Chapter XXXI

MICHELLE SWIPED SWEAT FROM her brow and looked up into the sun that was now starting to descend over the tall trees. Another day had already come and gone, and thankfully without any interrupts to their journey. Twisting her head to the side, she found several exhausted looks, and Alex's arms looked a little shaky under Joey's weight. "We should start looking for a place to rest for the night."

"No, we keep moving," Lucinda argued. She pushed passed Michelle and continued on her walk.

Michelle's eyes narrowed. "Last I checked, I'm the one in charge here." She jogged forward and stepped in front of Lucinda halting her. "You'll do as I say."

"You want me to heal Joey, right?" Lucinda snapped. "Then I need a safe place to do that, and that isn't here."

"You've been saying that all day," Michelle accused. "I'm starting to think you're just waiting around for her to die." Her fingers itched to grab an arrow. "I've played enough of your games." Lucinda huffed with an eye roll, and stepped around Michelle. Michelle quickly rammed a hand into Lucinda's shoulder, halting her.

Lucinda sighed and turned her head to face Michelle. "Look, I know you and your wee friends there haven't traveled this far in the Dome out of cowardliness. So ..." Her voice lowered. "If you want me to keep your secret then you'll stop pretending to be the fearless leader and listen to me for once. This ground has been soaked in the blood of our fallen friends so yes ... We'll keep going."

Lucinda shoved Michelle's hand away and pressed on. Michelle stared at Lucinda for a good few minutes as the witch stepped over fallen logs and pushed her way through brush, despite the fact that she had no hands to keep them from scratching at her face.

Michelle had no way of knowing whether Lucinda was telling the truth or not, but from their past history, she never told the truth. Yet she was right about one thing. Michelle and her crew had stayed away from this part of the Dome, and for good reasons too. "Fine," she agreed, reluctantly.

Michelle continued their trek for a few more miles until the gentle sound of slow moving water sputtered in her ears. She stopped abruptly, listening for the direction of the sound. A few words from Nathan fluttered past, but she ignored him as she listened intently to detect the water. Without replying, she took off in a sprint through the woods, pushing back brush and jumping over logs. It didn't take her long to find a stream that flowed horizontally along their path.

"Water!" Bellamy laughed, excitedly. He, along with the others, made their way to the stream to quench their throats, but Michelle held out her arm smacking Bellamy in the torso. He looked at her offended and baffled.

"Not here," she replied without bothering to look at him as her gaze followed the stream and met a large cave entrance. He took a step back, and she followed the flow towards the dark hole in the side of rather large hill. She stole a glance at the glistening water in the dying sun and her lips suddenly felt dried and cracked. She hadn't even noticed that she had become thirsty, and at that observation her stomach grumbled loudly. She placed a hand over her gnawing gut and swallowed.

Twisting her head around, she found Rufus and Brutus bringing up the rear; Brutus now able to walk alone, but with a very noticeable limp. "Rufus!" Rufus looked her way. "Take a partner and gather some dinner. We'll take shelter in the cave." Rufus playfully saluted before taking off.

"Wait! I'll come too!" Brutus called. He hobbled towards Rufus, and Rufus didn't reject him but rather smiled, seemingly happy to have his brother along side him.

"You're just letting them go alone?" Kathleen asked, throwing her hands out to the side. "They haven't even proven they have an ability to protect themselves!"

Michelle furrowed a brow at her concern. "No, they don't, but I'm not their mom and I won't baby them. We all have to do our part, and the twins just so happen to be our best hunters." She grinned, trying to give Kathleen some reassurance. "They have a sword and know how to use it. They'll be fine." She turned to the left and continued following the stream towards the cave. By the sound of all the boots along the rocky terrain, she could guess the others were right behind her.

She approached the cave, still watching the stream closely as she began her descent into the dark shadows. Her fingers brushed the cold, wet wall as she ran her hand along it and the smell of fresh water filled her nostrils. She peered down to watch her step as the pathway separated, breaking off into two stone pathways where the stream, now small enough to hop across, flowed directly in-between down the center.

A sudden yelp and a loud thud sent her heart lurching as she swung around. "Be careful," Chase said from his back on the ground, his voice strained as he cringed. "These rocks are slippery." She sighed in relief and rolled her eyes. Brianna pulled him to his feet and they pressed on.

