Lost Island by MarcyKate Connolly

Author:MarcyKate Connolly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2021-08-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Maeve’s minions trail after us like ribbons in the wind. Their faces are blank, expressionless. All of them walk in perfect unison. Maeve’s in their heads, pulling their strings and keeping their own minds down. I shiver.

When I was being controlled, my mind was so damaged that I could hardly speak as I normally would. I retreated into my thoughts, and half of anything that came from my mouth was strange or unintelligible.

I hope these other talented folks Maeve has stolen do not become as damaged as we were. I hope they can find peace eventually.

I must find a way to free them. I wish I’d had time to grab some of those obsidians out of Rachel’s bag before Melanthe stole me from the camp. Maeve knows we’ve somehow cut off her talent before, but I don’t think she suspects what it was. Yet. I’ve kept my necklace carefully hidden under my dress.

But maybe there’s another way. I made an attempt last night to reach down and pull up Melanthe. I got close to finding her in there, but was too exhausted to go any further. Now, I’ve made up my mind that as long I’m in control of my own talent, I will keep trying to reach one of them.

Maeve hasn’t tied me up, but I’m surrounded by her captives. She knows I can’t go far without her easily recapturing me. And she knows I know it too. That much is clear from her thoughts. She hasn’t spoken to me since I accused her of being like Lady Aisling.

The sun is clear and high over our heads, rising with every step we take. The trees spread their green leaves wide, basking in the warmth and light. It’s very hot today, even in the shade of the forest. And humid too. The air feels as thick as porridge. It makes it hard to breathe, but that doesn’t slow Maeve in the slightest.

I empty my water canteen quickly. Soon I’m terribly thirsty.

“Maeve? Can we find a place for more water?” She doesn’t even turn around, but one of her minions breaks ranks and snatches my canteen from me. She’s an older woman, with graying hair but bright, clear eyes. Without missing a step, she mumbles quietly and seconds later water sloshes inside the canteen again. She hands it back wordlessly and returns to her position.

A water wisher. Maeve is collecting people she finds useful.

“Thank you,” I say to both of them.

Maeve’s focus is razor sharp, and she ignores me, even though her thoughts reveal she’s glad to have me nearby again.

I am going to do one thing on this journey: focus my own talent to try to pry loose Maeve’s grip on these people. Since I worked with Melanthe last night, I decide to start with the water wisher today.

Crossing my fingers, I set my talent loose on the older woman. I’ve searched Maeve’s mind for the names of her new captives, but it seems she never bothered to learn all of them before stealing them away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.