“THE STRANGER”

“This world will never be, what I expected/

And if I don’t belong, who would have guessed it?”

• Three Days Grace

1

Heat scorched her face and arms as she struggled to breathe without the air sapping the moisture from her lungs. Ashes flew in all directions; a grey snowfall that erupted from billowing clouds of angry smoke that were racing towards the sky. Wood snapped and crackled in a roar so loud she thought she might go deaf, but it was nothing compared to the smell. It overpowered the scent of fresh cut grass and livestock that normally filled the air, leaving nothing but the aroma of burning wood and a hint of something else. There was something beneath too scary to admit was there. A smell that was too much like the fragrance of cooking meat.

Helpless, Iris watched from the street as the only home she ever knew burned to the ground.

She felt boneless, like a fish after it has been skinned and cleaned. Her cotton skirt, once white was now splattered with red from blood, green from the grass she’d run through to get there and dirt from the road where she had fallen to her knees in absolute horror. Her body trembled; though she hardly noticed and her long dirty-blonde hair danced without restriction around her face from the heat of the fire and the slight breeze that had wafted in from the mountains. To her, all there was were the orange and yellow dancing flames eating the rafters of her barn-like house. She could see the roof cave in even if she didn’t hear it; the only sound that existed was someone’s ragged breathing between gasping sobs. At some point she realized it was her who was sobbing.

She reached up to gently pat her cheek and it came away wet, the dirt on her hands smearing with her tears. She tried to remember the last time she had cried, but couldn’t. She never cried. Her father had taught her to be strong and that crying was for little girls or for the weak.

Her father…

A picture flashed in her mind of her mother and father sitting at the kitchen table that morning, drinking their first cup of tea. Her father was playing cards, his sandy blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of his eyes. He was already dressed for work in jeans and a t-shirt, work boots on his feet much like the ones she wore all the time. Her mother was still in her nightdress reading a book, her own long brown hair unruly and tangled. They were both smiling, wishing their daughter a good day as she walked out the door to go to her studies.

That picture was gone now.

“Oh Gods, Iris, what happened to your house!?!” Someone from town asked her. Others came rushing with buckets of water and shovels to smother it with sand, but Iris never stopped starring at the flames. She could not stop starring at her past and her life being burnt to the ground. “Where are your parents?”

“In the house.” She stated quietly, her voice calm and steady, void of the rage and sorrow dwelling just beneath her surface. She had a thought of being turned into a mouse because even to her she sounded like one and looked down at her hands to make sure she wasn’t. They were on the dirt road, fingers spread in the dust as if she was trying to hold onto the earth as if she’d fly away.

The picture of her parents dead on the kitchen floor popped into her head and she squeezed her eyes shut. She had seen it, her mother’s lifeless corpse draped over her father’s, huddled in the corner like a trash heap; their eyes starring lifelessly at nothing. Cautiously, she had checked for a pulse, some sign of life, but there wasn’t one and it broke her heart. She clung to her mother’s limp hand as if trying to pull her soul from the underworld and tried not to look at the gaping wounds across their throats. She ignored the blood on her boots and skirt, but slid slowly into shock as she begged in silent prayer for their eyes to blink.

Her hand had been so still, lifeless. So very impossibly cold.

There was screaming around her now, but her mind was elsewhere, retracing her steps in her mind, trying to understand how everything got so messed up. She had heard loud bangs from within her house from where she was reading in the field so she ran down the hill, her book forgotten in the grass. At some point along the way she had fallen, staining her skirt green, but it was unimportant as soon as she opened the front door of her home to see the scene beyond. That was when she saw her parents.

That was when she saw him, the stranger in the long trench coat with blood on his hands.

He had turned to her as soon as she had crashed through the front door, his fingers spread like claws, ready to drag them through her own flesh. His dangerous red eyes held nothing in them as her eyes had darted from her parents to the stranger. His face held no expression as he watched her tremble.

“Who are you?” He asked in a flat deep voice that would have been quite appealing under any other circumstance. His leather cowboy hat hid his eyes, but a pale strong chin framed his unsmiling mouth. Long blonde hair was draped over his shoulder and disappeared beneath his coat. It was the color of wheat.

When she didn’t answer the question, the man flexed his hand and demanded in an almost silky baritone, but venomous voice, “I asked you a question. Who. Are. You?”

