"How do elves catch fish?" I whispered. "Do you just magic them into your hands?"
"Is magic a verb now?"
"I don't know what magic is." And I didn't know what Arun's magic was, in spite of elves typically being very magical creatures.
Something brushed my fingers and I grew still and quiet. Arun seemed to sense it because he did, too. We studied the dark water, waiting for a flash of movement. It was Arun who moved suddenly, hands grasping, and then he pulled a fish from the water, grasping it between two hands. He smiled over at me.
I laughed. "You magicked it, didn't you?"
"I'll never tell."
Estrid had the fire burning hotly by the time we got back. Arun cleaned the fish, and I found sticks we could use to roast the meat. We sat in companionable silence, cooking strips of fish over the flames. When we were done, I volunteered to carry the skin and bones away from the camp so that any animals that liked the smell of them would be drawn away from us.
It was a short walk through the woods back to the river. I walked upriver for a few minutes before digging a hole and burying the fish remains. The night was eerily still and quiet here in the boundaries of the protection spell. Not even birds were singing in the trees. Every now and then, a breeze rustled the grasses, sounding too much like someone stalking me.
I was hurrying on my way back, which was why I tripped over something heavy that sent me sprawling in the dirt. As soon as my boot connected with whatever it was, even as I was falling, my mind supplied the word "body." There was no mistaking the soft, fleshy feel. My first reaction was to draw my ax, but a shocking jolt sent it flying from my hand. After that, I couldn't stop convulsing. It was like the protection spell had decided I was a threat, even without the ax. I must have made some noise because Arun appeared, followed by Estrid, both of them dropping to their knees beside me just as the sensation subsided and I curled into a ball on the ground. Tears were involuntarily running down my cheeks.
Arun wiped them away with his thumbs. "What happened?"
"B-b-body," I stammered.
Estrid rose slowly to her feet and scanned the riverbank. I knew the moment she found it, when she froze and even her breathing got quieter.
I was catching my breath and my heart rate was slowing.
Arun propped me up against him and brushed hair back from my face.
"Who is it?" I asked. I could see its shape now, someone sprawled face down in the mud.
Estrid moved finally, going to kneel beside the body. "Another priest," she answered. "A woman in orange robes."
I closed my eyes. Two of the women charged with protecting the heir were dead. It was obvious we were on the right trail, but the odds were not looking good. What if the stone hadn't stopped working because we'd arrived, but because the person it was meant to find had died?
No. I wouldn't let myself think that. "Help me up," I demanded.
Arun grabbed me under the arms and pulled me up with him. My legs were still shaky under me, but he kept his arm around me, looping one of my arms around his neck. Had it been anyone else, I would have protested, but not Arun. I would let Arun take care of me. I even let him pick up my ax and stick it back in my belt. For whatever reason, the protection spell didn't zap him.
Back at camp, Estrid extinguished the campfire. "We should have been safe here, but it looks like something got past the protection spell."
"Bruhier is a tricky place," I said, because we could all use a reminder. "Could you see how she died?" It wasn't pleasant to think about, but it would help if we knew what we were up against.
She shook her head. "Not really. Too much blood."
I moaned. "Great."
Arun still hadn't let go of me. His face looked drawn in the blue light of Gleet, which was huge on the southern horizon.
"I know you guys wanted to rest, but I don't think we can. We need to go, and we need to hurry. I want to try to get to the heir before whatever is picking them off gets to her, too."
Neither of them argued and we set off behind Estrid. This time, I vowed, I would pay attention to what was in front of me.
Chapter 18
We walked through the night. It was slow going but we didn't take any breaks except for when we had to pause for Estrid to pick up the trail again. It seemed to keep to the river, veering every now and then into the grasses but always coming back to the water. When the sun had risen and we'd stopped to fill our canteens in the river, I found another purple flower, this one barely visible in the mud. I would have missed it except that it stuck to the sole of my boot and floated to the top of the water when I stepped close to the river. It drifted away before I could catch it. I didn't say anything to the others.
