Half Wylde | Book 1

Seven: New Purpose

Thain was still gone when I woke up, and the others were either gone or still asleep. Someone had built up the fire. This was the first morning I had not been on the move since leaving the cabin and I didn't know what to do with myself. After some time I settled into old habits. I made myself useful. I made bread. A light rain pattered on the roof while I kneaded dough.

The shelves by the hearth contained everything I needed. Finer flour than I had ever used before lined the bottom shelf in sacks. Jars of herbs in every rainbow nature could grow seduced me until I had smelled each one of them twice. Several plump duck eggs sat in a bowl, ready to use.

Once I had three loaves rising in the window, I took my axe and a rope and left. Opening the door revealed an icing of fog that clung to the valleys between round mountain peaks. Bright drops from the sky misted my face where my cloak didn't cover it. I walked a little ways into the trees before I settled on an untouched copse of pine and oak.

I gathered what large branches I could find that weren't too wet yet, and began cutting dead limbs from the trees. The rhythm of the axe was music to me, and I sang one of the old mountain tunes Bryn would hum as we worked. The damp leaves and singing birds tickled my senses, putting me at ease after last night. I could smell walnuts nearby, and I noted my location so I would be able to gather some before we left. The misty rain didn't stop until I had tied my bundle and started the walk back.

Fog still clung to the edges of the mountains but because of how high up we were the yard was clear and sunny. Even from a distance I could see Schula at her post again. She was striking it with fist and boot in precise jabs. Her strength was astounding. Somehow her lithe frame was more threatening than either Thain or Eberon had been.

I looked down to my side. The rough handle of my axe weighed heavy in my hand. It did nothing against Thain. It would do nothing against any of them. Not that I thought I needed it here, with them, but the wraith...

I entered the yard and Schula nodded at me before continuing her exercise. Her chest heaved, drawing in air. Sweat glistened on her pale skin. How she hadn't already broken the post I wasn't sure, unless she was holding back.

I untied the branches and let them roll out on the yard. When they dried fully I would cut them for the fire. I gathered my rope and my thoughts as my heart pounded. I couldn't get Schula's exercise out of my head since yesterday. It was time to do something about it.

I approached the corner of the yard where the white fae jabbed at her post. She didn't pause for me, she just continued in a trance. I sat on the cool ground, catching my breath and watching. Everything was a pattern. Left hand, right hand, left foot, right foot. Again. Now reverse the order. Now again. I watched for some time, in the same trance she was in performing the motions I was entranced watching them.

In a heartbeat, so quickly I didn't register at first, she stopped. The only motion that remained was the rise and fall of her chest, hungry for air. She walked over to a water skin hanging on a fence post and drained it. She then turned and settled her icy eyes on me, sending a chill down my spine. "Did you need me for something?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to disturb you." I mumbled and swallowed my nerves. "I mean, when you aren't busy sometime could you teach me how to do that?""How to hit a wooden pole in the ground?" Her eyes danced in amusement. "Yes, I could show you the basics. Why the interest?"

"I'm weak. I never thought I was before, but I am. I guess for a human I wasn't. But now that I'm going to the fae Wyldes I don't want to be left vulnerable." I said.

"So you want to protect yourself, is that it?" She looked at my arms and measured me with her eyes. Height, weight, and any muscle tone I carried.