The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 45

"I'm fine," Iris insisted at midday when Char called for a stop. "I just tripped, that's all."

"You're tired and you're stumbling," Char corrected her. "We've made good progress. We can afford to stop and rest."

Rath frowned. "Except we're too exposed," he muttered, scanning their surroundings. "There. That shed looks abandoned. Let's go."

They hadn't met anybody on the road throughout the morning, and there was nobody in sight now as Rath opened the decaying wooden door, barely hanging onto its rusted hinges. The musty smell of disuse greeted them from the darkened interior, lit by occasional streaks and spots of sunlight peeking through the rotting walls. A few rusted tools cluttered one corner; rodent droppings littered the floor. Char wrinkled his nose in disgust and slung his pack off his shoulder, rummaging around for a blanket.

"How much longer do you think?" Iris asked tentatively. Rath didn't seem very approachable, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he peered out the window's grimy panes of broken glass.

"If we can keep this pace up, we'll make it by nightfall," he replied.

"Here," Char said, taking Iris' hand and tugging her down to sit on the blanket beside him. "We can only afford an hour, two at the most. Get some rest."

"I couldn't sleep right now," she replied.

The fairy emerged from the pack in front of them to drop a biscuit in her hand. It zipped back and forth, distributing food to everybody before settling on Iris' knee and looking up at her expectantly.

"Thanks," she said, forcing a smile and nibbling at the biscuit. She didn't have an appetite, but she could sense the fairy's concern, and she wanted to try to reassure it that she was okay. Not that she was okay. That brief encounter with Micah had really shaken her, and she was struggling to appear externally calm while she was panicking on the inside.

"We're not going to let him get you, Iris," Char said, draping his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into his embrace, wishing the security she felt with him was real.

"You can't promise that," she said quietly.

"Sure he can," Rath interjected. "We always keep our word, too. I just wish I could have jumped up and throttled that jerk."

"How did you know he was coming?" Char asked. "I didn't feel anything."

"He hides his signature most of the time," she replied. "I think I can feel it because of our connection."

"But he couldn't find you. Interesting," Rath mused.

"You made us invisible, didn't you?" Char continued. "Like in the cave."

She nodded. "Although I didn't do it consciously then."

She couldn't finish the biscuit, and she couldn't even look at the dried meat. The fairy took them back from her after a few minutes of them sitting untouched in her hand. She couldn't muster a second smile.

"You held it together pretty well back there," Rath commented.

"Moving breaks the spell," she explained. Her responses were flat and despondent, even to her ears. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, burying her face in her skirt. Char's fingers threaded through her hair, trying to comfort her.

"This is almost over, Iris," he murmured reassuringly.

"You can talk and dream about the future," she said, her voice muffled by her skirt. "But I can't. I can't see anything past getting the amulet to the crystal. There's nothing for me after that."