Will of the Witch [Legacy, BK 2 - Completed]

Chapter 8.1

EZRA

The suffocating heat woke me. After being in the Halfworld for almost a week, I still hadn't adjusted to the hot, humid air or the way it made my clothes stick to my skin.

Sounds of the camp coming to life urged me to open my eyes and glance around. The twins were just getting up, stretching. They were probably going to train with the warriors as they had all the previous mornings.

Avery's hand brushed my back, and I rolled over, taking in her glorious tangle of bed head. She smiled at me, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

I glanced up past her and saw that John wasn't on his bedroll. In fact, I couldn't see him at all. Sitting up, I fought with the sudden dryness in my mouth. Hunter was gone as well.

Suon chuckled from where he sat, feeding the fire to bring it back to life. "There," he called to me, nodding to a thin patch of trees with a smile.

Through them, against the sunrise and the glint of water, I caught sight of two silhouettes sitting closely and looking out over the water. A quick touch of my Talent, and indeed I could tell that one of them was Hunter.

"About time," Avery said, sitting up next to me with a sleepy smile.

"What do you-"

The words died on my lips. Still tapped into my essence, I could feel all of the other necromancers on the family web, and the unfamiliar one was close by. Much closer than when I'd reached out for them the night before. And they were heading right for us. Had they figured out we were here?

"Ez? What's wrong?" Avery's hand rubbed slow circles on my back, her eyes searching.

I shook my head and forced myself to take a deep breath. "We're going to have some company, I think. That other Necromancer, they're heading towards us."

Suon looked up at me over the fire. "We stay then? Talk to new Hassim?"

"Yeah, I think so." I gave Avery a quick kiss on the cheek, and stood, walking off to clean up as much as I could.

About an hour later found me pacing around the fire. Some of the warriors were still sparring with Anissa and Tessa, and a few others had walked off to the water to try and fish.

The sun was well overhead when Hunter and John came back to the fire, their hands linked together. I smiled at them and tried not to make a big deal out of it. John was blushing, but he was also smiling, and honestly, I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him do that.

"You weren't waiting on us, were you?" John asked as they took a seat with the others at the fire.

Avery passed him some of the dried fruit Tamner had packed for us. "No, we're waiting for someone else."

I felt Hunter's eyes follow me as I wore a path into the dirt behind Avery. "The other Necromancer."

"Yeah," I said with a nod. The closer they got to us, the more on edge I felt. How would they react to me? Would they accept me as Head of the Family? How had they escape from the witches, and how had they lived so long without any of the other families knowing?

The thoughts swam in my head, and all I came up with was a pounding between my eyes.

"Hassim."

Looking up, I saw he was focused on the northwestern direction that led deeper into the jungle, and back the way we'd traveled from the previous day. His hand dropped down to the spear he'd laid next to him. I reached again with my power.