The Dark of Twilight (Twilight Shifters Book 1) Read Free Page A

follow them.  It never completely engulfed them.  Once or twice, it seemed to reach out and lick her heel, leaving her with a vague sense of disquiet and shivers up her back.
    "There's the spot," said Lars, leading the way. 
    In the middle of swamp, the log path ran beside a small island in the water.  The sun seemed to shine through.  The grass seemed greener.  There was a clearing surrounded by berry bushes.  Aein's horse seemed just as happy as she was for the break.  She unhitched the wagon so they could switch the load when they headed out.  She took her quiver and bow off her back and placed them safely on the cart.  She reached her arms over her head and then fell gratefully to the ground, letting her muscles unknot.
    "Are you sure that we have to keep going?" she asked.  "We could just stay here for the rest of the day."
    Lars pushed her with his toe.  "Come on, Aein.  You're scaring off the wildlife.  I was going to see if I could bag us a frog or something for dinner."
    "Go!" Aein said, waving him away.  "Keep your frogs to yourself!  I'll be here... protecting our stuff from bandits..."
    Lars headed through the bushes, threatening her over his shoulder.  "If I hit anything, I'm going to eat it all by myself!  You hear me?  All by myself!"
    She smiled, enjoying the sensation of the sun on her face.  She let her head fall to the side and her glance fell upon the bushes.  At once she was on her feet.  She was almost certain she knew these berries.  They looked like the blueberries Cook Bolstad served in the summertime.  She picked one.  She nibbled the smallest bit of one to test to see if it left her mouth feeling numb or her stomach upset.  It didn't taste exactly the same, but it was good.  She waited a couple minutes, and when she didn't fall over dead, she ate a couple more.
    "Don't eat those!" shouted Lars, coming back into the clearing with some game.
    "They're fine!" she replied, holding them out to him to try.
    "Don't come crawling to me tonight when your belly has cramped up and you feel like your insides might evacuate your body from either end."
    "You're such a poet, Lars." 
    "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said.  He pulled back from her, as if disgusted.  "Ugh.  Your teeth and tongue are stained purple."
    "Come give us a kiss," Aein laughed, stretching her stained palms towards him and grinning wildly so he could get a good look at her teeth.
    "Not for the wide world," he replied.  "You'll be vomiting before nightfall."
    Aein took another handful and stored them in her pouch for later.  The birds seemed to have gotten to most of the bramble, but there was enough for an afternoon snack.  "You're going to be jealous when I'm perfectly fine and you didn't even try one."
    "I'll risk it," he said.  He looked up at the sky.  "We should get moving again.  We need to reach the rendezvous before nightfall."
    She shielded her eyes to get a good look at where the sun was when suddenly she shouted.  "Wait!  We have to stop for just a moment!"
    "What is it?"
    "Cook Bolstad asked me to gather him some ingredients.  And I just spotted what he was looking for."
    "And what was he looking for?"
    "Those!" she replied, pointing up at a cluster of mushrooms growing out of the bark of the tree.  They had black caps with tan flakes.  She was sure it was the same ones in the picture.  She walked over to the base of the tree.  The mushrooms were hanging just beneath the branch like little bats. 
    "It's like the tree has armpit hair," Lars stated.
    "Shut up," she replied.  "Want to give me a hand?"
    Lars came over and laced his fingers together for her to stand in.  Her fingers found hold in the tree's rough and bumpy bark.  "I do not believe being your own personal step ladder was mentioned in border duties," he stated.
    She was able to grab a hold of a thick branch and pull herself up.
    "Those might go bad before you get them home," Lars pointed out.  "You could just leave them