Second Chance by R. Brady Frost

Author:R. Brady Frost [Frost, R. Brady]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781647350000
Publisher: PermaFrost Press
Published: 2019-10-17T05:00:00+00:00

32

Raven stared at me from across her skillet-cooked breakfast and took a slow sip of her coffee. Then, setting her mug on the tabletop, she frowned.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“What you said last nigh. You know, about your experiences in EndWorld so far… I know I’ve played a big part in all of that, and I’m sorry,” she said, shifting her attention to the potatoes on her plate.

“There’s a lot you haven’t told me,” I said, picking up my own mug and sipping the delightfully hot beverage.

“I know.”

“Like, why were you out there on the mountain in the first place? Why did you disappear? And why do you look exactly like… like someone else?”

“Not here,” she said, her words suddenly quiet.

“Okay, not here,” I said, acquiescing once again to the delay in her explanation. “But you have to give me something.”

She shrugged. “I was out on the mountain because my main quest took me there. I was supposed to stop a particular threat, but I ran into you instead. To be honest, I didn’t even realize you were a Traveler right away. It wasn’t until we were close to the camp that I inspected you.”

“Not knowing that I was a Traveler, does that really make it any better?” I asked, thinking about the edge of her knife pressing against my throat in the darkness.

“I don’t know,” she answered with a wry smile, nodding toward my injured shoulder. “Should we ask the kobolds?”

“Fair enough,” I said with a chuckle. Then I refocused my attention on my plate while my mind filled in the blanks with a number of things that went bump in the night.

Things could kill you in EndWorld. Sure, it wasn’t a permanent death, but it was death all the same and far from pleasant.

I suppose I’d gotten off easy. For the most part, it was only my pride that had been injured. The pain you experienced was as real here as anything I’d ever felt. And, in the heat of the moment, I could imagine a person might do just about anything to avoid that level of agony.

At least she’d bothered to inspect me first.

After several forkfuls of silence between us, I looked up again. “Will you tell me today? I mean, I don’t suppose you really have to tell me at all, but I am curious.”

Raven nodded. “I’ll tell you today. Probably.”

“Probably?” I asked, suddenly feeling a little incredulous.

She only laughed. “I will. I promise.”

When we finished our meal, we each settled our bill with Leah and headed out of the tavern and onto the foggy, cobbled street. The morning air was crisp and biting, colder than I expected for late summer or even the early days of fall.

Raven pulled her hood up over her head and rubbed the warmth back into her arms. “There’s something unnatural about this cold,” she observed. “I wonder…”

“What is it?” I asked, noting the concern in her voice.

“It’s probably nothing.” She shook her head and started walking toward the nearby shops.

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