Continuing down the incline, Michelle's eyes widened at the lake that came into view at the bottom of the slope. It ran up against the back of the cave wall and was contained in a bowl. Despite the darkness of the cave, it was easy to see as some kind of glow emanated from below the surface of the water. The ground leveled, and she stepped up to the edge of the rock where the waters met the ground. Peering down, she found the floor of the lake coated in blues and purples; bright, neon colors that illuminated throughout the waters and part of the cave she and the others now took refuge.

Through the light and crystal clear water, she could see several schools of fish, some small and others large, but nothing that looked dangerous. The only thing that looked worrisome were the two giant holes in the left and right wall near the floor of the lake.

"It's crazy." She turned her head to the right as Chase stood beside her staring down into the depths. "How can something so beautiful exist in a place like this?"

She turned her attention back to the water. While it was truly gorgeous, she still couldn't get rid of the uncomfortable feeling she felt while being around it. "Let's stay away from the edge," she commanded, slowly backing up. It was then she finally realized the water rippling and found nearly everyone already on their knees licking up water like a dog.

An unexpected smile tugged at her lips and she finally gave in to the urge to quench her own thirst. Squatting, she scooped water in her hand before drinking it. The cool liquid slid down her sore throat with a satisfied slurp. Water had never tasted so good.

She jumped in startlement as a soft whisper filled her ear, but she quickly realized that the voice wasn't her ear. The whisper was coming from inside her mind, and her heart suddenly quickened. Swallowing her last gulp of water, she lowered her hand, staring down into the water below. "It isn't safe!" the voice shouted clear as day. "It isn't safe!"

Michelle wiped her wet palm on her knee cap and stood. The voice in her head was clearly trying to warn her, but she knew that Madilyn was only concerned about her own safety. "You've seen something, haven't you?" Nothing but silence came and she knew her answer.

She looked up as Alex placed Joey roughly on the rocky terrain, his legs wobbling and arms collapsing. He clambered to his feet and rotated his wounded arm, and Michelle noticed a splotch of crimson on the once white bandage. Her eyes ventured back down toward Joey and knew that whatever Madilyn had seen would have to wait.

"Look what I found!"

Michelle swung her head to the left as Chase came running towards her. She held out her hand and he handed her a small, damp, and torn paper box. She furrowed her brow and slid the side out discovering it full of matches.

She stared at them puzzled and shocked. "Where did you find these?" He thrust a thumb over his shoulder.

"Ella found something else," Nathan informed, forcing Thomas to sit. She looked up as he uncrossed his arms to point, and she found Ella holding some pieces of ripped black material in her hands. Feeling her heart leap, Michelle eyed the box, scraps of clothing, and water.

Once again, Madilyn's voice rang clear, "It isn't safe!" and she shook her head, dropping her hand with the matches down to her side. "I have a bad feeling. Let's find somewhere else to wait out the night."

Lucinda sighed and awkwardly drummed her fingers along the boulder she sat on. "If only there was someone who had warned you about stopping," she pouted sarcastically before her expression blanked. "Oh, wait. Someone did."

"People die here all the time. Some torn up clothes doesn't mean anything," Kathleen said, lying down with her back pressed against a rock. "I can't go on any further." She yawned loudly. "I'm so ... tired ... " her voice grew soft as she swiftly drifted off.

Michelle gazed around at the others who also looked beyond exhausted. Madilyn's voice kept ringing in her skull, but for now, she would ignore her. Maybe it wasn't safe, but with night falling, walking around in the middle of the forest wasn't safe either. The past night was uneventful, but that wasn't another guarantee. "Alright," she said, softly. "Just a few hours."

She twisted her head until she met Lucinda eye to eye, and she gave a deadpan command, "Get to work on Joey."

Lucinda pouted dramatically and fell back against her boulder. "You can't really expect me to work on an empty stomach, can you? I gave David everything I had. I need a chance to refuel."

Michelle closed her eyes, placing her thumb, pointer, and middle fingers on the bridge of her nose, and breathed a sigh in frustration. Her head jerked up as Rufus came sprinting down the incline, and Brutus slowly made his way behind his brother. Both of the boys carried four rather large, gutted, and skinned rabbits and squirrels.

Michelle's eyes widened as Rufus halted in front of her. "Eight?!" she asked in disbelief. Rufus gave a smile as Brutus pulled up beside him, mirroring the grin. Michelle snickered, and jokingly pushed Rufus on the back of the head towards Alex, who looked excitingly at the food. Instantly, he held up his palms and fire burst to life.

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THOMAS STARED DOWN AT Joey across from him from his seat on the rather uncomfortable boulder. The smell of roasting meat drew his eyes towards Alex and the twins, and his stomach grumbled loudly.

