Amazonia (18 page)

Amber stopped. “Hi, Kale.
What’s up?”

“You’re not headed to see
Blake, are you?”

“Actually, I am. Why?”

“I’ve just come from there.
They’re busy at the moment.”

“Oh. Are you sure? Blake’s
expecting me.”

“Shale was expecting me,
too.” Kale smirked. “Let’s just say they’re somewhat...indisposed.”

Amber burst into laughter.
“Thanks for warning me. I’ll come back after dinner, I’m not going to risk
disturbing anything.”

“That’s what I was thinking,”
Kale said. “So are you free till then?” Since Amber had planned to spend
time with Blake, and Blake was now busy, Kale knew that Amber was indeed
free, but she asked anyway, giving Amber an out if she wanted one. At
Amber’s nod, Kale said, “I am, too. Do you want to do something together?”

“Like what?”

“Go hunting, or for a walk,
or we can spar a little if you like. Whatever you want, I don’t mind.”

“Well, I don’t fancy a busted
knee, so sparring’s out,” Amber teased, causing Kale to roll her eyes.

“That happened once,” Kale
said, her lips curling upward.

“Uh-huh, and I don’t want to
be number two.”

“You will be if you don’t
stop going on about it.”

“Ooo, that sounds like
fighting talk to me.”

“It was, but a certain
red-head’s too chicken to fight me.”

“And that certain red-head’s
not stupid enough to fall for your baiting words either.”

“All right, what do you want
to do instead?”

“I’m starving already, so...”
Amber looked to Kale for her reaction.

“Hunting it is,” Kale replied.
They walked the short distance to Kale’s cabin to collect her hunting
gear, and she bumped Amber playfully with her hip. “I’ll bring something
back for Shale and Blake, too. I don’t think they’ll be getting out much.”

Amber laughed. “They probably
won’t have the energy.”

“YOU GO AND knock, I’ll wait
here,” Amber said. “Here, I’ll take those.” She took the freshly plucked
birds out of Kale’s hands before she could protest.

“Surely you don’t think
they’re still at it?”

“I’m not chancing it. You go
and see.” Amber pushed her toward the cabin.

“Why me?”

“She’s your twin.”

“Blake’s your friend,” Kale
shot back.

“Actually, Blake’s our
friend, but Shale’s only your twin.”

Kale opened her mouth to
argue, but had nothing to respond with. She sighed. “Fine.”

Amber gave her a smug grin.
“Make sure to make plenty of noise when you approach.”

Kale narrowed her eyes at the
giggling Amber. “I don’t need to make noise, Shale will sense me.”

“And that’s another reason
why you’re the one going,” Amber said, giggling harder.

Kale shook her head,
chuckling. She jogged over to the cabin and went noisily up the steps. She
glanced behind to Amber, who was doubled over laughing.

Blake opened the door before
Kale had a chance to knock. “Since I know you’re trained in stealth, I’ll
assume you’re making that racket on purpose.”

“Just checking.”

“Just checking what? That the
steps are sound?” Blake noticed Amber, who was waiting across the village.
“What’s Amber doing over there?”

“It’s safe,” Kale called,
sending Amber into another set of hysterics as she made her way over.

Blake seemed puzzled. “Safe?”
Kale’s droll look filled her in on what they were referring to. “Oh for
Zeus’s sake. You two are worse than a couple of kids.”

That set them both off
laughing again.

“We brought you something to
eat,” Amber said, in between laughs. She handed the birds to Blake.

“Thanks. I’m starved.”

“I bet,” Kale muttered,
receiving a slap from Amber as she dissolved into laughter yet again.

Blake shook her head, though
she didn’t look annoyed. “Come on in.”

“Amber,” Shale greeted,
clearly pleased to see her.

“Hi, Shale.” Amber gestured
to the healing wound on Shale’s forearm. “You’ll get a good scar from
that.”

“It’s definitely a warrior
thing,” Blake noted despairingly.

Shale spared Blake an amused
glance before replying to Amber. “Yes, it’s better than I thought it was
going to be.”

“Am I the only sane person
here?” Blake asked. “I’m the only one who’s glad it wasn’t any worse.”

