Select by Patricia Reding

Author:Patricia Reding
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scripta Manent Publishing
Published: 2017-06-26T16:00:00+00:00

Reigna sat up with a start.

Something was wrong—very, very wrong.

The wan light of early dawn, pink and weak, peeked through the branches of her shelter. Why hadn’t Eden awakened her? It was long past the time for her watch.

Listening to the surrounding silence, she grabbed the knife she’d kept at her side through the night, willing herself not to call out for her sister. If trouble visited them, she might still have the element of surprise on her side.

She peeked out from her shelter.

Stillness met her. Nothing moved—not a tree, nor a branch, nor a blade of grass.

Slowly, she crawled out, sprang to her feet, and then turned toward the tethered horses.

Gone! They’re both gone—along with all of our additional weapons, foodstuffs, and supplies.

Her heart beating violently, her breath coming in short gasps, Reigna made her way around the camp. She kept low and took cover behind bushes and trees along her way, but found no sign of her sister.

Where could she have gone? And why would she have taken both horses?

Crouching down, she placed her hands to the sides of her head, thinking. It made no sense. Was this Eden’s way of showing her what it would be like to be on her own? Was her sister going to come around the corner in a moment, smiling? Was this a joke of some sort?

No—certainly not. Eden is many things, but she’s no jokester.

Again, Reigna walked around the camp. Looking down, she found large footprints—much larger than her own or Eden’s—in the dew-laden grass. Her eyes following the direction in which they headed, she took off after them.

They ended where the horses had been tethered. The loose soil nearby was churned up, indicating that a scuffle had ensued there.

Something on the ground, partially buried, shimmered in the morning light. Reigna knelt down and then dug into the sand with her fingers. There, she found Mara’s scrimshaw handled knife, one that Eden had carried in one of her boots.

Someone must have come in the night. Eden must have struggled with him. But why didn’t she call out? Goodness, what did I sleep through?

Examining the ground again, Reigna followed the horse’s hoofprints. They led to the edge of Kiln.

No, that wasn’t quite right. They led right into Kiln.

She looked into the distance.

Eden is in trouble.

Reigna rushed back to the shelter where she’d spent the night. She grabbed her backpack. It carried little that would be of help, but there was some rope in it, and a few small tools. She settled it on her back, then took up her canteen. It was all she had for water, but she couldn’t delay her search. If she moved quickly, she might not have to go far into the wilderness.

As she walked to the edge of The Tearless, she pulled the canteen strap over her head, then wrapped her cape over her shoulders.

“Here goes nothing,” she whispered as she stepped out. Her booted foot sank into the warm sand. She took one last look over her shoulder, then plunged ahead, following the tracks she felt certain would lead her to Eden.

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