Secret Value of Zero, The by Victoria Halley Read Free Book Online Page B

them as they walked toward the edge of the mountain range. Meke felt slightly foolish for wasting food, but she could feel the furry body following them, snatching up the crumb trail.  
    Even when the trail of crumbs stopped, the cat still followed. This constant companion warmed Meke. Don’t be sentimental, Meke told herself, but she still smiled. Meanwhile, the furry creature clung to the periphery of Meke’s sense. Only once did she glimpse the cat with her own eyes. It was no wonder that the cat had stayed hidden for so long—dark brown spotted its long, black fur— its colors blended into the forest’s shadows.  
    Arya dropped back, nodding at Meke. “We are coming out of the mountains soon. Be careful—there are Prosperon soldiers all along the mountain exits.” Her eyes swept the entire landscape. Trove and Theria had shed their relaxed stances and now watched the area around them intently, their bodies tense and ready to act. Meke’s own muscles tightened and she nodded at Arya.  
    They had good reason to be anxious. The forest was particularly dense here with trees so close that their branches overlapped in a tangled mess. Anyone could lie in wait in the deep shadows.  
    They moved slowly, checking for intruders at every step. Meke focused on extending her sight as far as possible. She had been practicing expanding her reach. It had worked; she could feel the sense reaching further, centimeter by centimeter. Now her sight extended a few meters further than before. Meke guessed that she could feel almost fifty meters out, but she had no way of measuring her range.  
    All Meke could see or feel was the cat, still trailing them. Her brain was starting to ache from the exertion. Meke couldn’t keep her attention on the inconstant periphery of her sense for too long, so her energy flagged as they walked.  
    When they finally caught sight of the flat grasslands beyond the mountains, Meke’s concentration faltered. She hadn’t seen the flat golden grasslands in eight years. She stared at the grasses rippling in the wind. She exhaled, hoping she would get to feel these prickly straw-like reeds. She pushed her sense back into attentiveness. Once she did, alarm overtook her.
      A large shape drifted at the edges of her periphery. A human shape.  
    It was motionless, perched on a tree. Meke strained her brain a bit more and felt five more bodies, all on tree branches. They resided right at the outermost edges of her slowly expanding sense. She was positive that these figures were soldiers. They all held something in their hands, and they didn’t feel friendly.
    Everyone else moved cautiously, but steadily. Their faces remained intent but calm.  
    Meke started to wave at Arya, Trove, anyone. Nobody looked at her. Panic wracked her mind. Meke stood there, her mind oscillating between Arya and the people in the trees.
    The figure closest to them raised something to his shoulder. Meke had only seen them a few times before; it was a crossbow.
    Before any thought formed itself, Meke’s feet were pounding onto the moist forest floor. As she crashed into Arya, a sharp object blew by the back of her neck.  
    Seven, eight, nine—Meke lost track of the number—pointed things flew overhead. Meke squeezed her eyes shut, but felt everything. She jerked away just before one flew so close that she felt the breeze as it passed her. The figures in the trees dropped down to the ground and closed onto them.  
    Arya lay under Meke’s weight, but her eyes were alert and searching. After the assault receded, Meke craned her neck and saw a victim of one of the darts—Cecil. Theria had dragged Cecil’s motionless body behind a tree. Trove had already taken cover a few meters in front of Theria, his sword out.  
    Meke could feel the outlines of the figures approaching as Arya shook Meke off and slid up against a tree. Most of the soldiers held crossbows, but some had swords and daggers too. Arya fumbled around for her