Missing

Chapter 9

Henrik's head flicked up as he felt a droplet of water land on his lip.

He flicked his fingers and his tent floated upwards, slowly assembling itself. Then it floated down to the grass.

He smirked as the others gaped in awe.

"Right, bed everyone." he ordered beneath a smile and walked into his tent. Furious lay around the tent and fell asleep.

The others followed suit, leaving Kestrel standing in the rain.

It felt nice as the cool drops fell onto her skin. It reminded her of the days that she and Einaris would climb up the highest tree and gaze at the silvery drops falling to the ground. That smell. The smell of dirt in the rain. How she knew it so well.

Kestrel took one last look at the sky, then, she too went to bed.

*****

Morgan said. "By the way, your friend is here."

The way Morgan almost spat the word friend suggested something different. Aris turned to Sara.

Sara stiffened. "Her? Why?"

Morgan shrugged. "What does she have to do anything? She's waiting for you at your roundhouse. Just... ah, don't invite her to stay too long. She has a disturbing effect on the others. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to keep searching for our poor lost friend, Charlie. Nice to meet you, Aris."

Sara stormed back into the palisade, and Aris followed. She was sure she'd never been so glad to enter a village in her life.

As Sara marched up the hill, she cursed in Gaelic. Aris didn't understand all of it, but she got son of a redcap, power-hungry snake, and a few choice suggestions about where Morgan could stick his knife.

"I hate that guy," she muttered in English. "If I had my way—"

"He won't really get elected chieftain, will he?" Aris asked.

"I wish I could be certain. Morgan has a lot of friends, most of them bought. The rest of the campers are afraid of him."

"Afraid of that skinny little guy?"

"Don't underestimate him. Jax's not so bad by herself, but if Morgan shares her power..." Sara shuddered. "Let's go see my other friend. I haven't seen her in a while, that's why I was surprised. She'll want to meet you."

Aris didn't argue. She wanted to meet this mysterious friend, maybe find out something about Sara. Sara led Aris to a small roundhouse on the edge of the tribe. Standing in front was a teenage girl in blue jeans and a denim jacket.

"Hey," Sara called. "I've brought a friend."

The girl turned. Aris had another one of those weird flashes: like this was somebody she should know. The kid was tanned compared with Morgan, with dark eyes and choppy blonde hair, braided with feathers and pulled up with a red polka dot headband. She wore a silver chain necklace, fingerless gloves and a baggy T-shirt with owl designs. At her shoulder, hung a large, mean-looking bow.

For a microsecond when she saw Aris, the girl seemed shocked - panicked, even, like she'd been caught in a searchlight.

"This is Aris," Sara said. "She's a good guy, even if she's terrible at cards. Aris, this is my friend."

The girl regained her composure and held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you," she said. "I'm Aquila Fletcher.

*****

The morning sun lifted over the tall trees of the woods and sent shards of warm light onto the four tents. The early-morning chorus of the birds, like splinters into the frigid air. The trees' tops were sprinkled in dew and the sun's rays bounced off them, causing the trees' leaves to glitter.