Clearing his throat, he found Nathan on his knees dipping his hand into the lake for some water. Listening to the slurp, made Thomas's lips pucker. "So, what?" he snapped. "I don't get a drink?" Nathan shot him an angry look, and Thomas rolled his eyes and averted his gaze. "Whatever. I wasn't thirsty anyway," he whispered to himself.

He snarled, but kept quiet. It didn't seem fair that he was automatically assumed the bad guy. He glared at David as the younger boy sat down on a boulder on the opposite side of the cave. All Thomas could think about was dishing David the justice he deserved.

A shadow dimmed his view of the lake, and his eyes shifted towards in front of him where he found Chase extending him the silver canteen. "Thought that was for medical emergencies?" Thomas asked, sitting up straight.

Chase shrugged. "I can refill it. Do you want some or not?" Gulping, Thomas reluctantly nodded, and Chase held the canteen to his lips. He took several big swooshes, feeling the cold water soothe his throat. He gave Chase a nod of gratitude before the younger boy walked away.

Thomas's eyes ventured down and rested on Joey. Her head laid with her face turned away from him, but he could see a slight tinge of red in her dark hair. His heart lurched, but he remembered how earlier when he had checked on her she had no head wound. He had to assume it had come from Alex's shoulder, and his heart rate slowed to normal. He felt an unexpected dull ache in his chest with the anxiety of needing to know she was okay.

He averted his gaze, realizing he was fixated on her. He had asked himself over and over again over the past day how these affections had begun to develop so rapidly over a girl he didn't know, but now he began to question if there were actually any feelings, or if it was simply because he was intrigued by her.

For months now, the images of Joey Richards had plagued him. Same description, same picture every time. Only recently had the scenes behind her changed and over time, this mysterious girl had become an obsession of his, and he had grown close to the "girl in his head." Ivory had teased and called it an unhealthy obsession, but not knowing who this girl was ate away at him inside for so long. Now that he had met her, she was all he could think about.

"Hello?" He jumped and swung his head to the side to find Bellamy at his left. Bellamy laughed and arched a brow. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Thomas, grinning with embarrassment, said, "Oh, sorry ... I was doing it again." He averted his gaze as Bellamy rolled his eyes.

"You should just tell her."

Thomas shot him a smirk. "I can't necessarily do that now, can I?"

"The girls been in your head for almost a year now!" Bellamy said roughly in a low voice, a hand flying in Joey's direction, clearly not amused by Thomas's joke. "There has to be a connection there somewhere, a reason!"

"I know, I know!" Thomas agreed, "But what did you want me to do? Spook her?"

Bellamy shrugged. "Might have been better then trying to kill her."

Thomas rammed his shoulder into Bellamy's playfully with a sneer. "She'll be okay," Bellamy continued, drawing Thomas's sullen gaze. "I promise."

"You could help with that," Thomas stated, plainly. A hint of resentment slowly peeked his heart. "With your ability, she could be walking and talking right now."

"And how do you plan on me healing her exactly?" Bellamy spat, annoyed that Thomas kept trying to guilt him. He placed a hand on his chest. "I can't get inside her without her permission. Meaning, I can't heal her."

"How would you know if you've never tried?" Thomas jerked his head away before Bellamy could see the tears that pricked the corners of his eyes. Maybe what he was asking was selfish and unreasonable. He had never known Bellamy to be able to enter a body without the hosts permission. His eyes shifted towards Bellamy as he got up and walked away, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Thomas took a quick glance around, seeing that everyone was distracted by their dinner being nearly done, and he inched his way over to Joey. He sat beside her with his legs crossed, his gaze focused on the others as they devoured the food they were given before Bellamy grabbed two pieces and made his way back towards Thomas.

Before Bellamy reached him, Thomas leaned in close to Joey's ear and whispered, "I'll find a way to bring you back."

"Can I at least untie him so he can eat?" Bellamy shouted to Michelle, aggravated, and his voice boomed off the walls drawing most of the others attention.

She turned to face the boys with an arched brow. She gave a grin and shrug. "Feed him," was all she said before returning to her squirrel.

Thomas ignored the urge to lash out because the smell of cooked rabbit hit his nostrils as Bellamy brought the fried meat up his mouth. He scarfed down the few pieces that was his before his attention was drawn to the left.

