by Candy Crum
They would march east, straight into the Dark Forest.
In her short amount of time in the temple, Arryn had trained hard in a form of magic she not only didn’t understand, but really didn’t enjoy. Delving into the minds of others still seemed like an invasion of privacy to her, but she had been grateful for the lessons.
Now if she were to use too much energy after a big battle, she would be able to meditate to regain some strength. She still wasn’t clear if it worked during a battle, if she were able to steal a few moments in safety, but she assumed that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea anyway.
While meditation had been a great lesson to learn, the mental shields she had learned to put up had been the best lesson of all. If she or anyone else were to stand a chance against Scarlett and her friends, those would be a necessity.
Everyone had come to stand just outside the Temple to see them off, and Arryn, Amelia, and Zoe turned to face Margit. She never looked quite happy, but that was just her. She was a very kind woman, albeit one with a take-no-shit attitude.
“Zoe, take care of yourself in your journeys. Julianne would hate me if anything happened to you,” Margit said.
The younger mystic smiled. “I’ll be fine, Margit. Like the battle with Adrien, this is our fight, too. They’ve taken Arcadia, and I think it’s only a matter of time before they go for the Dark Forest. What do you think will happen once they’ve done that?”
Margit nodded. “Those were the very same reasons Julianne gave for her journey—the potential danger to us and the Temple.”
“We will return her to you soon,” Amelia said with a smile. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s ‘don’t underestimate determined young women.’ They thrive on challenges.”
Margit eyed Amelia for a moment before turning her gaze to Zoe. “You have your work cut out for you, going against so many, but I do have faith in you.”
The women saluted Margit before saying their goodbyes, and everyone else followed suit. She stood outside with Nigel and watched the group leave.
“I barely saw you the whole time we were here,” Arryn said to Cathillian as they started down the mountain. This time, she rode on Snow’s back with Dante in tow as the others rode horses that had been loaned to them by the mystics.
He shrugged. “I was working with Nigel, actually. He showed me some pretty cool tricks. Why? Ya miss me?”
She scoffed, then laughed. “Not hardly, though I did miss Dante. His mother and I couldn’t help but notice you had possession of him most of the time. You only brought him back when he was hungry.”
“Well, I sure as hell didn’t have the parts to feed him,” Cathillian quipped.
Arryn shook her head. “Anyway, you said you learned some stuff? Really? I figured you’d be hardcore against it, being a native druid and all.”
There was a pause as Cathillian’s expression turned serious. “A few months ago, I would have said you were damn right about that one. But that was then, and this is now. I have people to protect—you most of all. I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to make my chances of doing that greater.”
The way he looked at her then reminded her of the way he had looked at her in the pond. He had been so determined to tell her in his own way that he cared for her, and his expression had mirrored that. Now, it was very much the same.
Then she remembered the kiss, and she blushed and turned away.
Arryn only smiled and nodded, facing forward and silently asking Snow to move faster. She couldn’t stand to be back there with him any longer.
They reached Craigston in very little time. The trip had been shortened by hours since the last one. They had been descending, which would have made it faster all on its own, but being able to use animals that were used to making that trip often hastened it even more.
When they reached Ophelia’s to swap the Temple’s horses for their own, Samuel was waiting for them. “It’s about damn time! I been waitin’ here all mornin’!”
“How did you even know we were coming?” Arryn asked. “I figured we’d have to get you from home.”
“A shipment of brew went out this morning,” Zoe said with a smile. “I might have passed the message along.”
“Yeah. And those old bastards got here a lot quicker than any of ye, and they were carryin’ barrels on their backs!” Samuel grumbled.
Arryn looked at him incredulously. “On their backs? You’re full of shit, old man.”
Samuel shook his head. “It’s good ta see ye, too, lass. We ready ta go?”
“Yeah, and we better get going if we want to avoid the bandits on the road,” Celine said as she walked up.
Arryn had sobered a little from the brew she had drunk that morning. It hadn’t been much, and the brew didn’t get people drunk—just good and tipsy so they could relax and allow their minds to rest. She had felt it would be a good idea to have a drink with Zoe and Margit before leaving.
Her mind wandered back to the trip to Craigston, the very night they had arrived in the small rearick town. They had come across a group of rearick who were under attack just north of the mountains.
She didn’t find out until later that evening when they dropped them off at the small medical building in Craigston that it had been bandits. People had been attacking the rearick on their journeys and stealing crystals and brew.
She definitely wanted to avoid an altercation of any kind if possible. Though it had only been a few days, she felt like an entirely different person. She had been ready for an adventure then, but now the weight of the world was settling back in on her, and she wanted to be careful.
The group chatted casually as they traveled down the mountain, but by the time they reached the bottom and were able to break into a full gallop, everyone was silent. Arryn couldn’t explain it, but something felt off. The feeling of dread had returned, and all she wanted was to get home to the Forest.
