Bloodthorn

by Tamara Grantham

  I searched the area for a better specimen and found one of the humanoid arms. The thick thread had been laced through the skin in neat, precise stitches around the shoulder’s skin.

  Heidel stood near us as she also examined the pieces of thread. “It is very unusual. Who would have created a creature such as this? And why?”

  “The elves were experimenting on the goblins in the outer isles,” I answered, “but I didn’t see any evidence they were conducting tests on any species except goblins.”

  “Then who was conducting this experiment?” Kull asked.

  “Whoever it is, they must somehow be connected to the bloodthorn, but as of yet, I’m not sure how.”

  “Cyren seemed to know more than she was telling us,” Heidel said. “Perhaps we should track her down and get our answers.”

  “I’m not sure it would do any good,” I said. “She knows these woods much better than us. She grew up here. Finding her would be a problem, and then we would have to make her talk, which would also be a problem. I’m not sure if we have time for all that.”

  “I agree,” Kull said. “She knew the bloodthorn had retreated to Earth Kingdom, and she also told us of the creature’s intention to create a portal to the unknown world. If the fairies find this creature while we are gone, they will be in grave danger. I believe it would be wise to return to Earth Kingdom as soon as we can.”

  “They may have already found it and been attacked,” I said, my heart sinking.

  “But how will we return in time?” Heidel asked. “It took us two full days to travel here, and it will take at least that to make it out.”

  “Perhaps it is time you call on the sky king,” Kull said, turning to me.

  “But he can’t come here,” I said.

  “Not even to aid you?”

  “No. My stepfather makes it a priority to respect the rules and laws of other races. It’s how he’s held his position as sky king for all these years. We’ll have to think of another way.”

  Moonbeams filled the open dale, highlighting the grass and leaves in a silvery glow. Far in the distance came the hoot of a night bird.

  “I don’t know of any other way,” Kull said, “except for one. Olive, you must use your mirror and create a portal back to Earth.”

  “I can’t do that,” I said. “You know what my magic is like right now. I could kill us all—you said so yourself. You know how dangerous it is.”

  “Do you have any other suggestions?” he asked.

  I racked my brain. Wasn’t there some solution we hadn’t considered?

  “No,” I finally said. “I can’t think of any other way. Our friends on Earth could die if we don’t return soon. Or we could die if I use my magic to create the portal. Either way looks pretty bleak.”

  “I have faith in your abilities,” Heidel said. “You got us here, didn’t you?”

  “Sort of. If it weren’t for my stepfather rescuing me, I would have fallen to my death. And he won’t be in Earth Kingdom to save me if it happens again.”

  I glanced at the sky. Morning was still a few hours away.

  “If,” I said, “—and that is a very big if—but if I was to attempt it, I would need the first rays of sunlight. And it would have to be somewhere away from this mutilated spider. I’m pretty sure its energy would wreak havoc on any spell I tried to perform.”

  “Then we will travel through the forest until we find a suitable, safe place,” Kull said, “so that you may create the portal back to Earth Kingdom.”

  I rubbed my neck, my muscles tense, as I considered his proposition. “Fine,” I answered. “But we’ll have to move quickly. I don’t want the sun to rise while we’re still looking for a proper place to open a portal. If we can find somewhere near water or on a mountaintop, that would be best. Those tend to be places more balanced for a spellcasting.”

  Kull pulled out the map and scanned it, then showed it to me, pointing to a hill that had been inked onto the parchment.

  “Here,” he said. “It’s not far. Will this be acceptable?”

  I studied the map. Why was I even considering this? Didn’t they know how bad this was? My magic was lethal right now.

  “Fine,” I conceded, “but we’ll have to hurry.”

