Free Draggah by Toby Neighbors Page B

fire.  She felt so much empathy for the trees they had burned down that she couldn ’ t keep from crying.
    “ What is it? ” Rafe asked, his voice softer, more compassionate than before.
    “ It ’ s nothing, ” she said.  “ I just feel differently about things now. ”
    “ Like what? ” Rafe asked.  “ Us? ”
    “ No, ” she said honestly.
    She reached a hand out and took hold of his.  Her hands had always been long and thin, his were wide and calloused from his many hours of weapons training.  He held her hand softly, but there was still a sturdy sense of strength in his touch that reminded her of the evergreen trees in Avondale.
    “ It ’ s just that I can relate to things better, ” she tried to explain.  “ I ’ m different, Rafe.  I ’ m not just the Earl ’ s daughter from Hamill Keep anymore. ”
    “ I never thought of you that way, ” he said.
    “ I know, ” she said, brushing a tear from her cheek and smiling at him.  “ Just promise me you won ’ t burn any more trees. ”
    “ Okay, ” he said.  “ I promise. ”
    She leaned into him and he put his arm around her.  They walked on in silence after that.  The tribe kept moving until just before sundown.  Then they stopped and set up camp.  Olyva felt a deep weariness come over her as the sun began to set.  She watched in fascination as the tribe arranged itself.  The night before, the tribe had made camp in a long line, but this time they put the animals in the center of the camp and the small shelters were arranged neatly all around.
    Rafe spoke to the Rogu, who were the warriors of the camp.  It was obvious to Olyva that wild creatures such as the Graypees would be attracted to the smell of blood and offal from the slain Tamakas.  Olyva could smell the blood on the wind, although it wasn ’ t an unpleasant scent.  She didn ’ t marvel too much at her strange new abilities.  Rafe came back to her as night fell.  Olyva wanted to lay down and sleep, but she forced herself to stay awake.  It wasn ’ t just that she was tired, she felt drained, empty.  In the light of day, she felt full of energy. But without the sunlight, all she wanted to do was sleep.
    “ The Rogu are setting up a perimeter, ” Rafe told her.  “ I ’ ll stay here with you tonight unless they need me. ”
    “ Thank you, ” Olyva said, stretching out on the ground.
    “ Don ’ t you want something to eat? ” he asked.
    “ No, ” she said.
    “ Olyva, you have to eat.  When was the last time you had food? ”
    “ I don ’ t know, ” she said.  “ But I ’ m not hungry.  The sun feeds me. ”
    “ The sun? ” Rafe asked, failing to keep the despair out of his voice.
    “ Rafe, ” she said calmly.  “ I ’ m still Olyva.  I still love you.  Lay down with me.  We ’ re both exhausted. ”
    “ Don ’ t you at least want a blanket to lay on? ” he asked.
    She realized that she didn ’ t want a blanket.  She wanted to feel the warmth of the soil on her skin.  She wanted to be as connected to the earth as she could.
    “ No, ” she said sleepily.
    Rafe lay down by her.  The night was warm and there was no real need for blankets or even the tent-like shelters most of the Hoskali used.  Still, Rafe was stiff beside her.
    “ Hold me, ” she insisted.
    He opened his arms and she scooted over, laying her head on his chest.  She could hear his heart beating steady and strong.  She felt safe and content.  She had Rafe, the sun, the earth, and rain was coming. She could feel the air becoming thicker as the weather slowly changed.  She guessed that sometime late the next day, the rain would arrive.  She couldn ’ t wait for it, and as she drifted off to sleep, she felt happier than any time she could remember in her young life.

Chapter 8
    Rafe
    The night seemed to drag on endlessly.  Rafe tried to sleep, but he couldn ’ t rest.  His mind wouldn ’ t stop thinking about Tiberius.  Rafe didn ’ t know if it was