The Girl with the Red Hood

The Girl with the Red Hood---Chapter 12

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There was a thick smell and feeling in the air that terrified me and Kenna must have sensed it too because she froze, moving slightly in front of me, the same way she had done with Asmodeus.

CHAPTER 12

Her fingers stretched out and brushed the air and I watched the surroundings ripple as if she had stirred stilled water and I gasped, stepping back in disbelief. “It’s magic…,” she said and swiped her arm quickly through the air, swatting away whatever it was that held the scene and everything became blotchy, leisurely vanishing. My jaw had dropped and I couldn’t rip my eyes away from what I had just seen. Then, my stomach clenched in fear and worry, seeing Josh hidden behind the veil, his arms bound tightly and blood smudged his face, his clothes ripped and stained.

“I knew I sensed him…,” Kenna whispered, her words forced and she dropped to her knees, quickly trying to untie him and she gave a cry of dismay, “I can’t find a knot!” She sounded panicked and sick with worry, her voice a few octaves higher than usual and I dropped to my knees next to her in sympathy. “Here,” I said quietly and pulled a small pocketknife out from a notch in my boot that Drake insisted I have and Kenna took it gratefully, cutting him free. It took time, considering the blade was partially dull but it did what it was supposed to do. After she was done, I returned my pocketknife to the notch in my boot.

Tears pricked in her eyes, she looked to me, begging me to help her get him back, and I nodded, wrapping one arm around my shoulder and we pulled him up.

“Who did this to you?” Kenna was still whispering, her voice demanding but shaken. He winced and his breath came in sharp agony.

“I don’t know,” he said through clenched teeth and I couldn’t imagine who else besides Asmodeus would do this. “It was some wolves,” he further explained, ridding of my explanation, “They were…there were four or five.”

Kenna’s silence spoke volumes that chilled me and I was confused, “Why would wolves attack you?”

He laughed slightly, “Because I’m helping…Kenna.”

I watched Pup, walking ahead of us, leading the way back to the cabin and I thought of Kenna’s story. They tried killing her because Garion left them for her. Were they still after her? Did they still hold that against her even after five years?

Did my village still hate wolves, even after four years?

“I would have expected them to use you as bait. Especially after seeing how they tied you up. I was expecting someone to jump out any second,” Kenna admitted, still quiet and fear crawled up my back, making me shiver and realize at the moment Kenna was scared of being attacked, I was amazed by her ability to wipe her hand through the air like water. Like a small child that couldn’t size up a situation.

Josh tensed, “And you stayed there?” his question was livid and quick.

“I wasn’t going to leave you there, Josh,” she said obviously while picking up her pace in order to match the bounding Pup’s speed.

“They were going after you, Kenna! And they would have killed Erin. If either of you had been hurt…”

“I have the moon, and she will protect me and I would never let Erin get hurt.”

I felt like I wasn’t really there, as if I were intruding in on their conversation, and it was more than tempting to disappear with Pup and leave them to their exchange.

The subject was altered quickly, “I can walk myself, you know.” Josh informed the both of us.

“Erin, let him go,” Kenna said, her voice held evenly. There was a strong hint of stubbornness, and I hesitated to do so knowing very well he couldn’t support himself but I obeyed Kenna and slipped out from under his arm.

Simultaneously, Kenna and I moved away from Josh and as if gravity worked wonders against him, he collapsed to his knees in a moan of pain. Kenna rushed to his aid again and nodded to me; with unspoken permission, I helped him up again, taking my previous place. “No, you can’t,” she said.

“I wasn’t ready,” he argued.

“Always be prepared, that’s what the scouts say,” I argued.

“I was never a scout,” he said back.

“You aren’t walking on your own. Once we get you back to the cabin, you’re lying down until you get better,” Kenna told him sternly, like a concerned parent and I wondered how long it would be until he was “better.” “And Erin, it will probably be only a few days, wolves heal quickly.” She had answered my thoughts. I gave her a curious look, and she didn’t bless my confusion with an answer.

“What if someone attacks?” he sounded desperate.

“Then we can take care of ourselves, right Erin?” Kenna countered and I nodded quickly in agreement, in no place to argue with her.

“But I’m supposed to protect you two,” he said it softly, “I promised Garion I’d take care of you, Kenna.” He sounded defeated and tired, almost upset that we were confining him to a couch. Or to be exact, that Kenna was binding him to these limits. I was just nodding.

“You did protect us, and you obviously did a good job, but you got hurt in the process. Kenna said she was capable of taking care of herself and right now, she has the ability to protect you too,” I said, trying to ease into the argument, to remind them that I was still there.

“I have working legs,” his argument was failing miserably.

“As do we,” I pointed out.

“I can walk,” he pressed.

“And the sun rises every morning, but right now you need help,” I informed him.

“You’re stubborn, you know that, right?” he sighed and Kenna dryly laughed from where she was.

“I have two younger sisters that could out do Pup in puppy dog eyes. Of course, I’m stubborn,” I scoffed and sudden hurt twisted inside of me in an unexpected way. I had said “have two younger sisters” and “that they could out do Pup”…as if they were still alive and my heart clenched at the thought. My two sisters, so innocent in every way imaginable, lives were stolen in such a brutal way that it brought nightmares to me even when I was awake.