Fire

Don't Look Back

Author Note: I always forget to dedicate, so I finally decided to. This is dedicated to one of my most enthusiastic readers.:)

It took us around ten minutes to round one side of the mountain. Then Kari lead us into a section of thick undergrowth that hedged one side of the rocky slope. Trent and Louis darted forward and dragged back several large overhanging branches, revealing a dark entrance in the rock face. A cave.

So that was what they’d been talking about. That was why the elite guard hadn’t found them when they’d been combing the countryside.

Juku reigned in the horse, and  I had to brace myself to keep from falling off. He swung down first, and offered me a hand. I ignored it, very pointedly jumping down myself. He shrugged and moved to help Kari, but Trent was already handing her down. The two men exchanged a dark look.

 Interesting. Were Juku and Trent rivals for my mother’s affection?

The idea was more than a little revolting, but hey, maybe if I was lucky they’d fight over her and end up killing one another.

“Get her in the cave.” Kari waved at me. “Tie her up if you can’t handle her.”

“I can handle her.” Juku chuckled, grabbing me by the arm and propelling me forward into the darkness.

I stubbed my toe on something, stumbled and cursed Juku. “I can’t see anything.”

“Alright, cup cake. No problem.”

Light suddenly flared, throwing Juku’s hard features into sharp relief. He paused for a moment, holding the orb of light up, and I took the time to look around. The cave was narrow, but it seemed to go on for a long time. I couldn’t see the end of it, just more shadows at the back. Juku shoved me towards one of the walls. “Sit down there, put your back against the wall and don’t move.”

I glared at him, but for now I complied. My mind was racing. There had to be a way to make a break for it. I was sure Asher and the others would be out in the woods looking for me, and I was holed up in this cave with no way to let them know where I was.

Trent and Kari were at the front of the cave talking in quiet voices, and Louis had vanished back outside the cave. Maybe scouting out the area. I hope he falls into a hole.

“So,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual. “You and my mom, huh?”

Juku had been pacing back and forth up till now. He stopped, turning to stare at me. “What?”

“Oh come on,” I shifted, trying to get comfortable on the packed dirt that was the cave floor. “It’s obvious, I mean…I saw you look at her.” Not strictly true, this was all just guess work. But studying Juku’s face in the half light I was relieved to see his expression flicker, registering some other emotion for just a second. Annoyance? Embarrassment?

I was right. He had a thing for my mother. Yeah, gross.

Juku only shrugged, and I let the silence stretch for a minute before I murmured, “Too bad about Trent.”

My words had a visible effect on him. His back stiffened. At first he didn’t say anything, just stared at me. I stayed quiet, waiting. Finally he said, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Ducking my head, I ran one hand over the bottom of my pant leg, it was covered in dirt. The rest of me was probably getting just as dirty sitting on the ground. “I used to like Trent, you know.”

Juku shoved his hands in his pockets. It was hard to see his expression, his face was half in shadows. He tilted his head to one side, studying me. But he didn’t say anything so I continued. “He pretended to be all sweet and considerate when I first met everyone. He even kissed me.” My voice was flat. I didn’t have to fake the annoyance. “And then I walked in on them.”