Amarok by Angela J. Townsend Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t want to know what might lie ahead. Death certainly didn’t bother her. There were things much worse than dying, and she shuddered to think of them. She yearned to give up, to press her body against the earth, to dissolve into this untamed land that belonged to no one, to melt into the luminous void that stretched between earth and sky. But she couldn’t lie down to rest, because this asshole had taken the only thing she’d had left—her freedom. First chance she got, she’d make him pay.
    Emma stared daggers into the man’s back. She could only imagine how terrible his cabin must be. If he touched her, forced her somehow, she’d find a way to kill him, then herself. She smiled. Maybe she’d blow the place up and make a big, grand exit. Her heart fell and she paused, staring at her companion. If something happened to her, then what would happen to Amarok? He trotted to her side, faithful as ever, staring up at her with those liquid pools of undying sorrow.
    “Sure wish you could speak,” she said. “Or understand what I’m telling you. Maybe you wouldn’t like me so much if you knew that I killed my own mother. Would you still like me then, Amarok?”
    He wagged his tail as if in answer and she patted his broad head.
    “It’s all my fault,” she whispered, her throat hoarse. She knelt down in front of him, and the dam broke. Hot tears streamed down her face. “I went into my bedroom that night and I waited until everyone was asleep.” Amarok tilted his head and rested on his haunches, his eyes finding hers. Emma shook her head. Why was she telling him all this? Maybe it was knowing she was nearing the end of her life, and she no longer wished to carry the burden to her grave. “I snuck out my bedroom window and hitched a ride into town with friends. We got wasted drunk. Mom woke up at midnight, found out I was missing, and went looking for me. The roads were sheets of ice. Emergency travel only.” More tears flowed. “She ran off the highway and plunged into the river… and drowned. All because of me. If only I’d stayed home that night, she wouldn’t be dead. She’d still be alive—if it weren’t for me.”
    Amarok licked her face, making Emma jump. She smiled sadly and wiped the saliva off with the back of her hand. “So, you do still like me. Don’t you?” She hugged his neck. “At least I still have you.”
    The man stopped a few yards ahead. “Get moving!”
    Emma stood, wiped the tears blurring her vision, and forced herself onward. Amarok stayed nearby, nipping at her hands and nudging her playfully when she grew tired. Up ahead, Emma heard the hypnotic rush of water. She licked her dry lips and swallowed hard as she hurried down the narrow trail. Amarok squeezed past her, loping ahead. Emma jogged after him, ducking under a series of low-hanging branches. They came to a rocky area where a rushing waterfall flowed into a mossy stream. For a moment Emma stood still, lulled by the roar of the water’s liquid blade cutting down the glacial mountainside. She leaned against the rocks and guzzled from the cool, clear brook, swallowing the refreshing liquid until her belly hurt. Emma doubted she’d ever tasted anything so cold and pure.
    The man filled a large canteen and stuffed it into his pack. As Amarok drank from one of the smaller pools, Emma noticed something golden reflecting in the translucent water. She knelt near Amarok for a closer look and spotted a flash of red. A school of tiny fish drifted peacefully, occasionally flashing bits of white when they opened their mouths to feed on bits of moss. Hypnotized by the soothing sound of the flowing water and tranquil dance of minnows, she almost forgot how much she had grown to hate water. After her mother’s death, she hated all rivers, all lakes and streams. They stood as symbols of something taken from her. But now, gazing at the small fish, with the refreshing liquid energizing her body, she saw that water could also give