  Kull replaced the map, then walked out of the clearing and into the forest. I followed him, though I stopped before reentering the forest and glanced briefly back at the spider creature’s remains. Its humanoid hand caught the moonlight—decomposing, just like the hand I’d seen in Fan’twar’s vision.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The night sky lightened to an ash gray as sunrise approached. I still hadn’t come to terms with Kull’s plan. Relying on my magic should have been out of the question, so why were we okay with using it now?

  Kull was putting more faith in my abilities than he should have been. He’d always had that problem. It was one of the reasons we weren’t together anymore. It made me wonder if he’d ever seen me for who I really was—a second-rate practitioner with flaws just like everyone else.

  As the sky grew lighter, the trees began to thin. We ascended a steep trail, picking our way over rocks and slipping on damp leaves. After spending the night with no sleep, battling a mutant spider, and my leg throbbing more than I cared to admit, my pace had slowed drastically. I found myself constantly having to catch up.

  We finally crested the hill, and for once, things seemed to go my way.

  The hilltop gave us a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside. We could see all the way to the edge of the forest, where the foothills rose toward the mountains. Crooked trees with dark leaves spread below us, and it was no wonder we’d not seen the sun in two days—the canopy was so dense there wasn’t a hint of the forest floor below. It felt as if we were floating above an ocean of treetops.

  “Will this hill work for the spellcasting?” Heidel asked.

  “Yes. I just hope my magic cooperates.”

  I took off my backpack, then removed my laptop mirror. Its magic pulsed through my hands, warming my fingertips as I clicked it open. Everything inside screamed for me not to go through with this. There had to be some other way, but as much as I tried to think of other options, I came up with nothing.

  I would have to trust in my magic if I wanted the spell to work.

  Sitting on the grass, I placed the mirror on my lap as we waited for the sun to rise. Kull and Heidel sat on either side of me, and though I’d had a rough history with the two of them, I still felt comforted by their presence.

  “It must be a beautiful place,” I said, “when the starstone isn’t missing.”

  “Yes,” Heidel agreed. “Perhaps if the stone is returned, we will one day see it in its glory.”

  “It is doubtful that I will ever return,” Kull said. “Once the fairies’ stone is restored, I will travel to the Northlands once again. There are preparations to be made.”

  “What sort of preparations?” I asked.

  Kull glanced at Heidel, although neither of them answered my question.

  “Marriage preparations,” Heidel finally answered.

  What? When were they planning on telling me? No one had mentioned a marriage, not once. If I’d known about a wedding, I would’ve had an easier time getting over him. But I must have been reading too much into it. Maybe someone else was getting married.

  “Oh,” I said. “Who’s getting married?”

  “Ket and Kull, of course,” Heidel answered, though she gave no further explanation.

  Electric blue light wrapped the screen’s mirror, startling me, glowing brighter as the sun began to rise.

  “It’s time,” I said, doing my best to shake off the shock from our conversation.

  It was good for him, anyway—a king needed a queen, and his kingdom needed stability. Ket was the most logical choice. I shouldn’t have been so shocked, but why hadn’t they told me sooner?

  None of it mattered anyway. What Kull did with his life had no effect on mine. It didn’t matte
r.

  I turned back to my mirror. With the revelation of Kull’s engagement, I wasn’t sure how I would balance my magic now. Please let this work, I muttered under my breath as I placed my mirror atop a large boulder, screen facing toward us, then turned to the two Wults.

  “We’ll go as soon as the sun rises fully, and not a moment before then. My magic is already so unstable that I don’t want any negative energy interfering with it. You’ve both crossed several times, so you know what side effects to expect.”

  The first sunbeams streaked across the sky, long lines of white against gray, until the sun crested the horizon. I placed my hand on the mirror’s screen, breathing deeply, removing any negative residual energy from my body.

  It doesn’t matter.

  Fearing my magic would only make this harder, I accepted my powers—flaws and all. This had to work. If not, I would kill us all.

  Focus. Calm. Just trust it.

  The sun rose completely, and I called my magic. “Whenever you’re ready,” I said to Kull and Heidel, “place your hands on the screen.”

