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  “So, all I gotta do is give you permission,” Ellie told the unconscious boy. “Don’t sound so hard…Except, you know, us being mortal enemies and all.”

  Ellie shook her head and realized talking to him made as much sense as talking to a wall. He could not hear her and would not have taken kindly to her words if he could. She sat down in the chair she had crafted and stared at the boy. As she did, she remembered the way he had talked when he had threatened her. He had not had an accent typical of her kin.

  She knew the Coopers were different from her family; it was fact that they were different. Even with that knowledge, she had never been able to imagine such a strange way of talking. His language was precise, the way she imagined the characters in her books speaking. It was a way of talking her family would have mocked her for if she had been foolish enough to speak that way in front of them.

  It was obvious, despite his evil status as a Cooper, that he knew things she did not. He had not spent his whole life living two miles from home. She imagined he had traveled the world, seen wondrous things, met crafters with ability beyond any she had ever met. The wonders held in his mind went beyond Ellie’s ability to imagine them. Someone who spoke like him had to be used to seeing whatever he wanted to see. Ellie knew he had even seen town. It was common knowledge the Coopers lived there. She was suddenly jealous of him.

  Ellie had dreamed of going to town since she was little enough to be aware that a town was nearby. She wanted to see the place her father had died. She wanted to understand the differences between her world and the Coopers’ world. Most of her family had been to town at least once, usually to attack the Coopers. Her sisters had told her it was dangerous and scary, but that only increased its allure. She wanted to know what it looked like, how the place carried on with its day-to-day business, and what craft the people had used to build the town up. She wanted to place a visual to the splendors her imagination had formed. Above all, she wanted to experience the types of adventures the people in her books experienced.

  Going to town would be a small adventure, but an adventure all the same. It would not be as dangerous as the adventures in her books. She would not be saving the world or rescuing anybody. She would just be seeing something she had never seen before. She would not have to mention she was a Bumbalow. There had to be enough visitors and strangers about town to make that seem likely. The idea of her adventure seemed simple enough to Ellie. It was something she had never dreamed was possible before seeing the boy.

  It was not just the fact that Neveah would kill her if Ellie went to town without permission that had kept her from trying. It was the fact that Ellie did not have a clue what to expect. She did not know which way to go in order to get to town, nor what kinds of dangers were out there once she got to town. She was scared. Scared to try and scared not to try in the same moment.

  Ellie knew one thing. It was foolish to think any of her family would take her. They all saw her in the same way Neveah saw her: as a nonentity. She did not exist. Most of the family was not aware of her, unless she was in their way. They were all scared of Neveah’s craft and were afraid to live without her guiding them. Her skilled craft kept the Coopers at bay. Ellie’s family respected Neveah as much as they feared her. If Ellie confided in anyone her dream of seeing town, Neveah would know about in minutes. If Ellie told her family she was going to sneak out, it would be a beating for sure. There was no way to find the truth through her family.

  The boy was different. It was possible she had just found the only person in the world who would tell her how to get there. He would never talk to Neveah, would never even get the chance if the two did meet. There would be a fight, not a conversation. They would do what Coopers and Bumbalows did best. Ellie’s secret would stay with him. He was her only chance. The boy was her way, and she could go without Neveah ever knowing the truth.

  Ellie’s jealousy of the boy turned to excitement at the opportunity he presented. It might take a little effort to make him tell her the directions, but she held the upper hand. She had him tied up, and he did not know what she was capable of. Her escape from his attack would make him fear her more. Ellie could use his freedom as a bargaining chip. He did not have to know that she would never hurt him. He just had to think she was capable of it. With a little luck, she could see town before the night was through.

  The boy woke up a couple of times during the day. Ellie kept a book handy to knock him out whenever that happened. She ignored her chores around the house to watch over him, knowing she would pay for it later. With the circling drama of the fight on everyone’s mind, and the business of crafting the wards, she was all but invisible for the time being. It would only be later when Neveah would realize the chores had not been completed. By then, Ellie’s adventure to town would be over. She would take her punishment without complaint. The risk was worth it.

  Finally, the sun set on her house. She peeked outside to make sure she was alone. Careen and Neveah had left to have Sunday dinner at Cousin’s house. The rest of the family was gone. Everything was quiet. The crickets and bullfrogs were the loudest sounds in the night. Their songs were a strange counter-harmony to Ellie’s racing heart. The only people for miles were Ellie and her prisoner. There would never be another perfect moment. It was now or never.

  Ellie turned back to the sleeping boy. With a wave of her hand, she pulled the boy after her. His head slumped to the side as he ghosted on invisible strings behind her. She kept a constant eye out for any surprise visitors, not that she really thought anyone would come back when Neveah and Careen were gone. No one ever came just to see her.

  Ellie did not have far to go. The ward surrounding the property began at the woods directly behind her shack. She could feel them shimmering in the air, though it was an invisible line to most. It hummed with energy as breathtaking as the craft it had taken to form it. It would work well to keep out the Coopers. They would not be able to break the craft easily. She also knew it would keep a Cooper inside the property. Hopefully, the boy would feel the power of the ward as well. If not, Ellie hoped he would trust her threat.

