Free Elemental Rush (Elemental 0.5) by Elana Johnson Page B

with what you need.”
    “All of that sounds fine,” I said, though I thought it actually sounded better than that. Perfect ran through my mind. I realized that I hadn’t felt the need to intrude on anyone’s thoughts since I’d arrived.
    “Oh, and he says we can’t coexist on this earth without respect, kindness, and honesty. If you agree to abide by these terms, you can stay as long as you want.”
    “I can do that, sure,” I said, hoping there wouldn’t come a time when I’d need to lie to the Chief or his people. Just because I was good at it didn’t mean I liked it. And I trusted the Chief, and I wanted him to trust me.
    “Dad says there’s been some trouble with sentries,” Hanai said, and I perked up. “He doesn’t want anything to do with those trained to kill others. He says that’s not the way of nature, but that we should be encouraging growth and cooperation.”
    “Mm,” I said, suddenly unable to put my voice to words. I had a tattoo that covered my entire back—the mark of a sentry. If Hanai saw that, would I still be welcomed to the settlement? I schooled my feelings, not allowing them to show on my face.
    Hanai stopped at the top of the stairs. “Are you okay?”
    “Sure,” I said. “Why do you ask?”
    “I can sort of feel things, and you seem tense.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Is it because my dad wants you to agree to his terms before he’ll allow you to stay? I tried to get him to relax about this, but he’s been nervous lately.”
    I seized on to his reason for my nerves. “What is he nervous about?”
    “He has certain gifts too, and he says there’s some movement in the United Territories that will bring war.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “What else has he said?”
    “Not much.” Hanai started down the steps to the bathing pool. “You’re lucky it’s still warm,” he called over his shoulder. “In the winter, our pool is ice cold.”

    I’d managed to keep my back turned away from Hanai during our bath, and in the succeeding days I’d gone to the pool early in the morning. The sun didn’t have a chance to heat the water, and I felt the iciness of it despite the early fall weather. But I couldn’t risk letting anyone know that I was a sentry—and still active.
    I was assigned my own tent, and it was barely big enough for me to lie down in. I had a narrow strip of canvas on one side of my cot where I stored a small knapsack the Chief had given me. I kept it packed with a spare set of clothes, extra socks, and a day’s worth of food. I didn’t know when I’d need to leave the settlement, but I did know I didn’t want to endanger the Chief, his settlement, or any of his people.
    Over the course of several weeks, they taught me to find food in the forest. As first I couldn’t see the ground squirrels and birds. I pretended that I didn’t have experience with hitting a target, but after a few days of hunting with Hanai, I allowed my sentry skills to emerge. I used a slingshot to kill a bird, and as I roasted it for lunch, I felt a sense of pride I’d never felt while training to kill people.
    I knew it was because I’d only killed the bird out of necessity—not because my Councilman didn’t like the way it looked, or sounded, or flew.
    In return, I taught the Outcasts how to hide in plain sight. I taught them how to mend broken bones, breathe for another person, and how to boil the sap out of harkroot to make syrup that would relieve pain.
    They had a basic knowledge of medicine, but the Chief wanted to know more, especially how we fixed things without a healer. I spent many hours with him and his healers, and their questions were endless.
    If I wasn’t doing that, Hanai and I fished in the stream running through the settlement. Or we practiced with the slingshot. Or we mended our boots while the wind pushed through the trees.
    Fall was just starting to fade into winter when I received an air message from Davison. “Can you come to Gregorio? I believe