Frey by Melissa Wright Read Free Book Online Page B

my
feet, stepping out of it and onto a rock. I grabbed a shirt from
the pile and slid it over my head. As I pulled on the pants, I
noticed how nice the fabric felt, how good the cut. I laced the
leather vest over the shirt. It seemed they were tailored for me;
I’d never had such luck making my own clothes. These were trim and
fit, much better for traveling. But where was I going? I slid my
shoes on and saw there was a pack in the pile as well. I picked up
the dress, trying to decide what to do with it, and the pouch I had
hidden before the trial lay on the ground.
    I tossed the dress over a branch and sat down
on the rock, picking up the small bag. I’d carried it for days now
and I still didn’t know what was inside. I pulled the binding loose
and dumped the contents into my hand. A small dark ruby, a silver
medallion, and a tiny scroll lay in my palm. I held the stone up to
the light. Aside from the depth of color, it didn’t seem
extraordinary. I examined the medallion, but didn’t recognize the
emblems. I dropped them back into the pouch and opened the scroll.
I tried to read the first line of the tiny script, “Fellon Strago
Dreg.”
    Electricity shot through my
hands and I dropped the scroll like it was an angry snake. I held
my hands up to inspect, they felt like they had been scorched. I
smelled the unmistakable stench of charred flesh as I turned my
palms inward. There were curving lines and symbols covering them.
No, burned into
them. I gasped. I’d been around fire magic for as long as I could
remember. It had never burnt me or any other elf as far as I knew;
it would only burn what it was meant to burn.
    I looked back down at the
scroll. I had read the words aloud, the fire magic was meant to burn. I
carefully picked it up and rolled it back in place. I would not be
reading from that again… I returned it to the pocket and bound the pouch as I
had found it. Wow .
I looked back down at my hands, trying to decipher the lines, and I
realized I was looking at a map. Yes, it was burned into my palms,
but it was a map. I wondered why anyone would have a ridiculous
spell like that and then it hit me, I had taken it from the family
vault.
    I grabbed the dress off the
tree branch and threw it and the pouch into the pack. Swinging it
around onto my back, I started to run. I didn’t know where I was or
where the map would take me but I knew one thing. There were
mountains burned into my palms and I only knew of one place to find
mountains. North .
     
    I couldn’t remember much of life before going
to live with my aunt Fannie. The village and surrounding meadows
and forests were the only home I’d had, the only place I’d actually
known. It wasn’t exactly a comforting place, but there was
something to be said for knowing where you were, where to find
food, shelter, and water. I'd been filled with determination when
I’d started running, concentrating on north and nothing else. But
as I made my way, I realized what a small little terrarium I’d been
living in. The land here had started to roll gently, the trees were
a deeper green and smaller – most wouldn’t have even been suitable
for a single inhabitant, let alone a family. I didn’t think I’d
gone that far, half a day following Chevelle and now today on my
own. I was anxious to see the North.
    I glanced down at my palm, reviewing the
symbols again. I thought I had figured out most of the lines,
creeks curving through the landscape. And the mountains were
obvious, but there were still a lot of things I was unsure about,
nervous about. I squeezed my hand closed into a fist and kept
moving.
    I tried not to think about
all that had happened, tried not to think about Fannie, not the
trial, not Junnie, and especially not Chevelle. Not the watcher . I just kept putting
one foot in front of the other. I couldn’t even imagine what lay in
the mountains where I was heading.
    I wasn’t tired today, not as
I had been almost every day lately. Since
I’d been