Fire Scarred

Chapter Fifteen

     I sat on our porch a little over an hour later. The sun peaked over the trees. The leaves were transparent in the morning light. Birds sung, bugs chirped, a warm breeze blew. It was as if time had bypassed the rest of fall and winter and had gone to spring. With my sleeves folded up to the elbow, I began to wonder if my sweatshirt addiction was going to be alright for this weather.

     Wondering was a dangerous thing. My mind jumped to this place I was going, and if I had packed well enough for it. Leo was vague when he came by only twenty minutes ago. Apparently, his research led him to believe that Ciris could by found where mostly all nature spirits lived– a city buried deep in the mountains of North Carolina. And while my questions about where Leo had come from had been answered, I still wasn't sure why he never mentioned it. A city full of spirits ought to have been a field trip or something. It shouldn't have been a last ditch attempt to save our butts. 

     My thoughts had chance to venture little more before Leo appeared again. In his hands was a trunk and a duffle bag was thrown over his shoulder. I glanced sideways at my backpack halfway filled with clothes and toiletries, then back at him. 

     "You're not a light packer."

     "Huh?" He asked, distracted. He had been that way all morning. Distant, cold even. I nodded to his things. "Oh, this. Well, I am going home."

      Panic gripped my heart. "You are coming back, right? You can't be staying there!" Him being gone seemed like too much to even comprehend right now. Everything was happening too fast. 

     Leo sat next to me on the steps, a smile tugging at the sides of his beautiful lips. He slid the trunk from his lap and wrapped his now free hands around my waist. He pulled me to him. "When are they gonna get here?"

     "We're here," a deep voice said from up the path. 

     Noah came in to view, Georgia, Josh, and Raylynn following close behind. Noah's eyes narrowed at my proximity to Leo. He had nothing to be jealous about. I wasn't his to be jealous about. 

     Raylynn dropped her things, which I might add was a lot of things, on the dusty path and rushed at me. Her arms wormed their way between me and Leo, and tackled me in a hug. We fell back onto the porch, the sound of my back cracking filling my ears. 

     "Whoa," I half heartedly chuckled, "I just saw you yesterday." 

     She laughed, her cheeks coloring like her hair. She climbed off of me, then offered a hand to help right me as well. "Sorry. I'm just excited. I getta go on a nature spirit adventure!" She squealed. 

     Leo scratched behind his head. "Well, uh, Cora and I are the only ones that can actually go into the City. There's a small town nearby that y'all will be staying in. It's only about five minutes away. There's this inn. I know the people that own it and they'll let y'all stay there for free." His voice dropped off and he looked away, something in the trees distracting him. 

     Her face fell. I could feel the excitement level dropping in the air by at least seventy-five percent. Georgia inquired, "How are we supposed to help you then?"

     "I'm not sure yet," he said honestly. 

     "Then what's the point of us going, if we aren't doing anything to help and we can't get into the City?" Josh asked. 

     "Because Mrs. Ashhurst asked us to," Noah spoke up. "It'll get us away from school for a few days. It might even be fun."

     "Why can't we just go in?" Ray asked. "Who's gonna stop us?"