“It is.”

  “Want to fill me in now?”

  While we walked, I also kept an eye out for the leprechauns, so I decided to stall. "I’ll let you know when I can. I want to make sure there’s no one able to listen in. Hopefully closer to the end of our walk.”

  We walked in silence for a short time.

  "We think there's another villager out here,” Logan said. “We saw signs of someone on our way back to camp."

  "From what I saw of the past, there could be two others."

  "Even if we manage to find someone living, I'm not sure they're going to be much use to us."

  At least I had hope to share in that area. "I might be able to help there." I bit my lip and wondered how I could explain without mentioning the leprechauns. Their secret wasn’t really mine to share.

  "Are you thinking about spreading around a lighter atmosphere?"

  "I didn't even think of that," I admitted. "That's a really good idea, though."

  "It works well on the Lost when you need to calm them down."

  A flicker of movement caught my eye, and I smiled.

  "What were you thinking of doing?" Logan asked.

  "Hold up," I said coming to a stop. I flipped off the red light. With good night vision, I could see enough for this meeting. “Is anyone nearby?”

  “Everyone’s still in the camp.”

  “I’m going to Read the area.”

  “You sure that’s a good idea? We're only about halfway around the camp."

  I closed my eyes and reached into the Path. "Trust me, now's the time."

  When I opened my eyes, the night looked like day once again. The vivid colors of the Path lit the world, just for me.

  "Kneel down," I said, sitting. I searched through Paths, though I didn’t see any out of the ordinary.

  Before starting, I called out using a light, peaceful tone, "I'm here." I pointed to Logan's ears, which were more than obvious when they were at their peaks. "I brought someone to help us out."

  That was the best I could do. He would either show himself to meet Logan, or he wouldn’t and I'd look like an idiot.

  "Now what?" Logan asked.

  "When you left me at the edge of the woods to go help Boone, I walked into the forest a short way." Bringing a calm, trusting thought of Gran to mind, I spread the contentment around the area. I wouldn’t be able to hold it up for long.

  Instinct told me to look out for other strange Paths, possibly coming from the camp, but I found none.

  Logan sighed. "You found someone, didn't you? One of the other missing people. What did you do with them?"

  "I didn't exactly find someone. They found me."

  Behind Logan I could see a leprechaun peering up at him, as though analyzing to decide if he was willing to appear or not.

  "They? And you didn't tell anyone?"

  "I sort of told Rider, in a roundabout way, that they were here."

  "They who?"

  I nodded behind him and Logan turned, finding himself nose-to-nose with a leprechaun.

  Logan froze and watched the leprechaun. The elf had met enough Lost to know not to move too quickly or make any snap judgments unless absolutely necessary.

  After the leprechaun had his fill of Logan, he came over to me.

  "And this is?" Logan asked.

  "I don't know his name, but I was hoping you might be able to translate."

  The leprechaun started talking and pointing out into the woods. Logan closed his eyes and listened.

  "I'm not sure what you mean," I said to the leprechaun.

  He started babbling again, and after a few moments, Logan interrupted. He spoke slowly at first. The two spoke in short spurts back and forth.

  "He says he owes you," Logan said.

  "Tell him I need to see his friend to make sure he's still okay."

  Logan spoke and the leprechaun looked sad. He looked from me, to Logan, and back to me again. Finally, he stepped behind some undergrowth and was gone.

  "He didn't look too happy," I said.

  Logan, however, wore a wide grin. "I can't believe they even came out. What did you do?"

  Now that they had decided to let Logan see them, I told Logan about the struggling leprechaun that had been bound.

  "You pushed the Path into the ground?" Logan asked.

  "Yeah, but I'm not sure if that was the best thing to do or not, though."

  "Hard to say. I guess it all depends on what's down there.”

  "I didn't think of that."

  "Likely the worst we'll get is some sort of ticked-off millipede," Logan said reassuringly.

  Two leprechauns arrived, completely silent. It was hard to tell which was which, but I think the one I helped was the one shaking. Their other friend appeared not long after.

  I inspected every inch of the leprechaun’s quaking Path while they stood there, silent and looking forlorn.

  "I think he's still okay," I said. "That happened hours ago and he's still clean of the infected Path. I think I can help counteract the effects of this thing."

  Logan passed on the good news to the leprechauns, who now looked confused.

  "Are you sure you're using the right language?" I asked.

  "As sure as I can be."

  "Ask them where the leprechaun was attacked."

  Once it was translated, the first leprechaun started talking while using expansive hand gestures. The other three picked up the litany, each in turn. I could tell they thought it was a whopper of a story because of their voices and their gestures.

  "It's a few miles from here," Logan said. "The nightmare creature attacked them before they knew what was happening. He says he owes you and he's ready to settle the debt."

  I shook my head. "He doesn't owe me anything. Can you explain to him that this is what we do?"

  Logan started explaining, and there was some back and forth once again. The leprechaun walked over to me and tapped my forehead. Then he took out a small knife and plunged it into the ground in front of me.

  "He said he doesn't want to meet the others in the camp. I told him it was best if he never lets anyone else see him again. Ever."

