Mirror Walker

Chapter 20

The campfire humbly cackled, being the only cheerful thing in the ocean of darkness. Clouds concealed the sky that night, a dark grey that stood out from the usual ink blue as they gracefully rolled through, dragging out their travels with a sluggish pace. The wind had seemingly disappeared and the only sound was the burning of wood and the calming hum of night insects chirping like morning birds.

Diego and Sedrick distanced themselves, chewing angelically on the grass that adorned the small clearing, trees sprouting around them where the moorland took a pause and a forest prospered. Tall pines surrounded the meadow like a protective barrier, shadows bleeding out from between their trunks that were only chased away by the ember flame.

The horses didn't tread any closer.

Charlie envied them.

As she sat close to the fire, she shivered from the brusque night air, huddling into herself to retain some heat. She also huddled in order to remain as small as possible. The rest of the hike had been a tedious one, no one speaking a word, not even when Elrand split off to tend to the horses while Konner went to search for firewood. Currently, the elf was among the two stallions, picking out their hooves as they moved about to graze and made the task twice as hard as it usually was. Even so, the mounts were being unnaturally good, sensing that both men were in no mood for stupid games with their tempers running as thin as thread.

She couldn't help but wonder why they were so livid, trying to recall the dispute from before and piece the parts together. But she didn't dare speak again and instead resigned to watching the sparks dance and shoot into the air with every crack that the branches gave. Her predicament was bad enough, now she also found herself caught up in a fresh, raging, conflict.

This night was going to be a long one.

Her troubled, substantial sigh was broken into a yelp when she found herself entangled with a large black drape. Scraping it tersely off her head, she glowered at the blanket then to the one who had tossed it as Konner placed the firewood down and sat next to her with a grin, "Wrap up. It's cold."

"Oh..." her glare softened into shame, stroking the fabric then cloaking it over her shoulders. "Thank you."

"You hungry?"

"No."

"You look hungry."

"No I don't!"

"You're angry," he teasingly pointed to her, "that means you're hungry."

"And you know me so well, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I'm great at reading people."

"Are you now?" her tone was even, laced with cynicism.

Laughing, he shook his head and pulled out a bag, rifling in it while he said, "Would it impress you if I lied and said I was?"

"If you have to lie then I think it's quite obvious that it wouldn't."

"Fair enough... but it has been a long day, and we barely ate anything on the road. It doesn't take a mind reader to realise that a scrawny girl would be hungry after that."

"I am not scrawny!"

"No, but you will be if you don't eat."

She eyed the bread that he was holding out to her, shaking it to prompt her when her deliberation took too long.