Legacy of Fire (The Blaze Trilogy - Book #1)

Chapter 10

As the days drag by, there are still no signs of any camp. Even after the incident by the river, Zander and I naturally work well together, and our silence is filled by the constant traveling. But as the more and more time passes our journey becomes tinged with apprehension. We’re both getting desperate. 

Zander consults his compass, and I hear his curse under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” I ask quietly. 

“Nothing, we’re going in the right direction,” he says. I keep looking at him. “It’s just frustrating - we should be there by now.”

I don’t respond. He’s right - our journey is taking far longer than either of us predicted, and I’m beginning to fear that we’ve done something wrong.

“Is it possible we’ve been following the wrong river?” 

“Ava, there is only one river,” Zander closes his eyes. “Anyway, we can only believe we’re on the right track. We’re dead if we aren’t.”

Pleasant thoughts.

Zander reaches into his pack and brings out a small packet of dried fruit - our last one. He tosses me a dried apricot and I pop it into my mouth, welcoming the burst of sweetness that comes when I chew.

“In the mean time, can we talk about what we’re going to do when we arrive?” Zander glances over at me. Again, he’s asking something in his infuriating double-sided way. 

“What do you mean,” I say flatly, swallowing the last of my apricot. I don’t bother to make it a question. 

“Well,” Zander begins, slightly uncomfortable. “You’re from the West Sector and everything.” I stare blankly at him. I wouldn’t know what he was getting at even if I actually was a Westerner. 

“So you’re very unlikely to have an Terran blood. You won’t be a Drifter.” He’s still looking at me expectantly. 

I raise my eyebrows. “Don’t worry Zander, I’m not going to throw a fit because I don’t have God-given powers. I just need to stay alive, and figure out what my next move is. There has to be someone at Everwood who can help me, otherwise I wouldn’t have been sent here.” My mind flashes to the Terran book. “Besides, I have something to give them.” I reach into my pack, and pull out the leather volume. 

Zander gasps and he snatches the book from my hands, eyes wide with wonder. “I’ve never seen one of these before,” he says quietly. 

I gently open the book for him, smoothing the pages. “Do you know this language?” I ask. “Ancient Terran?” 

Zander’s expression twists with amusement, he looks away from the page. “Ava, I just said I’ve never seen a book. Do you really think I can even read regular writing, let alone ancient languages?”

I close the book again, feeling foolish, but trying not to let the disappointment show on my face. “It’s no big deal, I’m sure there will be people at Everwood who can tell us what it means. After all, I was told to deliver it to them.”

Zander shoots a quizzical look in my direction. “Where did you get that, anyway? If that book has anything to do with Terran people, it would have been destroyed right after the Inheritance.” I don’t respond, and Zander raises his eyebrows. “Ah. Another gift from your friend.”

I avoid his eyes, hoisting my pack back onto my tired shoulders. “Anyways, we need to keep moving. If we don’t make it to this damn camp soon we won’t have enough supplies to stay alive.” 

In response, Zander tosses me a dried plum. I bite into it, hoping to quell my rumbling stomach, but the sweetness is no longer as satisfying. It tastes more like a harrowing reminder of how close we are to starvation.