  "Good, that's better for everyone."

  "We have a problem, though. Seems like you've been marked as a friend to their race."

  "I was, back when I met them the first time."

  "That means the debt can't go unpaid. If I'm understanding him, I think he's saying the debt is luck for saving a life."

  "Their luck is tied to their life. At least I think it is—I'm not really sure how that works."

  "He says it's up to you to take the luck."

  I could feel my face flush. "That's just... dumb. And ridiculous. What kind of friends do they have?"

  "If you aren't ready for him to repay the debt, he will follow you."

  "Great, that's all I need."

  Logan grinned. "They really are something. Turns out that's the way it's always worked with humans. Any time humans have helped them, the humans received luck in exchange."

  I took a deep breath and tried to remain focused, but I was losing my strength once again. "He can't follow me and I won't take his luck. It would kill him."

  Logan started translating when an idea crept in.

  "Wait," I said. "They are the luck. We can use that."

  Logan raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you saying you want something from them?"

  "Yeah, and it'll make us both happy. Ask them if they know where the nightmare is."

  Logan came back with an affirmative, but he still looked disapproving.

  "Tell them the luck was us meeting them, and if they tell us where the nightmare is, the debt is paid, because that's the best luck we could get right now."

  Logan grinned and passed on the message.

  I swayed and closed my eyes while the conversation went on around me. It felt almost as if I was outside myself, but I didn’t want to drop the calming feeling I was generating for the leprechauns. Could a person sleep sitting up? I'm pretty sure I couldn't Read the Path while sleeping.

  "It's done." Logan sounded muffled, as though he were talking through a pillow. "Cassie?"

  His voice was distant, but when he shook me, it brought me back to myself.

  "You need to stop Reading," Logan said.

  He didn't have to tell me twice. I let the Path fall away and I fell with it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  There was arguing, but it was being done quietly. Although I was half-asleep, I could still feel Vincent trying to dam back a crushing amount of emotion. His voice betrayed none of that, though, which is the only reason the argument remained quiet.

  Drowsily, I stared up through the bug net and saw a star peeking out through a gap in the canopy. It winked out, it appeared, and then it was gone again. I wished that whatever breeze was swaying the tree tops would come down here and join us.

  When it reappeared, I realized I had the perspective wrong. The swaying was much closer, and the thing moving was coming toward me, down from the tree.

  "What the hell is that?" I hadn't meant to ask so bluntly, but I had a dawning suspicion that the thing was slithering down.

  "What is it, Cass?"

  "What's the… the—the big thing, coming down from the tree."

  "Oh wow."

  I hated how he sounded so calm. How could anyone be calm with a giant snake on the loose?

  With my hands shaking, I searched for the zipper to the bug shield. My fumbling fingers seemed to take forever to get the flap unzipped. In my rush to get away, I stumbled out of the hammock, but Vincent kept me on my feet.

  Vincent helped me stay upright, but he wasn't moving away. Why was he not running?

  "It's only a snake," Vincent said. "It's not poisonous or anything."

  "Just a snake?" I squeaked. When faced with a giant snake, I felt that I had the right to squeak.

  It reached the strap to my hammock and I moved to hover behind Vincent.

  "I'm sure he only wanted to get warm," Vincent said, watching the creature.

  The thing was holding on to a limb and had already stretched down what had to be twenty feet.

  "Wow, princess, you found tomorrow’s breakfast." Renick laughed at his own joke.

  At least I thought it was a joke.

  "What do we do with it?" I asked.

  "We can encourage it to leave or move it," Logan said.

  Tolman walked up, looking cranky, and I realized I must have woken him up along with everyone else.

  An acute case of embarrassment arose.

  Tolman glared at the snake as though it had personally harmed him.

  The snake twitched and fell out of the tree. Tolman didn’t say a word—he only turned and went back to his hammock.

  The snake twitched a few more times, then it laid still.

  My mouth dropped open. Eyes wide, I looked at Logan.

  He gave the tiniest of nods.

  "I didn't want it dead, just… just…" My voice came out as barely a whisper. I'm sure my partners heard me, even if Tolman couldn't. I sniffed and tried to pull back from the situation. "I just wanted it gone."

  "I know," Vincent said, stepping closer. "It was a misunderstanding, that's all."

  Now I was shaking for a whole other reason. This felt even worse. Who does that to an animal? I mean, yeah, if there had been it or me, then you should go for it.

  I chanced a glance at Renick. He looked pissed.

  Then, he noticed me watching him and his attitude shifted, hiding any agitation he might have felt. "Looks like it's all better, princess."

  Vincent went still and I put my hand on his arm to dissuade any action on his part.

  "Renick,” Boone barked, “get rid of the snake. Take it well away from the camp. I don't want scavengers to show up.”

  Renick grumbled under his breath, but grabbed the snake and stomped away into the night.

  It had been my fault. I should have been quieter.

  Could Tolman do that to a person?

  Not that it mattered. The man always seemed to be packing as much firepower as he could lift. If he were going to attack a person, it was probably easier to open fire.