  They both did as I said.

  I ignored my fluttering heart as Kull stood close to me. Did he have to stand so close? How did he expect me to balance my magic when I couldn’t even make sense of my own emotions? But I pushed the thoughts aside, inhaled, and closed my eyes, letting the sunlight warm my skin and fill me with energy.

  Carefully, I released my magic into the mirror, and blue light surrounded us until the ground dissolved from beneath our feet. My stomach lurched, and I fought back panic, instead concentrating on letting my magic guide me instead of forcing it to obey me.

  The free-fall slowed, and the screaming wind died away. Lights and sounds seemed to come from great distances as we hung suspended between two worlds. Everything slowed, transforming from one reality to another—bending, stretching, and morphing until time sped up once again.

  The howling wind returned with full force as we entered Earth. I tried to control our entry but found the magic flowing like sand through my fingers.

  With a painful thump, my body hit the ground. I groaned as I landed on my back. The pain from the wound in my leg had thankfully disappeared, only to be replaced with a sore back and aching rump.

  I swear, one of these days I’ll become a crazy cat lady and never leave my house. I will love every minute of it, and I will never wish for this life again.

  I opened my eyes to see that I was lying inside the fairies’ tent. Dizziness clouded my vision as I sat up.

  “Olive?” A voice—Prince Terminus—said from behind me.

  I turned to see him standing near the tent’s entrance. Taking several deep breaths, I tried to collect my thoughts. But where were Kull and Heidel?

  Prince Terminus crossed the room and knelt beside me. “Are you quite all right?” he asked.

  I tried to make a reply. “I… I’m—yes, I’m fine.”

  “Where are your companions?”

  I shook my head, praying they weren’t both falling from the sky at that very moment. “I don’t know. They were both standing beside me when we crossed. Hopefully, they’re not too far away. We have to find them.”

  I tried to stand, but the prince put his hand on my shoulder.

  “Wait,” he said. “Rest for a moment. You are in no condition to be walking around.”

  “But we have to find them!”

  “Yes, and so we will.” He smiled, and then a purple glow formed in his hand. The light disappeared, revealing a twig with small leaves and fragrant lavender-colored flowers. “Luc’faere grass. Its scent is known to help alleviate dizziness.”

  “Thank you,” I said and took it from him. Its scent only seemed to distract me from my dizziness, but I didn’t tell him that. Instead, I waited for the room to stop spinning.

  I shouldn’t have let Kull talk me into using my magic. It was a poor decision on my part, one that could have cost my friends their lives. Images of my companions lying dead on the ground came to mind, and I pushed them away, thinking instead of the reason we’d returned to Earth in the first place.

  “Where is your sister?” I asked Terminus.

  His face darkened. “She has been missing since early this morning.”

  Alarm bells went off in my head. “Missing?”

  “Yes. She went out for an early morning walk and never returned. The two Wult men are tracking her now as we speak.”

  “Terminus, this isn’t good—we need to find her.”

  “I agree.”

  “That’s three people we need to find now.”

  I swallowed my panic. If the bloodthorn had the princess, I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t imagine what she’d be going through. She must be terrified. We needed Kull and Heidel. They’d know how to find her.

  When I felt ready, I stood, and this time Terminus didn’t stop me. “Where are the Wult men now?” I asked.

  “In the forest. They’ve only been there for a short while. I can take you to them if you’d like.”

  We walked out of the tent and into the sunshine, surprised to see Brodnik and Rolf walking toward us. Brodnik held a limp Princess Esmelda in his arms. Terminus intercepted them and looked with wide, fearful eyes at his sister.

  “We found her lying near a small pond. There were no signs of her attacker that we could see.”

  “Olive,” Rolf said, “you’ve returned! Where are the king and his sister?”

  I cringed at his question. “I’m not sure. They got lost in the crossing. I’m hoping they are somewhere close.”

