Away (10 page)

“What do you mean, alive?” Peter looked astonished. His tone made Rachel look at him more carefully. She studied him, trying to find a false note that would reveal his deceit, but it really did seem to her that Peter sounded genuinely . . . hopeful.

 

 

THEY QUESTIONED PETER thoroughly. He managed to convince Indigo and Malgam, at least, that he intended no treachery. Rachel wasn't so sure. Finally, Malgam took Peter off to find him some clean clothes and some food. They had decided to allow him, after much pleading, to come on the rescue mission. There were only a few hours left until they had to set out.

“He wasn't lying, at least not that I could feel.” Pathik looked almost apologetic; he knew Rachel believed Peter was lying. But he'd been searching the man's emotions as he told his story, and his gift told him otherwise.

“Maybe there really was a misunderstanding,” said Indigo. “We'll watch him closely. For now, I think we'd all better go back to bed.”

As Rachel turned to go to the room she had been sharing with Nandy, he spoke her name.

“Stay with me for a bit, Rachel.” Indigo sat at the table and motioned for her to join him

As she sat down, Rachel noticed a small vase on the table, next to the oil lamp. It hadn't been there when she went to sleep. It held a flower, a flower that drew her to it like a magnet, because it was an orchid.

“Where did this come from?”

“I picked it.” Indigo smiled at Rachel's expression. “We have wild ones here, Rachel. At least, we do now.”

Rachel gently touched a velvet petal. “When I was working for Ms. Moore I read about varieties that could grow in fairly harsh conditions. This one is not like any I've seen before—” Rachel looked at Indigo. “What do you mean,
now
?”

“We never had orchids here. I brought some with me when I came back. She . . . Elizabeth sent them with me. I had to work pretty hard to get them to naturalize, but they did.” He admired the flower—a deep, red-black lady slipper shape. “They are quite lovely in their own strange way, aren't they?”

“They are.” Rachel wondered where the orchids grew here. She wanted to see them.

“Rachel, what are these maps that Peter talked about? Do you know?”

“Yes. Well, no. I know that they are maps of some sort, but they don't really look like any maps I've seen before. They look more like sets of specifications, or something. All I really know is that my mother told me to keep them safe.”

“And do you feel like they are? Safe?”

Rachel thought about where the maps were, tucked away in her bag. She nodded at Indigo. She wondered to herself if she should move them someplace else.

“Good enough.” Indigo smiled at her. “You should probably get some rest now. We leave very soon.”

 

 

INDIGO SAT ADMIRING the orchid blossom long after Rachel had left the room. He too reached out to touch the tender bloom. Funny how something as simple as a flower could bring a certain grace to this rough existence. Elizabeth had helped him see that beauty came in all forms, and showed him its transformative powers. He'd tried hard to integrate that into his life since he'd come back. He knew he'd failed, in comparison to what she could have done.

He reached into his pocket and took out the envelope he had been carrying since Rachel gave it to him. He looked at his name again, written in her hand, and then he ripped it open.

Indigo smiled. That was so like her. To know that very little needed to be said in order to say it all.

I know that now.
Those four words made him sad. What must she be suffering, knowing that she had made the wrong decision all those years ago? Knowing that she couldn't change her mind. He had known immediately what they had found in each other. She had too, but . . .

Indigo crumpled the letter in his hand. But
what
? But she was too young? Too inexperienced? Too cowardly. He hated it when he thought of her that way, but sometimes, he couldn't help it. They could have been together, all these years. And his son might not be so hard, so ready to believe that people couldn't be trusted. He'd tried many times to explain to Malgam that a mother's lack of courage didn't mean a lack of love, but even he didn't really believe that. It was something he struggled with often. He knew Elizabeth had loved Malgam. He'd seen it in her eyes when she held him. But that love hadn't given her the courage to Cross. She'd let her son grow up motherless, far from her, because of her own fears.

His sour mood didn't last. After a few minutes he smoothed the letter and fitted it back into its envelope. Then, he rose stiffly from the table and took himself to bed.

CHAPTER 9

T
HEY MADE GOOD progress the first day. The weather was brisk but dry, and the forest seemed almost friendly. Malgam and Daniel took turns leading the group. Rachel walked with Pathik most of the time, though Fisher dropped back to walk with them often, which seemed to irritate Pathik. When Fisher went ahead to talk to Malgam, Rachel questioned Pathik.

“Why are you being so touchy with Fisher?”

“What do you mean, touchy?”

“Every time he comes back to walk with us you act like he's contagious.”

Pathik scowled. “He's not coming back to walk with
us
.”

“What do you mean?”

Pathik just shook his head. “Fisher always has plans.” Then he was off, heading for the front of the group.

When Fisher saw Pathik leave Rachel's side he dropped back.

“Problems in romance land?”

Rachel felt her face get hot. She stopped walking for a moment, but Nandy and Indigo were close behind them. “I don't know what you're talking about,” she sputtered.

“Really?” Fisher cocked his head and grinned. “You seem awfully upset. I just thought maybe the romance had—”

“There's no romance.”

“Ah.” Fisher walked in silence for a bit. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm sure.”

“Hmm.” Fisher watched her from the corners of his eyes. “I just thought there might be.”

“Well, there's not.” She wouldn't look at him.

“Does Pathik know that?”

“Of course he does.”

Fisher walked with her for the rest of that day's trek. He was pleasant enough, but Rachel kept trying to catch Pathik's eye. He was up front, walking with Malgam and Peter, and when he looked back he didn't seem to notice her.