  I felt better than I had earlier—power wise at least—but I knew I needed a lot more sleep in order to make it through the day tomorrow.

  I eased toward my hammock once again and I looked up into the tree wondering if the snake had any friends up there.

  "You can switch with me," Vincent said.

  When I saw that he was the closest hammock to me, I smiled. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

  "Not a bit. I'm on duty, so I'll be close by, and I'll also keep a lookout for any other adventurous animals."

  "Who are you on duty with?"

  Vincent cringed slightly. "Renick."

  "Play nice." After checking for anything that slithered or crawled, I leaned against a tree by Vincent’s hammock. Lowering my voice, I added, "I didn't mean to wake everyone up."

  "Boone and Davis are going back and forth, keeping an eye on the fire. Rider's still asleep, though."

  "He's had a hard day.”

  "So have you. How are you holding up?"

  "I'm fine," I lied.

  He moved closer. "You know I can tell how you're actually feeling."

  I forced a smile. "Then why do you ask?"

  Vincent took my hand and leaned against the tree next to me. "I've been gone a while, I could be wrong."

  His close contact made our energy twirl together. A tingling anticipation arose inside.

  "Staying away from you didn't work so well today," I said.

  "I know."

  We stood silently for a while, listening to the sounds of the others settling in or, in Renick's case, walking around. I had hoped Vincent would say something else, like he wanted to be near me. The truth was, though, I knew he did, much the same as he knew how I felt.

  Still, it would have been nice to hear.

  "I should get back to work," Vincent said. He squeezed my hand before stepping away from the tree.

  I gripped his hand, holding him near me so he didn't have a chance to walk away. My mind was a swirl of things I wanted to say to him, but none of them seemed right or appropriate.

  "We have a lot to catch up on." It was the best I could come up with. It seemed like an understatement and left so much unsaid.

  "I feel like I've missed a lot," Vincent admitted. "Before I left, you broke... I wasn't sure what I'd be coming back to."

  I frowned wondering what my broken soul had to do with it. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

  "Neither am I." Vincent sighed, and I could see a chink form in the walls he built around himself.

  Reluctantly, I let go of him.

  I could sense more than see that he was trying to bottle up whatever was trying to break free.

  "I need to get back to work," he said.

  "Of course." This isn't how I wanted things to go.

  He didn't move, so I did, turning my attention back to the hammock. After checking the bug net to ensure I didn't let anything inside with me, I got in and after a bit of rearranging, I managed to get comfortable.

  Moments later, I heard Vincent walk away.

  The sun was well over the horizon when I peeked my head out of bed the next day. My need for caffeine was high, but I made sure to check the tree and ground for any surprises of the reptile variety.

  When I stumbled away from the hammock, Davis poked her head out from around a tree.

  “I wasn’t expecting you up yet,” Davis said. “They made it sound like you’d be asleep much longer. I would have had some coffee ready.”

  “Thanks, I can make some,” I said, looking around the site. “Where is everyone?”

  “Your team is at the village along with Boone.”

  “What are they doing back there?”

  “We can’t move out until the fire is all the way out.”

  “I didn’t think about that. Where are the others?”

  “They’re tracking. Trying to see if there is another person from the village out here.”

  “That’s a good idea. If we find someone, we can find out more about what did this.”

  Davis’s smile seemed to freeze. “I doubt anyone we find will be sane enough to be helpful.”

  “Maybe,” I said, sidestepping the issue. “What are we supposed to be doing?”

  “As soon as you’re up to it,” Boone said, walking into camp, “you two can go relieve Vincent and Rider for lunch.”

  Logan came soundlessly out of the woods. “Howdy, partner,” he said, tipping his hat. “It’s good to see you up and about.”

  I couldn’t believe it was already lunchtime, so I grabbed a protein bar and a caffeine pill. “I’m up for it.”

  Logan looked me over. “You look like you can manage for the afternoon, but take it easy over there. I think we should send Rider and Vincent out to search for any other survivors.”

  “That sounds good,” I said, grabbing water and hurrying off before either one of them changed their mind.

  Davis and I walked in silence for a while.

  “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Davis asked, once we were almost to the village.

  “Sure,” I said, curious, but worried about what the question might be.

  “Is this a typical mission for your team?”

  “Typical? No, not that there really is a typical case. How about you?”

  “Mostly they’re like this. We have our orders, we go in, we do the job, and we go home.”

  “I see what you mean,” I said. “Our orders aren’t usually as straightforward as this.”

  “You seem to have a lot of down time,” Davis continued.

  I could feel my face start to turn red. “I wasn’t exactly expect—”

  “No,” Davis rushed in. “I don’t mean that as a bad thing. I just meant that you use your power a lot on the job.”

  “Oh.” I’m not sure if that was any better or not. “Don’t you all use yours?”

  “Not in the way people may think,” Davis said.

  “What—”

  “You are looking well,” Rider said, interrupting as we approached the town. His smile looked artificial, which wasn’t like him.

  “Thanks,” I said. “So are you. How’s your back?”

  “It is healed,” Rider said.