Ruin - By N.M. Martinez Page 0,53

nothing I want." But even as Killer said that, he looked past Jimmy and stared directly at Mary.

Brandon gave her another, harder, tug and she turned away, following after him down a different street of the village. They stopped. They were not far away, but enough that Killer was nowhere near them. Mary felt as if she'd run a great distance. Her heart beat hard in her chest and she was nearly out of breath. She breathed deeply, trying to stop her hands from shaking.

"Who was that?" She looked down at Brandon as she fret her fingers together.

"My brother." He looked up at her, his innocent face both angry and helpless. "My other brother. From my dad. He's from the Lost Territory."

Mary brought a hand up to her mouth as Brandon looked away as if the unwanted brother was his shame. How was it even possible that there was a Lost Lander on this side of the border? Brandon's father was the leader of the Southlands. He and Jimmy had never made a secret about that. But the Southlands worked to keep the border strong, to hold back any Lost Landers that might want to slip through into the Wildlands. So how was it possible that Brandon's father had a child with a Lost Lander?

"I thought they couldn't be here," she said simply rather than attempt to ask Brandon. The leader of the Southlands was a mysterious man even to his son. Mary knew nothing about him as people refused to talk about him unless it was to give new orders passed down from him.

Brandon shrugged. "Jimmy says that he's dangerous. They want to keep an eye on him." His small cheeks appeared to swell as he looked down at the ground. Quietly, he added, "He thinks bad things.

"What do you mean?"

He looked up at her with eyes that looked wounded, as if someone had told him something directly to hurt him. It was easy to forget sometimes that he could catch thoughts and that sometimes it probably was exactly like that.

"He thinks about what he's done. He likes to hurt girls."

The fear in her chest began to harden into painful anger that stuck to her heart. "Was he thinking bad things about me? Is that why you pulled me away?"

Brandon looked up at her. "Yes."

They didn't say anything more. The two of them stayed and waited for Jimmy to find them. Brandon couldn't read Jimmy's thoughts, so there was nothing more to do than to wait. It didn't take long for Jimmy to reappear. By then, a large cloud had moved over the sun and cast a large shadow over most of the town but leaving the far off hills shining in the sunlight.

Jimmy didn't take her hand as they started walking back towards the city, and Mary was still too shaken to reach out for his though she thought about it. She thought about the safety of his hand in hers and the warmth that they would share from their arms occasionally brushing against each other.

Without saying a word or even looking up at her, Brandon slipped his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze.

Intermission Six

Mary placed a mug of hot tea on the table in front of Shawn, who mumbled a thanks as she carefully pulled the mug closer by the handle and leaned back in her chair. Mary took a seat at the small table. The two women sat at her underground kitchen surrounded by bricks and wood. It was late, being after hours, and the only light was a small oil lamp sitting on the table.

Mary kept her own eyes on her steaming mug of tea. It was not a usual thing for Shawn to sit with her and talk to her like an equal, but things had changed since that day Jimmy had requested she go with him and Brandon to the village.

Shawn crossed her legs. "So Killer is gone."

Mary did look up at her then. She hadn't really told Shawn anything about the trip other than the basic topical details of visiting the market and the walk there and back. As far as Mary knew, Shawn had no mind reading abilities, but most people kept their powers hidden if they could.

"I heard you had a run in with him. You and Jimmy and Brandon." Shawn leaned forward enough to put her hands around her cup for warmth though she kept her eyes on Mary. "Jimmy ran him off."

Mary didn't know what to