David sat down on one of the boulders about two feet away from Bellamy, and Thomas snorted. "What do you want, David?" he asked, swallowing his last bite of food. David didn't answer, but rather averted his gaze. His silence only made Thomas angrier. "You actually have the nerve to just sit there?"

"Give it a rest," David said with an eye roll.

"Well, I don't see you tied up," Bellamy defended. "Your friends—"

"They're not my friends!" David snapped, twisting his neck to glare at Bellamy. With a huff, he shook his head as his voice lowered. "I barely know them anymore then you do. They trusted me 'cause I was her friend." His gaze dropped to Joey. "Because for some reason, complete strangers trusted her."

Thomas could feel the heat in his ears. "Yeah, they trusted her. Strangers. Not her best friend."

"What was I supposed to do?" David asked, with a shrug. His lips dipped into a frown "Should I have let her become a monster?" His bottom lip began to quiver. "I never wanted this to happen."

Thomas glared at David, feeling the hot tears return. "All you had to do was trust her." He looked up, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

Shooting a glance towards David's way, he found that the ice boy stared belligerently into the lake. "It wasn't ... my ... fault," he stated through gritted teeth. His eyes glistened from the waters glow as his irises unexpectedly turned a neon shade of blue. "It was Lucinda's." His eyes darted back and forth between Thomas and Bellamy. "She made me do it." His jaw tightened. "She tricked me! I'm not the bad guy here!"

Thomas's lips drew back in a snarl. "You're so pathetic." Bellamy gave him a baffled glance, but Thomas didn't care and continued. "Blaming Lucinda for your actions. It doesn't matter if she manipulated you, if she convinced you that whatever was in that bottle would "save" Joey. The fact is that if you had trusted Joey then I could've convinced her the compass had to go. I could've helped—"

Unexpectedly, a horrendous pain wrecked his skull, and he slammed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth tightly. Hunching forward, he wanted to wrap his hands around his head to find a way to ease the pain, but couldn't free his hands to do so.

An image sprouted through his mind of two blonde girls sprinting into a cave, identical to this one, but the image was different this time. As had happened only a handful of times before, it moved briskly like a picture on the screens in the upper levels of Qurdia.

"Thomas!" He heard his name being called faintly in the back of his mind as the scene blackened. His eyes flickered open and he found himself now lying on the ground on his back looking up into the faces of Bellamy and David. He panted and his heart raged against his ribs as he slowly regained his energy.

"Is he okay?" David asked, deep concern etched on the younger boys face.

Bellamy gave Thomas a half-grin. "Yeah, he'll be alright. Just part of being Thomas. Can't tell you how many times I saved his bacon from Agcorp when this happened in public."

Thomas let out a tired chuckle. "It was only ... twice."

Bellamy patted his shoulder. "You keep telling yourself that."

Thomas rolled himself up into a sitting position, Bellamy pushing gently on his back, trying to figure out the scene that had come from his vision. He was certain that he had no idea who these two girls were, and knew that they could be trouble. Glancing to the sides, he heard the footsteps of the others as they all came to his aid; his head pounded as they threw questions at him.

He swung himself around to face them and raised his voice to shout over the others questions, "Someone's coming!" He clenched his eyes again as the pain intensified. He knew it wouldn't last much longer, but the pain was definitely growing worse with each vision.

"Who's coming?" Michelle asked, the closest one to his side.

He opened his eyes and struggled to his feet. "I don't know, but I think we should get out of here before they get too close." His legs wobbled as he tried taking a step, but Bellamy steadied him. The room around him swam and made him lightheaded. He was trying to move faster then his healing time would allow, but he wouldn't let them become sitting ducks.

Michelle hurriedly took off in a sprint up the incline, grasping behind her for an arrow, as a few of the other members of the team followed her. Before they could make it halfway, Thomas's heart lurched as two girls came sledding down the rocks. One of them unexpectedly tripped and fell headfirst into Alex, who caught her.

Some gasps echoed off the wall, and Alex pushed the girl off of him and gripped her shoulders. "Jenny?"

"Alex!"

An ecstatic smile graced Alex's face as he and this girl, Jenny, embraced. "I don't understand. How did you escape? They told me you were dead. How did you find us?"

"You ask too many questions." The other blonde smirked and leaned against a boulder with her arms crossed.

Jenny's hug seemed to tighten around Alex's neck before she let go and looked him in the eye. "We had some help from a friend, but ..." A frown pulled her eyebrows together and her head drooped. "He didn't make it."

"Tell him how we found everyone," the same blonde from before said, releasing her arms from around Kathleen.

