The four Ritires reach the car within ten minutes, running faster than the fox people could crawl. In their haste, Eira leaves her backpack in the woods, losing any chance she had at salvaging what she could from the book and her notebook. As they pile in, Nes pulls out of the parking lot, speeding down one of the main streets.
"We can't go back to the safe house," Ty says, turned around and watching out the back. She wasn't sure if the people were following them or not, and she relays as much to the others. "I don't know if they can track us through scent or what."
Eira lays back forcefully, her head thudding against the seat. She opens her hands, letting both the pouch and the stake drop, clattering to the floor, various symbols indented on her right hand from the wooden object.
"I'll drive around a little but we really need to get back." Nes motions to Eira. "She needs to get looked at."
"And of course the Tochs don't work on Tochais," Ty says with a bitter laugh. "How you doing?"
Eira closes her eyes, not responding. "Eira?" Es calls, but there's still no response.
"Let her sleep. She's had a long day," Nes says. "How long until we've lost them?"
Ty shakes her head. "I don't know. Maybe do one more lap?"
"If we had a Toch--," Es starts, but Ty cuts her off, leaning into the front seat between the two of them, face inches away from Es.
"We're lucky we've been able to use them at all. Don't tell me you've gone soft."
"I didn't mean it that way," Es says. "They just help so much."
Ty sits back. "I know. Let's just go home."
---
When they pull into Carrion Cove, the moon is high in the sky. The storm is still raging, the rain and wind both having picked up. "I hope they knew what they were signing up for when they asked for rain," Ty says. She and Nes help Eira out of the car and into the safe house, finding her something she could use for a cane in the shower. As she cleans herself up, the other girls head downstairs to the library.
"Do you think that really was the most important one?" Es asks. The three of them are searching for more books on Tochs to replace the one that Eira lost.
"Why else would she have it on her at all times?" Ty sighs, sitting down on a chair as she throws the book in her hands onto the table in front of her. "I don't even know what we're looking for."
Nes sits next to her, placing her own book down gently. "Honestly? Neither do I. All of these books look the same to me."
Es begins pacing, one of her hands reaching up to twirl her hair around her finger. "How different could the one she lost be?"
"I don't see any flying Tochs," Ty says, the corner of her mouth turning up into a half-smile. "These seem like they just have the basic ones."
"Does she even need more than that? You saw her today," Nes says.
Es raises an eyebrow. "Are we finally going to talk about that? Because that was--"
"We got lucky," Ty says. "I don't think we can expect it again." She sighs. "Also don't think we should bring it up."
"Why not? That was incredible. If she could do it this time, then why couldn't she do it again?" Es asks.
"Did you see how exhausted she was after? Even before she passed out, she wasn't--" Ty trails off, frustrated and looking for the right words. "She wasn't herself."
"Maybe not. But, Ty, this is something we need to look into. I can call Crann, tell the Ri--"
"Don't," Ty says, cutting Nes off. "Not yet."
أنت تقرأ
The Twenty Seven
الخيال (فانتازيا)After Eira graduated, she wasn't sure what was next. Sure, she had a degree in linguistics, but she didn't really think about how she'd use it in the real world. Luckily, before she can even get home from her graduation that choice is made for her...