“That’s not true,” Shale
said. “Appollonia was relieved, too.”

Kale nodded. “And that’s
merely because a smaller wound means less stitches, and less work for her.
What’s your excuse, Blake?”

“Well excuse me for not
wanting to see the remnants of where my partner was almost hacked to bits!
I must just be sensitive about that kind of thing.”

Shale laughed loudly. “When
you put it like that, it does seem kind of strange that we like them.”

“Thank you,” Blake said.

“Show her the scar on your
back,” Kale said. “Wait till you see this one, Amber, it’s exquisite.”

Shale grinned and turned
around, raising her top as she did so.

“Ooh, that’s a great one,”
Amber said.

Blake buried her head in her
hands. “I’m not going to win this debate.”

“THIS MEAT TASTES wonderful,”
Shale said, around a mouthful. She clasped Kale’s shoulder, who was
sitting alongside her at the table. “Thanks for bringing some for us.”

Kale grunted and tipped her
head. “So, Blake, do you have any other blood kin? Or is there just your mother?”

If Blake was surprised by
Kale’s curiosity, she didn’t show it. “No, there’s only my mother.”

“What about you, Amber?” Kale
asked.

“Just me,” she responded, a
wistful smile appearing. “Though some of my friends I consider to be
family,” Amber said, looking pointedly at Blake.

Blake grinned, and squeezed
Amber’s arm. “Likewise.”

“We had a friend like that in
our old tribe.” Shale started to chuckle, and she glanced to Kale. “Tell
them about the time we went after those boars with Senna.”

Kale let out a short laugh,
and eagerly leaned forward, resting her weight on her forearms. “When we
were younger, and a lot more reckless—”

Shale snorted in amusement.
“No more reckless than you are now.”

Kale playfully nudged her,
then continued on, “We decided to try and impress our queen and the other
warriors. We thought that if we brought a sumptuous feast home, we’d be
the toast of the village.” Kale nodded to Shale, who effortlessly picked
up the story where she’d left off.

“We set off early morning,
and came across some boar tracks. We followed them, and were lucky enough
to find an abandoned piglet. It had fallen into a hole made by an uprooted
tree, and since it was raining, the piglet couldn’t get out of the muddy
trench, so the sow had left. Senna got the piglet out easily enough, but
we weren’t satisfied with one. We all agreed to let it loose, hoping it
would lead us back to its den.”

“By this point,” Kale pitched
in, “it was raining so heavily the boar tracks had been washed away. The
piglet was fast for such a small creature, but we managed to keep up. It
led us straight to its den, but unfortunately for us, it contained four
sows, and no less than ten piglets.”

“Uh-oh,” Blake murmured.

Kale snickered. “We didn’t
realise until we were on top of them, and we sprinted right into their
nest.”

Amber’s eyes widened. “What
did you do?”

“We turned and sprinted right
on out,” Kale said, amidst laughter. “The roles had suddenly reversed, and
we were being chased by them. Shale and I bolted up a tree, and Senna
tried to follow.”

Shale spoke up once more,
“Since it was slippy, Senna couldn’t manage to get up the tree. We grabbed
her wrist and hauled her up, but not before one of the boars skewered her
with its tusk. Right in the backside.”

“Ouch,” Blake said, obviously
amused.

“I think she cursed all the
gods on Olympus,” Kale said. “And instead of bringing home a feast, we
brought back an injured Senna.”

“We never lived it down,”
Shale added with a chuckle.

“I bet Senna wasn’t proud of
that scar,” Amber said drolly.

“No, but she was always
showing it off,” Shale said. “She had a great sense of humor. Never afraid
to laugh at herself.” Shale realised that this was the first time she’d
thought about her tribe without being overwhelmed by sadness. She recalled
several other fond memories, and met Kale’s eyes for a long moment.

Twin smiles appeared—they
were beginning to heal.

“I WISH I could have met
Senna,” Blake said quietly, her mouth close to Shale’s ear.

“You and she would’ve got on
well,” Shale said.

“How close were you?”

Shale lifted her head to look
at Blake. “Do you mean were we ever intimate?”

“Yes.”

“No. Kale neither. We all
grew up together, she was like another sister.”