"Oh, yeah!" Jenny's smile brightened as she bobbed on her toes. "I can talk to all animals!" Her mouth opened as she released a silent excited scream, and Alex furrowed his brow. "I just had to ask some of the friendlier wildlife to learn your whereabouts."

Thomas felt his heartbeat slow, realizing that these girls weren't of any threat to them, but he still didn't know who they were, and no-one seemed to be in a hurry to tell him. Jenny turned his direction, and the light from the lake reflected off her face, and his eyes widened at the similarities between her and Alex. From the shape of their eyes and nose down to their lips, nearly everything was identical. If Jenny didn't look to be a few years younger than Alex, he would've assumed they were twins, but settled on the fact that they were just siblings.

An elbowed jabbed his shoulder and he turned and eyed Bellamy, who leaned in and whispered, "Who do you suppose they are?"

"Jenny and Heather," David replied, able to hear Bellamy. Without explaining further, he staggered his way through the rocks to the others.

Thomas's attention turned to the other blonde, who must've been Heather, when he saw her cross her arms from the corner of his eye. "We didn't think the wolves would ever give up. Night and day, the pack was on our tail."

"How did you escape?" Ella asked, her eyes raised in wonder.

"You foolish girls!" Thomas squinted as the sudden booming voice caused his head to throb. Lucinda march her way past the others towards the exit. "What were you thinking coming here? You've probably led them right to us! We should move out while we still have a chance." Evangeline and Jacob scanned the others faces before before turning to follow Lucinda.

"Well, hello to you too, sunshine," Heather said sarcastically, as Lucinda rammed her shoulder.

"They couldn't follow us," Jenny argued. "The wolves won't step foot into the jungle."

Lucinda scoffed. "The jungle is only around the center. They'll find a way around and will find you. I won't sit here and wait to be slaughtered."

Michelle yanked an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it on her bow. Jacob swiftly pulled Evangeline to the side and wrapped her in his arms. "You're not going anywhere until you've healed Joey."

"What happened to Joey?" Jenny whispered to Alex.

Lucinda waved a dismissive hand through the air as she pressed on. "I will shoot you, Lucinda!"

Lucinda snorted and stopped but never turned around. "I don't even know if I can heal Joey. All I said was I'd try, but it seems like a fools mission to me." She craned her neck to eye Michelle who held the arrow to her back. "How many times have you had the opportunity to kill me, Michelle, and didn't take it?" A low chuckle escaped and her shoulders shook from her laugh. "You don't have the guts to kill me, nor could you even if you wanted to." Twisting back around, she continued her ascend. "You're nothing but a coward."

Thomas watched an evil grin creep its way into the corner of Michelle's mouth, and he could instantly read her thoughts. "Michelle, don't!" Thomas took two long strides, but Michelle had already released the string from her grasp. The arrow zipped through the air, finding home in the back of Lucinda's left shoulder.

The witch tumbled forward from the impact of the blow, falling onto a boulder in front of her. She shouted in pain and grasped at her shoulder as Evangeline and Jacob were the only ones to run to her aid.

"You can't kill her! She's all you've got!" Jacob shouted at Michelle as Evangeline stayed hunched by Lucinda. Instantly, his hands glowed a shade of gold, but his ropes never descended.

Michelle smirked and lowered her bow. "Oh, she won't die. When her time comes ..." She trailed off and gritted her teeth, "I'm going to make sure it's long and painful." The last three words of her sentence were drawn out for emphasis, giving Thomas a good shudder. "Get her patched, and get her to Joey." She stormed off back down the small hill towards the water and took a seat just by the edge.

Thomas heard the blood pumping through his ears along with Jenny's soft voice, "Uh, who's that?"

Alex glared in Lucinda's direction. "Someone you don't want to mess with. Take my word for it. Leave it to Michelle."

Her eyes ventured to his blood-stained shirt. "How's your shoulder?"

Alex waved her off. "It'll be fine. Brianna and Chase have been patching me up, and David has this ..." He trailed off, searching for the right words. "Like, healing stuff that has really helped." His eyes popped open, and he pushed his sister back gently, staring at her feet. "Your ankle?" his voice sounded confused. "Weren't you bit?"

"Oh." Jenny glanced down at her feet, and pulled up her left pant leg. Thomas squinted to see a few scars, but nothing that indicated a wound. "Remember the guy I said that helped us? His name was Zeb, and he patched me up. He had a little container of this stuff that healed the wound almost immediately. I, like, will still get twinges of pain," she rolled her eyes, "like when I nearly rolled down this hill, but overall I don't hardly notice it."

