Awry

57

The next morning, Scarlet trudged through the wet forest at Tristan’s side as they headed back to the Archer cabin. The rain had stopped sometime during the night, leaving the air clean and crisp. Scarlet stomped as she walked because she was wearing a pair of Tristan’s shoes that were much too giant for her feet.

In her haste the other night, she hadn’t bothered to slip on a pair of sneakers before running to find Tristan, and since Tristan refused to carry her back to the cabin—you could die, blah, blah, blah—Scarlet had settled for a pair of his hiking boots.

She also had on his black leather jacket. Which smelled like him and made Scarlet wish she could attach it to her skin.

They were silent most of the walk, Tristan keeping a good distance between them. Careful, as always.

Well, not always….

Scarlet’s mind drifted back to the flashback of her and Tristan kissing and heat flooded her face.

What a memory. What a wonderful, hot, passionate—

Tristan cleared his throat.

Scarlet stopped reminiscing.

When they finally reached the cabin, Gabriel and Heather met them by the back porch. Heather ran up to Scarlet and hugged the life out of her.

“I’m so happy you’re okay.” Heather pulled back and pointed at Scarlet with a stern face. “Don’t you ever run away again! Do you know how scared I was?”

Scarlet was about to say something sarcastic, but she saw tears in Heather’s eyes and quickly changed her response. “I’m sorry I scared you. I won’t run away again.”

Heather hugged her again. “You better not,” she said into Scarlet’s hair, which was wild and wind-blown from her walk with Tristan.

Heather stepped back and looked Scarlet over.

Scarlet was still wearing her satin pajamas with Tristan’s black jacket hanging below her hips, in addition to his muddy boots. Her hair was tangled and dirty and she didn’t have a trace of makeup on.

Here we go.

Heather looked at Scarlet’s boots, her pajamas, her hair, her face, and said, “I’m happy you’re safe.”

Scarlet blinked.

Heather smiled.

“Oh good.” Nate exited the cabin and stepped off the back porch. “You guys are back and everyone’s alive. Yay. A little update.” Nate tapped a finger to his lips. “An Ashman broke into the cabin last night and stabbed Gabriel with a Bluestone knife that can, apparently, injure immortals, and then ran away, proving tarps are not effective windows and blonds will freak out if enough blood gushes across the floor.” Nate pursed his lips. “Oh, and side note: We need more bleach. At the rate people are bleeding out on the kitchen table, we may as well buy in bulk.”

With a furrowed brow, Tristan looked at Gabriel. “What happened?”

Gabriel explained, “An Ashman stabbed me with a knife that my body couldn’t heal from.” He lifted the edge of his shirt, revealing a large bandage. “It’s fine, but it hurts like hell.”

Scarlet’s face dropped. “Oh my—” She looked at the bandage in horror. “You couldn’t heal?” Gabriel dropped the hem of his shirt. “Are you sure it was a Bluestone knife?”

Gabriel nodded.

Scarlet’s heart began to hammer. “But that means….” She could barely get the words out. “That means Laura has an arsenal of weapons that can kill you guys. And she bought them just a few months ago. Laura…Laura wants to kill you guys?”

Tristan looked angry as he started for the cabin’s back door. “Well, that’s not going to happen. This Ash freak must die. Laura, too. I need knives, arrows, axes—”

“Wait.” Nate held up a hand, stopping Tristan before he reached the door. “It’s awesome that you’re all Rambo about this, but you can’t just go gallivanting in the forest hoping to run into our intruder. You have to have a plan, Tristan.”

“My plan is to kill any and all Ash-people.”

“Ashmen,” Heather corrected.

Tristan raised a brow at her.

Nate shook his head. “That’s not good enough. I stabbed the Ashman and it barely slowed him down. We don’t know how to kill these creatures. We don’t know where they’re coming from, or if Laura is even controlling them. We don’t know anything. “ He paused. “What we need to do is figure out where the fountain is, figure out how to kill these Ashmen, and stick together.” He looked at Scarlet. “So no more solo forest journeys, got it?”

Scarlet nodded.

“But first things first.” Nate clasped his hands together. “Let’s fix the window in the living room and remember to never, ever trust a tarp to keep us safe again, okay?”

Scarlet tried not to panic as she followed everyone inside the cabin.

Laura was trying to hurt Tristan and Gabriel. She was trying to steal Scarlet’s memories.

Laura was her enemy.

Gabriel unwrapped the new windowpane that had come that morning and carried it over to the empty frame in the living room. His wound ached terribly, but it was healing fast.

With Tristan’s help, Gabriel began installing the window.

“So where did you go?” Gabriel asked, his eyes on the window edges as he slid them into place.

Tristan steadied the glass. “I tried to leave town, but I couldn’t physically manage the distance.” He moved his hand to get better balance. “So I stayed on our property.”

Gabriel glanced at him with a raised brow.

“There’s an old shack less than a mile from here,” Tristan explained. “I fixed it up, made it livable.”

Gabriel nodded and started working on the next edge.

“How’s your stab wound?” Tristan switched places with Gabriel, keeping the windowpane secure against his hands.

Gabriel shrugged. “Sore. But shallow. It’s healing more quickly than a mortal’s wound would, so I guess my immortality wasn’t completely jeopardized. So that’s good news.”

Tristan nodded.

A few minutes later, Gabriel finished with the window and carefully stepped back. Tristan released his hold and stepped back as well, both of them looking at the new, secure window.

A moment passed.

Gabriel dusted off his hands. “I’m glad you’re back. Fighting off bad guys with Nate isn’t as fun as it sounds.”

“And it does sound fun.” Tristan smirked. “What did Nate use to protect himself? A light saber?”

Gabriel smiled. “A Zelda sword.”

Tristan shook his head. “Whatever works.” He paused. “I’m glad you didn’t…die or anything.”

Gabriel gave a quick nod. “Me too.” He moved toward the kitchen as Tristan started walking down the hallway.

It was good to have Tristan home.