18
Alaric had been surprised at the warm welcome his brother Jerick had given him. They had hugged one another, and Jerick had given him a tour through the village. Now, more than ever, Alaric wanted to live like that.
He wanted to wake up to the scent of life instead of decay. He wanted to taste real fruit.
When the dark druids grew plants, the plants matured with something very wrong with them. They would be half-dead, rotted. The fruits and vegetables always smelled terrible, but their bodies healed quickly, so they ate it.
Living in such a way, along with the effects of the dark magic itself, it gave them greyish skin and made some of them look much older than what they were, even though they were capable of living just as long as the druids of the Dark Forest.
The dark chieftain was through with this. He wanted his people to take a few steps back, to begin to come back into the light. It wouldn’t happen without a fight, though—one he didn’t plan to have until after he secured the Dark Forest.
If his people knew what he planned to do, they wouldn’t help him. They were selfish assholes who would sell their own mothers if it got them something shiny. He despised each and every one of them, but they were his responsibility, and because of that, he cared.
That was why he enjoyed Aeris so much. Aeris, like Jerick, was able to walk the line between being respectful and practicing good magic while taking what he wanted when he wanted it. It was because of this that Aeris could continue to grow his own food, even after all that time.
His sister was a bit more volatile, though, and Alaric knew he would have to get control of her before she went too far off the deep end like the rest of his followers.
Alaric didn’t care how his goal of taking over the druids’ lands was achieved. He didn’t care how many innocent men, women, children, and their filthy companions he had to rip apart. He would have the Dark Forest, and he would have his new beginning.
He hoped being in the Terres Forest would help his people see what life could be like if they only changed their ways a little.
�
�I’m happy to have you here, Brother,” Jerick began, “though I was sorry to learn the reason for the trip.”
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Brother. We both know you want to say it,” Alaric replied.
Jerick smiled. “I don’t delight in your misfortune, though, yes—you’re very right. I was pretending in order to spare you. We both know I warned you this would happen. Granted, I had no idea the extent to which it would go, but I knew something would happen.”
Alaric examined his brother. They didn’t look very different from one another. Jerick was dark-skinned and attractive, just as Alaric was. His hair was only a few shades lighter than Alaric’s, but his eyes were green. Not because of his magic, though—they were the same color green their mother once had when she had been alive.
“How is it we are so alike, but so different?” Alaric asked.
Jerick shrugged. “It’s always boiled down to respect. You were impatient. You wanted what you wanted, and you needed to have it right then. When Alexander put rules on you, instead of taking the time to adjust you cried ‘injustice’ and plotted against him.”
Alaric shifted his stance, his arms crossing over his chest as his eyes narrowed. “You did the same, if I remember.”
Jerick smiled. “Yes, I did. My brother was gone, and Alexander was stubborn. He was more concerned with rules and laws than the loss of one of our own. I wouldn’t stand for that. When I left, I didn’t agree with either one of you.” He gestured around. “And that’s how I ended up with this. Neutrality, brother.”
Shaking his head, Alaric said, “Yes, well, neutrality got you this while your own brother wasted away in whatever cave he could find to call home before the druids of the Dark Forest came to run him off. You have no idea what it’s like to hate someone as much as I hate Alexander. He took everything from me.”
“You know the story is more complicated than that,” Jerick replied, placing a hand on Alaric’s tense shoulder. “I don’t like him any more than you do, but you threw out what made us who we are. As you can see, you can still live free and not be weighed down by someone who thinks he knows better than everyone.”
Alaric laughed. “Yeah, but that someone is me now.”
Jerick smiled. “Pride is what gets you in trouble. When you left, you hated things so much that you did everything you could to undo the druid way of life. You succeeded, didn’t you?”
He knew Jerick was talking about his people and just how opposite they were. In that respect, he had definitely been successful, but it had destroyed his followers.
“Enough about this,” Jerick said. “I have a gift for you. A peace offering. After all this time, you’ve come back. When you leave, I want us to be brothers again. No more talk about the past. You came here because you want to take the Dark Forest, yes?”
Alaric hadn’t had the chance yet to get to that, but his brother already knew. “Yes. I want all of this. I want to undo the damage I’ve done. For that, Alexander and his people must die.”
Jerick smiled. “Very good. You know, once you claim that forest as your own, we’ll be neighbors. Nothing will stop us then. We will have anything we want. No one will ever stand in our way again.”
When he had decided to come to the Terres Forest, Alaric had had no idea what to expect from his brother. He had been unsure if he would be met with violence or indifference, but he certainly hadn’t expected this.
It was everything he could have wished for and more.
“What is this gift? Because the future you just spoke of…” He smiled. “Let’s make that happen. I thought I would get what I wanted with the Dark Forest, but with you by my side—family again—I truly would have everything.”
Wrapping his arm around Alaric’s shoulders, Jerick pulled him away from the village. “I know your people have a hard time growing plants, but this one is nearly impossible to kill. It grows with minimal water, and it will flourish with more. It has very potent fruit, but the leaves are incredibly powerful, too.”
