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Or perhaps they would run into someone like Gary. Or Dragon Souls. Either way, danger.

That threat was enough for him to hesitate.

Jason hated that he allowed himself to fear those others, but what choice did he have? If he wanted to protect those he cared about, he needed to choose the right way on their behalf. For the sake of his mother and what she was going through, he thought he had to find some way to help her. And for his sister, if she had lost all hope, then it was up to him to help her find it again.

Jason stared into space, sipping his tea, his mind turning. As tired as he was, and as much as he needed to rest, he wasn’t sure he would be able to.

4

He headed down the slope, clutching his bow tightly, his quiver of arrows at his side and his mind turning. He’d left Kayla and his mother behind, though he doubted his sister would leave her alone. At least his mother still seemed to be sleeping peacefully, almost as if she’d exerted herself too much the day before. Perhaps that was all it was. He had to hope she might come around and that she would be able to return to being a healer.

Kayla’s haggard features suggested she hadn’t slept nearly as well as she claimed. She had nodded to him when he left, saying nothing, and Jason had no idea what he could say to his sister.

Nothing.

All he could do was succeed in his hunt.

He’d spent the last few hours searching for any movement, creeping steadily downslope, wanting nothing more than a rabbit, any creature that would provide them with fresh meat, but he hadn’t seen anything.

A growing frustration built within him. If he failed to bring home a successful hunt, what would happen to Kayla? More likely than not, she would continue to fade. It was the same thing he’d seen with his mother, the way she’d gradually retreated, becoming nothing more than a shell of a person.

If that happened to his sister, Jason had no idea how he could help both of them.

Which was why he had to be successful. Only there was no sign of movement.

He had crouched in place for quite some time, staying near a ridgeline on which he’d frequently encountered rabbits before, but this time, there were none.

Move slowly and carefully. Watch for movement around you. Use that as you hunt.

He poked his head up, and when he did, his stomach sank.

Three figures were beyond the line of sight.

Reltash was one of them, but so too was Angus, and another.

Jason got to his feet, still holding on to his bow, but loosened his grip.

There was no way he was going to find anything with these three out here. And why would they be hunting in this direction anyway? There should be no reason for it. Reltash typically went with the others to the back face of the mountain, where the hunting was better, though often more difficult. At least the snow wasn’t nearly as deep, and they would occasionally come across entire herds of deer—until their shots missed and they chased them off. Jason had seen that enough times to know that the hunters were generally successful, but they weren’t always the most skilled.

Reltash seemed to notice him, as he motioned in Jason’s direction. The three started toward him and Jason crouched where he was, not heading toward them.

“What are you doing out here?” Reltash hollered up at him. He was a large man, and his dragonskin coat reflected the sunlight. His dark eyes glared at Jason.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. It seems to me you’re scaring off any game that might be here.”

“There is no game out here,” Reltash said.

“With you out here, there certainly won’t be.”

Angus watched Jason, his gaze alternating between the bow slung over his shoulder and the buttons on his coat. Jason was now making a point of ensuring he kept his coat buttoned, not wanting anyone to pay any more attention to his distinct lack of discomfort with the weather.

“Aren’t you a little far from home?”

“Aren’t you?” Jason asked.

He didn’t think Reltash would try anything foolish, but this far away from the village, it was difficult to know with any certainty. He’d taunt him back home, but out here, as far as they were, it was possible Reltash would decide he was tired of dealing with Jason.

“Maybe you should head back,” Reltash said.

Next to him, Angus watched Jason a bit nervously. Marl, a young man about his age but much larger than him, shared Reltash’s sneer.

“I haven’t finished my hunting for the day,” Jason said.

“I think you have. It’s time for you to get moving.”

Jason frowned. “Why are you out here? Do you intend to abandon your friend again?”

He watched Angus as he said it, curious how much Angus would have admitted to Reltash. Would he share that Jason had been the one to save him?

It opened him up to questions, but he didn’t really care.

“We didn’t abandon him. He fell into the stream on his own. We couldn’t reach him in time.” Reltash looked up at him, smirking. “What were you doing so far downstream?”

“Hunting. And considering that I’ve now run into you, I understand why I haven’t been able to find anything.”

There had to be a reason Reltash and the others were out. They’d gone to the cave, which suggested there was something more to what they were looking for. Had there been rumors of something else? It was the kind of thing he wouldn’t have known much about. He didn’t spend much time in the village these days, preferring to wander and hunt, hoping he might have a chance to speak with the dragon more, but there was the possibility they’d heard something in the village.

He had shifted his feet, gripping his bow, when Reltash lunged toward him.

Jason scrambled back, and his feet slipped.

Swearing under his breath, he tried to roll, but he slid directly toward Reltash. Reltash grabbed for him, and Jason swung the bow around but restrained himself at the last moment. He didn’t want to connect to Reltash’s body, not wanting to break his only means of hunting. Finding a replacement would be incredibly hard, at least here. It would require that he head downslope, locate the right kind of branch, and then shape and restring it. The only other option would be to head along the back face of the mountain, but he didn’t want to do that, either.

“Grab him. He doesn’t need to know what we’re doing,” Reltash said.

Jason rolled off to the side, sliding along the snow. The others raced toward him, their boots thundering, and he leaned back, trying to slide, but someone was there, grabbing him. The bow was jerked free and he scrambled for it, but Reltash had it.

He watched Jason, a dark look on his face.

“You need to get back to the village.”

Jason took a step toward him, and though the others were larger than him, he wasn’t about to ignore the bow. His hand slipped into his pocket, gripping the dragon pearl. If it came down to it, he had some means of protecting his weapon, though it might involve revealing something about himself.

“Hand it over,” he said.

“This?” Reltash turned the bow in his hands, sneering. “It’s not even all that well made. You do realize if you were more willing to hunt with the others, you might have a better weapon.”

“That was my father’s. Hand it over.”

Reltash turned toward him.

“Give it back to him,” Angus said.

“Stay out of this,” Reltash said.

“You can’t keep it. He needs it to help feed his sister and mother.”

“You mean the same woman who can’t function since her husband was killed by a dragon? How many other people have been lost like that?” Reltash swung the bow from side to side and Jason braced himself, watching the weapon. When he had the opportunity, he intended to launch toward it, grabbing it.