Chapter 15

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The sound of voices greeted him when he roused from his slumber. He recognized Owen’s, but who did the second male voice belong to?

Gabe climbed the stairs out of the root cellar. Mother Morwen was stirring a pot hanging over the fire. At one time the scent would have roused his hunger. Now it turned his stomach, one of the reasons why he avoided evening campfires.

Seated at her small table were Owen and a young man Gabe hadn’t seen before.

“Who is he?” he demanded.

“I’m Phineas Hadley.”

“That doesn’t clarify things,” Gabe snapped. “Who are you?”

Owen grinned at him. “He’s my…my friend. He’s coming with us.”

“Oh, no he’s not. War isn’t a game—”

“We’re going to war?” Both boys looked excited.

Gabe glared at Owen. “You saw what it did to Remember.”

“He must accompany you, Master Granger,” Mother Morwen told him, and he groaned.

“Never tell me—you’ve read his future also.”