Page 47 of Sword & Shadow
Part of him questioned the value of trying to sneak off at all.
Deckard knew it was ridiculous, thinking that he could glean wisdom from his subconscious. But it helped. Somehow, his mad visions helped him sort through the stress and fear, allowing him to focus on the issues at hand.
Like why Evylin was suddenly so happy all the time.
But thinking around camp was like trying to talk underwater. You might get a few words out, but the pressure in your ears and the air escaping your lungs would suffocate any rational thought before long.
It took him a full four days to come up with a solution.
“Evie,” Deckard said, crouching down beside her at the campfire. They’d all finished their meal a few moments before, Ilain and Ethenn settling in to start their watch while the rest of them prepared to sleep.
Evylin looked up at him, steady fingers rebraiding her hair. “Jonn,” she replied, giving him a teasing smile.
Deckard hated to use her newfound joviality against her, but he couldn’t figure out another means of slipping away. “You know how I’m boring?”
“Intimately.”
“Mm-hm.” He’d anticipated the jocular reply and took it as proof that his plan would succeed. “Well, boring people like myself have the occasional desire to be alone.”
She held a hand to her chest in feigned offense. “Are you saying that you don’t want to spend your every waking second with me?”
“Believe it or not.”
She tied off the braid, still smiling. “Why are you telling me this?”
Deckard intentionally gave a slow scan over the rest of their companions. “Because I plan to take a walk, and I need you to cover for my absence.”
“A walk?” Evylin quirked her brow. “In the woods? Alone?”
“Yes.”
She narrowed her eyes. They glowed like embers in the firelight. “I thought we agreed not to split up.”
“We did.”
“And you’re breaking that agreement because you’re a boring sap who likes to spend time alone?”
“Precisely.”
She shrugged. “Fine. How can I help?”
“Come with me.”
Evylin looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “I hate to tell you this, Jonn, but if I come with you, you can’t be alone.”
“I’m aware of that,” he said with a chuckle. “We’ll tell them that we’re taking a walk, but instead of you coming with me, you’ll stay right on the other side of the trees over there.”
“And what am I supposed to do in the trees over there, hm?”
“Think. Sleep. Eat.” He held up his dinner ration of the bread they’d purchased in Vaulley. Bread didn’t keep long enough to carry enough for more than a few days, and to Evylin, every piece was sacred. “Do whatever it is you’d be doing if we were in camp.”
She eyed the slice of bread greedily. “I’d be talking to you if we were in camp.”
“Then pretend you’re talking to me over there.”
“My imagination of you isn’t as entertaining as the real you. He doesn’t respond when I make fun of him.”
“Do you want the bread or not?”
