Broken (Disappeared #2)

Chapter Seven

After a few minutes of excruciating silence, Ahuil and Theodosia fell to the back so that they could talk privately. He took her hand in his and kissed her quickly — a sweet, perfect kiss that tasted just of him.

She blushed a little and squeezed his hand. She was still getting used to the idea of being affectionate in public.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered after a moment.

He raised his eyebrows. "Depressed, honestly. I don't blame Tipelli and Izel for their anger. Seeing those creatures just walk about like they own the place was a huge wake-up call. They're not invaders, Theo. They belong here, that's easy to see."

"It must be so difficult for you all," she put in. "The Nextic are incredibly connected to this place."

He nodded. "Yes, and the idea that it would just push us out is way too hard to take."

Theodosia didn't know how to comfort him so she stayed quiet. She hoped her presence brought him some relief, as he said it would. Though she still wasn't sure how valuable she was compared to his entire world disappearing.

Then again, she had left England behind for Ahuil. And he was enough. Well, almost enough. Thoughts of her youngest sister, Louisa, her maid, Sarah, and her mother, as well as the familiar sights and smells of Helenshire, reminded her that there was a lot to miss. She pushed those thoughts away. It was not the time to think about what she had lost.

They walked in silence in the twisted woods for about half an hour. The maples around them were blackened and cracked, as if they had been struck by lightning. The forest floor was flooded with dry leaves and a wind whisked through, rustling them. It sounded like the whispers of the dead.

Theodosia's palms began to sweat. She trembled to think of what lay ahead.

"Where is the Ahtle?" she whispered to Ahuil.

He looked down at her, his gentle gaze calming her anxiety, and squeezed her hand. "We're getting closer. We should be there within the next hour or two."

"Why have I never heard about him before? If he is so important, that is."

He frowned. "I guess he's not always at the front of our consciousness. Most people have never seen him, for one. He's in a corner of the woods where we rarely go. I guess because people are a little afraid of him. You're always afraid of what you don't understand, right?"

"People don't even like to go near him?"

He shook his head. "Nope. It's a strange place. Filled with little pools of water in the most beautiful woods you've ever seen. People say they can see visions in them. The Ahtle lives in the farthest corner." He paused. "In one of the pools."

"In the water? How is that possible?"

"Too many things are possible here. Maybe that's the problem with this world. You'll see soon enough what I mean."

Ahuil grimaced as if apologizing for what was to come. His whole posture changed after their conversation. He hunched his shoulders forward protectively and his pulse quickened under her hand. That alone scared her more than anything.

Then he stiffened. "Something's coming," he said under his breath.

He whistled at Tipelli and Izel, who immediately drew their weapons. The five of them spread out, waiting. Ahead, the underbrush in the forest started to move and there was the sound of coughing and footsteps.

Half-beings. Scores of them. Fully materialized and stumbling through the forest, their eyes all fixed on the four Nextic and one Englishwoman.

"The invaders!" one of them yelled.