Read Online After the Fire (After the Fire: Book the First) by J.L. Murray - Free Book Online Page A

him, stumbling to the side.
    “Tell
me a truth,” she said. “What could there be that was so
bad that a mother had to abandon her child? What could there be that
was so dangerous that being locked in a metal box was better than
leaving?”
    “There
are a great many things you do not yet know, Eleni,” said Fin.
    “But
you will not tell me,” she said. “Just as Alin would not
tell me my mother was gone. So many lies and half-truths. You tell me
one reason that I should go with you. One right reason and I will
go.”
    “You
have no village,” said Fin.
    “I
have had no village for a great long while,” said Eleni. “It
was I supplying the village, not the other way round. I can survive
without them. They could not survive without me.”
    “Aye,”
said Fin. “True enough.” He sighed. “I was told not
to tell you this. That you would not be ready to hear this yet.”
    “But
you are going to tell me anyway,” said Eleni. She was so tired
that it felt as though she had to push the words out to talk.
    “I
suppose I am,” said Fin. He smiled with his eyes. Eleni liked
seeing him do that. “The friend I'm taking you to see, her name
is Magda. She can help you find your mother.”
    Eleni
narrowed her eyes at him. “Another lie?” she said. “To
get you what you want?”
    “No,”
said Fin, offended. “The truth.”
    “Why
would she do this for me?” said Eleni.
    “Not
for you,” he said. “For her, too. She's been looking for
your mother for a very long time.”
    Eleni
shook her head, confused again. “Why is she looking for my
mother?”
    “Because
Magda is her sister.”

Chapter
Six
    Fin
took Eleni to the spot where he'd made camp. To an outsider it would
look just like
any other part of the forest. There was no indentation in the patch
of grass where he slept because everything he touched grew back as it
had been. He drank from the stream and he made no fire. He ate from
his traveling pouch and any food he noticed in the woods along the
way. He could be as invisible as he needed to in the forest. It
wasn't his natural home, but he felt comfortable enough there.
    Eleni
had stumbled a few times, but ignored his offers of help. She lay
down in the grass where the sun met the shade. Exactly where he had
been lying only hours before. The sunlight shone on her face and she
closed her eyes. For a moment, for the first time since Fin had met
her, Eleni looked happy. She looked tired to the marrow, but happy.
Then she started to snore.
    Fin
heard her rustle the grass when she woke. He felt it when she jerkily
pulled at the tent of ivy he had grown around her. He knew when she
lunged out of the shelter and into the brisk air.
    He
was sharpening a knife on a stone and didn't stop when he heard her.
The wolf was resting by his side, watching the movement of the knife
as he slid it across the stone. The animal's eyes shifted to Eleni,
but Fin didn't turn. This was her chance to run if she wanted to. He
wasn't going to force her to come with him. The wolf made no move to
go to her. Fin sensed her looking towards the thick of trees at her
back. If she ran she would never find out what had happened to her
mother. He could almost feel her thought process. Weighing her
options. He wondered if she had ever had options before.
    Fin
stopped sharpening his knife. Without turning around, he spoke to her
in a low voice. “Feeling better?”
    “Yes,”
said Eleni. “Much better.”
    “I'm
sorry if the plants scared you,” he said. “I was afraid
you'd be scorched by the sun.”
    “They
didn't scare me,” said Eleni, her voice defensive. Fin smiled a
small smile.
    “Are
you going to run?” said Fin. “Or are you going to come
with me?” Eleni was silent. “I can't make you come, you
know,” he said. “You are free to do as you please. But I
think Magda can help you. And it might not hurt to meet some of your
family. No one should be alone in this world.”
    Eleni
walked around him and crouched. She picked