  The princess opened her eyes as Terminus took her in his arms.

  “Sister, are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she said, wincing as she rubbed the back of her head. “A man attacked me. He hit me with something metal.”

  “A man?” I asked. “Not a creature?”

  “No, it was a man. I did not get a very good look at him. He was searching for my ring.”

  “You’re sure about that?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Can you tell me anything else about the man that attacked you? Even the smallest of details are important.”

  She knitted her brow in concentration. “He used a strange metal stick. We do not have them on our planet. It was round, and flared at the top.” She clutched her head. “It still hurts.”

  “We will get you inside the tent,” Terminus said. “I can create a poultice to help with the pain.” He turned to me. “Olive, would you like to come in as well?”

  “I wish I could,” I said, “but since we’ve found the princess, I need to go search for my missing friends. With luck, they ended up not far from here.” And not splatted on a highway somewhere in El Paso.

  Prince Terminus went inside the tent with his sister in his arms. I watched until he’d disappeared inside. Something nagged at me, although I didn’t know what. I didn’t know how to describe the feeling, except that something felt off.

  “Shall we go to the festival?” Rolf asked.

  “Yes. Hopefully they’re close. Your tracking skills would come in handy as well. Today is a weekday, so the crowds are gone, but we still have the shopkeepers and thespians to deal with.”

  They followed me as we made our way through the maze of tents, onto the dirt-packed parking area, and toward the looming wooden gates. The guard at the gates recognized me as a shop owner and let us inside.

  On days like this, when the crowds were gone, most shopkeepers spent their time cleaning and restocking. I was thankful the crowds were finally gone—fewer targets for the killer to take his pick from; and it would also make it easier to find our missing friends, assuming we found them at all.

  I took a deep breath as panic tried to well up inside me. We’d find them. They would be okay.

  “How did ye say you lost them again?” Brodnik asked as we walked toward my shop.

  “My spell didn’t work as it was supposed to,” I said. “I’ve been having trouble with my magic. I knew it was a dum
b idea to use it, but Kull insisted.” I sighed, rubbing at a tension knot in my neck. “I just hope I didn’t kill them both.”

  “Kill that cranky bastard? Nay, t’would take more than a spell to kill him.”

  I had to agree.

  “Look there,” Rolf said, pointing, “at the Boar’s Head Inn. Is that them?”

  I followed his line of sight, and sure enough, Kull and Heidel stood eating turkey legs and drinking Dr. Pepper, smiling and laughing. Kull, particularly, seemed to be in good spirits.

  Anger bubbled up inside me. They were eating when I’d nearly lost my mind looking for them? Was what wrong with these people?

  Heidel spotted us first and waved us over.

  “Olive,” she called, nudging her brother. “You see? She didn’t die as you suspected.”

  We walked toward them and stopped at their side. The smell of food wafted from inside the restaurant, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since yesterday.

  “We should have known you would be here,” Brodnik chuckled.

  “I am glad to see you, Olive,” Heidel said. “After we crossed and landed quite unceremoniously near your shop, we worried you might not have made it.”

  “It looks as if you weren’t too worried,” I said, eying the food, and especially the drinks.

  “This was Heidel’s idea,” Kull said. “I flat refused her at first, until she noticed that the shopkeepers were selling the elixir. Have some, Olive. It will help you regain your strength. You’ll need it if you wish to continue our quest.”

  He thrust the drink in my face. I politely pushed it away.

  “You don’t want any?” he asked.

  “Thanks, but no.”

  “Are you upset that we didn’t search you out? In all honesty, I assumed you had made it safely as I saw no evidence to the contrary.” He took a long, slurping gulp of soda. “This really is quite an astonishing beverage. I feared that after I’d lost my loot in the Sea Ghost tragedy, I’d never have the opportunity to drink it again. But now I’ve found it, and the shop owner parted with two cups for only a few of the paper bills. Truly astonishing.”