Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Tarian waited for her by the open door, looking out. Listening, it seemed like. Two water skins were draped over one large shoulder and an empty pack was slung over the other.
“Ready?” He turned to her but didn’t step out of the way. He’d be leading.
She nodded and followed him as he set out.
“Why don’t you have supplies and food items in there?” she asked as her stomach rumbled again.
“That station is rarely used. Any food items would go bad. It has a collection of tools, but nothing with which to make a fast meal. It’s easier and faster if we move to the more commonly used station.”
The sun gradually increased in warmth, morning heading toward afternoon. They’d only gotten a handful of hours of sleep, but as she took in all the green and blossoming flowers and strange, thorny vines crawling up rough brown bark, she didn’t feel tired. Or fatigued. Honestly, she felt totally refreshed.
About an hour into their walk, she said, “What color is that flower?”
Tarian glanced back before noticing her pointed finger. Don’t use your voice. It’s pink. I can see you know that.
She narrowed her eyes at the back of his head as they walked. Show me an image of how that flower looks to you.
He looked back again, confusion and bewilderment plain. He did as she asked, though, and the beauty and vibrancy of his sight unfurled in her mind.
Is that really how you see everything? In Technicolor? she asked.
I don’t know what Tech—what that is, but yes, that is how I see things. Humans can’t see the range of light waves we can. Your vision is dulled in many ways.
That was lame. She liked his images so much more.
Wait, but if my eyes can’t see those things, she said, why can I see them in my mind?
When you use an instrument to help you see things, like the northern lights or ultraviolet light, your brain can process them, correct? My eyes are your instrument. I’m showing you what it looks like through my lens. Your mind can process that.
She supposed that was true. If she’d thought for two seconds, she could’ve realized that.
One would hope, he thought wryly.
His humor was back. Goodie.
No rocks moved into their path as they traveled, and their surroundings remained unnaturally quiet. No critters or creatures scurried within the brush. No birds or anything that might resemble them called out in the sparse canopy. She noted details, the ripe air in some places, smelling of moss and decaying trees, and in others the clean and fresh fragrance of blooming flowers. Strange plants covered the forest floor, some leafy and green, others spindly and browning, still more with an array of colors, like the flower she’d picked the night before. Thick substances, like spider webs, dripped from leaves like cold syrup. Gooey, lace-looking stuff dangled from certain trees.
Her mind drifted as they walked, always listening for that voice-presence but not hearing it. Looking for its influence but not seeing it. Tarian pointed out things that were poisonous, at least to him. Vines to stay away from. Hollows and dark places that might harbor an unwelcome surprise. Nothing bothered them, though, something that made him increasingly agitated as time passed.
At one point he slowed and looked behind them.
What? she asked, stepping out of the way in case he needed to move.
He shook his head, but a crease had formed between his brows. Nothing. Not long now. Keep your vigilance.
But there was nothing to trouble them. No noise, aside from the wind moving tree branches or an occasional, unexplained drip. They filled their water skins at a small creek he assured her was safe to drink from.
Never drink what you are offered, Zorn’s voice said in her head as they continued on. Only drink from a friend’s cup, meant for their mouth alone.
Tarian held out his water skin.
That rule doesn’t really apply in this setting, she thought dryly.
She held her water skin, the lid off, debating. Humans usually couldn’t drink from a water source like a river or creek because of the animal feces and bacteria upriver, but she had an enhancement that other Chesters didn’t. She healed quickly. Her body was hardier, which surely included her interior. She’d never really questioned that part of things before, but it stood to reason. She could withstand poisons more easily than normal Chesters because of the upgrade. One would assume bacteria would be nothing.
Still, this wasn’t just a bacteria issue. It was water in an entirely different realm, meant for faerie kind, not humans. The very makeup of it could be different.
Though that would be true of all water in Faerie. She’d have to drink something sometime, so she might as well start with the purest sample. Maybe go slow and see if she shat herself in a few minutes…