Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I just don’t know if Pashov agrees.
He’s been distant while we’ve traveled. Not in an unpleasant way, but it’s clear he’s holding me at arm’s length. At night, we huddle together for warmth, but it never goes beyond him stroking my hair.
Which, okay, I’m a little too tired to get wild with him, but at the same time, I wouldn’t turn it down. I’m hungry for the closeness we used to have, but it’s pretty apparent to me that I’m the only one. But I can’t blame him. He pulls the sled all day long, and I’m not sure that he’s sleeping at night. He’s obsessed with keeping the fire built high, if nothing else to protect us from wandering metlak.
I worry that he’s going to collapse out of exhaustion, but he seems to be handling things well. Maybe it’s just me who’s tired and my head’s spinny with worry. Pacy’s fussy, too, but I can’t blame him. After a week of sitting around, he wants to stretch his legs. He’s been good so far, but he’s ready to play and get free from my arms.
And after a week of holding him? I’m ready for him to be free from my arms, too. Maybe when we reunite with the tribe, Kemli can watch Pacy for a night or two, and that will give Pashov and me some time together. We’d have to work out feeding times, but it’s doable, and I could steal a few hours alone with Pashov after we relax and recover a bit. I like the thought of that.
Of course, we have to get there first. I gaze around the wide open canyon we’re traveling through. The rocky walls are high but distant. There’s snow on the ground, but it’s not as thick as it has been in other areas. In the distance, there are copses of the thin pink trees, and overhead I see a few scythe-beaks flying past, cawing at each other. At the far end of the valley there’s a large dark mass moving along the snow. Dvisti. This area has a little bit of everything. Too bad we can’t stay here.
“You’re sure that we’re close?” I ask Pashov. I don’t see any signs of the tribe. Surely we’d see signs of them if we were close, wouldn’t we?
“There was a mark on one of the trees at the entrance to the valley,” he tells me. “It was made by a knife. We are close.”
“Mmm.” I’m ready to be done, but I don’t say that out loud. I don’t want to seem like I’m griping when he’s the one doing all the heavy work. I shift on the sled. “How are you holding up, Pashov? Do you need to rest?”
“No resting here,” he tells me. “This is metlak territory. Best to keep moving until we find the tribe. We are close, I promise.”
I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or himself. Still, if this is metlak territory, it’s wise to keep going. I pull the blankets close around my body and hug Pacy tight. It’s been days, but I still keep thinking about the metlak mother that invaded the cave. Did she survive? Did she come back? Or did she and her baby starve to death? I suppose I won’t ever know, but it makes me hold my own child a little tighter. I wish I could have done more for her, even though I was terrified of her. Maybe we should have stayed to try and help her out.
Then again, what if she had come back with her entire tribe? They would have killed us without a flash of remorse, and stolen our food. If I have to choose between feeding them and feeding Pacy and Pashov, I’m going to choose my men, of course.
The sled stops, interrupting my endless worrying thoughts. I immediately tense. “What is it?”
“I see it,” he says in a low voice, and he sounds awed.
I crane my neck, because I don’t see anything at all. Just snow and more snow. No cluster of houses, which is what I was led to expect. “Where?”
Pashov points ahead, and I squint, wondering if I’m missing something. Then I see it a moment later. It’s a gaping dark line next to one of the cliffs. I thought it was a shadow, but I realize a moment later that the sun is facing in the wrong direction for there to be a shadow there. It’s a gorge…in the ground.
Maddie had said that, hadn’t she? I guess I’d conveniently forgotten that we’re going to be living in a valley…in another valley. I shiver at the thought, holding Pacy tighter. “In the hole?”
“Is it a hole?” Pashov chuckles. “I guess it is.” The look he casts in my direction is boyish with excitement. “Let us go see it, yes?”