That was what they felt like: "others." Even though we were on the same side, even though we had the same goal, and even though I loved them both, the closer we got to discovering the fate of the heir, the more I felt like I wasn't one of them. They could walk away at any time. But not me. I was connected to the heir, and if she wa dead, it would be up to me to figure out what would come next. I was the one with the target on my face. But until I knew otherwise, I had to believe she was alive, and I had to believe that together, she and I would be able to do something about the evil that was coming. Estrid wanted to protect me, but everything I did was to protect her and everyone I loved.
While I was still filling my canteen, Estrid wandered away, following the trail that turned into the grasses. When she was gone, Arun waded over to where I was and took the canteen from my hands, tossing it with his on the riverbank.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
He didn't answer. Instead, he took my face in his hands and kissed me. His hands slid down my neck to my shoulders, then my waist, where they pulled me flush against him. I went from stunned and resistant to putty in his hands. The water rushed around our ankles as if we were a part of the landscape, just two immovable boulders.
Finally, I pulled away with a gasp. "What was that for?"
"When I saw you on the ground beside that body, I thought… That could be you. It could be me. It could be any of us. So, I wanted to kiss you while I still could. So that if something happens to me, you'll have no doubt."
"Nothing is going to happen to you."
He laughed.
I smacked his arm and pushed him away. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Or to anyone. I won't let it."
Grabbing for me, he pulled me back against him. "I believe you," he said against my mouth just before he kissed me again.
"Frida!" Estrid's shout sliced through the quiet morning air like a punch to the gut.
I broke free from Arun and ran to the riverbank. He was right behind me but stopped to pick up the canteens and fell behind. I followed Estrid's trail through the grasses. It didn't take me long to realize I was actually following the trail of something much larger.
Estrid stood on the edge of a huge clearing of stamped down grass and mud. I pulled up right behind her, putting my hands on her shoulders to stop myself. Across from us was the prone body of a manticore, its belly ripped open and its guts spilling out. Just a few feet from it was another body, this one with the familiar blue skin of an ur’gel. Though it was humanoid in shape and appearance, it was about twice as large as me, with huge, muscled arms, and black wings poking out of its shoulders. The wings were sliced to ribbons, and there were five huge gashes across its chest and stomach.
"Looks like they did each other in," I said.
"Was it just the two of them?" Arun asked.
"I didn't—"
But Estrid didn't get to finish. Before she could, another manticore burst out of the grasses beside us and roared, a rumbling bellow that shook the ground. One of its wings was broken and dragged along the ground. I stumbled back, pulling Estrid with me just as it raked its claws in our direction. It missed, and I noticed that its face was bloody, its eyes closed. The ur’gel had likely blinded it before it died, leaving us to deal with one angry manticore.
"It can't see," I whispered. "Move."
We scrambled backward and ran, splitting up and taking three different directions through the grasses. I turned to see which way it went and was glad to see that it followed me. I couldn't draw my ax, but I could run and climb and swim. I would get away, or I would die trying. At least I would save Estrid and Arun.
For a blind manticore, it was fast, though of course it had the advantage of four legs. Since it couldn't see, I zigzagged in an attempt to confuse it, which only served to make it angrier. I finally reached the river and splashed into it, kicking up my feet and propelling myself into the middle, where the current picked me up and carried me downriver a bit. The manticore was undeterred. He plunged in after me and gained on me quickly, turning out to be a powerful swimmer.
The current sped up and it was nearly on top of me. I was trying to decide what to do when another scream split the air, this one familiar and welcome. Stiarna was diving toward us, claws outstretched, and wings tucked in tight. She landed on the manticore and both of them went under for a few moments before bobbing to the surface in a flurry of teeth and claws. I pushed away from them as best as I could, but it wasn't easy. The current was strong enough to pull me under.
