Falling Grace

Chapter Six

                “I think I would have liked to see Sahale fight more,” Kora mused when they were outside.

                Calanon laughed breathlessly as he put Kora back on her feet. “You should cover your wounds,” he advised her. “They’ll smell your blood and follow us.”

                “Why didn’t they follow us out here?” Kora asked.

                “They were too busy crowding Kane to bother,” Calanon answered with a careless shrug. “He’s more important in this case. Not some human. Their goal was to end the whole human race; not just kill you.”

                “So why are they bothering about me in the first place?”

                “Haven’t you put that together yet?” he asked with dissatisfaction. “Sahale has a problem with you dying, apparently.”

                Kora didn’t know why Sahale bothered trying to keep her alive. She hoped Avalon would know if Calanon didn’t. “Why is that, Avalon?”

                “Don’t ask me,” Avalon shrugged. “I’m just helping a friend, no matter how strange her requests seem to be.” She smiled, but there wasn’t any particular friendliness that Kora found in it. “Anyway, let’s go.”

                Kora nodded. “Wait for me to finish covering these.” She tore the bottom half of her shirt off. Calanon averted his eyes like a gentleman and cleared his throat to fill the silence. She tore that half into two and took a moment to wrap each wrist with the scraps. “I hope my mom doesn’t think I’ve gotten all emotional and disturbed,” she muttered.

                The three began walking, Calanon leading the way. Avalon walked beside Kora as if she were acting like her personal guard. All the while, Kora was giving herself a headache wondering why Sahale wanted to keep her safe. Was there a specific reason or was it something small and pathetic like pity? Maybe she admired the fact that Kora had the bravery and brains to escape the first time she was brought to the cave. The thoughts cycled endlessly through her mind as they walked.

                “Finally,” Kora heard Avalon mutter as Calanon came to a stop ahead of them. Kora recognized the tree house that she had been brought to not long ago.  The three made their way inside, climbing down the flight of stairs like before. When they entered the room below, Avalon called out, “We’re home.”

                “Welcome,” Sahale said while she set a small bowl of stew on the table. “Come here,” she beckoned to Kora as she placed a spoon beside it. “I made you something to eat.”

                Kora sat down at the table and looked down at the food. The smell rose to her nostrils and filled them. Her stomach growled in return, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything for hours. It had become dark while she had been walking with Avalon and Calanon to Sahale’s tree house. She dug in hungrily, shoving large amounts into her mouth at a time. She hardly cared that a cute guy was watching her eat. She had never been the type of girl to order a salad and water when she went out to dinner. No, she was the type of girl who would eat half a pizza. She used to split pizzas with Michael all the time. The memory made her stomach churn. She slowed down while eating in response, tears stinging her eyes.

                “I’m sorry about your boyfriend,” Sahale said softly as if reading her mind.

                “I am too,” Kora mumbled, looking down at the half empty bowl. “I’ll never find another guy like him.”