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

at the long grass. The
moonlight fell on her pale skin and gave the impression that she was
glowing from within. Perhaps she was. But when she looked at him, her
eyes were disarmingly pale. Fin felt she was shooting ice into his
chest when she looked at him with those eyes. They were such a pale
blue they were almost white. “Are you alone?” she said.
    “Aye,”
he said. “I am. Now.”
    “Have
you lost someone?”
    Fin
didn't look at her. He looked away toward the direction of the moon,
rising in the sky. He may have gotten angry at anyone else who asked
such a blunt personal question. But Eleni didn't know anything of
social niceties, though he was sure she could understand his pain.
“My brother,” he said. “And two sisters.”
    “So
many,” said Eleni. “Can one have that much family?”
    Fin
snorted. “Apparently not.”
    “How
did they die?”
    “You
ask a lot of questions,” he said, looking at her. She looked
down into the grass.
    “You
leave me with a lot of questions,” she said.
    He
nodded, frowning. “I suppose I do. Must be hard, not knowing
the world. We can remedy that. I can take you anywhere you like. If
you want.”
    “But
I have to see this Magda first?” said Eleni. “I prefer to
do what I like.”
    “And
what would you like to do?” said Fin, looking at her.
    Eleni
looked up at the sky. The moon was bright, hanging round and heavy in
the sky. She pushed her matted hair from her face. Finally she looked
back at Fin, who hadn't moved. “I would like to meet Magda,”
she said. “If she was sister to my mother, she must know things
about her. Things that you cannot tell me. Or things you don't know.”
    Fin
looked down at the blade of his knife, trying to hide his relief.
“That's good,” he said, finally. He was genuinely
surprised she had agreed so easily. He had braced himself for a long
discussion. Maybe even days of following her. Possibly weeks.
    “I
make no promises,” said Eleni.
    Fin
shrugged. “Nor do I,” he said.
    “We
are agreed,” said Eleni. She stood up, stretching. “When
do we leave?”
    “Whenever
you like,” he said. “It isn't far. A day's walk.”
    “After
we eat then,” said Eleni.
    “I
have my meal right here,” said Fin, holding up a pouch.
    Eleni
looked at the small bag, confused. “You have meat in there?”
    Fin
smiled. “No. I only eat meat on feast days.”
    Eleni
frowned. “Then what do you eat?”
    “There
is more food in the world than meat,” he said. “I eat
roots, leaves, nuts, seeds, berries. This here is a horrible bread
that Magda's people sent me off with. Filling, once you get past the
taste. It's precious to them, though. They don't have much.”
    “I
am going to get some meat,” said Eleni, eying Fin. He laughed.
    “Hope
to see you again,” he said. “Wake me if you come back.”
He tipped his head back against the rock, picking up his hat from the
grass. He shook it out and placed it over his face. The wolf was at
Eleni's side.
    “I
will come back,” she said. She stepped into the forest with the
wolf at her heels.

Chapter
Seven
    Fin
had found an old dress in one of the unburned huts. He had known that
Eleni wouldn't go back. It would remind her of how trusting and naive
she'd been, even when she knew they were lying to her.
At any time, she could have searched for her
mother, but she had not. She had allowed herself to stay imprisoned,
allowed herself to be used. It would never happen again. She vowed to
herself not to trust words. Words were unreliable. From this day on,
she would need to see with her own eyes.
    She
did regret Alin's death. She could have saved him, but he stopped
her. He had been her only friend, though he had lied to her, too. He
said it was for her own good, her mother's good, but she had a hard
time believing that. And more than anything, she couldn't think of
Krasna without thinking of her mother. She really had left her. Eleni
ground her teeth and felt like burning things when she