Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Strange. But with Decius and his bloody mind games, it makes sense. He took over and left these people with nothing, and now that he’s gone, they truly have nothing. Where is The Fucking Council when you need them?
Rowan rushes forward with a large black burlap bag, grunting as he drops it onto the ground. Conan carries the boy to a dry patch of grass, placing him on his back, and the woman lowers to her knees next to the boy.
I dig into the bag, pulling out regular containers of water, nuts, and a few pieces of lakefruit. There’s some jerky there as well, but I think the boy needs to work up his strength first before chewing on it.
I drop to one knee as the boy weakly opens an eye. He tenses at the sight of me, clinging to his mother, but she whispers, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“I’m not here to harm you.” I crack the container of water open. “Here. Drink.”
I bring the water to the boys’ lips, and he takes a few sips. His eyes flicker to mine, and when I nod, he grips the container, taking it away from me and chugging the remainder, water dribbling down the corners of his mouth. Killian hands me another water, and I open it and hand it to him, letting him guzzle that too.
“You ever had lakefruit?” I ask when one is handed to me.
The boy shakes his head but smiles, revealing dimples. I can’t help smiling back as he takes it from me and bites into it. The juices cover his mouth, and he lets out a small, satisfied moan.
“Thank you,” his mother sobs. She touches my arm, and her touch burns through my coat, but I keep steady.
I give her nuts and some of the jerky. “Have some for yourself.”
She thanks me again profusely, and I stand, focusing on Conan. “Let’s feed your people before we discuss what happened. Babies, children, and breastfeeding mothers first. We brought a little bit of everything, figured you’d need it. Afterward, we’ll discuss what’s going on and see how we can help.”
“Absolutely.” Conan bobs his head, gesturing to the entrance. “Right this way.”
Chapter 70
CAZ
“I remember the day Manx arrived.” Conan sits in a wooden chair behind a large wooden desk. The chair creaks every time he adjusts in the seat, and I can’t help wondering how long that chair’s been around. His hands are steepled together atop the desk, dark circles around his eyes. He looks drained, and I mean that literally. It’s as if most of his energy has been taken away from him by Decius, like he was feeding off of these people to stay alive. It clearly wasn’t enough. I was what he really needed to be satiated. The thought of it still makes me shudder.
I sit up higher in my chair, finding Conan’s eyes again. “What do you remember about it?”
“I remember him being a random visitor,” he states, scratching the side of his head. “At first, he kept to himself. He was quiet, didn’t really join us for the festivities. He was staying in Whisper Grove Inn for a while. Then suddenly, Nelle died. She was Whisper Grove’s doctor. Healed a lot of us. Took care of us. She was never sick, and she drank her youthwater every day. She was healthy, so I thought her death was very strange and not at all expected, but I figured it just happened—that something went wrong, just as it would with anyone else. We had a proper burial for her, put her house up for sale, but the next day, Manx bought the house as-is from Nelle’s son. He moved right in without even taking any of Nelle’s furniture out. That never sat well with me. I mean, her body wasn’t even cold yet, but I understood Nelle’s son for wanting to sell it so quickly. He didn’t live in Whisper Grove. He was a gunmaker, traveled a lot between Blackwater and Ripple Hills.”
I nod, waiting for him to continue.
“After Manx moved in, he opened up a bit more. He came to Trible Hall and introduced himself, then confessed that he’d been running away from bad Mythics and needed a safe place. And you know how we are. We believe in peace here. We don’t want anyone feeling unsafe in this world, so when he told me his story, it felt only right that he should stay a while. From then on, we spoke every day, and that’s when I learned he could heal people as well, and seeing as we needed another doctor, well…it felt right to give him the position. We’d meet for tea right here in Tribal Hall, or we’d catch a drink or two at the inn.” He hesitates a bit, his eyes wandering. “It wasn’t until about two weeks after meeting him that my memory started to slip. I couldn’t really explain it at first. Simple things would happen, like losing my house key, or not remembering where I placed my shoes. One time I’d even lost my hat, found it outside in a bush.” He huffs a laugh. “I told Manx what I was feeling, and he gave me something for my memory. Some kind of elixir. I took it every day as he suggested, and…that’s when I felt my sense of being had vanished, or like I wasn’t really a person anymore, if that makes sense, but more of a vessel, really. Something being controlled by someone else.”