Imperfect (Disappeared #1)

Chapter Ten

They diverted off the little footpath.

"I hope you don't mind," Ahuil said over his shoulder. "I just wanted to show you something before you left."

They stopped after a couple of minutes and he pointed out an abandoned stone cottage. A massive oak tree sprang out of what was once the roof, its muscular branches twisting up toward the sky. Skinny aspens grew up alongside, their vibrant green leaves contrasting with the old weathered stone. The cottage had crumbled on one side from the weight of the new growth and there was only a little space that suggested an entrance. The stones themselves looked so weathered and smoothed, it was as if they had survived centuries of storms.

Theodosia went up and instinctively ran her hand over the walls. They were cold to the touch and, even stranger, seemed to have a different frequency from the life around her. She felt a strange vibration, something low, something old. She snatched her hand away.

Ahuil caught her eye. "It's like you. Something different about it but hard to say what."

She smiled at him involuntarily. He was curious about her, that much was obvious. And it was natural, besides. She felt the same way about him. Ahuil tore his eyes away and flushed slightly. Theodosia looked at him, fascinated. Did she have the power to make men uncomfortable? Was it even possible?

Ahuil cleared his throat and gestured at the house awkwardly. "In there, that is the inside you speak of, no?" She nodded. "I thought so. When I was a child, I thought they were rock formations. Then I realized that they were always closed up. And they feel different, too. For years I've been trying to read them, but they don't translate like you do."

She looked up at him. "Whom do they belong to?"

He shrugged. "Not my people. Yet, from what the elders have said, they have always been here. We never made anything like this. They shut the forest out. That's just something we'd never do. Nor have we needed to - until recently, that is."

"The thing you were hunting," she remarked. "That's new?"

He finally looked back at her, his expression serious. "Yes. And there are others like them. Things that look more like you and me. They go in and out of focus, so to speak, but they've become more real lately. Sometimes I wonder if they belong to these rock formations. That they aren't outsiders like you and that they actually belong here."

He laughed lightly then and ran a hand through his wild hair. "I'm running my mouth. Honestly, I have no idea what they are. I've been spending too much time by myself thinking." He paused for a moment and searched her eyes. "Do you really have to go back?" he said unexpectedly.

Theodosia's stomach clenched again. Meeting his gaze always felt incredibly intense. She wasn't used to being looked at like that. She was used to having her dress arranged, her hair done, or being talked at, not to someone simply looking at her. It was both unnerving and wonderful.

"I think so. My family will wonder what happened to me."

He nodded and shrugged slightly, an apologetic smile playing on his lips. "I know. It's just I wish I had more time to show you the forest. And to talk to you. I forgot how nice it is to actually have a conversation with someone."

"Yes, I quite agree," she managed, her eyes still locked on his. She realized that she wanted nothing more than to step forward and feel his arms around her. To rest her head on his shoulder and to breathe in deeply, letting his smell fill her senses.

These things were impossible, of course. And dangerous. Her heart began to beat loudly and her palms started to sweat. She had to get away from him. She didn't like feeling this way, irrational and out of control. It was not the Theodosia she knew.

Ahuil frowned as he watched these conflicting thoughts and emotions flit across her face. "Better not to talk of such things," he said quietly. "If they cannot be. Come on, Theo. Let's get you home."

They didn't speak further as they made their way back through the forest. It wasn't that there was nothing to say - there was too much. And that's exactly why she kept quiet. She was going back and it was better not to make things more complicated.

Theodosia tried to distract herself by absorbing the beauty around her. The forest was flooded with light but mist still lingered in the low places. The sun cut through here and there, making the mist glimmer. The hush of the woods was disturbed only by the occasional flutter of wings and the crackling noise they made as they stepped on fallen leaves and twigs.

Theodosia watched Ahuil as they walked. His thin linen shirt told her that he was muscled and deeply tanned, almost sinuous. He looked like he belonged in these woods, so much so she couldn't imagine him elsewhere.

Theodosia imagined herself walking through the gilded rooms of the Helenshire estate and how out of place she felt there. An ache settled over her heart. Yet she had to go. There was no way she could stay in the Nextic world and break her family's heart. She found herself sighing periodically, her feet dragging as she went. Ahuil kept looking back at her, a frown on his face. He looked like he wanted to ask her something but thought it better not to.

Before long they were walking down the road lined by baobabs. The sun had disappeared and the mist thickened. Theodosia felt dwarfed, lost. They came finally to the baobab at the end that was the most massive and gnarled of them all. Fear struck her - what if she couldn't go back?

Surprisingly, part of her felt happy about this. Then she couldn't be faulted for staying. But just as quickly, guilt crushed that thought. She must get back. What was she thinking? This had all been a nice dream, and just like every dream, it had to end.

Theodosia reached out with a trembling hand and touched the rough bark. Immediately, she felt the same warmth and flow of energy. She felt herself begin to dissolve into ... something else. Suddenly, she realized that she really was leaving and it was impossible to know if she would ever be back. She looked over at Ahuil. His eyes were wide, wondering, locked onto hers.

"I'm going," she whispered. "Thank you for keeping me safe. And being my friend. And for ... for everything, I suppose."

She saw him struggling to put words together. Their eyes frantically searched the other's as they tried to communicate. She felt her eyes prick with tears and her heart sink almost to her stomach. Despite her best intentions, she reached out to him. He took her hand in his and drew it close to his heart as if trying to keep her with him.

"Theo, please come back," he mouthed. And then she dissolved into nothing.

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