Gift of the Darkness (The Gateway Trackers Book 7) by E.E. Holmes

Author:E.E. Holmes [Holmes, E.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lily Faire Publishing
Published: 2019-11-20T16:00:00+00:00

13

A Bit of Shine

IT WAS A STRANGE and somewhat hostile group that piled into the Tracker SUV the next morning at dawn. The tension in the car, once the doors were closed, was almost overwhelming. Catriona sat in the driver’s seat, her eyes, hidden behind giant sunglasses, fixed firmly on the road. Beside her, in the passenger’s seat, Lucida sat with her knees pulled up to her chin, looking bleary-eyed and exhausted—her face had still not lost the sharp, hollow look that Skye Príosún had given it. On my right, and as far from Lucida as the tight quarters would possibly allow, was Annabelle, arms and legs crossed tightly into tense knots. On my left was Ileana, who looked as out of place in a car as a fish on a bicycle. She was clutching her many shawls and scarves tightly around her body, as though trying to protect herself from the indignity of modern Settler convenience. And stuck in the middle, trying to keep all occupants of the car at bay from each other, was me, sleep-deprived, skittish, and feeling like the kid who drew the short straw on the most dysfunctional family road trip ever.

It was a trip that almost didn’t happen at all. The Traveler Council spent most of the rest of the night in session, anxious to understand what was happening to little Naomi, dragging the Scribes from the vigil in the Geatgrima’s clearing into their wagons to begin what was sure to be days upon days of feverish research. When it became clear that Ileana was determined to leave the camp, the fight began over how she should travel and who should accompany her. The fight became all the more fierce when they realized that she had absolutely no intention of telling them where she was going or from whom she was seeking consultation, and that she was determined that no other Traveler accompany her. The protest was particularly strong amongst Dragos and his Caomhnóir contingent, who had a sworn duty to protect their High Priestess and could not fathom allowing her to simply vanish with neither companion nor protection. When it was revealed that she would have both companions and protection, but that it was Northern Settlers, not Travelers, who would be providing them, the ensuing uproar was enormous. Or at least, that was the report that was relayed to us around the fire by Jeta, who had crept round the Council tent and gotten the full story from Fennix, who was standing guard at the entrance. Traveler Council meetings were typically raucous, crowded affairs, open to every Traveler, and generally well-attended, but with nearly the entire camp still gathered in vigil around Naomi, only a handful of people had slipped away in order to find out what was going on and inform the others.

“I can’t imagine what would be so cataclysmic that the High Priestess would put her life in Settler hands to keep it secret,” Jeta murmured, looking at the four of us with a mixture of awe and fear.

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