Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 297

Chapter 297: Moving forward
Ford studied Mia as she cooked breakfast, guiltily thinking over what he’d overheard in the night. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, necessarily.

Ford had been concerned about his power after he’d regained consciousness. He felt the sharp pain of his injuries for some time thereafter, and was unable to stop it.

It turned out that magic running low was a draining experience.

But, better to learn about it now than in a situation more dire. Daniel’s minimization of the creature as being weak or young was a little insulting for reasons Ford couldn’t quite pin down.

Maybe it felt like his accomplishment of hiding them from it was lessened somewhat. In any case, the boy had been pleased as punch with himself over his conjuring of a giant wasp to scare off the chimera in tandem with Grandpa’s swarm.

Ford had had many questions about how quickly magic replenished. If it was the same for every magic user, or varied person to person. If it damaged him somehow to completely run out, or if he had only passed out because he suddenly felt the full pain he’d been refusing to endure before.

When he’d woken up in the night, he was worried a little about whether his magic would come back at all!

He stretched, aching, and fretted. He took a slow breath and tried to mask his pain. It went away easily, and Ford brightened. His tent was too dark for him to adequately see whether turning invisible was a success or not.

His intention was to slip out of his tent, using his power, to check by the fireside, and then go back to sleep without disturbing whoever was on watch.

When he’d seen Seth and Mia talking, he turned back to resume his sleep, but then he’d heard his name…

And now, well, now… hours later he was watching a woman cook him breakfast after admitting to her father that she felt a pull towards him.

Seth had claimed he would be kinder, but the pained looks the man sent his way seemed deeply conflicted.

Ford had no idea what it meant. Any of it. No idea what to do about it, either.

He’d reasoned through it over and over in his head the rest of the night. He must look exhausted now, but perhaps everyone would assume it was leftover fatigue from using his magic to total depletion.

Mia was pulled towards things she was searching for. A constant pull towards Ford must mean she was constantly looking for him? Was it interfering with her ability to look for other things?

That didn’t make a lot of sense in his mind. Maybe she had been so worried about him when he’d disappeared by the cave that now she looked for him by reflex when she stopped looking for other things?

No, that didn’t fit. She said it had been since she’d first found him on the property. That even she didn’t really understand everything it meant.

That explained the way Mia had gravitated towards him the week he’d lived in her home. And maybe the reason why she’d taken him along when she’d run away.

And how she avoided looking at him so absolutely completely when she wanted to. She always knew which direction not to look. He smirked slightly.

Knowing what he knew didn’t change that much, really, but the knowledge was something that turned over and over in his mind nonetheless.

“Are there any dangers you know of in the forest we should be on the lookout for?” Grandpa asked congenially as he sat down.

Mia finished cooking and began serving the food as her brow furrowed.

“I only saw the path,” She said. “I can’t even remember all of it, really, just the broad strokes and some details. I’m not blessed with Daniel’s memory.”

The boy sat up straighter with the compliment, beaming at his cousin.

“Should we move more slowly, not knowing what threats lie ahead?” Seth turned an anxious glance on Anaisa, who dropped her gaze.

“I can scout ahead,” Ford offered. “I should be able to get away from most things that would want to eat or hurt me.”

“But how would you know which direction to go?” Anaisa questioned. “Mia’s been leading the way. If she goes with you, and stays invisible to avoid threats, how will we know how to follow?”

“In the mines, we marked paths with arrows carved into the walls,” Ford offered the information easily. “With all the trees in the forest, I’m sure a similar system could be implemented.”

“So you’re proposing that you and Mia scout ahead, all alone, while you make the two of you invisible, marking the path on trees for the rest of us to follow?” Seth clarified flatly.

“Oh. Ah…” Ford’s mind raced. He’d noticed that Mia froze in place. “I could just shield everyone, but it won’t last long enough to be helpful if any real danger comes. Or we can just all stay together. I was only suggesting some options. Pay no attention if it’s a bad idea.”

He shoveled food into his mouth to cut off his nervous rambling. He hadn’t meant the suggestion at all the way Seth had framed it!

With his mouth full, he at least had an excuse to be silent for a moment as others considered his idea.

“It’s not the worst thing in the world to have some warning before we run into some animal or another,” Grandpa mused. “Wouldn’t even have to be that far ahead; you could stay within earshot in case one group or the other got into trouble.”

Seth shot the older man a serious glance.

Anaisa cleared her throat. “I would like to move as quickly as we safely can. Maybe we could try it until noon today, or until Ford needs to rest his powers? Whenever that happens, you two could just wait for us to catch up.”

“I’m going to water the horses.” Seth declared suddenly, standing. “Just let me know what the rest of you decide.”