Page 72 of Mindeater

As if my ridiculous pining isn’t enough to put me in the foulest mood ever, I’m starving. Both physically and mentally. Matthias trained me to consume both daily. Without my sustenance, I don’t know what will happen. It’s as much of a necessity as it is an addiction. I’m slick with sweat, mouth dry, and my legs feel like sludge. After what feels like days, Ryx finally notices how far behind him I’ve fallen.

He stops just before a steep downhill path, hand on his hip, and waits impatiently. Once I catch up, he lays into me. “Walk fucking faster. At this rate, they’ll be dead and rotten in the ground by the time we find them.”

“I need to eat,” I snap.

Huffing, he digs into his bag and pulls out a gross piece of jerky. “I didn’t have time to pack anything better. So suck it up and eat it.”

“Not just this,” I grumble, but take a large bite. It’s ungodly dry and brittle. The equivalent of eating bark, I imagine. The petrified meat sticks to my teeth and roof of my mouth. “What animal is this?” It’s gamey.

“Rabbit,” he says with a sneer and pushes forward.

The path is slick with melting snow, the sludge underneath creating a death slide down to dense forest. It’s warmer here, not by much, but enough that I don’t feel like I’m going to freeze. He navigates downhill with ease, but I fumble and slip. My nub of jerky goes flying into some bushes, and I flail, falling to my ass. My misery doesn’t stop there, though. The first seer is punishing me, pushing me faster and faster down the path.

I shriek, sailing right past Ryx. “Ah!”

Somehow I manage to flip onto my stomach, fingers clawing at the loose substrate to no avail. Mud sloshes over my front and into the waist of my too-big jeans.

“Damn it, Saren!” Ryx barks, angling his feet to slide down after me. “Use your mastery!”

“It doesn’t work like that!” I cry out, a jagged rock slicing my leg open.

I’ve got to be near the bottom. There’s no way it can keep going like this. But when Ryx starts running, I panic. I flip onto my back, dig my heels into the dirt, finally seeing what’s waiting for me. The trees are growing at an angle, cradling a curve in the path and aimed like giant spikes. I’ll be impaled. Dirt and rocks fly up from the force. My fingers are bleeding. Just before I meet my death, Ryx dives on top of me.

Strong arms cradle my body, rolling us out of the tree line. We finally stop sliding. Ryx pants on top of me, dirt smeared on his cheeks, hair falling around my face. “What is wrong with you?” he demands, gloved hand pinching my chin. His gunmetal eyes bore into mine.

The buzz of our clashing masteries is present, but dull. I can’t focus on anything but the weight pressing into me. His scent floods my nose, almost dizzying in its strength. Little sparks of energy bounce around in my lower stomach. Every inch of his body is pressed into me, and for the first time ever, I…feel something.

As I keep staring into his eyes, a horrible blush forming on my cheeks, he pinches my chin harder.

“Huh? What do you think you’re playing at? You could have died.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s concerned—worried, even.

“I slipped,” I whisper.

“Do I need to fucking hold your hand? Hmm?” Even though he’s scolding me, his thumb brushes the corner of my mouth almost on instinct. “I can’t watch your every step. I can’t focus on you when I need to focus on them.”

“Then find me something to eat,” I say through gritted teeth.

“I did.”

“Not that.” I see it the moment he understands. It shatters whatever moment we were having.

He shoves off me quickly, wipes his front off like I’m contagious, and fusses with his bag, making sure nothing fell out. “I’m not letting you eat anyone’s mind,” he says, voice thick. “So you can forget it.”

I’m covered from head to toe in mud. There’s no point in even trying to do anything about it. “I don’t eat their minds.” With a groan, I get up. My injuries are superficial and will heal fast. “Half the time they don’t even know I’ve taken anything.”

“And the other half?” he snarls. “Don’t pretend to be so innocent. I know what you can do, leech.”

Leech. The slur hits its mark, putting things into clear focus. He didn’t save me because he cares. He needs me alive to find his people, and then, once I’ve done so, he’s going to insist I tell him about New Grove.

And if I don’t…

He’s going to kill me. Or die trying.

***

No one sane would ever venture this hellish landscape, so whoever is out here is definitely mad. At first, I can’t tell what I’m sensing. My mastery is cast as far as it can go. Not that I’ve ever measured it before, but one night while I was locked in my cage, I managed to sense every mind in New Grove. I couldn’t focus on individual thoughts, but I could count their distinct signatures. 2,476 civilians. The only reason I know it worked and wasn’t a hallucination is due to how furious Matthias was. My punishment was so extreme I never attempted it again.

While the logical side of me knows I’m nowhere near my guardian, I still hesitate. What if it’s a trap? What if soldiers from New Grove are stationed in these woods just waiting for me to slip up? Is Avis out there? Watching? I tug the pitiful excuse for a jacket tighter around my middle, ignore the filth, and try to focus. At this rate, I’d be better off following my damn nose. I’m too hungry, too tired, too upset.