The Exiles (Book 1 of the Exiles Series)

Thirteen

It wasn't long before Magnus and I got started on the boat. Within the week, we had cut down several trees near the shore and were tying the round trunks together with reeds. While Magnus was tying, I gathered a handfuls of yellow tree sap, and stuck all of it between the trunks. We worked all day, everyday until dusk fell. Then we washed our hands in the lake and started home.

As further time went on, our homemade raft grew. Magnus and I decided for safety's sake we would bury the boat beneath a canopy of leaves, so that any nosy outsiders wouldn't stumble upon it, especially Nicole. She still stopped by often, most of the time in the mornings when she was out hunting. Whenever she was gone, I snuck off to the shore, where Magnus would be waiting without fail.

Before I knew it, the seasons began to change again. The spells of heat were broken by cooler days, and as the leaves changed, fall made its yearly appearance. Eventually, my food supply began to dwindle. I was down to one bruised apple before Nic or I noticed.

"Talia, why didn't you tell me?" Nicole asked, exasperated. "C'mon, you're going hunting with me tomorrow. I'll teach you." After Nicole left, I ran to the sea and told Magnus that I wouldn't be able to come the following day. He seemed a little disappointed.

The next day, Nicole took me to a hunting stand she had built in a tree. She told me everything I needed to know--what to hunt, where to hunt, and when the best times were to hunt. She even let me borrow her bow and shoot some practice shots at a nearby bush. A rabbit happened to scurry through the bushes at the exact second that I fired my shot. With a frightened cry, the little rabbit was shot and died right there. Nic laughed, clapped me on the back, and told me that I was a natural. She leapt off the tree like a monkey to retrieve the little rodent. The arrow had done through the bunny's shoulder--a perfect shot. For supper, you can probably guess what I had. It was delicious. It kind of tasted like chicken.

The day after that, Nicole came over, hauling a giant piece of leather that she had skinned from a massive buffalo. She also brought along some reeds.

"Winter comes up fast here," she warned me, handing me the buffalo hide. "We're gonna make you some boots and a nice warm coat." We spent the remainder of that day stitching together a pair of boots and a crude jacket. But Nicole wasn't a liar--the hide was the warmest thing I had ever worn, even without the fur. At nightfall, just as we were finishing the winter clothing, Nicole said goodbye and left me on my own. Already the nights were getting chillier. I cuddled up into my new and improved warm bed and drifted to sleep.

The next morning, I found a bark note stuck to my door. I discovered it there once I woke up. In Magnus's scribbly handwriting, it read: Darkness is descending. You'd better get inside. That was all the message told me.

I suppose I took the message literally at first, but that didn't get me very far. It was morning. Darkness wouldn't be falling for several hours. I finally realized that Magnus meant it metaphorically. Something bad was going on--that had to be what he meant. My heart began to race. What if Magnus was in trouble? My body got chills just thinking about it.

I leapt out of bed and ran out the door without even putting on a coat. It was freezing outside, but I hardly noticed. My thoughts were elsewhere. My brain only focused on running, making my breaths steady and even, and trying to assure myself that everything was going to be ok.

Even so, I got to the shore in record time. Magnus was standing by the frosted sea, kneeling over something buried beneath a low tree, near where we'd decided to bury our raft.

"Magnus!" I hurried over to where he was, concerned that he was seriously hurt. "Are you okay?"

Magnus looked up when I approached. The look on his face didn't suggest that he was in agony, just that he was upset. He beckoned me over mutely, his face pained. I trotted to him hastily.