Blake kissed Shale’s
collarbone consolingly. “I’m sorry.” She snuggled into Shale, feeling the
arms around her tighten as she did so. Blake was nearly asleep when Shale
next spoke, but the question roused her completely.

“Do you think she’s mad at
us?”

“Who?”

“Senna.”

Blake’s brow creased, and she
peered up at Shale. “Why would she?”

“Because we haven’t avenged
her or the others. For settling down here and building a new life, without
killing the people who slaughtered them first.”

“Shale, you know why you
couldn’t do that. If you had followed those tracks you would have put us
all at risk.”

“I know, but that doesn’t
change what happened to them. They still need to be avenged.”

“And we will avenge them. All
of them,” Blake said. “But when the time is right.”

“When I pass over, I want to
be able to look them in the eye, to tell them that we got the bastards who
did this.”

“And you will. Senna won’t be
mad at you, sweetheart, she’ll just be glad that you’ve found a new home.
She would want you to be happy.”

A smile touched Shale’s lips.
“I am happy.”

Blake kissed her. “Me, too.”

“YOU DO REALISE I’m going to
be the laughing stock of the whole village,” Blake moaned.

“Why?” Shale asked, an
innocent expression on her face.

Blake narrowed her eyes. “You
know exactly why, Shale. Look.” She indicated the love bite on her neck.

Shale held back a grin. “It’s
hardly noticeable.”

“It’s huge!” Blake said.
“I’ve got a meeting with the counsel first thing. And my mother’s going to
be there.”

Shale broke into laughter,
suppressing it when Blake glared at her.

“If my mother asks, I’m
sending her straight to you,” Blake said.

Shale sobered instantly. “You
wouldn’t?”

“I would,” Blake said, though
her twinkling eyes gave her away.

“I’m sorry. I got a little
carried away.” Shale smirked. “Next time, I’ll make sure it’s where no one
can see it.”

Blake raised a single
eyebrow. “Oh you will, will you?”

Shale nodded cockily. She got
out of bed, limped to where Blake was dressing, and wound her arms around
Blake’s waist. Shale drew her close, kissing her gently. “Forgive me?”

Blake linked her hands behind
Shale’s neck. “Only if you kiss me again.”

Shale smiled. “I’m sure I can
manage that.”

“I’M NOT QUITE sure I
understand.”

“What’s to understand, Kale?
I merely want to go for a walk, get some exercise. Now are you coming or
what?”

“Sure. Though I’m surprised
you’re up for any more exercise. I thought Blake was keeping you pretty
busy.”

“On second thought, I’ll go
myself,” Shale said, heading outside.

“All right, I’ll be good.”

Shale shook her head at
Kale’s mischievous grin. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“Trust issues?”

Shale scoffed. “That must be
it,” she replied wryly. “Will you fetch me a staff?”

“There’s no way you’re
sparring, Shale. Blake would kill me if I let you.”

Shale chuckled. “She’d kill
me, too. It’s to lean on, for support.”

Kale frowned at herself for
the misunderstanding. “Of course. I’ll go and get one.”

Shale found a blank piece of
parchment on the table and wrote a short note, explaining where she had
gone. She didn’t want Blake to worry.

Kale soon returned, staff in
hand, and tossed it to Shale, who caught it nimbly.

It wasn’t until they had left
the village that Shale had to use the staff, and she was quite pleased by
her progress. She pushed on, determined to go as far as she could.

They walked a good distance,
Shale having to stop and rest three times before she accepted defeat.
“That’s it. I’ll have to turn back.”

Kale patted her shoulder.
“You’ve done well.”

Shale grinned at her, and
they started to retrace their steps. They hadn’t gone very far when Shale
stumbled, though it wasn’t down to her knee giving way.

Kale’s fast reflexes saved
Shale from falling, her strong hands keeping her upright. “Steady.”

Shale didn’t acknowledge her
words, her head whipping around to look behind her. She stared into the
surrounding trees. Her gaze flicked to Kale, then back to the trees,
confusion ruling her features.

“Shale?”

“You are here, aren’t you,
Kale?”

“What?” Kale frowned. “Of
course I’m here.” Her hands squeezed Shale’s waist to verify her
statement.