“I…Iris. My name is Iris.” She stammered. She looked down at her parents and seeing them still unmoving, she could feel tears gather behind her eyes. They would be freed if she blinked, so she starred, eyes wide, at the stranger in her home. “Who the hell are you?”

“That is none of your concern.” He answered. “Are you a child of the couple that live here?”

“I’m not a child.” She stated, more out of reflex than out of concern of him knowing her age. It would have been something she would normally say, so she said it. “I’m an adult and they are my parents. Did you… did you send them to the underworld?”

The man hesitated then slowly reached out to the counter and grabbed a cleaning rag that had been hanging off the edge. Still looking at her, he began whipping the blood off his hands. To Iris that simple moment seemed to take years. She let out the worried breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“You believe in the gods?”

“Of course I do, why wouldn’t I?”

“Your parents didn’t. They were practicing monotheism, praying to one fake god. They might have brought you up that way as well.”

“I didn’t know.” She replied and shook her head. It was pounding now and she felt drained, almost like she was dreaming or stuck in a bowl of molasses. “So you killed them? Because they didn’t believe the same thing you do?”

“It’s more complicated than that, but yes.” He turned, his dark silhouette surrounded by the bright sunset coming in through the open door.

“Where are you going?” Iris demanded, but there was no force or emotion of any sort in her voice.

“To finish the job. They need to be burned because they don’t deserve to be held in Gaia’s embrace and when I leave you will put pennies on their eyes and bury them. They do not deserve that ritual.” He looked over his shoulder and Iris caught a glimpse of a glowing yellow eye. Apparently, his eyes changed colors. “You should leave.”

After he left she checked her parents for the life she knew was no longer there. Feeling empty, she left the house and knelt in the street, watching helplessly as the tall murderous stranger set fire to her home. If what he said was true and her parents didn’t truly believe in the gods, then the punishment was just, but it didn’t mean she had to like it. Where was the proof? All she had was this man’s say and in her eyes, his word meant nothing, but she didn’t know what to do. She was lost and numb inside and all she could do at that moment was sit in the street watching the flames, crying for the loss of her parents.

By the time Iris stopped crying and came out of her nearly catatonic state the house was a smoldering pile of ash. The townsfolk had left her alone and she was thankful that they had enough sense to let her mourn in peace. She had nothing now, just the dirty cloths she was wearing and a stone of anger that was sitting somewhere in her chest. Anger for what happened, anger at herself for letting it happen, anger at the gods too for letting it happen, but most of all, she was angry at the man who did it.

 Finding a new purpose, she got to her feet and dusted her skirt off. Behind her was the neighbor’s field where the horses ran. Her favorite, the black work horse Nellie was grazing not too far away and Iris crossed the distance in minutes. She patted the old horse’s head and it whinnied in greeting as she normally did. With her mind set, she mounted Nellie, using the horse’s neck to swing her leg over. The horse didn’t even flinch being use to the extra weight. Sitting upon the horse bare back, Iris gripped the mane and dug the heels of her boots into the mare’s sides. She lurched forward and with a slow, almost lazy trot, Iris led the horse to the edge of the grassland and into the trees where the stranger had disappeared. She would follow him and demand a better explanation, make him tell her who he was. Maybe she would even seek revenge.

She didn’t know exactly what it was she wanted to do, but she knew she at least had a focus. Simple; find the tall man in the trench coat with the color changing eyes.

2

The trees were dark and ominous when Iris got to them. Shadows lurked among the leaves hiding dangerous things, the moon barely penetrating the canopy. The trees were old and huge, some trunks bigger than the draft horse was long and the undergrowth was minimal almost as if the bushes and weeds that should have been growing there were afraid of them. Leaves as big as her head littered the mossy forest floor, leaving little room for any other debris. Iris made her way slowly; her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but were still unable to see too far ahead.

She was afraid she was going the wrong way, but she continued on, brushing branches out of her face. With any luck, the tall stranger traveled as the crow flies instead of heading for the main roads. Not that there was a main road to Little Helios. The town was left to fend for itself in the middle of a massive grassland. No roads went past the tree barrier on any side of town because no one left and very few visited. Sometimes travelers, like the stranger, travel through the forest and end up on someone’s doorstep asking for a place to spend the night, but they were far and few between.

