He dodged a tree and ducked beneath a massive limb as he continued to race through the forest. It had been months since he'd spent hours running through the woods; he'd forgotten how exhilarating it could be, especially with the prospect of what they would find at the end of this run. He couldn't wait to locate Calvin, couldn't wait to rip the man's heart out with his bare hands because that was exactly what he intended to do when he got hold of him again.
Bursting free of the forest, he leapt onto a ten foot high boulder. He ran across it, leapt off the other side and back into the wooded area of the mountainside. The others, unable to keep up with their faster pace fell back, but Jack could hear their footfalls in the distance. "It's fine," Braith answered as they were drawn together again.
"As good as it was when we left the tavern?"
"No, but nowhere near as bad as it would have been a year ago."
"So it has gotten better with the more blood you've exchanged with Aria."
"Yes."
Jack leapt over a fallen log before sprinting into a small creek. His feet slapped through the water as it burst up around him to wet the bottom of his pants. Mud and water skidded up around Braith as he stopped abruptly. "Wait!" Braith commanded.
The water was up to Jack's knees as he slid to a halt beside his brother. "What is it?" he demanded.
Braith turned to look one way down the river and then the other. He took a step forward as his nostrils flared. A cold chill slid down Jack's back as Braith's jaw clenched. "This way," Braith grated out.
Braith leapt out of the river and turned to the left. They followed the winding course of flowing water through the trees. Jack's uneasiness grew as the others fell further behind them but Braith didn't ease in his relentless pursuit. It was a good three miles before Braith pulled up again. He stepped into the river and waded back across it. Kneeling at the river's edge, his fingers slipped into the dirt as his eyes closed again. In the distance, Jack could hear the footsteps of the soldiers as they finally began to catch up.
"What is it?" he asked again. There was a feeling growing inside of him, one in which he felt as if he could rip the trees around him down, tear a man limb from limb and destroy everything around him. If something had been unfortunate enough to come close to him now, he was certain that he would have destroyed it without even a second's hesitation. Something was wrong, he was certain of it. "Braith?" he snarled.
Braith's eyes were red when he finally turned toward Jack. Something inside of Jack ripped free and took hold as rage tore through him with the intensity of lightning tearing through a tree. Even before Braith spoke, he knew what his brother was going to say. "They doubled back."
***
Ellen grabbed Hannah's hand as it flitted back to her hair. "Stop," Ellen commanded. "He'll be fine."
Hannah could barely meet Ellen's doe brown eyes as she looked nervously toward the window at the back of the building. She could hear the dull thud of the arrows hitting the target that Aria, William, and Daniel had set up behind the building. They'd been out there for hours, she wondered if what they were doing was helping to ease their tension at all. She itched to be able to do something that could ease some of her frustration but the tavern was calm and the sun was still shining. Normally the shutter would be closed over the window, but she couldn't stand the thought of not being able to see out at all, not today.
She'd grown accustomed to having to stay inside over the years and she had gotten over her bitterness at having to be trapped inside when she was a teenager. Today though, she could taste the foul tang of resentment in the back of her throat and no matter what she did she couldn't shake it. It felt as if her flesh had been peeled back to expose the raw nerve endings beneath as she absently scratched at her skin.
"I hope so," she whispered.
She didn't know what she would do if he didn't come back to her. She'd only known him for a few short weeks but he'd brought her to life in ways that she'd never thought possible, and the idea of something happening to him caused something to wither and die within her. She knew they were still alive and ok though, as at least a dozen more of Braith's troops had arrived in town an hour ago.
The dull thud of footsteps on the back porch caused her to retreat a few steps before the door opened. William stepped aside to allow Aria and Daniel to enter first. In the distance, she could see the sun dipping closer to the horizon. In a few more hours she could escape the confines of the tavern, but she wasn't sure she wouldn't tear her hair out by then as Ellen smacked her hand back down again. The lack of sleep wasn't helping either, but the idea of lying down alone in that bed after everything that had transpired between them yesterday made her feel like crying.
Aria stomped her shoes before swinging her bow off her shoulder and dropping it on the floor. "These two insisted upon eating," she said with a backward nod at her brothers.
"Not all of us are able to be sustained by blood," Daniel retorted.
"Only Braith's blood though," she said.
"Really?" Hannah blurted before she could stop herself.
Aria shrugged as she dropped into a chair. "I was human before. Braith's blood is the only blood I've ever known."
Hannah could almost forget that Aria had once been human, until she said something like that. She hadn't thought about only being sustained by Jack's blood, but with the way it made her feel she knew that it would be enough to keep her alive and that she would be satisfied by it. Though she would be happy to have him supply most of her blood for her, she didn't like the idea of not having other options available to her and knew he wouldn't be her only source. But then, she'd grown up on all different types of blood.