Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 122097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
I expect him to get on too, but he doesn’t. He slips the reins over the horse’s head and begins to lead me forward towards the mountaintop village of Blackberry Hill.
A little while later we come out from a thick copse of tall shrubs and then there it is. I don’t remember a lot of details about getting up here or my first look—which is this same view here—but my first impression is that it looks the same. Two buildings appear first, both low and long and made of logs. The trail leads right between them and I know from memory that the one on my right is a stable and the one on my left is a blacksmith.
Sure enough, when we come out between the two buildings, that’s what they still are. No one is working in the blacksmith’s. It’s all shuttered up and doesn’t look like anyone’s worked there in a while, maybe because it’s still a little bit winter up here. There’s still snow on the ground, though not a lot of it.
But the stable is open and that’s where Ike stops. I feel stupid for being up on this horse. There’s no reason for it this time, unlike last time when I was injured. Though I didn’t have to ride alone. Ike was riding with me.
So I don’t really see the point, other than he wanted to order me around. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that was the only reason. That’s the kind of man he is. Some might call that bossy the same way some might call his eyes mischievous. But the eyes are menacing and this alpha thing he does, it’s authoritarian, not bossy.
“Get down, Lowyn.” He offers a hand to help.
I don’t take it. I just swing my leg over and slide down on my own. I don’t ride horses a lot anymore, but Clover and I had our horse-crazy years as pre-teens, so I’m not afraid of a dismount.
A man appears from inside the stable. Not much more than a teenager. And Ike hands him the horse without comment and then he takes the horse inside.
Now I turn and look at the village. Like my first impression, it all comes off as familiar. But upon closer inspection, I can see that it’s been fixed up a lot in the last nine years.
Even though I’ve lived in these parts since the day I was born, before Ike found me in my wreck of a car and brought me up to these hills, I never even knew people lived up here. The cabins were all here nine years ago, of course. And they were fine. They had windows and front doors. And, of course, log cabins always do come with a certain amount of charm. They were fine back then and that’s really all you could say about the various buildings in this village.
But today they are more than merely livable. Curtains hang in the windows. Shutters hang on the outside. Some of them have window boxes with spring flowers coming up. Red and yellow tulips and purple hyacinths. The front porches have rocking chairs on them. There’s new metal roofing, and gutters, and there’s even a street—kinda of. It’s made of dirt, but it’s actually a really nice fine gravel the color of sand, not gray like most of the rocks around these parts. Some of the cabins have a second floor now. And balconies.
It’s… nice. They’ve spent a lot of money up here. And this makes me angry.
But I can’t afford to be angry right now. I need to keep a clear head. So I dial it down and just let myself see it.
“Looks different, huh?” Ike says.
I nod, but don’t look at him.
“I’m over here now. Let’s go.”
I don’t go. I turn and face him. And he must’ve known I was gonna object, because he hasn’t walked off yet. In fact, he looks like he’s expecting this confrontation. “Why do you want me here?”
“Because, Lowyn, Collin Creed and I are gonna come to an agreement today and I’m gonna use you to get what I want.”
This is not a surprise. So I don’t really react. It’s just the kind of man he is. “What is it you want, Ike?”
“I want the truth.” He’s holding up a finger, making a list. “I want a promise.” He holds up finger number two. “And I want to know who he’s working for.” That final finger comes up.
“Why can’t I just call him up and ask him these things?”
“Because I need him to know that I will take you any time I want, just like I take the others. And I need to look him in the eyes when he comes to that realization.”
These words rattle around in my head for a moment as I try to put them together. “What… others?”