Hours passed and Iris began to doze; the hypnotic clip, clop, clip, clop of Nellie’s hooves and the slight sway in her walk made her mind drift. From somewhere in the forest she heard a soft hoot from an owl and she thought of her father telling her the story of Athena and how the wise owl became the symbol and animal of Athena. She had loved her father telling her these stories and her father enjoyed it too. So how could he have been monotheistic? At every meal, he was the first to sacrifice a portion of his food to the fireplace, burning it in tribute to the gods like any good follower does. During festivals, her parents would pick a different god each year to dress and compete in the games in honor for, so no god would feel overlooked. Her mother prayed to them with her every morning when they woke up and every night before they went to sleep. Her parents had raised her by the gods, why wouldn’t they believe in them too?

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, it was light and she was on her back on the ground. She blinked, starring at the leaves above her that painted a picture of many shades of green and yellow. The sun tickled and warmed her face and for a moment, everything from the day before disappeared, forgotten in the sunshine.

Then the moment was over and she felt the sharp cool edge of a steel blade on her throat and her heart jumped down to her stomach. Slowly she rolled her eyes down to see deep yellow eyes staring back at her. The stranger pinned her to the ground with one arm, the other held a short curved blade to her skin. His hat was missing and so was the coat, but the long braided blonde hair was still the same. It lay on the ground as her bent over her like a coiled snake.

“You followed me.” He hissed behind teeth that seemed too sharp to be real. ”Why?”

“I…I don’t know.” She replied, not thinking of a truthful answer that sounded good. She held her breath waiting for the assassin to end her, but instead, he moved and took the knife from her neck. She sat up, rubbing the spot with her hand almost embarrassed. How did he sneak up on her?

“You don’t know. You followed me, a stranger and the murderer of your parents, into the forest all night, but you don’t know why?”

“I know why.” She muttered staring at him. He stood in front of her, his hands on his narrow hips where the top of his baggy black pants sat. Holsters hung on the side of both thighs, the belts they were connected to crisscross where a normal belt should be. His tight fitting grey t-shirt left nothing to the imagination and Iris had to force herself not to stare. The hair on his head may be feminine, but the rest of him was very much male. “I just don’t think you will accept why.”

He seemed to look it over for a moment. “Try me.”

“Who killed my parents? I mean… I know you did, but you’re an instrument right? Someone told you to kill them.”

“Yes.”

“Then who was it?”

“Zeus.”

Iris blinked and felt a bubble of laughter raise to her mouth.

“Zeus. The king of all gods spoke to you… and told you to kill my parents.” She giggled in spite of herself. She believed in the gods as well as anyone, but them speaking to a mere mortal was outrageous. They are too good for mortals unless they wish to pass the time among them. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She exclaimed, bursting into laughter. It felt good to laugh, maybe because she didn’t think she would ever laugh again.

“I’m not kidding, but you’re entitled to believe what you want to believe.”

“Oh, ok, assuming it’s true, why you?”

“Because I am Zeus’s weapon.”

She giggled again, but contained her amusement behind a grin.

“Why?”

“That” He spoke in a low warning voice. “Is none of your business.”

Iris sat up straight, her laughter gone as she kicked into defensive mode. Nellie, who had been grazing on fallen leaves nearby lifted her head and whinnied as if feeling the growing tension. Iris, her jaw clenched, got to her feet and stood facing him, though she realized it didn’t look as intimidating as she wanted it to. Her 5’4” in height left her starring at the man’s chest, giving the at least 10” he had on her. She too put her hands on her hips to match his stance and scowled back at him.

“You killed my parents and you’re telling me that Zeus ordered you to. You destroyed my life- it is my business!” She yelled and before she could stop herself, she reached up and jabbed her index finger in the middle of his chest. “I deserve an explanation.”

He scowled down at her, saying nothing. Those piercing yellow eyes held something dangerous in them, something almost savage and Iris wondered if she should step back. Maybe challenging a murderous stranger wasn’t her brightest idea yet, but she had to take her anger and sorrow out on something. “And what gives you the right to deny me an explanation? You came into my home and… and...”

She stopped, feeling the sorrow she had been trying to lock away begin to bubble to the surface.  She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts so she could focus on trash talking the stranger. It was important to not lose focus. If she lost that, then she really would have nothing left.

“If you won’t tell me why, at least tell me something. Maybe you could tell me your name.”

