Flecks of Gold by Alicia Buck Page B

myself.
    He let it drop. “We’ll reach a stream by early evening. I thought we’d stop there. It would be impossible to reach the next town tonight. It’s 60 kenars from Cibar.”
    I perked up at the word stream . Water! I could wash myself. I could at least scrub parts of me, if it was really small. Suddenly my remaining hunger couldn’t compete with my desire to be clean. I stuffed my food and water back in the bag. “Let’s get going, then.”
    Breeohan wasn’t done with his lunch, but he put his bread away and got up. I strode off at a brisk pace but slowed down a little to let him catch up.
    “How big is this stream?” I asked eagerly. “No, wait, don’t tell me in case it’s too small to be much good. No, you’d better tell me so I can prepare myself for the worst.”
    He laughed. “It’s not as bad as you fear. It is about ten paces wide and deep in some parts. But don’t worry, you will not need to know how to swim to cross it.”
    “Do you know how to swi—” I stopped short, painfully reminded of Kelson’s letterman jacket. He’d said he’d gotten it for swimming.
    Breeohan glanced over at me, but I stayed silent. He answered my unfinished question anyway. “The capital is by the sea and a river outlet, so I do. But many from the inner desert are never near deep water. They have no need to learn.”
    “Do you have swim teams?” I asked, trying to see how much Kelson had made that up.
    “What’s that?”
    I wondered how much background study Kelson had done on my country before approaching me. At least now I knew why he’d gone on and on about the marvels of modern technology. What I still couldn’t understand was why he hadn’t brought heavy artillery with him to accomplish whatever he’d been trying to do. My only guess was that the trip might have ruined the stuff. After all, my watch and calculator had stopped working.
    I walked faster, thinking of what Kelson might be doing to Mom. Was she okay? If he’d hurt her, I would never rest until I found him and brought him to justice. I noticed vaguely that Breeohan had been watching the changes of expression cross over my face. I breathed hard from speed walking, and Breeohan caught my arm to stop me.
    “What’s wrong?” Concern reflected in his bright purple eyes.
    “Have you ever heard of a guy named Kelson?” I stopped, realizing I didn’t know his last name. “He can do this pattern magic stuff, like you, but I think he’s older.” I thought of the picture I had drawn of him.
    “I’m sorry. I know of no one by that name. Why do you want to know? Are you seeking him at the king’s city?”
    “I doubt very much that he’ll be there. Unless . . .” I didn’t know anything about Iberloah. What if Kelson had been a mage for the king and was acting under his orders? If that were true, I couldn’t trust the king to help me. I looked suspiciously at Breeohan. What if he knew too? What if he was sent to bring me to the king since Kelson had failed? I shook myself. Get a grip, Mary. The world does not revolve around you . I was becoming suspicious of everyone, but it seemed unlikely that Breeohan could have anything to do with the plot against Mom and me, even if the king were involved. I felt like I was in a suspense movie surrounded by plotting enemies. That thought made me laugh. But one thing was sure, with no phones and no Internet, communication would be much more difficult here. There was no way Kelson could even know I had followed him to Iberloah.
    “What is your king like? Do you know him at all?” I asked abruptly.
    “You keep asking me questions and never answer mine. I will not answer your question until you answer at least one of mine.”
    “Which one?”
    “Why did you look so worried? Who is this Kelson?”
    That was two questions, but I decided I might as well tell him what had happened. If he didn’t decide I was crazy, maybe he could help somehow. “I’m worried because this man, Kelson,