The Offering by Kimberly Derting

Author:Kimberly Derting [Kimberly Derting]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780749015664
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2013-05-14T23:00:00+00:00

I wasn’t sure when I’d actually fallen asleep, or even when I’d lain down on one of the sleeping mats, but the confusion I felt upon waking lasted only a few moments before I rolled over and found myself staring directly into Brooklynn’s face. Her mouth was wide, and her breaths were long and deep. She was snoring, which was likely what had awakened me in the first place.

When I turned away from her, I realized that I’d somehow managed to sandwich myself between her and one of the VAN walls. The space I was lying in, like the bedroll wrapped around me, was narrow and cramped. And the floor beneath the lightweight mat was firm, making my back throb.

Trying not to disturb Brook, who continued to snore in complete ignorance of the less-than-comfortable sleeping arrangements, I wriggled out of the makeshift bed and went in search of Eden. Like the morning before, she appeared to have abandoned us. Something she seemed to be skilled at, I was learning.

But I knew she hadn’t gone far. The VAN door was ajar, and even from inside the vehicle, I could smell the smoky scent of a campfire.

‘Coffee?’ I heard her ask as I saw her reaching for the pot before I’d descended the steps across from the driver’s seat.

I nodded and grabbed one of the tin mugs she’d already set out for each of us. ‘Should we be worried about the fire? That someone might notice us here?’ I asked as she filled my mug all the way to the top, and when I took my first sip, I recognized the flavor. It was the same caustic blend Caspar had shared with us the day before, only this time my taste buds rejoiced.

Eden just shook her head before setting the pot near the edge of the flames. ‘Not anyone we should be concerned about. I veered far enough from the main thoroughfare to give us a chance to rest.’

‘Did you? Rest, I mean?’ I looked her over, noting the fact that I hadn’t seen a mat for her in the back of the VAN, where Brook and I had slept.

I hadn’t been wrong, either, when I’d guessed that her eye would be swollen this morning, but it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it might be. It was bruised and engorged, but she could still open it, which meant she could still see through it. A favorable attribute in someone operating your vehicle, I thought wryly.

‘I slept out here,’ she answered. ‘Nice to listen to the waves.’

‘Waves …’ I started to ask but then glanced around. I didn’t know what Eden meant at first, but then I heard it.

It was far-off, the whooshing sound that came and went, first long and insistent, then fading away, only to return again … unrelenting.

Something from Sabara’s memory – not mine – pricked at me, something I hadn’t noticed before. It was the air. It was crisp, which wasn’t such a strange thing for the time of year, but the breeze carried a tang that stung my nose.

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