Read Online Wanderling (Spirit Seeker Book 1) by Hannah Stahlhut - Free Book Online Page B

with Mum and Adala.”
    Burano knelt on the dirt floor
next to him. “How can you be so sure they are still alive?” he asked slowly.
    Shem shrugged, wiping his nose on
his sleeve, the way his mother always told him not to.
    “You can tell me anything, Shem,”
Burano coaxed. “I want to help you.”
    Shem sighed, relieved by his kind
words. Days of travel with grumpy Jarod and the wounded, gloomy Havard had
scared him into silence. “Can you just help me get home?” he asked.
    “My letter from Gerstadt says that
you have a gift. Do you know for certain that you mother is alive?”
    “Yes,” Shem stated firmly, closing
his eyes and reaching into his heart. He could feel her there, still alive and
over the mountains, west from him. He knew it. “She grew stronger today. I
think she will survive. And Adala…” Shem reached out, feeling her presence.
“She’s here,” he realized, jolting upright.
    “Who?” Burano said, hanging on
Shem’s every word.
    “My sister,” Shem said, climbing
to his feet. He focused his thoughts on his sister and sighed with
contentedness. “She’s that way,” he said, pointing northeast. “Close by. She’s
come to save me.”
    Burano’s bushy eyebrows drew
together with skepticism. “Really?” he said.
    Shem’s heart leaped with joy, and
he said, “I can go get her. She will take me home.”
    “I will send someone to find her
and take her here to meet us,” Burano said quickly. He leaned out the doorway
and called one of the soldiers in. “Go see if there’s a woman traveling from
the mountain pass right now. Bring her here straightaway if you do.”
    The soldier looked confused. “You
mean, besides the one that we just sent Ollie to retrieve?”
    Burano’s expression remained
unreadable. “What girl? Why wasn’t I notified?”
    The soldier cleared his throat.
“We sent Ollie out to get her. I didn’t think it would be news to you.”
    “This is the best news I’ve heard
in ages,” Burano said. “Go back to your post. We will wait for her to come to
us.”
    “Are you going to let us go?” Shem
asked with apprehension. He narrowed his eyes as his captor went back to
re-read the note on his table.
    “I just have some questions for
you first,” said Burano. “How do you know it is your sister that is headed
towards us?”
    Shem shrugged. “I just know.”
    “How specific is your knowledge?
Can you tell where others are?”
    “If I think about it really hard,”
Shem said hesitantly.
    “Can you tell me where Jarod has
gone?” Burano said, searching Shem’s face with frantic interest that made Shem
nervous.
    “I shouldn’t be talking about
this,” Shem frowned, shaking his head. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers
about this. Only Mother.”
    “It’s just a simple question,”
Burano demanded, his voice growing firm. “Tell me where Jarod is.”
    Shem looked at the leader’s harsh
eyes and said, “Tell me again that me and my sister will be free to leave today
if we want.”
    “Of course you will,” Burano
promised quickly. “After you tell me where Jarod is.”
    Lie. Shem thought. Still,
there was only one way to find out for sure. Shem pointed behind Burano. “He’s
behind that wall with lots of other men,” he whispered quietly.
    Burano’s expression transformed
into a wide smile, and he pulled Shem towards the table. “Show me on the map
where the desert dwellers are,” he said.
    “No!” Shem exclaimed, pulling his
wrist free. “I want to go back to Gerstadt.”
    “You will,” Burano said.
“Eventually.”
    “Why keep me here?” Shem questioned
worriedly.
    “Because you’re going to help me,”
Burano declared, unrolling a great map that covered nearly his entire table.
“Together, we’re going to win a war.”

 
    Chapter 9: Tobin
    Tobin followed closely behind
Adala, ducking through the doorway of Burano’s quarters. He blinked to adjust
his vision in the low candle light. Behind the table sat Burano, stroking