It was easy to tell when they were getting close to the Roberts' camp. They began to see refuse—ragged pieces of plastic tarp, filthy, rooted scraps of cloth, what was left of the rib cage of some animal—strewn in the underbrush. They passed the rusted remains of some sort of vehicle, resting on its side as though it had been tossed there. It was barely recognizable; it had no doors or windows; all that was left of the interior was a skeletal framework of springs and supports, covered with ivy.

Pathik went ahead to scout the area. Rachel saw him leave, and he didn't look back at her when he did. When they were close enough to detect a stench hanging in the air, Indigo called a halt.

“It will be nightfall soon. We need to find a place we can defend and set camp.”

“There's a huge boulder just ahead.” Pathik appeared as if on cue. “We could camp at its base and have cover on one side, at least.” His cheeks were flushed from moving quickly through the forest. Rachel felt her own cheeks flush to match, just from hearing his voice. She felt her shoulders relax and realized she had been tense since he left to scout ahead.

Indigo nodded. “That sounds good. Anything else?”

“The stink doesn't get any better.” Pathik wrinkled his nose. “I think they just dump their waste pots a ways from their camp instead of properly burying them. I didn't sense any guards. They may be closer to the camp.”

“Let's make for the boulder, then. Good work, Pathik.” Indigo began to walk, and the others followed. Pathik waited until Rachel and Fisher reached him and fell in beside them. He kept his eyes on the ground.

The boulder
was
huge. Taller than two men and twice as wide, it was a gray, lichened hulk, crouching on the forest floor. There was a natural clearing around it, as though over the decades no sapling had dared grow too near.

They set up camp for the night.

“We should do it before dark, so I can still see what Daniel sees,” said Malgam.

Nipper was sitting quietly a few feet away, where he had been watching them set up the camp. Nandy called softly to him. He considered her for a moment, then glided to her side. She reached out to stroke him and he closed his eyes, leaning in toward her.

“Nipper, we need to find Daniel. Can you find him? Find Daniel?”

The Woolly opened one eye a slit, and pushed his head harder against Nandy's hand. He growled low in his throat.

“He doesn't know what you're saying.” Malgam's tone was a mixture of scorn and regret. “It's too much to expect he would understand what you want, all the way out here in unfamiliar surroundings.” He sighed. “I don't know what we were thinking. He isn't even
that
good at the game back home.”

The low growl became stronger and Nipper's other eye opened. He turned both of his eyes on Malgam in a baleful glare.

Nandy smiled. “Oh, I think he has quite a clear idea of what I'm asking. Don't you, Nipper?” She scratched Nipper's neck. “We really need to find Daniel, Nips. Can you go find him now? Please?”

Nipper fell silent. He turned away from Malgam, clearly dismissing him as insignificant. He pushed his head against Nandy's shoulder and snuffled her ear. Then he sat back and looked at her.

“Hemmmm,” said Nipper, his expression conveying a question.

Nandy nodded. “I know. But we need to find out.”

Without another sound, Nipper turned and walked away.

“Be careful, Nipper.” Nandy sounded worried. Rachel scooted closer and put her arm around Nandy's shoulders. Everyone watched the Woolly disappear into the brush.

“At least he's going in the right direction.” Malgam shrugged. Nandy threw her bedroll at him.

“Shush your mouth.” She glared at Malgam almost as fiercely as Nipper had, even though she knew he was teasing her.

“He'll be okay,” said Malgam. “The Roberts won't know him as anything but a Woolly, assuming they manage to catch a glimpse of him.”

“Let's hope Daniel manages to catch a glimpse of him.” Nandy rose and retrieved the bedroll she had thrown. “Rachel, let's get our beds laid out. By the time we've done that, Nipper should be at their camp.”

Rachel untied her own bedroll. She whispered to Nandy.

“Did he say something to you?”

“Who?” Nandy was clearing small rocks from the area she planned to put her bedroll out on.

“Nipper. When you asked him to go, he . . . he said something. And then you said ‘I know,' like you were answering him.” Rachel felt a little foolish.

Nandy smoothed her bed and patted a spot next to her. Rachel sat down.

“He doesn't talk to me, not in that way.” Nandy smiled. “But I've known Nipper his whole life.” She spoke softly, so Malgam wouldn't be disturbed. “When he was just a tiny cub, he got separated from his mother somehow. She was probably killed by some other animal. And I found him, while I was out hunting eggs. He was half dead, standing on wobbly legs, weak from hunger. He should have bitten me the minute I touched him—I told you how vicious Woollies are—but he didn't. He didn't even growl. He just watched me come, and I could tell he was thinking. I could tell he knew he was out of options. And so he let me help him. And over the years we've learned how to communicate in a way, like you would with anyone, really.”

“Does he love you? For saving him?”

Nandy shook her head. “I don't know, Rachel. I don't know if Woollies can love, at least the way you mean it. Malgam thinks they can't. Most people think they can't. All I know is that I love him. I get some grief for it, because there's not much time for that sort of thing out here. But I do love him. And I like to think that if he can, he loves me too.” Nandy looked toward Malgam. “We'd best be quiet now, in case he's getting close.”

Rachel watched Malgam. Nothing seemed to be happening; he betrayed no indication that he was seeing through another person's eyes, no twitching, no trance-like visage, no stiffened body, as though he were possessed by some other consciousness. She looked a question at Nandy.