rolled. Mercifully, she found the boot quickly enough, although an ominous squelch rose from her unprotected foot as she bent to pick it up. Everything was wet; her clothing was soaked from rolling along the hill, her sock was soaked, even her hair felt damp.
“Don’t panic, Avery. You’ve been here less than five minutes.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. And another. And another. She assessed her sodden clothing. “Look at it this way—at least you’re not muddy.”
She wrung out the sock and then placed both it and the boot on her foot again, this time double knotting the laces, a step she’d neglected that morning. The wet wool squished juicily inside the leather. Still, she was far less concerned about her soggy toes than her missing bag. Nathaniel had made it clear she’d likely have to sleep outdoors tonight and stay at an inn tomorrow as Castle Dunchridhe was more than two days’ walk from the gate to the builgean. How would she survive without water, food, or matches?
Panic rising again, her gaze swept over the ground and between the trees, her heart beating faster with every passing minute. What if she couldn’t find it? How would she survive long enough to even reach Xavier? She’d have to find water and food and shelter with no money or directions. Her breath came in pants, and she closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure.
When she opened them again, a flash of gold caught the corner of her eye. Her brow furrowed. It reminded her of the flash that had led her to Xavier’s portrait. She moved toward it. A divot in the moss marked where she must have landed and there, thrown off to the side, was the leather bag.
“Thank you!” she said toward the heavens and the guardian angel who must have intervened. The sky was exceptionally blue above her. No trace of a door or a ward. Suddenly she was glad she hadn’t noticed that earlier. Had she not found her bag, she couldn’t have given up even if she’d wanted to. She could not reach the door to the builgean on her own. Truly, there was no turning back now.
She slid her arms into the drawstring loops of the bag and wore it like a backpack. Nathaniel had said to head downhill and that she would eventually reach a village. She turned, decided on a promising direction, and started to walk, her wet foot squishing in her boot with every step.
Four hours later, Avery still hadn’t seen a single human being or building. Not even an abandoned shack. The frothy babbling of a stream welcomed her to its bank, and she took a seat on a large stone to remove her boots. Her wet sock had never dried properly, and she peeled it from her foot and laid the wool in the sun on the rock beside her. The heel of her foot was rubbed raw, and she plunged it into the stream where the cool water soothed it. She’d been stupid to walk all this way with a wet sock in waterproof boots. She stripped off the other one for good measure and ran her toes through the grass.
Mmmmmmm. The feeling was heavenly. She’d underestimated how heavy the boots would get on the long hike.
She took the bag from her shoulders and thunked it on the stone beside her, digging out her canteen and chugging what was left in it. Once she’d drained it dry, she dunked it under the water. When it was full again, she dug out the pills Nathaniel had given her and dropped one in. Whatever it was, he claimed it would clean any impurities from the water. After a brief fizzing, a puff of gray steam blew out of the mouth.
“Seems like a good sign.”
She sniffed it, then gave it a tentative sip. Delicious. Screwing the cap back on, she returned it to her bag and pulled out one of the protein bars she’d packed. She opened the package and carefully placed the wrapper inside her bag. Nothing good would come from littering what was otherwise a pristine streambed.
Movement across the rushing water caught her eye, and she squinted at the space between the trees. There was something there. Something brown. A bear? It moved again.
It was a man! A small man with a furry brown face.
“Hello?” She waved cheerfully at him.
The man’s eyes widened, but he didn’t wave back. She took a bite of