“My name is tricky.” He paused and looked down at her, putting his hands up in defense when Iris opened her mouth to yell at him. He shook his head and she stayed quiet so he could continue. “I am known to many people by many different names. Which would you prefer?”

“How about you tell me the truth?” Iris grumbled.

“Then you may call me Alexis.”

“Alexis?” She giggled again; almost unaware she was doing it. “Isn’t that a girl’s name?”

He narrowed his eyes and turned to walk away, his hands balled into fists. She hadn’t meant to laugh, but this was silly; he’s walking away because she hurt his feelings?

“Wait.” She muttered, reaching for him. She grabbed his arm and he stopped. His muscles felt like satin covered rock under her fingers and it took every ounce of energy she had to resist the urge to rub his arm. She had never had that urge before and she cringed, hoping against hope that she wasn’t attracted to this man. The only thing more insane than following the man who murdered your parents into the forest alone, was falling in love with that man. She pushed the thought away and starred off into the woods as she spoke, not wanting to look at him. “I’m sorry. It’s just, where I’m from it’s a girl’s only name. It caught me off guard and I didn’t mean to laugh. I’m sorry.”

He didn’t turn around, but he did speak. “It’s alright, it’s just… Alexis is the name… my mother gave me.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. My mother named me too.”

In a quiet voice he asked, “What did she name you?”

“Iris.”

“I like Irises.” Was his reply and he continued walking. Unsure what to do now, Iris stood there, watching him walk with perfect grace. It was as if he was walking on air and she found herself thinking that he didn’t seem entirely human.

“If you wish to talk some more, we should move to my campsite. You must be hungry.”

She wasn’t really, but she didn’t turn down the invitation. Quickly, she went to Nellie and began leading her through the woods in Alexis’s wake.

3

Alexis sat on one side of the fire, Iris sat on the other eating what she hoped was squirrel bacon. He watched her, the fire glinting off his golden eyes. He wasn’t eating anything and Iris felt slightly self-conscious, sitting and eating all the food herself.

“Are you sure you aren’t hungry? I don’t want to eat all your food on you.” She asked again, holding a piece of meat out to him in offering. He shook his head.

“No, I’m fine, I already ate. It’s all yours.”

“O- Ok.” She continued munching, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Nellie was tethered to a tree with a rope Alexis had taken from the grey pack that lay to his right. He didn’t have a horse, but he didn’t seem to need one. He moved with such tireless ease that she began to think he had walked and all her had was that grey sack which he could have easily carried with him by himself.

The campsite was on top of a hill a half a day’s walk from where he had woken her up. She didn’t know how he had gotten there so fast, but Iris didn’t bother asking. The walk to the camp was silent, as was the meal preparation. He had moved around her like she didn’t exist, but it didn’t bother her too much. It gave her time to deal with her emotions and put her thoughts in order and figure out what she was going to do. She had followed him on a whim, but she finally figured out the real reason for following him. She thought maybe her subconscious knew before she did what she really wanted from this strange man.

“I want you to take me to Olympus.” She blurted, setting the bacon in her lap. Alexis blinked at her, his pale face going even paler, if such a thing were possible.

“No.”

“No? Why not?”

“You won’t be welcome in the world of the gods.” He shrugged. “Humans aren’t allowed there. They aren’t allowed anywhere for that matter. You aren’t supposed to exist.”

“So? If Zeus was the one who ordered my parents killed, then I deserve to hear from him why he sent you, why they had to die. And I want him to bring them back. I know Zeus can have Hades return them to me.”

“Really?” The fire crackled and snapped as he put another branch into it. “You would ask the King of Gods to do you such a favor? You have to be either very brave or really very stupid. He may even ask for your own life in return- he will not do it for free.”

“I have nothing left, but at least my parents would be alive and would have each other. If giving my life can make them live, I would gladly give it up.”

He looked at her with peering eyes as if he was trying to look into her soul.

“Hmm. I will never understand humans. You will sacrifice so much for so little, or you want everything for nothing. You are very strange creatures.”

“You speak as though you aren’t human.” Iris pointed out, a twinge of excitement moving within her. She had never been outside of Little Helios, and the visitors that did come through were all very mysterious and didn’t talk to many people. She knew from them that the closest village was mostly an elven community but she didn’t know what they looked like. She heard of werewolves too; creatures that could appear to be human or elf, but they weren’t and spent most of their time in wolf form. She had even heard stories of fairies and maenads, Dionysus’s followers, but she didn’t believe most of them.

