The Offering (Lesbian, Gay, Girlxgirl)

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It didn't take long before the ghost was accompanied back to the clearing by the dark-skinned woman. Talin's gaze fell to the grass. Seeing Brielle's purple eyes tinged with red shook her. How and why were the questions she wanted answers to. She shouldn't have cared. She shouldn't be bothered with something as menial as tears, especially coming from women other than Mei.

Xander chuckled under his breath. "What did I tell you?" he murmured to Talin. "I was right. You do like her."

"I do not," she said. She was so ready to stick her spear on him, if only she could find it. "Where's my weapon?"

The dark-skinned woman pointed to a bunch of leaves on the ground that Talin hadn't noticed before, near a tree. If one wasn't so keen on observations, they would be mistaken as nothing more than the work of nature, for there was nothing strange about leaves being blown down. Yet Talin knew better. There was something manmade underneath that mound. She'd seen it before in the Enclave, back when the boy was taunting Brielle with the ribbon.

"Give me my spear so I can go, woman," Talin said.

"How about you call me by my name?" the dark-skinned girl answered. "It's Ayah. And I don't think we'll be going anywhere soon. Night is almost upon us. We need to hide."

Talin's eyes narrowed at her. She didn't think a mountain-dweller would be so quick to say such things, given that it was more secluded where they lived. "The cover of the darkness will work to our advantage," she said. "Unless you are afraid."

"Everyone's afraid," Xander said. "And you should be too, if you know what's out there."

Why? What was out there? Talin wanted to ask, but her gaze had shifted to the ghost again. Brielle was heading to the leaves, not once acknowledging her since coming back. It was bothersome, if not sending jabbing pains on her side. Talin dismissed it as nothing more than the effects of being stabbed, which was yet another thing to think about. Never mind for now. She would do it while she was traveling back to Mei. With or without them.

Xander tapped her on the back. "Come on," he said. "Time to go back to the hole." He didn't sound happy about it.

"I will be going to Mei," she insisted. "Give me my spear."

He threw her a disgusted look. "Seriously Talin. I have no idea why Brielle likes you so much. You're stubborn as a horse." He bent down, and without her consent, draped her arm around his shoulder.

"Let go of me or you will regret it," she warned.

"Not until you're well, I won't." When Xander began to stand, he took Talin with her. The pain was too much to bear on her own. She leaned to him accidentally, and he readily supported her weight as if expecting it. "As much as it irritates me," he said, starting to move. "I've taken a liking to the girl." He nudged his head to the direction where Brielle had disappeared to. What used to be a bunch of leaves was now a gaping hole. "Whoever she likes, I like too, and that includes you, sugar. One more thing. I'm the only one who knows exactly where Mei is, so if you want to see her, you'll go with me."

Talin glanced at him grudgingly but said nothing more. He'd pay for his transgressions. She'd make sure of it. One, he left Mei. Two, he called her sugar. Three, he told her that she liked the ghost. And four. . . She dug her nails to her palm. Why did the prospect of liking Brielle both tormented her and sent a shiver down her spine?

It only took seconds before her eyes adjusted to the dark and dank space underneath the soil. Talin wrinkled her nose. There was a sense of claustrophobia in being surrounded by nothing but earth. The soil had a distinct smell too.