The Girl in the Water

Chapter 4

When I opened my eyes, the sky was a canopy of green. I blinked several times, and as my vision focused, I saw that my strange green sky was actually the reaching branches of tall, giant trees. I struggled to a sitting position with a moan, touching my fingers gingerly to the tender part of my head that throbbed dully.

"Sorry about that."

I looked around wildly, looking for the source of the voice. I was sitting at the base of a tree, and apparently I was in the middle of a forest. It wasn't the same forest as the one outside Feloix Felaii though - the air here was warmer, and the air smelled sweet. Everything was lush and green - moss blanketed most surfaces, but sweeping ferns and squat bushes stared back at me as I listened to birds chirp and tree branches creak. Where was I?

"Up here!"

I looked up to see Roan lounging on a tree branch in front of me. His legs were stretched out in front of him, his legs crossed, and he was munching on something lazily as he looked down at me. He was missing his jacket, and looking around, I saw that I was sitting on it. Bono's sleeping form was next to me, his little furry back small and innocent looking as he curled his tail around himself. I looked back up at Roan.

"Where are we?" I asked him. My voice was hoarse, and I cleared my throat hastily.

Roan frowned, picking what looked like a nut out of the pile in his palm and tossing it into his mouth as he looked around. "Somewhere in British Columbia, I think."

"You think?!"

He nodded, missing the incredulous note in my voice. His eyes wandered away from me, peering into the bright woodland around us. "I've never been here before, so I'm pretty impressed that the sage salt managed to take us here." His voice was cheerful.

I gaped at him from my seat on the ground. "How do you know we made it here if you've never been here before?"

Roan met my gaze squarely, grinning cheekily. "I don't. I just trust in my abilities to a fault."

I was at a loss for words. As I watched, he stuffed his handful of nuts back into his pocket and stood up gracefully on the branch, stretching his arms out and yawning. "I'm gonna go explore. A few of my good friends live nearby. At least I think they do." He leapt off the branch gracefully, landing on the forest floor without a sound.

I hurried to my feet, swaying slightly as the blood rushed down from my head. Roan was instantly at my side, his hand gently holding touching my shoulder in case I fell over. "Slow down there, Emery. You hit your head pretty hard back there." His eyes were serious.

"I don't want to sit here alone while you go exploring!" I argued.

"You're not alone! You have Bono." We both looked down at where his small form slept on. I gave Roan a derisive look, and he grinned back.

"I'll be back in no time, I promise. Just sit yourself down and rest a bit, and I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

I scowled at him as he pleaded with his wonderful, golden eyes. The intensity was a bit unsettling, and I hated him for it.

"Fine." I sighed, and Roan smiled happily. "But bring back something to eat, will you?"

"I will!" There was a whoosh, and then he was gone. I looked around, but there was no sign of where he'd went. I couldn't even place his scent; he probably rubbed himself down with kalleb like it was perfume. It was clear he didn't want me stumbling out into the woods after him.

I sighed and sat down hard again, looking around at my surroundings once more. The quiet was nice, and the trees around me made me feel strangely safe. I racked my brain for where I'd heard of British Columbia before; from what I remembered, it was in Canada. What did I know about Canada? I scowled as my mind drew a blank.