Free Memory Hunted by Christopher Kincaid Page A

against
the entire Church. They have to know that the Church will just keep sending
more soldiers and Inquisitors.
    He massaged his calf and listened to the large, wet
snowflakes fall around them. A knot in his shoulder ached from the weight of
his knapsack. Kit had managed to shove the entire wagon into it.
    Beside him, Yuzu sat in the snow. Her head bobbed as
she dozed.
    Kit turned and took a few steps. She stopped and
glanced over her shoulder. "Let’s go."
    Yuzu shook her head and groaned.
    "I agree with Yuzu. We have to stop to rest," Timothy
said.
    "Oh, I thought we were still walking." Kit brushed snow
from her hair. "My mistake." Her ears twitched.
    "We can’t keep going. The little sleep we are getting
isn’t enough. What will we do if Daeric is waiting at Belafonte, and we are ready
to fall over?"
    Yuzu yawned and blinked sleepily. "He’s right, Sis."
She rubbed her arms under her wolf pelt. "So cold."
    Kit scratched under her sleeves. "What choice do we have?
I am not even sure if we are going the right way."
    "You shouldn’t scratch." Timothy straightened and shifted
the infernal knapsack.
    "Someone should have told me about that plant sooner."
    "That someone did. A certain someone wouldn’t listen."
    Kit muttered something.
    "And what lesson did you learn?" Timothy asked.
    Kit grimaced. "I should listen to my husband more."
    "What was that? I couldn’t hear you." Timothy cupped
an ear and leaned toward her.
    Kit froze, and her ears stood on end. Timothy’s smile
withered, and his heart lurched.
    "Did they find us?" Yuzu whispered. She stood up, trying
to look everywhere at once.
    Kit shook her head. Her ears flicked west and then north.
Timothy held his breath and tried to listen for any hint. He swallowed. Yuzu
stumbled to her feet and pull the wolf pelt tight.
    "We have to move. We are too close to the road," Kit
whispered. "Quietly." She moved in a half crouch deeper into the woods. Timothy
felt his headache thump in time with his heart as he followed. Yuzu skulked on his
heels.
    Kit weaved through the undergrowth, picking paths around
fallen branches. The rustle of leaves muffled by snow made Timothy grit his teeth.
Yuzu brushed against him. The forest floor angled upward, and Kit led them on a
deer trail. Timothy saw several prints in the snow. Those look fresh. Maybe that
is what Kit heard. If there are deer nearby, Daeric can’t be—
    A rock slipped from under his boot. Timothy landed hard
on his shoulder—hard enough to break the cord binding the heavy lantern to his pack.
The lantern rolled and clanked on rocks buried under the snow. The metallic peal
echoed through the frigid silence.
    Yuzu stared down the hill with wide eyes. Kit stalked
down the slope. She offered Timothy her hand.
    "Kit, I’m—" He heard it then. Snapping twigs and rustling
leaves coming toward them from below. Fast.
    "I don’t know what I ever did to that lantern." Kit hoisted
Timothy to his feet. "They know where we are. Move it!"
    Kit shoved him up the slope. Once back on the deer trail,
Kit set a faster pace. His shoulder ached, and exhaustion dragged his legs. Kit
has to be more tired than I am. She’s been on constant alert since we fled. Yuzu
labored behind him. They worked their way up and around the hill. Timothy couldn’t
hear anything beyond his breathing. Kit remained intent on the path forward, and
her ears darted to and fro. Timothy glanced behind.
    Yuzu was gone.
    He grabbed Kit’s cloak and pulled her short. She twisted.
"What?"
    "Yuzu….gone." He closed his eyes against his burning
lungs and thumping heart.
    "She’s been nothing but trouble." She turned back to
the trail and hesitated. "We have to keep going." She took a step forward, but Timothy
held on.
    "Kit."
    She whirled. "That girl is more annoying than that fool
lantern. I—"
    "We can’t leave her. I won’t leave her."
    "What’s she to you, Timmy? Is there something I don’t
know?"
    "She’s your adopted sister, Kit."
    "I didn’t adopt