I bobbed back to the surface. "Stiarna!" I shouted.
The two of them were rolling and splashing. When Stiarna got her wings out from under the manticore, it used its massive jaws to drag her back under. The water around them swirled red with blood. I did my best to stay afloat, to keep my eyes on them, but it was getting harder and I was getting tired. Above the splashing and the snarling, I heard a loud, crashing sound, and I knew what it was.
"Stiarna," I said again, quieter this time, less hopeful. We were coming up on a waterfall.
The griffin searched for me, called to me, and was then dragged back under.
I managed to grab a tree branch that was hanging over the water and dragged myself up onto it. I shielded my eyes with my hands and found the drop-off, saw where the river disappeared into the mist and plunged down the cliff, but I didn't see Stiarna or the manticore. I shimmied to the tree trunk and down onto the riverbank, then ran the few dozen yards to where the water fell.
There was no sign of them.
Stiarna was gone.
She'd saved me so many times, and I had done nothing to keep her safe. I'd just told Arun that I wouldn't let anything happen to anyone, and yet here I was. Tears pricked my eyes and I swiped at them angrily. Arun and Estrid appeared beside me.
"Was that Stiarna?" Arun asked, peering down the cliff.
I nodded, not trusting my voice. Below us, nothing moved except for the foaming water flowing away from us.
He put a hand on my back. "I'm sorry."
"Me, too," Estrid added. "But where did she come from?"
I pointed to the sky.
Arun nodded as if that made sense. "The protection spell set boundaries on the ground, not in the air. No one expected ur’gels, I guess."
Who would? Who would expect any of this?
"We're close to the edge," Arun continued. "Of the spell. I can feel the charge."
He was right. We followed Estrid back to where the ur’gel and the manticore lay, then picked up the trail to continue west. Soon, we passed the barrier, a surge of energy pulsing around us. To test it, Estrid drew her sword. Nothing happened.
I drew my own ax but felt no joy in it. I would just have to keep on killing, and Stiarna would keep on being dead, and Erik would keep on being gone, and I couldn't protect anyone.
Arun's hand on my shoulder brought me back and he pulled me into a hug while Estrid searched for the trail.
"I am so sorry," he said again.
"She was just an animal," I said into his chest and immediately felt ashamed of myself.
He seemed to know. "She was a friend."
"Yes, she was." I was horrified to find myself sobbing, but I couldn't help it. My shoulders shook and he wrapped me into a hug. I was glad. At least that way, maybe Estrid wouldn't see it.
A few minutes later, after I had somewhat composed myself, she reappeared. "We have a problem."
"What now?" I asked with a groan. I knew my eyes were red and gross, but she didn't make any comment on it.
"There are two paths. One leads away, and the other leads back the way we came, toward the house."
I shook my head. "We can't split up."
"Try the stone. Maybe it will work again."
I didn't think so, but I wasn't about to argue. I pulled it and the compass out of my shirt and held them together. The compass worked fine. The stone was dead.
Estrid took the stone and tossed it aside. It landed in the dirt with a thump. "We have to split up."
She was right. We had no way of knowing which way the heir went. Maybe her guardians had walked her to the boundary and turned her lose on the world. Or maybe they'd split up, too, to throw the ur’gels off their track, and she went back to the house.
"I'll go that way." Estrid pointed west, away from the house. "Frida, you go back to the house. Arun—"
"I'm with Frida," he said, leaving no room for debate.
Before Estrid could turn away, I grasped her forearm. She looked down at it, surprised, before grasping mine. "Be safe," I said to her.
She smiled. "Be brave."
We let go of each other and she stalked away. I watched her until she was a speck on the horizon, and then turned to follow my own path.
Chapter 19
"The world is full of stories," Estrid had said when she'd been trying to teach me to track in the jungle below Barepost. "You just have to be able to see them."