  Ellie took a deep breath at the boldness of the leap she was about to make. It was the first overtly rebellious thing she had ever done. Did she really want to cross Neveah? Would the grandparents be brought in if her adventure was found out? She shut her eyes and focused on the adventure she had waiting in front of her. She imagined a town that sparkled and shone in the sunlight. She imagined a place that held the mysteries of the unknown, instead of a house that never changed. The adventure of town was worth the risk of her family’s retribution, if the boy did not kill her first.

  Ellie took off the boy’s blindfold and gag with a wave of her hand. He did not move with the craft. Her last hit with the book had put him out for a couple of hours. She crafted water out of the air above his head and let it drop down on his face. He gasped awake and immediately started struggling against the ropes. His eyes moved to Ellie’s face as he struggled.

  “Untie me!” he commanded.

  “You better lower your voice,” Ellie warned. “If you don’t, someone from my family might come to investigate. They're not as nice as I am.”

  “You don’t scare me!” he said, though he said it in a much quieter voice.

  Ellie ignored him. She crossed her arms menacingly and looked down at him with an expression borrowed from Neveah. It was a look of steel.

  “I gotta deal I wanna make with you,” Ellie said. “I know I can’t really trust a Cooper, but I think you can be reasonable. You can, right?”

  His eyes widened when she mentioned a ‘deal’ then narrowed suspiciously at her question. “What is it?” he asked.

  “We got wards around the property,” Ellie said.

  “I know. We broke them last night,” the boy said smugly. “They were easy to break.”

  “Those were just general wards to keep out the curious…crafting from a long time ago. We put up new ones. These ones boil your blood in your body, un
less you’re a Bumbalow. Or if a Bumbalow lets you pass through. Do you feel them?” she asked.

  “No…” he said, looking confused.

  All he felt were the ropes around his body and the hard earth pressing against his back. The craft Ellie could not ignore was not as obvious to him.

  “Well, the wards are there, and they’re gonna stay there, unless I let you through,” she said.

  “What are you suggesting?” he asked.

  Ellie put her hands on her hips and tried to act confident about what she was asking. She knew what she wanted would sound weird to someone as worldly as the boy was, but she was determined.

  “I wanna know how to get to town. Tell me how to get there and I’ll let you pass through the wards like you own them. Once done, neither of us gotta look back, nor even remember any of this happened.”

  “That’s all? You want to know how to get to town?” the boy asked incredulously. “Why in the world would you trade my life for that?”

  “You don't have to make a big deal about it. Either tell me how to get there, or rot in this spot until my family finds you,” Ellie said.

  “You’ll be killed for sure if you try to walk to town,” the boy said.

  “That’s my problem,” Ellie said.

  The boy did not trust her. Her bargain sounded too ridiculous to be true. She would free him for directions? He was smarter than that.

  “What’s the catch?” he asked.

  “No catch. It seems to me, considering the state you’re in, like you got a reason to be hoping for some kindness from me,” Ellie said. “How’s about you listen to that hope?”

  The boy thought about that for a moment. “You’ll really let me go as easy as that?” he asked. “You didn’t capture me to torture me and take out my tongue?”

  “Why on earth would I want your tongue?!” Ellie demanded.

  “Bumbalows are known for taking out the tongue,” he said.

  “We do no such thing!” Ellie exclaimed.

  He was relieved to hear those words. He could not hide the relief from his face. “Not saying I believe you, but you do know that town is close to a two day walk, don’t you? Unless you have a car somewhere in that dress,” he said.

  “Two days?!” Elli May exclaimed.

  Her hands fell from her hips in defeat. She had not been expecting such a hefty walk in front of her. When the others went to town, they were only gone for a couple of hours at most. But they had always taken Cousin’s truck. They did not have to depend on their own legs to take them.

  Ellie had a moment of indecision, where she considered abandoning her plan and spending the evening reading alone in her shack, like always. It was a plan that would not include a beating for running away from her chores. A feeling of rebellion moved through her body at the thought.

  She could not let her moment pass her by. If she did not go now, she never would. She could not deny her wants any longer, not when they pulled against her mind so forcefully. The attack on her house had been the beginning of something she could not fully understand. It was the need to face her fear, mingled with an overwhelming sense of adventure. Ellie squared her shoulders and put her hands back on her hips.

  “Two days is just gonna be what it takes,” she said. “Now, tell me how to get there, and I’ll let you go. A deal’s a deal.”

  The boy’s eyes narrowed again. He could not trust her, no matter how sincere her words seemed. “How would you know I’m not lying? How do I know you’re not lying now?” he asked.

  “People usually wanna do right, if you give them chance enough, even a Cooper,” Ellie said.

  The boy considered her words. He could not deny the excited look in her eyes or the determination to follow through on her plan. She really did just want to visit town. She would release him from something so simple. He gestured with his chin to the forest behind the shack.

