Page 31 of Spirit Trials

She nods, clutching her own sack. I study her for just a moment, wondering how much she will slow me down on this journey. I also realize I really don’t want to go at this alone. Who knows how long we’re going to be stuck in these woods. I need at least one person to talk to, so I don’t go mad. Besides, she’s one of the banished; she definitely hasn’t had an easy go of it. And she seems genuinely nice. I glance sideways at her and know I won’t be able to leave her behind if it came to it. I’m going to have to work extra hard because I’m going to have to protect her as well as myself. We’re close to the woods now. In a few more steps, we’ll be entering them and then all bets are off. “Ever been in these woods before?” I ask her.

“No.”

“You have any special abilities or talents that will help keep us alive?” I ask.

“Nope. I mean, I can put together a meal with just a few sporadic ingredients, but I don’t think that’s going to help us much out here.”

I shrug. “You never know.” I look at the foreboding woods and take a breath. “Here goes.” And then, we step into the woods. It doesn’t take long for the shade of the trees to block out the light of the sun. I study every single thing as we walkand try to get my bearings. I hear somebody coming, and I whirl around, relaxing when I see it’s Harper. “So, you decided to join the stupid one, huh?”

She scowls at me. “Wasn’t my first choice.” She pokes her tongue into the side of her cheek. “But I know it’s foolish to try to make a go of it on my own.” I turn around, fighting a smile.

“Sure, you can join us,” I tell her without looking back.

We walk for a little bit in silence, all of us taking it in. “Do we actually have a plan or are we just going to wing it?” Harper asks.

“I guess we have to decide if we want to make camp and focus on just surviving, or if we want to be on the offense and go after the gold coins,” I say as we continue forward.

“As much as I want to just make camp and not move, I think I’ll go crazy,” Kinsley says.

“Yeah,” Harper says flatly. “I’m not really one for sitting around idly.”

I nod. “Same. So, we agree to keep making our way through the woods, looking for gold coins and make shelter as we need it along the way. If this draws out, like I think it might, we can keep ourselves occupied with exploring new sections and looking for gold coins.”

“And fighting everybody else along the way,” Harper says, looking around. I nod because she’s probably right.

“Harper, what are your talents or abilities? What do you bring to the table?” I ask.

“I’m pretty good in a fight, but that’s not going to matter if somebody’s spirit animal has already manifested.”

“No, but that’s good to know,” I say.

“What about you, Farrah?” Kinsley asks.

“I’m good with a bow, and I can hunt. If there’s game, we won’t go hungry.”

“Just don’t hit a real jag or wolf by accident,” Kinsley says.

“Why?” I ask.

Her eyes widen, and Harper blows out an exasperated breath. “Seriously?”

I take in both their expressions. “I mean I wasn’t going to hunt a real wolf or jag if I don’t have to.”

“You can’t hunt any jaguars or wolves,” Kinsey says with huge eyes. “It’s against the law. You get killed for that.”

My eyes widen. “Oh, I didn’t know.”

“You thought that you should kill a wolf in the literal kingdom of wolves?” Harper asks, looking at me like I’ve grown a second head.

“Okay, yeah, it was stupid. I won’t hunt any wolves or jaguars. I don’t think I could kill one anyway; they’re too gorgeous.”

Kinsley blows out a breath. “Good. Besides, what if you hit one and it was one of the royals?”

I glance over at her. “What are you talking about?”

Kinsley’s eyes go big, a trait I’m beginning to notice she does often. “You didn’t know that?”

“Know what?” I ask, trying to follow her train of thought.