Page 142 of Starside

I gasp. Her lovely mouth parts—

And a scream splits my mind in half, like the lightning has pierced right through my skull. My teeth clench painfully. My hand reaches toward my sword. Somehow, I know this metal would go right through her. Especially when the light disappears and she’s gone. So is the scream.

No … not gone. Just not corporeal. I can feel the chill of her breath on my cheek. I can feel her searching … smelling … for something.

I remember what Raker said about that puddle in the mists. How it gained strength from my attention. From my fear.

I will not feed it. I will not be afraid.

I close my eyes tightly, and I don’t think about the creature in front of me. I don’t think of the storm.

I think about one of those nine remaining memories.

The day the tree in our lawn—the one my mother had nursed and cared for over several years, the one that many generations had given up on, but my mother never did—bore fruit for the first time.

Our neighbors came to celebrate. Wearing my longest dress, and fabrics that covered my throat, I joined them.

No one had much, but everyone brought something. Jam. A loaf of bread. A rare pheasant, caught by the local huntsman.

My mother carefully cut each fruit, and everyone got a piece. Its skin was deep violet. It was swollen with juice. I remember biting into it and feeling pure and utter joy. Especially when I opened my eyes and saw everyone else smiling.

There was so little to smile about on Stormside. So little to covet. But that one moment … it felt like a rope, tying us together.

That night, I asked my mother why we would share the fruit from the tree. Why we always shared everything we had. It was ours.

“Because what’s the point in having anything if you don’t share it?” she said.

I didn’t really know what she meant. All I knew was that it had felt good to see my neighbors happy. It had felt good to share, even though I only got a small piece of the fruit for myself.

As the years passed, I understood more.

I understand now.

I can feel the moment the screaming woman releases her hold on me, as if I have lost her interest. As if, unlike the creature from the mists, she does not relish happiness.

The creature passes on. I feel the brush of the end of her robe, hear it murmur against the dirt and grass at my feet, until it vanishes completely.

The sound of the storm and woods rushes in again, and I fold over, fighting for air. For some reason, I’m sweating, as if what just happened took great energy.

Rain slips down my body. I lean back against the tree, trying to catch my breath. Wondering what the hell that being was.

Then I hear it. The snapping of a twig. I move in a flash—

And an arrow pierces the tree I was just leaning against. Cadoc.

No. I recognize this arrow. When I look up and squint through the rain, I see her in a tree.

Valen.

Her bow is already set again. There’s the twang of the string releasing.

I lunge out of the way as another arrow slams into the place I just occupied.

“What the fuck?” I scream through the storm. As if I haven’t faced enough. As if this tempest isn’t enough of a danger.

I haven’t seen another competitor since Raker and I started working together. I can’t help but feel like Valen’s appearance is this world telling me that I should have stayed with him. Or maybe that I should have listened to him and gone home.

Was she tracking us, to get my sword? Or did she just get lucky and run into me?