Mirror Me

13: The Town of Arrant Eyes

My stomach growled with hunger. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. A heavy dew had formed on the fields where Owen and I had set up camp. I observed the rising morning sun clear the last patches of mist and warm the frigid air. A delicious aroma wafted up my nose, and the sound of sizzling meat crackled in my ears. My mouth started to water. Looking down I saw draped on my body were Owen's shirt and jacket. I sniffed the dirty fabric. The lovely smell was definitely not coming from them. Disgusted, I pushed them off.

A short distance away, Owen crouched over a fire. A small creature unrecognizable to me gently roasted over the flames.

"Ah, you're finally awake," he said rotating the spick. "Hungry?"

I stared at Owen's toned arms and muscular bare chest. A small tattoo of a white diamond pressed against the smooth skin of his left shoulder. I had never seen a guy's body so defined and trained before, especially not one so close up. I must have looked like a fool with my mouth wide open and salivating.

"Y..Yes," I said abruptly as if I had awakened from a trance. "I'm starving." I scooted to the fire. The flames were a welcomed comfort from the nippy air. "Um," I said awkwardly holding up Owen's clothes, "I think you could do to have these back."

"Yes," said Owen. He appeared a tad bit embarrassed as he promptly put them on. "Did you sleep warmly enough?" he asked, focusing his attention on whatever he was cooking.

"I did. Thank you." I watched as he put his finger on the meat to check the temperature.

"That's good," he said, wincing at the heat. "You tossed and turned most of the night. I was worried you were going to roll away at one point."

"Was it that bad?"

"Nah," Owen said with a smile and a laugh. "It was just a little. I was exaggerating, duh. You sure are a gullible girl."

"I am not!" I confirmed. "I have quite the level head!"

"I'm just joking with you, gosh. I never knew Mirrorbenders could be so uptight."

"I'm sorry," I said tucking my legs into my chest. "I had a bad dream, and it still has me on edge."

"Sounds like you had a vision." Owen threw a few more sticks on the fire.

"A vision?" I said looking dumbfounded. "I'm not psychic."

"I heard some Mirrorbenders had the power of divination, the ability to see into the future. I believe they called it Dream Scrying. Seems kinda spooky if you think about it. Seeing your fate before it happens. Oooo makes me shiver."

"I don't think it was a vision," I said, glancing at the clouds. "My family was there, and I spoke with my grandmother as if she could really understand me. It felt so real."

"Dream sharing then," said Owen, giving me a serious look. "It's when people who have a close bond dream of the same thing. It happened to me once. I felt like my dream was blending into someone else's dream. It was weird."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That's how it felt. Is it magic?"

"Perhaps," said Owen. "But I think it is older than magic. Not even the sages can explain it. Worth studying I guess."

"Ugh, it just hurts my head thinking about it." I looked down at my feet. The aching from all that walking and running yesterday hurt worse this morning. "I don't feel good," I said. "Everything hurts."

"Perhaps because you haven't had a decent meal since you arrived in Tartarus. It should get you some strength for today's hike. Food's ready."

"What is that exactly?" I asked, sneering at the cooked animal. It's little buck teeth poked out of its leathered shout.