Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Fifty Five: Till Death Do Us Part.

For the first time in his life, Esau could imagine Edythe choosing to leave him, choosing to die.

It was in the way her eyes constantly evaded his as he and Issac worked up a plan to make it to center of the forest alive. Alive. . . The way she sharpened her knives and practiced her aim. The resolute look in her eyes.

Esau couldn't take it anymore, his gaze searching for hers. Alive. . . They couldn't die, not when they made it this far. She couldn't die, when they had survived this long.

"E!" Isaac's voice was a sharp knock against his thoughts. "Are you even listening?"

"I. . ." Esau's eyes dropped to the messy pile of maps and scribbles in front of him. The captain knew what he was doing, that was sure enough. "This won't work." The boy said.

"What?" Issac begged to differ, his tone hard and overbearing.

Esau kneaded his forehead with the heel of his palm to alleviate the pain that suddenly assaulted his senses. "We can't split up. We have to work together, all of us."

"And be a larger target for the beast that you claim guards the remains of your house, I don't think so?"

"Fine," Esau let out a breath, the pain behind his skull receding slowly, "do what you want."

Before Issac could reply, Edythe turned to her brother and frowned. "That's not fair," she said as her hands worked to pin all her curls behind her head, "if you wanted them dead so soon we should just leave them here."

Already by the door, Philip seemed to want to interject. It was well past evening. They didn't have time for silly squabbles. Instead, his gaze met Issac's and his jaw clamped down, hard.

Edythe continued. "We have lived in Lacua our whole lives, with the fog for three months. We can breath in it easily and we don't need silly goggles to know when a beast is about to claw our throats out. So we can split up if you want, that is, if you gave confidence in your rifles and superior attitudes."

Her raised tone begged someone to argue and her narrowed gaze made both soldiers look away.

She has a point, their actions seemed to say, though their faces showed reluctance. A reluctance they would soon lose.

Esau didn't say anything, his eyes on the table as he gathered the fragile maps in his arms and stood up. It's happening again, he felt it in the brush of Edythe's skin against his as she walked past him to Philip, handing him a mask. He didn't know why, but he was losing her.

†

They hadn't told the soldiers about Alun's master yet. Esau didn't know if he should maintain his sister's silence or run back and tell the two men about the unconscious man she had accosted. Of course, he had no idea what had happened the man in the white suit, but he knew he wasn't dead.

Edythe couldn't have. . .

"I need to to tell you something," a breath tickled his arm and automatically a dagger slid down his sleeve, into his palm.

Even in the faint light of the moon, Edythe easily blocked his attack, stealing the dagger away from him, and Esau froze. "What?"

"We'll tell the soldiers about the man," cloaked in the darkness, she still looked thoughtful, Esau predicted a 'but' coming next, "the two of us can't move a body around, no matter how much leverage it would give us in the capital."

We're going to leave him behind. Though he was uncomfortable with the idea, it still made sense. If they had more time they could have gone slow, but the ticks were closing in on them. The clock was running out.