Free Embrace by Rachel D'Aigle Page A

muttered Colin in frustration. He still did not trust Juliska, even though Meghan did explicitly.
    Once again, though, Colin came to the following conclusion: If I can’t trust Jae, who can I trust? He could not question his only real friend in this place.
    Colin wondered if Meghan would have any insight and decided to message her, later. It was time to check in with her, anyway. On the walk back to the Mochries, a leaf struck him in the head.
    “Like she can read my mind,” he chuckled. The letter was brief.
    “Col, I’m leaving soon, just for a day or two, for the Initiation thingy with Ivan. I will let you know when I’m back. How are you? Sorry I haven’t contacted you before now, very busy training.”
    Colin quickly recited his response.
    “Doing fine. Well, not really I guess. Jae and his dad had a huge fight today. Very unpleasant. Apparently, Jae has not been spending as much time with his dad as we thought.
    He would not admit where he was spending his time though and stormed off. Please be careful, whatever you are doing with Ivan.”
    Colin sighed, realizing something then. He missed Meghan. He missed being able to talk with her. He had been so preoccupied with finding Catrina, he had let those memories slide away.
    “It’s not the same without you here,” he added. “But I really am doing fine, no worries.” He kept his mind closed off from her, still afraid he might accidentally give something away about Catrina. Now that he thought about it, it seemed wrong, unnatural to hide this from Meghan.
    He sent his leaf reply and continued home. He assumed that if Jae did visit, and she found out anything, she would fill him in later.
    Upon arrival home, Colin was surprised to find the place empty. Though it was dinnertime, not even Sheila Mochrie was there, preparing her usual evening meal.
    40
    Colin was pleased to see, however, that Corny Tibbitt had left him another page. He crept into his bedroom cubby closing the curtain, hoping this time, the pages would fit together and give him whatever message Corny was trying to send.
    Colin stopped.
    There was a small box wrapped in brown paper sitting on his bed, like a gift. He gawked at it and then hesitantly picked it up. Balloch Flummer’s words, ‘Trust no one,” rang clearly through his thoughts.
    There was no tag to say whom it was from, just like back in Grimble, when he and Meghan had received money anonymously. Colin wondered if this gift was from the same person.
    He untied the brown paper cautiously. Inside was another small box labeled, J & T First Aid Kit.
    It included the normal things he was used to seeing in a first aid kit, like bandages and gauze, but then also included items he had never seen before. He picked up a bottle called Reliable Pain Potion, with a headline that read: Never Expires. Drink and be pain free! The next labeled bottle said, Smoke Screen: Advantage Yours! Bottle includes One Smoke Screen.
    Twenty seconds that could save your life! To use, break the bottle.
    There were also various creams for instant healing of minor bites, scrapes or burns. These, he thought, looked eerily similar to the ones Kanda Macawi had used on him and Meghan when they visited Cobbscott.
    He delved into the kit a little deeper and pulled out a small scroll, unrolling it. It contained various life saving spells, like how to create water or fire. Lastly, was a thin pair of glasses, which he put on, only slightly wary of what might happen. However, nothing did happen.
    “Huh,” he shrugged, putting everything back in the kit. “What an odd gift,” he then whispered, wondering if someone somehow knew his plans to sneak into the valley.
    The gift seemed a little too timely, and yet he could not help but admit it might come in handy, as he had no idea what lied in wait for him on this journey.
    He set the kit aside and went back to his new page from Corny. It still spelled nothing coherent. In fact, it did not look like words at all.
    Something