“Then how come I can sense
you over there?”

“What?” Kale asked again. “I
don’t— What?”

“You know how we can sense
each other’s presence?” Shale didn’t wait for a reply. “I know you’re
here, but I can sense you over there...only, it’s not quite you...it’s
slightly different.”

“Have you bumped your head
recently? Maybe when making love to Blake? It’s easily done, in the heat
of the—”

“Kale, I’m serious.”

“I know. That’s what’s
worrying me.”

“Just see if you can pick up
on it,” Shale said.

“How am I supposed to sense
myself?”

“Just do it. Besides, I told
you, it’s not quite you.”

“Well that makes all the
difference,” Kale said. She appraised the area briefly. “Nothing.”

“Try, Kale. Focus.”

Kale sighed, but did as Shale
wanted. She concentrated, her gaze going inward. After a long delay, Kale
shook her head. “Nothing. There’s nothing near us.”

“I didn’t say it was near us,
it’s right on the edge of my senses. Try searching farther away.”

Kale hesitated, then tried
once more.

“Hurry, it’s fading.”

Kale abruptly straightened in
surprise. “Something’s there. It’s like you, but...
 
It’s gone.”

Shale sat down, her legs
suddenly shaky. “What do you think it was?”

“Mass hysteria,” Kale
quipped.

“I think it was Zale.”

“What? Are you mad? What
would a farmer’s boy be doing on Amazon territory?”

“It’s the only thing that
makes sense.”

“None of this makes sense.”

“That would explain my dream,
too. I had man’s hands, Kale.”

“Not that again. You need to
let it go.”

“I think he was there when
our tribe was killed. That’s why I saw it happening, through his eyes. He
gutted Senna. He’s an animal.”

“Why would this only start
now, Shale? You’ve never experienced this before.”

“I don’t know. I’d guess that
we connected through sharing the same event, or maybe it’s his close
proximity to us. I have no idea, but it is happening.”

“All right, let’s just say I
believe you for a moment. If we can sense him, surely he can sense us? And
if he’s as bad as you say, why doesn’t he just come and kill us?”

“The same reason you didn’t
sense him, or have the dream that I had. You’re not as receptive as I am,
and from what I saw in that dream, Zale certainly isn’t either.” Shale
thought for a moment. “And it’s unlikely he would know what it was anyway,
even if he did sense us.”

Kale shook her head. “We’ve
both been out in the sun too long. Let’s get back.”

“You wouldn’t have even noticed
his presence if I hadn’t pointed it out. There’s no one to point us out to
him,” Shale said.

“And I wish you hadn’t
pointed it out,” Kale said, her annoyance clear. “Now I admit it was
strange, but that doesn’t automatically make it Zale, so just drop it.”

“But—”

“Shale, we share the same
blood. Do you really want to believe that our own brother is capable of
that? Not just killing our tribe, but massacring them? If that’s true,
what does it say about us?”

“DID YOU ENJOY your walk?”
Blake asked, when the twins entered the cabin.

“Sort of,” Shale replied.

“No,” Kale said bluntly.
“I’ll see you later, Shale.”

Shale caught her wrist.
“Kale, I really think we should talk about this.”

“Well I don’t.” She looked
down to where Shale was restraining her, but the hold wasn’t released.

“You two haven’t had another
fight, have you?” Blake glanced to each of them, and they shook their
heads.

“Something happened when we
were out, it...unsettled us,” Shale said.

“What was it?”

“Nothing. Shale’s merely
losing her mind.”

“I am not. You sensed Zale,
too.”

Blake was surprised. “Zale?”

“It wasn’t Zale,” Kale said.
“We don’t know what it was. It’s never happened before, and it’s not
likely to either. Shale’s simply speculating.”

“It has happened before. I
told you, my dream.”

Kale groaned loudly. “Don’t
start, Shale. Blake doesn’t want to hear about your delusions.”

“Actually, I do,” Blake said.

Kale rolled her eyes. “I
should’ve known.”

Shale smiled at Blake. “I
think that’s why I had man’s hands, I was seeing it from his point of
view.”

“You think he was there?”

“Yes. I saw exactly how Senna
died, how Zale killed her. How would I know that?”

