Chapter 4

Just as the moon rises and the sun disappears over the horizon I make my way over to the inn, pulling my hood further over my head. Lily waits patiently by the front door, her eyes scanning the crowd until they land on me. A smile spreads across her face and lights up her eyes, warming my heart as she hurries over, taking my hand and leading me to our room.

"Did you miss me that much?" I ask once I take a seat on the hardwood floor and pull my hood to my shoulders.

"Maybbeee," Lily draws out, bouncing in place.

"What happened while I was gone?" I question.

Lily pauses, thinking for a moment. "I'm just happy to be in a village again, to see people. The woods are fun and all, but life seems so easy here. It's fun to visit small towns."

I nod. "True, but it's still good to be on your guard. We don't know anyone, and some people will try to use kindness or flattery to get through your defenses."

Lily nods.

"Come on, it's getting late. We need to leave by afternoon tomorrow."

"We can't stay a few days?" Lily whines.

I shake my head. "It's too dangerous."

"But we don't have anyone chasing us," Lily pushes.

"We will if we stay," I nearly snap, causing Lily to pause. I sigh. "There's a lot I'm not telling you, and that's because you're still so young. I want you to enjoy your childhood as much as possible before you find out just what burdens I protect you from. One day I'll be gone, and you'll have to defend yourself. Please, don't question my actions. I do what I do to keep you safe."

"Ok," Lily mutters, lying down next to me. I pull her close on the straw mattress.

"One day, you'll get to make your own decisions. Go where you want to go. But you'll always have to sleep with one eye open."

Lily nods. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, allowing the pull of sleep to drag me under.

The crowd is thick as I travel through it with Lily holding my hand tightly. We keep our heads low, weaving our way through until we make it to the entrance on the opposite side of the one we came from, the crowd noticeably thinner in this area. A tall, broad-shouldered young man leans casually against the stone wall. He sticks out like a sore thumb with his dark blue shirt that seems to be on the verge of tearing around his chest and upper arms and his black pants with the thick black hunting belt, equipped with various types of knives and easy-to-set-up snare traps as well as some tiny bottles that look like various types of medicine. He wears thick black hiking boots on large feet that give him an inch in height, not that he needs it. The guy already towers over everyone in the village.

I turn my gaze back to the ground and move to go through the exit, into the safety of the forest, when the guy stops me by holding a hand out in front of me.

"Last time I checked this village didn't have a patrol monitoring who came and out," I say.

"They don't," the guy says in a deep, husky voice. He clears his throat. "You just looked like an odd pair, so I figured I'd say hello."

I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I feel nothing but alarm around this stranger, and I don't like it at all.

"If that's all I would like to leave," I say shortly, pushing on his arm.

The guy responds by standing in front of me. "You're not going to say hi yourself? Don't be rude, tell me your name." He presses.

"Move." I say in a low warning tone.

"Very well. I just figured I'd help out and give you some answers to some questions you may have, but I suppose you're not interested."

"What kind of questions would I have for you?" I snap, bristling.

"You've experienced it, haven't you? The guardian spirit. Ever since it paid you a visit you've had this unexplainable urge to protect someone-" he pauses, leaning over and looking at Lily. "-and it looks like you found your person."

"What would you know about that?" I ask.

"I saw one, too. A wolf. I hear they're different for each person. What was yours?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Level with me. How many people have you met that were graced with the power of a guardian spirit? I'm willing to bet I'm the first. We can help each other out here, don't you see?"

"What is he talking about?" Lily asks, frowning.

"Don't worry about it," I say, narrowing my eyes. "We're leaving."

"Wait- let me come with you on your travels."

"Why should I do that, when I don't even know your name?" I challenge.

"I don't know yours either, to be fair," the guy points out.

"I didn't stop you to ask personal questions despite never meeting you before."

The guy gives a low whistle. "Touche. Very well. The name's Oliver Slate. And you are?"

"Hope, and this is my sister Lily," I move just enough for him to see her, but not entirely. "You will have no interaction with her unless in my supervision and with my permission. You will not so much as look at her. If you do, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Yes ma'am," Oliver says, smiling playfully. "Whatever you say."

I roll my eyes. Together, me and Lily brave the wild forests once again, this time with company. I haven't trusted anyone in eleven years, and I'm not exactly interested in changing that, especially when it's kept us alive so long.

"Hope you brought your own supplies, because we didn't prepare for unexpected guests," I say as I pull out the tent and begin setting it up.

"There's no room in that tent of yours?" Oliver asks, coming to look over my shoulder.

"Please. As massive as you are you could never hope to fit if it were just you," I reply. "Now shoo. Do something useful. Start the fire, hunt. Get some water and start boiling it. Anything to get out of my way and keeps you away from Lily."

"You sure you're not being.. I don't know, a tad overprotective?"

I pause. "Look, bud. I haven't trusted anyone in years. That principal is what kept me and Lily alive. The only reason you're here is because you have information. We're not friends. We're not acquaintances. We're not even on good terms. Now are you going to keep disgusting me with your annoying presence and endless prying or are you going to do something useful for once in your life?"

Oliver gives a low whistle and goes to tend to the fire. Lily walks over to me, watching him warily.

"Why do you hate him so much?" she asks.

"I don't like the feeling he gives me," I say, neither of us taking our eyes off of him. He continues to whistle happily as he arranges some of the wood I got from the village, pretending to not hear the conversation from five feet away.

"He seems ok," Lily says after a moment of watching him work.

"He's too curious. Guy never met us and yet he seemed to know so much about us. At least about the spirit." I mutter the last part, not quite wanting Lily to know about it just yet.