  “Fine…Go that way,” he said. “Walk straight, until you run out of forest. Town is just beyond the woods.”

  “That’s all? Just walk straight?” Ellie asked.

  “Yeah, it’s not hard,” the boy said. He looked at her skeptically. “That is, if you can walk in a straight line…”

  Ellie raised her hand at his words. The boy flinched automatically, and his eyes filled with fear. He expected the worst from the gesture. She flicked her wrist, and the ropes disappeared with a soft ‘poof!’. She waved her hand again and said the words Eugenia had told her to say. She felt a ripple of craft float across the air as the ward shifted slightly to allow the boy to pass. Ellie pointed at a spot directly in front of her.

  “Go on, get! I got a walk to start,” Ellie said.

  The boy stood up slowly, not taking his eyes off her for a second. He backed away just as slowly, each step meticulous and careful to prevent tripping. He was convinced that the moment he showed weakness in front of her was the same moment he would die. Ellie thought his caution was a bit overdone. It was the act of someone not as used to fighting as she had thought. She stayed as still as possible, to prevent misunderstandings between them.

  When he was nothing more than another shadow in the night, Ellie took a deep breath to soothe her nerves. Again, she thought about what she was doing and about the likely consequences of that act. She considered the punishment she was going to get for her rebellion. She knew nothing would ever be the same. She could feel it in her heart. Town would change everything or nothing at all. She would no longer have to wonder about what was waiting for her. She was scared at the idea, scared to put action to her dreams. That fear was exactly what Neveah and the others expected of her. Her resolve hardened. She would not let fear make up her mind. She was tired of fear. She was ready to prove to the world, and to herself, that she could handle anything.

  Her determination guiding her steps, she followed the boy’s path into the woods.

  Chapter 3: Caw

  Ellie had explored the woods around her house many times during her life. She had spent long hours running around the thick foliage as she played with characters from her imagination. The trees around her shack were as familiar as her house, only they held more fond memories. The forest was where she was most free. She had never tried to navigate the woods in the dark, however. She had never gone farther than a mile in the woods during the day. Going farther at night was impossible.

  It did not take her long to feel disoriented. She was only thirty minutes into the woods before she could not remember which way was home and which way was town. To her, both ways looked very similar. The thick canopy of limbs above her head obscured the night sky and the pine trees closed her in. There was no sense of space, nothing beyond trees and the hard earth. She kept walking until she realized she had passed the same fallen tree twice.

  She was going in circles.

  Feeling slightly disenchanted with her adventure, she sat down next to the tree and gave herself up for lost. Neveah’s long-held opinion on Ellie’s capabilities was right. Ellie was not equipped enough to go on any sort of adventure. She could not even get thirty minutes away from her house without failing miserably. She was barely any closer to town and, now, she did not know how to get back home. She was useless. All she was good for was cleaning up after the others and taking Neveah’s bullying. It was her place in life.

  How could she have thought it was possible to go on an adventure when she did not even know which way town was to begin with? How could she have been so stupid not to ask for directions that were more complete? The characters in her books would have known to ask detailed questions. They would not have gotten lost so quickly. Hoping for something like seeing town was a lot different from having the ability to make it happen. The difference was in the application.

  Annoyed with herself and her lack of knowledge, she put her head in one hand and picked up a stick with the other. She started making designs in the dirt as a distraction from the depression and the fact that she was alone in the woods without a friendly face to keep her company. Her first sketch
slowly transformed into a raven. It had sad eyes and sleek feathers and somehow seemed to know her frustration and unrequited sense of adventure.

  Ellie sat back and looked at the drawing for a long moment. She related to the sad eyes and felt quite proud of how the picture had turned out. She did not think of herself as an artist, but she thought there was something special about the picture. It looked alive. It was real somehow. She liked it so much she decided to add her craft to the drawing. If she could not have a friend with her in the woods by choice, she would make one by hand.

  She was not sure how to give the bird life. She had never experimented with that sort of craft. She thought she understood what was involved, however. It was as simple as focus. She fixed the living form of the bird in her mind and drew in the necessary craft from her surroundings. Satisfied with the picture her imagination had formed, she raised her hand and flicked her wrist once. The flick of her wrist was a forceful command. The craft had to obey that command. Ellie opened her eyes with the release of craft.

  Nothing happened. She frowned, disappointed. Her craft had failed before, but never in such a boring way.

  Then, the dirt started to move. It danced around the shape she had drawn with sparks of light and a wind that belonged only the drawing. The dirt finally stopped moving with a dull plop.

  A yellow beak came out of the dirt first. A small body and the black wings of a raven quickly followed. It took a moment for the bird to crawl completely out of the ground. When it did, it was as real as Ellie. The bird was forged out of dirt, but was fully formed into the flesh and bone of a living animal. Free from the dirt it had been made of, it jumped onto the log next to Ellie. He cawed once in a question, as if asking how it was possible for a living bird to be formed out of dirt. His caw was strangely intelligent and aware.