"They're around here, I swear." Nate says, looking around. "I swear." He repeats.
I throw my head back and laugh. "Aw, Natie, you're an awful tracker." I say. "No wonder Monroe never let you go hunting with me!" I laugh again.
"Shut up, Ava."
"No." I stick my tongue out at him. We walk a few more steps, teasing each other, when the wind blows from behind, and a familiar smell surrounds me. "Duck!" I yell, and Nate and I hit the floor quickly. I turn over on my back and make eye contact with Miles Matheson himself. Before he can swing his sword at me, I kick him where it hurts.
As he falls, I stand and load an arrow, aimed at his head. "Nate? Nice quick little hunting trip, huh?" A girl's voice asks.
"Hey, Charlie. Yeah, it's going well." Nate says awkwardly. I roll my eyes.
I glance up to see that she has her crossbow aimed at my head. "Hey, now. The only reason why I'm prepared to shoot your uncle is because he's a trained killer. We want to talk to you."
"I told you we shouldn't have trusted him. It's a trap, Charlie. Walk away." Miles says, glaring up at me.
"Shut up, Matheson." I snap. "We're trying to save your asses."
"How do you know who I am?" Miles asks suspiciously.
"Oh, you don't remember me?" I pause. "Avalon Kandinsky? Ring any bells?"
Recognition floods Miles' eyes. "I remember you know. You joined the militia when you were thirteen, right?"
"Right." I smirk. "If I let you up, will you kill me?" Miles shakes his head, and I put my arrow back in its rightful place. I spread my hands out towards the small group. "Listen. We know that you guys are under some pressure. We know how to find your brother."
"So do we." Charlie snaps.
"Not in the right way." I snap back. "We know exactly where he is. Monroe's having Neville put him on a train. If we don't find him by tomorrow morning, he's dead for sure."
This makes Charlie bite her lip. Serves her right, for doubting me. Nate must sense my superiority, because he touches my arm lightly. Charlie's eyes hone in on the action. "Fine. But if you make one wrong move, we'll kill you both."
"Of course, your majesty." I say, giving a slight curtsy. "We should get moving, we can't afford to waste time." I give them a few minutes to get ready and introduce themselves. I opt out of the meet and greet and climb the tree directly above their heads. There was a bad storm earlier, and I can't afford any setbacks. With my unnaturally good hearing, I hear Charlie talking to Nate.
"I was worried about you." Charlie says.
"Sorry. But I couldn't let you onto what was going on. I knew that you'd never let me go and find Avalon." He says.
"Do you really trust her?" Charlie says quietly.
"Yes, I do." Nate says.
"Then I trust her." Charlie pauses for a moment. "I just missed you so much." Her voice sounds muffled, and I look down to see what's going on. She has her arms wrapped around Nate.
I leap down from the tree, which is really only around twenty feet up, and land on my feet a few inches behind Charlie's back. She immediately whirls around and glares at me, stepping away from Nate. He gives me a look, but I ignore it.
"Let's leave now." I say, and begin to walk away. I pause and turn to face Charlie. "Oh yeah, Charlie?"
"Yes?"
"The next time you touch my boyfriend, I'll put an arrow through your head."
Things you should have/know: avalon1/set?id=60719936 avalon_kandinsky/collection?id=1951826