“Because I’m not.” He replied, getting up to open his pack and rummage through it.

“Then… what are you?”

“Apparently I’m your traveling companion.” He said, amusement lacing his steady words. Iris thought she saw a smirk begin on his lips, but when he looked at her, he was stony faced. “You aren’t just going to give up on this crazy idea of yours and go home are you?”

“No, and I can’t go home even if I wanted to. You burnt it to the ground remember?” She shot, and he sighed.

“Fine. Are you done eating?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We leave soon, but at the bottom of the hill there is a pond. I suggest you take advantage of it and wash up.” He said and as he did, he pulled a towel, a bar of soap and a brush out of his bag. “Take this. While you wash, I will try to find you some other clothes.”

Not knowing where he would find clothes that would fit her, she took what he offered and made her way down the hill. Near the bottom the trees gave way to a pond about the size of her old kitchen. Rocks and moss surrounded the edges making it look mystical and somehow untouched, like a secret just for her. The water was clear and revealed a rocky bottom, but the racks were small and smooth looking. Iris lifted her skirt a little and bent to take her shoes off, putting the supplies on the ground next to her. Her socks and shoes off, she walked closer to the edge, the moss tickling her feet as she went, and dipped her toe in the water.

It was cool, but not too cold; the opening in the canopy above had allowed the sun to heat it, the shadows from the trees around it kept the water from being too hot. Iris took off the rest of her clothes and set them next to the towel, picking up the brush to detangle her hair before she got it wet. The rawhide tie that kept her pony tail in place was set with her cloths and her shoulder length hair fell around her face. Carefully, she eased into the pond and she felt all the muscles in her body relax.

In Little Helios, all water came from the well in the middle of the town. There weren’t any ponds or rivers to swim in, though when it rained, holes were sometimes dug and filled with rain water so children were taught to swim in them, but it was a rare occurrence. Iris had always washed with a sponge and a bucket of water; she had never taken a bath before.

Above, a cloud moved and the sun shown down on her, warming the water as well as her skin, and it felt so good her skin tingled. She smiled, feeling a little better.

‘I could stay here forever.’ She thought and held her breath so she could duck beneath the water’s surface. When she came up for air, two things happened that she hadn’t expected. The first thing was that Alexis was standing on the bank in front of her, holding a small brown leather bag in his hand. It took her a second to realize she was naked before seeing that his eyes weren’t on her, but starring behind her. She turned and on the opposite side of the pond was a creature she had never seen before.

The top half of the monster looked human with human features in its face and torso. From the waist up it was very female with pale skin, arms, breasts and short straight hair. Its eyes were slightly slanted with anger, its mouth thin and almost nonexistent; the only thing strange was its hair color which was green, a deep forest green to match the eyes, and the nose was two slits where a regular nose should be.

Below the waist the creature was a huge coiled snake with green and black scales that gleamed in the sun. It was wrapped around itself so Iris couldn’t tell how long it was, but she could see, and hear, the tip of the tail as it hissed, shaking like a baby rattle.

It was the biggest animal she had ever seen; a mythical creature that she had only heard of in stories. It was a naga.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The creature demanded between its fangs. “Thissss isss my ssspot.”

“I am sorry, great snake, we had no idea it was yours.” Alexis apologized. Iris, who couldn’t take her eyes off the creature, stood very still, leaning against the nearest rock for support.

“You should asssssk before ussssing ssssomeone elsssssssesss property. Or do you not have any mannerssss?” The creature had turned her reptilian gaze to Iris, who was too scared to move. The snake’s tail stopped moving, but the danger had not passed.

“Iris.” Alexis whispered, inches from her ear. She jumped, not expecting him to be there and he put his hand on her shoulder to steady her.

“I’m sorry, terribly sorry. I never meant to use your pond, it never occurred to me that it might be someone’s all the way out here in the forest.” She apologized, bowing her head. The naga seemed to like that and folded her arms over her chest, smiling.

“Your misssstake issss forgiven, though do not make the sssame misssstake again.” She turned as if to go but the stopped and took a deep breath. The naga smiled then, a huge smile that showed her two long fangs and pointed teeth. Her eyes got big as she looked down at Iris, her tail rattling faster than before. “You are sssstrange. Ssssuch a ssssweet ssssmell. Would you happen to be a human?”