"What happened while we were gone?" Heather asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Well, I'm still alive." David stepped past Kathleen and the twins and smiled up at Heather. She smiled, but for some reason, it didn't look right on her face. She took the last few steps down the incline and threw her arms around David's neck, but she withdrew when he limply returned the hug. "What—" Her brows pulled together when she glanced from Alex, to Kathleen, to Thomas, and even to Joey. "We really did miss a lot."

Kathleen sighed as she sat down on the rock beside her. "Too much to explain, but we picked up a few stragglers." She pointed towards Thomas and Bellamy, and Thomas arched a brow.

Once again, Heather's eyes made their way to Joey and there they stayed glued, leaving Thomas to feel uneasy by her glare. "What happened to her? Someone finish the job before I could?" Hearing this, Thomas instinctively took a few steps back, drawing closer to Joey.

Kathleen roughly smacked her in the shoulder. "Come on. We'll fill you two in."

Thomas sat on the floor beside Joey, and watched as the four of them sat and he squinted. He strained his ears to listen in on their quieted conversation, but he couldn't make out a word and he wasn't a very good lip reader.

"You okay?"

Thomas's heart lurched and he jumped as David sat down beside him. He shot Bellamy a quick, confused glance, but Bellamy only shrugged.

David pulled his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his hands around them. "That looked pretty painful," he continued in a blank voice, looking straight ahead.

Thomas shook his head, the ache finally starting to diminish. "I'm fine," he said. "Happens all the time."

"You knew Jenny and Heather were entering the cave seconds before it happened." David's head finally twisted his direction. "How'd you do that?"

Thomas glanced down, not wanting to answer his question.

"You really gonna be that way?" Bellamy asked with a roll of his eyes.

"You think I want him knowing anything about me?" Thomas snapped. "So he can turn on me too?"

"Last I checked, you attacked me," David argued.

"And last I checked, I wasn't the one to put Joey in the grave," Thomas barked, his voice giving a small crack. David huffed and looked away.

"Thomas is one of the rare ones. He's got two abilities," Bellamy stated, drawing Thomas's angered expression.

"Bellamy!"

"What?" Bellamy shrugged. "It's not like it matters or anything." Thomas gave another eye roll along with a frustrated sigh.

"So, you can see the future and have some sort of ice ability." Thomas didn't bother speaking, but Bellamy came to the rescue yet again.

"Abilities are confusing," Bellamy explained. "People are scared to talk about 'em and what they can do. The difference between discovering your ability and being born with it are that those born with it usually have more than one. Not always, of course, but often. If it's discovered than that's usually what you're stuck with." He raised a brow. "So, what about you? Born or discovered?"

David's brow furrowed, seeming confused by all the information. "Discovered," he replied in a long drawn out word. "You?"

"Same," Bellamy answered with a shrug.

David turned towards Thomas and squinted, making Thomas feel uncomfortable. "How come your lips don't turn blue like mine if you have an ice ability too? Or for that matter, nothing really changes about you."

"Just lucky I guess," Thomas informed in an aggravated voice.

"Listen up!" Michelle said louder then needed since the cave was her own personal microphone. "I've come to the conclusion that ..." She trailed off and surveyed the crowd. "We should stay here for a few days." An erupted of questions bounced off the cave walls, but she held up her hand silencing them all. "I know we said something about moving, but I think we should rest and regain our strength. Many of us our wounded. It'll be a good chance to heal and prepare us for the long journey out of here." Her arm swept from the lake to the exit. "We have plenty of water and apparently a good hunting ground. It should do us well for a short time."

Michelle's head swiveled towards Lucinda, and Thomas followed her gaze to meet Lucinda who winced as Evangeline tied off a bandage. "Finish tying her up so she can get to healing."

Lucinda scoffed. "After what you just did to me?" Her pitch was so high, her words her barely clear through her Scottish tone. She took a defiant step forward. "It'll take time to get my strength back enough for even the smallest spell, let alone one as big as the one I'll need for Joey."

"Time is what you don't have," Michelle replied sternly, "and I didn't ask how much strength you had. Get to healing before I no longer find you useful."

Lucinda huffed as Nathan shoved her forward and she marched her way to Joey. She collapsed on her knees and painfully hovered her hands over the dying girl.

Thomas stared at her, determined to not sleep that night to make sure Joey was safe from whatever this witch had planned.