“Powerful how?” he asked.
“The tree isn’t native to this area, but we have spent time cultivating it. When it rains, the tree oozes white sap that will burn anyone who touches it. We dip our arrows in the sap. Even when dry it’s fatal, and the death is horribly painful. I will give you some seeds from the fruit, but don’t eat the fruit.”
Alaric smiled. “What about the leaves? You mentioned they were strong, too.”
“This is the best part. If you were to burn the leaves and use the wind to push smoke into the Dark Forest, I can promise you won’t have much of a fight on your hands.”
Alaric’s eyes widened as he stared at his brother, hope building. Before he could say a word, Jerick continued.
“We have a natural tolerance for the smoke because of our tolerance for poisons due to our magic, but still, mishandling it will result in illness for some. You, however, have an advantage that even I don't have. Your bodies are used to processing poisonous food. You survive on it because it is most of what you can grow. These leaves will have no effect on you.”
“And anyone else?” Alaric asked.
“The smoke will blind anyone who stands in its way. It will also cause severe breathing problems, and anyone who is older or very young will more than likely die. Everyone else will become so weak and ill that you can easily strike while they are down. Their bodies won’t be able to heal from this fast enough, I can promise you that,” Jerick explained.
There was a rustling in the trees above, momentarily catching their attention. They looked up, but saw nothing.
“I assume that was your little feral girl,” Alaric said. “I met her earlier. She’s quite a treat.”
Jerick laughed. “Oh, yes. Her own parents don’t even want her. She isn’t like the rest of us. We celebrate differences, but that girl is wild. ‘Feral’ is a very appropriate description. She doesn’t belong here. You’re free to take her with you, if you think you can tame her.”
Sharing in the laugh, Alaric shook his head and turned back to Jerick. “No, I think I’m good. She told me I’m terrible, and I’m pretty sure she’d rather die than have anything to do with me or my people anyway. As for the rest of this… Thank you. Not even Alexander will be able to stand in our way now.”
Jerick shook his head. “No. In fact, with the seeds to these plants, no one will.”
Young Corrine watched from the trees as the strange man met with their chieftain. She could tell by looking they were related, but she hadn’t ever seen him before.
That hadn’t mattered to her. She could sense it all over him. He was a terrible man.
Curiosity had gotten the better of her, though, and she had decided to take to the trees to watch everything unfold. Living on her own, she was forced to fend for herself. Unlike anyone else here, the animals actually liked her.
They only tolerated the rest of the jerks in the village. She doubted the new man and his people were even tolerated. She could hear it in the way the birds chirped. They didn’t like the men and women who had come through.
Corrine was only eight years old, but in that time she had become a very powerful nature magic user. The others practiced in case something bad ever happened, but she practiced to survive.
Without her magic, she would have died long ago. The other kids hated her and bullied her. They treated her terribly, and her parents hadn’t done much to stop it. They were always off helping their chieftain with something.
She had nearly been killed by some terrible kids and their familiars. That day she had vowed never to let anyone take advantage of her or hurt her again.
Day in and day out, she practiced. Only three years had passed, but in that time she had grown exponentially—even if her size didn’t reflect it.
She was nearly silent as she went through the trees. No one could hear her approach, even on the ground. That man had been wrong when he said it was her. Yes, she had been in the tree, but a few squirrels playing had startled a flock of birds
that rustled the trees. Not her.
Still, she took that opportunity to do something she had wanted to do for a long time, but had had no idea how. She hadn’t had the courage.
Until then.
Once her chieftain began to tell his brother what he had been growing, she knew where her parents had been and what they had been doing. They had been creating a plant that could cause a lot of people to get hurt—or worse.
Corrine wouldn’t stand for that.
The people of the Dark Forest had to be warned. She was surrounded by bad people. People with no souls. Surely their enemy weren’t worse than them. At least, she hoped that was the case.
Either way, it would get her away from the Terres Forest and take her on a journey. They wouldn’t miss her. She was sure they wouldn’t even know she was gone. That would give her time.
It had been a long time, but she had once traveled to the edge of their forest. It would take a couple of days to cut straight through, but she had to make it before they did. She had to save them if she could.
Corrine only hoped that she found people worth saving when she arrived.
19
Scarlett rode behind row after row of guardsmen, as she herself followed the Arcadian magicians—some of those very men and women riding horses that pulled carts full of oil barrels behind them. They were the ones who would help her realize her plan.
Her friends were carefully stationed among the rows as they rode toward the Dark Forest, and she couldn’t help but smile as she realized her struggle was about to be over. Everything was going to fall into place.
She had been inside the southern village in the Dark Forest when the dark druids retrieved Jenna. Although she didn’t know much about the Chieftain, his family, or any of the other druids who resided there, she had to assume it was too far from the edge of their villages within their barrier for them to sense anything the Arcadians were about to do.
What are your orders? Lacy asked.
