Memory Hunted Read Free Page B

would have made a difference. Why? Kit would still be Kit. Maybe it
is because I haven’t—
    "What about you, Timmy?" Kit watched him from under her
bangs.
    Should I be nice? "Well,
one day Kyle introduced me to this one girl…"
    Kit crossed her arms as she walked.
    "Esther. That was her name. She was a cute girl."
    Kit frowned at him. "You are not convincing me."
    "Are you so sure?"
    "As a matter of fact, I am." She grabbed his arm and
pressed it into her chest. "Your blushes give you away."
    Yuzu laughed.
    "Fine. You got me, but you would look at me differently
if it was true, wouldn’t you?"
    Kit tilted her head. "Look at you like this?" She tilted
her head the other way. "Or like this?" She squeezed his arm. "Men are supposed
to be experienced."
    "Nice of you to remind me."
    "Oh, it isn’t a bad thing at all. It makes you a rare
treasure." Kit smiled, and Timothy cleared his throat.
    "I don’t know," Yuzu said. "I’d rather have someone who
knows what he is doing." She blushed.
    The tangled branches suddenly opened to reveal a mountain.
They were close enough that he could see deep fissures cutting across the rough
stone. White mist hid the peak. Yuzu tugged the mule to a stop. Timothy and Kit
paused to gaze at the crags.
    "That is where we are going?" Yuzu’s voice quivered.
"It looks…really high."
    "You could always turn back," Kit said.
    Yuzu craned her neck. "And go where? I…I don’t want to
be alone anymore."
    "Kit’s home is someplace in these woods, near the base
of the mountain," Timothy said. "Where it is anyone’s guess. Least of all hers.
Unless you remember something, Kit."
    Kit shook her head.
    He didn’t blame her. The forest around them looked
much the same as when they first entered. There wasn’t any sort of landmark
that could trigger a memory. There were only the  pines packed tight around an
old road and darkness. Timothy could understand how people believed the forest
was haunted. The darkness and the stories of the foxes that carved a home in it
were enough to convince the Church to act. And yet, the paving stones that
peeked from the snow blanketing the ground suggested a prosperous past not that
long ago.  The footprints from the soldiers who had passed the night before
suggested that past prosperity would remain in the past. The Church still
remembered and watched.
    "Kit, do you think the Church is here because
someone is still around?" Timothy paused as an idea struck him. "This would be
an ideal place for the Protestants to hide. What better place than a place
where foxes—I mean out here."
    Kit glanced at him. "Protestants? Who are they?"
    "They are people who resist the Church," Timothy
said. "They have some disagreements with the Church’s teachings."
    "I do too," Kit said.
    Yuzu laid a hand on the side of the mule. "We had a
few in Honheim. The priest and city guard didn’t take to them preaching in the
streets. I didn’t see the fighting, but I heard they killed the priest that
confronted them."
    "They were violent?" Timothy asked. "That is the
first I’ve heard."
    Yuzu nodded. "I heard about fighting in other cities
too."
    Kit chewed on her bottom lip while she listened. "Do
they hunt foxes?"
    Yuzu frowned. "Why would they? Foxes are long gone."
    "I think they are too busy to worry about foxes, one
way or the other." Timothy brushed  snowflakes from his cheek.
    "I guess we will find out.  This road has to lead somewhere."
Kit started walking. Yuzu shook the reins at the mule. He huffed and regarded her
with a dark eye before tugging the wagon into motion.
     They traveled for a time before the forest suddenly
ended. A wide swath of pasture opened to a gray sky. After spending so much
time among the trees, the familiar sight of open fields made Timothy smile. If
only it was grass instead of snow. Just a few sheep grazing would complete the
picture. A low stone wall lined the field. A rough homestead squatted
against the wall opposite of where Timothy stood. The road