Chapter List

thick popping sound is what Alanna heard. She opened her eyes. The interior of the Autumn Canopy was dark except for the square column of ghostly moonlight that shone through the single window. Alanna did a quick mental count of the room, taking a moment to smile at Cici. The youngest Ajan Warrior was fast asleep with both arms wrapped around the faintly glowing Chronicler’s Lantern like a favorite stuffed animal.

Then Alanna had a twinge of alarm. There were only three other people in the room. And Kishi was missing.

Alanna sat up. Shannon must have had trouble sleeping she thought. The Warrior of the River put her sandals on and got to her feet quietly so as to avoid waking anyone up, although it was pretty clear by the near silence in the room that the others were far too tired to even breathe loudly. She stepped over Ranko and looked through the smaller window in the door before she gently opened it. She was just about to walk outside when she stopped herself.

Safety first, she thought as she picked up the Quarterseeker. Alanna ventured outside and very quietly pulled the door closed, looking around as she picked her way through the narrow winding path among the huge maple thistles. The stand looked like a gigantic loose but tangled mass of beige-colored yarn, except there were razor-sharp brambles every few inches along the strands, and many clusters of seeds like the ones Ranko and Shannon had found on the other side of the arena. The thistle plants formed a tunnel of sorts that swerved through the copse of knotted spiny limbs.

Alanna emerged from the densest section of the grove and looked around. She saw Kishi first. He was sitting next to the Huntress at the edge of the thistle grove about fifty yards away. Both of them stared at the moon. It was a glorious sight. The moon wasn’t quite full, but it cast a comforting light across the thistle grove and painted glowing halos around the dark gray clouds that floated peacefully near it in the sky.

The Warrior of the Night reached out and scratched Kishi’s ear. The two of them looked at each other for a moment as Shannon scratched his other ear. Then she turned back to the moon.

“What’s up, Boss?” Ranko whispered as quietly as she could. Alanna was surprised by the fact she wasn’t startled at all by the sudden sound. Maybe Shannon was right. Maybe the moon was watching over them all and that’s why it seemed so comforting to be out in the deepness of the night.

“I think Shannon couldn’t sleep,” Alanna said.

Ranko watched the Huntress and Kishi for a moment, gritting her teeth at the annoying ache in her side.

“It’s got to be rough on her,” Ranko replied. “She can’t really talk to anyone except Kishi, and from what she said, that headache she got from the battle is not fun at all.”

“I’m just amazed at how they’ve bonded, you know?” Alanna said. “She and that cat really can read each other’s minds. Shannon used to get so frustrated when things didn’t work out her way, but ever since she came back to us with Kishi, she’s been different.”

“Stronger,” Ranko added. “She just fought right through her injury. I’ve never seen anyone adapt so fast. Saved all of us from a pack of shrieks right after we started back.”

“She’s more patient with everyone. Even with Jessica when she gets into that super-energy happy mood. It’s almost like Kishi helps her let the insignificant stuff go so they can both concentrate on more important things, like building her bow skills and her quickness.”

“I’ve noticed that too. Except there something else. She’s more distant and kind of independent. It’s not like she used to be. Shannon used to be all about the group and getting everyone going the same direction,” Ranko explained. “Now, she’s sort of always out on the edge. It’s like she’s ready to just take off like she did that one time.”

“I really don’t think it’s ever going to be the same. She trained out there in the wilderness by herself. She learned to survive alongside the wolves and Kishi. It wasn’t like it was with us, and I guess it really couldn’t be. The animals never would have accepted us the way they accept her,” Alanna said.

“She’s always going to have one foot out there in the wild lands where her pack roams. I think she thinks of it as her second home. Whenever she talks about the time she spent out there it’s almost like she’s talking about her family. If she had to fight without us, I think she would be living out there with the wolves.”

“And things would go bad quick for anyone who follows her out there, man,” Ranko said. “That girl is bad news out where there’s a lot of wildlife. In the forest, the Professor’s got all the power just like Little Bit said. Once Talitha gets loose where there’s trees she’s gone and you’ll never find her. I mean, look at this place! Forest Girl got away from a Cryptic and all of his powers and whatever that creature was that attacked us and all she needed was a few plants.”

Alanna nodded as she watched the Huntress and Kishi.

“But with Miss Shannon, she might be gone, but she’s eventually coming back to find you, and she’s bringing the pain with her. Plate armor or not, Thundercaller or not, I’d think twice before I went up against either one of them,” Ranko sighed.

Continue to Chapter Fifteen