Anathema - The Song of Eloh Saga, Book 2 by Megg Jensen Read Free Book Online Page B

is so strong.
It’s a good thing only those with gifts can see it or everyone
would have thought there was something wrong with you. It’s also
lucky that Kandek’s gifted slaves never got close to you. Eloh only
knows where you’d be right now if they knew.”
    “I still can’t believe that I have some kind
of gift,” I said. “I don’t really think there’s anything special
about me. You said you’ve known forever that you can soothe people.
I could have told you that. It’s how we became friends.”
    “Ah, yes, the incident with the rat,” Ivy
smiled.
    “You talked me down from the bookcase I had
climbed. Good thing too or I might have knocked it over and both of
us would have gotten hurt,” I laughed.
    We sat for a moment giggling, but as the
late afternoon sun broke through the clouds we realized that moving
again was what we had to do.
    “We’re about halfway there, I think,” I
said. “At least based on how long Jon thought it would take us to
travel. I don’t really know.”
    “Neither do I,” Ivy answered. “We should
start walking again before it’s too dark.”
    “I can see pretty well in the dark,” I said.
“All those years without sunshine does that to a girl. So if it
gets a little dark, I can keep an eye on things.”
    Tossing our packs on our backs, Ivy and I
pulled ourselves away from our respite. It was time to move on. For
a moment I felt safe. Even though they were looking for me, we were
ahead of them. It allowed me a feeling of security. I began to
believe that everything was going to be okay. We had managed to
escape and our new lives were about to start.
    As we walked in the silent, wet leaves, a
crunch startled us to attention. The road lie to the left and it
was littered with rocks and gravel. We weren’t alone.
    “Drop,” Ivy whispered as she fell behind the
stump.
    I joined her among the fallen leaves as my
heart pounded.

Chapter Six

    “Do you think it’s them? Have they found us
already?” I whispered, watching the road through the trees. I could
hear the crunching but no one had come into view yet.
    “I don’t know,” Ivy said, her eyes wide as
she too stared at the road.
    We sat holding hands and didn’t move from
our spot as the gravel continued to crunch in slow, metered beats.
Two horses, I figured based on the rhythm. They weren’t traveling
fast, but rather slow.
    “They’re looking for us,” Ivy said. “I just
know it.” Her hands began to shake as she let go of mine and
reached out towards the road.
    “What are you doing?” I yanked her hands
back, afraid someone would see them.
    “I thought maybe I could soothe them.”
    “From this far away?”
    “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.” Ivy looked
at me, her eyes filled with anxiety. “This might be the best time
to try.”
    “Try what?” a male voice boomed behind
us.
    I jumped to my feet as Ivy leapt up in front
of me. A man stood not ten paces behind us. His rough clothes told
me he wasn’t a guard. The dark, faded pants, and rumpled plain
shirt spoke of a different profession. A farmer? A laborer? But not
a soldier.
    “Trying to make it to Keree before
nightfall, good sir,” Ivy said. “We really don’t know how much
farther we have to go and we were debating whether or not to camp
for the night. Then we heard you and your horses, so we decided to
hide. You never know who you’ll meet on the road.”
    He stared at Ivy and then at me. As his eyes
drank me in from bottom to the top and then down again, I felt the
hair on my arms rise. His piercing gaze scared me. I’d been warned
of how men can hurt women, but I’d always been protected within the
castle. Even though we were slaves, Kandek made sure we were all
unmolested.
    “What should we do, Aron?” he asked, looking
behind us.
    I whirled around, seeing a second man
standing between the trees, two leads in his meaty hands. The
horses behind him nickered, blowing air through their nostrils.
    “I don’t know, Kerk. Two