't end well."

"There's a strong partisan force throughout Belarus, so the coming days will prove interesting." He tilted his head toward the rising smoke. "Let's make our way toward the burn and see what's going on. We may get lucky and catch a ride with someone."

"So, how long have you been able to talk telepathically?"

"Always. My grandmother was the only one in my life who could converse with me, though. Now that she's gone...I was surprised. You are the only other person I can talk to like that."

"Can you do anything else? Like I can disguise my appearance?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know. I always thought magic wasn't real—just someone's imagination. Grandmama and I had a special bond, and we always seemed to understand each other without words. It's sort of disconcerting to discover I may be able to do something more." He edged closer to the turn in the road, crowding her until she followed his lead, as they walked toward the smoke or fire, whatever it was.

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