the secret of distance

Chapter 5

Notes:

"A monster that refused, sometimes, to behave like a monster. When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?"

—Kristin Cashore

The walk to Alaric isn't very far, and Hope gets there soon enough.

"Hey," she greets him and Dorian, frowning when her eyes catch sight of Rafael and Landon. Their betrayal still stings just underneath her skin.

"H-Hope, we wanted to apologize," Landon starts saying the second he sees her, gesturing between Rafael and himself.

"There's no time for that," Alaric cuts him off, and Hope resists the urge to smile. "We lost the monster."

"How?" Hope asks through clenched teeth. "It's been five minutes since you called me."

"These two got into a fight, which distracted Dorian and I, and gave the Timor Tunores enough time to make a break for it," he explains, waving his hand in the direction of Landon and Rafael.

"So why are you still here?" Hope asks, not completely understanding why they haven't tried to trap it again.

"We wanted to wait for you, and now that you're here we have to move quickly," Dorian speaks up from behind Alaric. "Alaric, Landon, and Rafael will split off that way and you and I will go this way." He points in front of them, and Hope shakes her head.

"It'll be faster if I go alone. You guys can pair up and I'll call you if I find it," she says, already walking away.

"I don't think so." Alaric stops her shortly. "It was already a risk having you meet with us here, and you don't know anything about what this monster is or what it looks like."

Hope raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Then tell me." She says it like it's obvious, and Rafael goes to her defense.

"I think she's right. It'll be faster this way, and she's more powerful than any of us combined," he tells the rest of the guys, and the hate she had been aiming at him dissipates somewhat. He's suddenly a lot less annoying to her.

"Yeah, and if it's really as dangerous as you warn then we need to take care of it quickly," Hope adds, remembering the dozen of teenagers in the barn. She feels sick to her stomach at the possibility of Josie getting hurt. "We're not the only ones out here tonight."

She instantly regrets it the second it comes out of her mouth. She doesn't want to ruin the twins' movie night, but if she can convince Alaric to just let her deal with it instead of arguing then it might be a good idea to bring it up.

"What?" Dorian and Alaric voice at the same time, and Hope makes eye contact with Rafael and Landon.

"Yeah...some kids are throwing a party at the old mill..." She hesitates, but the words spill out all the same and Alaric hits her with a disappointed look.

"Hope..." he trails off, the tone of his voice dangerous. She reaches for the phone in her pocket.

"One second," she says, turning around and dialing MG's phone number.

He immediately picks up.

"Hey, MG, make sure no one leaves the barn until I text you in a little. It's important. Thanks. Bye," she says quickly and concisely, ending the call before he can even answer her.

"MG?" Alaric whisper-yells, betrayal evident in his voice.

"Okay, we're getting distracted," Dorian attempts, opening the book Hope hadn't noticed he was carrying. "Here's what everyone needs to know. The second you come close to it, you will feel slightly cold and empty. This is the biggest hint you will get that you're near it. A Timor Tunores can impersonate any human, and usually it does so by identifying your fears and turning them into weapons. It can read your mind in the first minute it comes into contact with you, but doing this takes a lot of energy for them so you must deal as much damage as you can, as quickly as you can. If it isn't pretending to be human, it will appear gray and gangly, almost like a wendigo."