“You saw her body,” Kale
said. “You could easily imagine the rest.”

“Why would I want to? You
might not believe me about the dream, Kale, but I saw your face, you
sensed him too.”

“I sensed something, but only
briefly. It was over too quickly, it could have been anything.”

“Don’t you think it could be
possible?” Blake asked.

“No. We’re not like that,”
Kale said.

“I know you’re not, but what
about him?”

“He shares our blood. He’s a
part of us,” Kale said. “I won’t believe that a part of me, or Shale, is
capable of murdering our sisters. I won’t.”

Blake frowned, and tried to make
her see reason. “He’s a separate person, Kale. His actions don’t reflect
on you or Shale.”

“We’re linked. We shared the
same womb. He’s as much a part of us as we are to him. If Shale’s right,
and he did slay our tribe, then a part of us did as well.”

“That’s absurd, Kale.” Blake
glanced to Shale. “Please tell me you don’t feel the same way?”

Shale thought for a long
moment. “No, I don’t. Zale’s actions are his own.” She turned to Kale.
“Deep down you know this. We could never be a part of that. Never.” Shale
held her gaze until Kale nodded. “Though I do think we have to be
connected to him in some way, or else I wouldn’t have had the dream, or
have been able to sense him.”

“Assuming it is Zale,” Kale
added.

“If it is Zale,” Shale said.
“Whether we’re connected or not, he needs to be stopped. We need to stop
him.”

“WE WERE IMPRESSED by that
waterfall we passed, weren’t we, Kale?” Shale looked at Kale, who was busy
refilling her plate.

“Yes,” Kale said, before
digging into her meal. “It was quite a sight.”

“Did you just pass the one?”
Amber asked. At Shale’s nod, she said, “If you’d kept going, there’s an
even better waterfall. It flows directly into a large lake.”

“Is it much farther?” Shale
asked.

“Yes, quite a bit,” Blake
replied.

Shale frowned slightly. She
couldn’t have gone any farther, at least not yet.

“Why don’t we go when your
knee is healed?” Kale said.

“I don’t know how long it’ll
take to completely heal, and the best weather is here now.” Shale bit into
a chicken leg. “I think you three should go.”

Blake shook her head. “I’m
not going without you.”

Shale swallowed her food.
“Why not? The four of us can go another time.” She gestured to Kale. “I
know Kale’s dying to see it.”

Everyone turned to Kale, and
she shrugged. “It’s true. I love waterfalls.” When both Blake and Amber
raised their eyebrows at her in surprise, Kale scowled. “What?” she said.
“I can’t like nature?”

Amber held up a hand in
defence, causing Shale to chuckle.

“I think you should go,”
Shale said. When no one spoke, she added, “You shouldn’t all miss out just
because I’m injured. I tell you what, I’ll give my knee another week, and
if it’s still not up to the walk by then, you three go without me.”

“All right.” Kale nodded.
“That seems fair enough.”

“I’M NOT GOING.”

“Blake, we’ve talked about
this. I really think you should go.”

“I’d rather stay here and
spend time with you, Shale.”

“And I appreciate that, but
we can spend time together when you get back. I want you to spend some
time with Kale, get to know her better. This is the perfect opportunity.”
Shale paused. “Please?

It’s important to me.”

Blake sighed. “Fine.”

Shale could tell that Blake
still wasn’t happy about leaving her behind. “It’s not for very long,”
Shale said. “I’ll meet you at noon in the meadow. By that large boulder.”

“All right,” Blake said. “But
only because it means so much to you.”

Shale smiled and kissed her.
“Thank you. Now go.” She gave Blake a light push toward the cabin door.
“And make sure you have a good time.”

SHALE REACHED THE gigantic
boulder a little before noon. Even though she was disappointed that she
hadn’t been able to go to the waterfall, she was relatively impressed by
the recovery of her knee.

She perched on the edge of
the rock, giving her leg a chance to rest before the others arrived. She
knew Blake and Kale had been getting on a lot better recently, and Shale
hoped that the journey today would help to solidify their friendship.

She sensed Kale approaching,
but it was from the completely wrong direction. That set off warning bells
in her head, and she picked up on the slight difference—it wasn’t Kale.