Free Half Lost by Sally Green Page A

trust her, but I know she always has her own agenda.
    â€œWhy would Ledger want to meet me?”
    â€œYou’ll have to go and see her to find out.”
    â€œYou say I’m taking risks; if she’s so powerful, how do you know she won’t just take Gabriel’s half of the amulet and kill me?”
    Van smiles faintly. “I don’t think murder is her style. And anyway I already gave it to her.”
    â€œ What? ”
    â€œIt was a sign of good faith. Ledger will know how to make the amulet whole. She said she will do it for the right person. We simply have to hope that you are that person, Nathan.”

Dreading You

    Van goes back to camp with Nesbitt, and me and Gabriel go for a run. I ask him, “Are you bothered about Van giving away your half of the amulet?”
    â€œOf course not. I gave it to her in exchange for helping me, for saving my life. It’s hers to do with as she wants. And I told you back then, Nathan, I’m not interested in those things anymore. I never was particularly to start with.”
    â€œAnd do you think I should go for the amulet?”
    â€œI’m thinking about that.”
    So am I. Ledger sounds interesting and so does the amulet but if I’m doing that I’m not looking for Annalise. But I’m beginning to realize—or rather I’m having to face up to what I’ve known for weeks now—that Annalise has escaped from here. She could be anywhere by now.
    We run for a couple of hours and then head back into camp. Greatorex, Van, and Nesbitt are sitting with Donna and we go over to join them. Nesbitt is supporting Donna, who looks like she’s going to pass out.
    On the ground is one of Van’s small stone bowls with dregs of liquid in it. Truth potion, I guess.
    Van looks at me and then back to Donna and asks, “Why do you want to join the Alliance?”
    â€œI can do good if I join.” Donna’s voice is slurred, like she’s drunk.
    â€œWhat sort of good?”
    â€œKill the bad guys.”
    â€œWho are the bad guys?”
    â€œThe evil ones, the bad guys.”
    â€œBut who? Name one.”
    â€œBad guys.” Donna looks like she’s going to sleep.
    Van persists. “Are the Hunters bad?”
    â€œThey kill the Alliance.”
    â€œYes, but are the Hunters bad?”
    â€œThey tied me up and starved me and gagged me.” Donna seems to focus on me for a second or two and says, “He killed them.”
    â€œDo you know the name of this person?” Van points at me.
    â€œNathan. Also known as Freddie.”
    Van raises her eyebrows and looks at me. “Freddie?”
    I nod.
    â€œIs Nathan a bad guy?”
    â€œHe killed the Hunters.”
    â€œSo does that make him good or bad?”
    â€œEveryone says he’s bad.”
    â€œWhat do you say?”
    â€œHe let me have all the chocolate.”
    Van blows her cheeks out. She looks tired. “Are you a spy?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œAre you an assassin?”
    â€œI’d like to kill the bad guys.”
    â€œWho are the bad guys?”
    â€œThe evil ones, the bad guys.”
    I get the feeling this is not the first time the questioning has gone round in circles and I leave them to it.
    * * *
    Later I ask Van how it went. She shakes her head. “Difficult. To work best, any potion has to be tailored specifically to the individual. The one I used was a general truth potion, but even so everything she said should have been the truth.”
    â€œSo? What’s the verdict?”
    â€œI don’t like the fact that her answers were always the same. They were honest but not open. But it’s hard to judge. I’ll need to make a potion specifically for her.”
    Van offers me a cigarette and I accept it. I inhale the smoke and breathe out. I’m surprised that the cigarettes seem to be ordinary fain ones.
    â€œAmerican,” Van says, as if reading my