Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,67
crossed-legged on the ground, she studied the massive gnarled tree they’d crawled out of, the hole in its trunk ominous. The branches sported only a few dry leaves.
She made a face at it. “It looks dead.” Yet she hadn’t forgotten the roots underground.
“The correct term here is innocuous. On the top, it appears benign and even in ill health, which makes no sense given it obviously is in a fertile place with plenty of nutrients and water.”
“The outside is a disguise because its true growth is below the earth.” She chewed on some of the crunchy, fatty meat. He’d seasoned it with something that made her mouth very happy. “Does any of it move on the outside?”
“Nothing above ground even at night. Only below the earth, with the caveat being, since there is no clear day and night, they’re always awake, just more sluggish when its upper half is being bathed in sunlight.”
“In the Wasteland, I knew a place, Seimor Forest. It would go after anything living it could find the moment it turned dark. You had to stay on this one spot in a lake to be safe.”
“The marshes have their own dangers when the sun goes down.”
“Is it true you control the things that live in them?” Someone had said something about the king being the ruler of even the sorriest bog creature.
“No. My abilities only let me do things like shape the mud and water.”
“Into what?”
He shrugged. “Anything I want.”
She stored that info along with all his other skills. How many more to go? “Is that why people decided to follow you?”
“They don’t care about my psionic abilities, although they do come in handy.”
“I still don’t get how Eden grew to be so big.” Axel had been doing the same thing for almost a decade and only had a fraction of the number.
“Growth comes by giving people a place to go that promises some form of safety.”
“But how did they know they could trust you?”
“They have good taste.”
She made a face. “Seriously?”
“Let me ask instead, what made you decide to stick with Axel?”
“He wasn’t an asshole.”
“There was more to it than that I’m sure.”
“Actually, not much more.” By the time Casey and Cam had encountered Axel, they were savvy and could have remained on their own, but there was something to be said about having other people around. Of sometimes being able to relax and talk to someone other than her brother.
“The people I bumped into also didn’t think I was an asshole.”
“How many of them did you save?”
“More than I should have had to.” He cast her a glance shuttered with dark lashes. “It shouldn’t be so hard to live.”
“You should get that printed on a shirt as your rebellion logo.”
The remark brought a bark of laughter. “Except, I’m not advocating rebellion. We’re not trying to fight the Enclave or the other kingdoms. We just want the right to exist and make our own laws.”
“Careful, you almost sounded noble there.”
“Can’t have that, now can we?” He rose to his feet and held his hand over the fire. It instantly smothered. Even the heat disappeared.
A man of many talents and secrets. And he wanted her to trust him?
Hadn’t she proven she did already?
They discovered their bikes not far from the tree. Spat out overnight, according to him. The roots didn’t like garbage in their lair.
Which made her wonder how the cat got to them? Roark didn’t seem surprised to see her. Odd. Because he used to think she never left the castle.
It was only when she saw the cat climb into his knapsack that she exclaimed, “You brought the cat on purpose?”
“Not exactly. She hid inside my bag.”
“How did you not notice?”
He shrugged. “Maybe she’s related to you.”
The remark brought a scowl. “We can’t bring her to the city.”
“We can’t leave her behind.”
And that was the end of that conversation.
They made good time racing along the bluffs. Her gaze was often drawn to the blue horizon. She’d not seen another giant of the sea, but at least now she knew they lurked.
It took hours before they saw signs of life. He slowed down as they passed a few sparsely spaced homes with fenced gardens.
“A few of these houses have children,” he explained.
Indeed, he’d no sooner said it than a young boy dashed out in front with a little girl toddling after him. The father followed not far behind, eyeing them on their halted bikes. They’d braked in time, but good thing they’d been going slower.
It was as