“Run.” Alexis whispered sternly. Frozen again in fear, she stayed rooted to the rock she was standing on even as Alexis’s hand pulled at her shoulder, but as the naga reared up and coiled to spring like Iris had seen adders do in the field, she turned and pulled herself out of the water.

Alexis had already gathered their things in his hands so all she had to do was run up the hill, which was not as easy as it sounded. The leaves and twigs that littered the ground attacked her feet making her stumble. Alexis hung behind, surprising Iris. Why would he protect her?

She raced through the trees and back up the hill, her eyes trained on the campsite she couldn’t see yet. She could hear movement behind her and she hoped it was Alexis following, but somehow she didn’t think so. The scuffling noises behind her didn’t sound even close to footsteps so half way up the hill, against her better judgment, she turned.

4

The stuff Alexis had been holding was scattered on the ground among the moss and the leaves. Alexis was wrapped in the spirals of snake muscle that were visibly trying to squeeze the life out of him from the chest down. His arms were free and he raised them high above his head so the naga couldn’t capture them too. At least with his hands he could try to protect himself as the human half of the naga reared over him, arms outstretched and fangs extended. Iris watched as the snake woman went for his throat, grabbing onto his arms with hers to keep them out of the way, but in one swift motion that Iris could barely see, Alexis grabbed her  wrist on her left arm as she hyperextended it and upper cut with the palm of his free hand on her elbow. There was a loud crack and the naga screamed, holding the now broken arm with her good one. It dangled at her side at an odd angle, but she still didn’t let her prisoner go.

“How dare you!” The naga raged and lunged at him again, hand outstretched and aimed again for his throat. Alexis snarled, eyes flashing red and all at once both Alexis and the naga opened their mouths as if to bite each other’s neck.

“No!” Iris yelled but it was too late. She was sure the naga’s snake fangs were too big and she was faster than Alexis as they both buried their faces in the other’s neck. Iris knew the naga would kill Alexis then come for her, swallowing her like a rat. Why he didn’t use the guns he was carrying was beyond her; they seemed like a better weapon against a giant snake woman than teeth. She wanted to run, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Alexis until she saw he was dead. He had a right to die and part of her cheered that the man who killed her parents was dead, but part of her, the part she hated and wanted to go away, hoped he was ok. Not because he was the only way she could find her way to Zeus, but because that part was beginning to care about him.

Slowly, the vicious mass that was Alexis and the naga moved. Alexis pulled away, leaving the torso of the she-snake to drop to the ground with its fangs still gleaming and eyes wide open in shock. The jaw marks on the side of her neck were clean, but Alexis’s mouth was covered in a black-green blood. He pulled himself out of the twisted snake and stood, the red in his eyes bleeding back to the usual yellow, but Iris was still frightened, more frightened than she had ever been in her life. As he stepped forward, she turned to run.

She didn’t get five steps before he was there in front of her, as fast as lightning, and she ran into him, not being able to slow down that fast. She shrieked and backed up, folding her arms over her chest both out of fear and realization that she was still naked, but he didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t wearing clothes. His eyes were locked on hers like a cat watching a mouse, waiting for some sign to tell which direction it’s going to race in so it can follow. It was as if he was hunting her without moving.

“This is yours. Fresh clothes are inside. Change and dry off at the campsite. I will clean up here.” Alexis said, his eyes starting to lose the predatory gaze. Iris shivered and took the leather bag he was holding out to her even though she hadn’t seen him pick it up.

“What are you?” She asked, the image of blood dripping down his chin staining his image in her memory.

“I’m your traveling companion remember? Unless you’ve changed your mind…”

“No.” She said defensively. “And you know that’s not what I mean.”

“I know, but its need to know basis only and you don’t need to know. Just be glad I am what I am and can protect us.”

“I’m traveling with you and that doesn’t qualify as a need to know instance?”

“Do you want to fight now?” He countered and as he said it, he let his eyes roll over her, setting her skin on fire as if he had touched her. She knew by the way she was standing that he couldn’t see anything too important, but embarrassment brought color to her cheeks anyway. “Or would you rather put clothes on?”

“Clothes.” She muttered and walked by him, letting the bag cover what it could. As she walked up the hill, her skin tingled as if a feather was tickling her and she wondered if it was her imagination or if it was because he was watching her nude figure traipse back to camp. Either way she vowed he would never see her naked again.

How embarrassing.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2