I was looking for that story now, trying to put myself in the heir's shoes, to understand where she'd gone and why. Why had she doubled back, what had happened to her and her guardians? Part of me was afraid to find the answer.
"There." I pointed to a half-circle in the mud, the imprint of a toe. The heel had barely touched the ground. She was running. "And there." The small crescents were fairly easy to follow once I knew what to look for. They cut a straight line across the field, disappearing into some trees. We followed a path of trampled leaves and in one place, a curly black hair snagged on a tree branch. I kept my eyes open for more of the purple flowers, but there were none.
I was useless after night fell and was afraid to lose the trail, so we camped by the riverbank. We couldn't light a fire for fear of attracting a flying predator, so we ate some berries Arun had gathered and sat huddled side-by-side for warmth. He took first watch, so I slept with my head on his shoulder. He woke me when Aupra was directly overhead, and then curled around me to sleep.
Here, in the open field, the darkness was almost a tangible thing, another creature. More than once I was tempted to shout a hello into the night just to see if anyone answered. I didn't for fear of what might. Part of me expected Stiarna to tumble out of the grasses and glare at me while she licked blood off her feathers. But another part of me knew she was gone. The manticore had been twice her size. She hadn't stood a chance against it, but she'd still thrown herself fearlessly into the fight. It made me think of my own mother, who had died trying to protect me, and I wondered if maybe a part of her had lived on in the griffin.
Overhead, the stars winked at me. I occupied myself by counting them and tracing shapes between them until they disappeared with the dawn.
I woke Arun and we continued on our search. Once, we crossed our own path from the day before when we'd been headed in the opposite direction. I wondered if the heir had enough training to spot our tracks. If she did, though, it hadn't changed her trajectory. If she was going back to the house, we might even reach her before she arrived.
The sun had completely risen in front of us, an orange ball glowing on the horizon, when a growl ripped through the air. Without hesitating, Arun and I launched ourselves forward, racing through the grasses toward the sound, no longer careful to follow the tracks.
The first thing we saw was a gutspider, with
its long, stick-like legs and fat, grotesque body. Below it, facing its gaping jaws, was a woman. Her shrill scream drew us forward even quicker.
"We can't draw our weapons," I said to Arun, still running.
"Maybe…," he paused, gasping for air. "Maybe if we're protecting the heir." To test it, he drew his bow and an arrow. Nothing happened to him, even as he nocked the arrow and let it fly into the creature's backside.
The gutspider screamed and stumbled, its long, spindly legs flailing. Another of Arun's arrows pierced its belly and it toppled sideways. The girl beneath it scrambled to her feet, and…
Laughed?
Savarah.
That bitch.
She stood, brushing off her light pink dress and smoothing down her golden curls. And emerging out of the grass behind her, a winged ur’gel. That was how she got in here. Her other one must have been killed by the manticore.
We stopped several yards away.
"That was close," she called to us. "Thank you, elf. I suppose I'm glad I didn't kill you earlier after all. Though I'll have to pay Ravyn a visit and learn how she beat the dark magic. I was sure you would have been one of mine by now."
"Light will always defeat dark," I growled at her, hating the idea of Arun being one of her brainless minions, and hating even more how close he'd come.
Hate. Anger. Resentment. They boiled up inside of me. I reached inside the collar of my shirt and pulled out the locket. As soon as it was visible, I felt my heart rate slow, felt my reasoning return. It apparently didn't even have to be open to work.
Savarah scowled at it.
"What now?" Arun asked. He'd put away his bow and arrow and drew his sword.
I pulled my own sword and ax from my belt. "She's mine. You take the ur’gel."
"Gladly."
The ur’gel met Arun head on, while Savarah was not so eager to engage in hand-to-hand combat. She kept a few paces away from me and never turned her back on me. I could feel her trying to get a read on me and manipulate my feelings, but her powers bounced off me, thanks to the locket. I was going to kill her, and I was going to be in my right mind when I did it.
Finding the Suun Page 10
