Free The Willbreaker (Book 1) by Mike Simmons Page A

the scar and streams of dried blood that ran down to my hand. Matt freaked out. I made him promise that he would not tell anyone. We both promised.”
                  Edward sat with his elbows on his knees. His chin sat snug on top of his closed fists as he stared at Brandon.
                  “Yes boy! Wonderful control of the energy! I love hearing people’s stories of discovering the power!" Edward wore the smile of a little boy at a birthday party.
                  Brandon stretched his hand out to the roasting stick and picked it up, putting the rabbits close to his face as he examined them.
                  “Food’s ready old man, let’s eat.”
                  The two men sat there, each pulling strings of meat from the rabbits in their hands, enjoying the warmth of the fire. The silence stretched a peaceful web across the woods, and the dance of crickets played rhythmically behind them. A light wind blew through the trees, bringing a crisp and clean breath to the camp. They talked and smiled, and both men were unaware of pair of glowing green eyes that watched from the shadows, two hundred paces to the south.
     
     
                  The sharp morning air nipped at Edward’s forehead and he rolled over, trying to pull his wool blanket up over his head. As he turned, he heard rustling in the camp. Brandon had finished putting Firecracker’s saddle over his back. Edward sat up with a yawn.
                  “You are up early, boy,” he said cheerfully, as the roll of his hot breath froze in the air, whirling on top of itself.
                  Brandon looked down at him in his blankets and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never been one to sleep in. Early to bed, early to rise, Margaret would always say." Brandon pointed to his things on the ground with his chin. “I’ve got some dried berries in the light brown bag right there, help yourself. I’ve got to brush down Baby real quick, and we’ll be ready to go."
                  Edward opened the small leather bag, pulled a handful of mixed colored berries from within, and popped a few in his mouth as he cleaned up camp. Brandon had folded his blankets and hid them back inside his pack. Dirt covered the fire pit. A few grey clouds moved patiently across the lightly lit sky.
                  “If we keep a good pace, we should be in Darrow’s Hold by this evening,” Edward said, as he pushed the last blanket inside the pack.
                  “Ah good, we are just about out of snacks,” he said, smiling at Edward. Edward returned the smile as he mounted up on Firecracker. Firecracker neighed, releasing a steaming wisp of breath into the air. Before he mounted, Brandon took a branch he found that feathered into leafy fingers and swept the campground with it. The memories of their footsteps disappeared with each pass of the branch. He walked backwards as he cleared the remaining marks of their prints.
                  “It won’t clear our horses prints, but horses by themselves won’t give a good indication of how many men they are accompanied by,” he said, as he mounted, and tossed the branch off into the woods. “Let’s ride friend, we have a beautiful day of travel before us. Let us pray to the Gods that no ill will shall become us." Baby reared up on her hind legs with an intimidating neigh as he finished. Brandon held on as a large smile split his face. “Yaw, Baby, yaw!” he yelled. Baby bolted for the road. Edward let out a small chuckle as he squeezed Firecracker’s ribs with his feet, urging him forward. He did not wait for any more command; Firecracker ran after Baby excitedly.
                  The two of them made good time; keeping their stops short and downtime minimal. The horses would eat as they walked, and Brandon and Edward snacked out of Brandon’s backpack so they could keep riding towards