by Candy Crum
He smiled as he watched the smoke wafting through the Dark Forest barrier like a thick, heavy fog. It wouldn't be long, and he would have exactly what he needed. He would have the warrior that would win him the war.
If it hadn’t been for Aeris, he would've attempted for a hell of a lot more. He would have made his way through that barrier and taken the lives of everyone who stood in his way. He would cut down any in his path until he found his true target. His destiny.
Alexander.
Unfortunately for him, Aeris had made several good points, the best of those being that Alexander was not the same man he had dealt with years ago. He was much stronger, and he might even be able to withstand the effects of the smoke.
This truly was the safest way to go, and a little patience would go a long way to securing his success. Taking Arryn would damage them emotionally and potentially leave them powerless against him.
Arryn sighed heavily and quietly stepped outside. It was late, and everyone was already in bed asleep or out patrolling. She had made sure to stay close to Elysia that day, so she knew exactly where the warriors would be at various times during the night.
She had calculated a route to get out of the Dark Forest and move south. She planned to take Snow with her, but once she got close enough to the dark druid camp, Snow would have to stay behind. She would need to be subtle, and a large white tiger was certainly not the way to do it.
Without saying a word, Arryn reached through the bond and called Snow. As the Chieftain had requested, she had taken more than a day to think things over. He had told her that if she could come up with a plan that wouldn't leave the Dark Forest weak, he would help her.
Though she had tried, she hadn’t been able to think of anything that didn't risk the people she loved. In the end, this had been the only plan that made sense to her, but she couldn't tell the Chieftain. If she had, he would've done all he could to stop her.
She had found that falcon and had seen the images he carried. Aeris and the others traveling back to the southernmost part of the Forest. Her father and the weakened state he appeared to be in. Most importantly, she had heard the things that dark druid had said to him.
Though the falcon might not have understood entirely what those words meant, when she heard them through his memory, she had picked out enough to understand.
Her father was in real danger. He was paranoid that Adrien was coming for him, as well as for her. He had no idea that Adrien was dead, and he didn't realize she had grown up. Whatever they had done to him, they had been doing it since she was a child. He had no idea how much time had passed.
And that posed problems of its own.
If she got there and tried to save him, but he had no idea who she was, it would put her in danger as well as him. She needed him to believe without hesitation or emotion.
She hoped she could heal him enough to recognize her. According to the Chieftain, his demented state had probably been caused by poisons and hallucinogenic plants like mushrooms. It would take time because of the many years they had been dosing him, but he could be healed of the damage.
And she wouldn't stop until he was himself again.
She and Snow pelted through the Dark Forest, the wind picking up as they ran. Arryn felt a tickle in her throat and reached for the canteen she carried on her hip. At first, the water helped, but then the irritation became worse.
She saw fog rolling in, but she realized the amount of moisture in the air wasn't right for it. She began to cough, and even Snow seemed to sense something was off and slowed down.
Snow sent up an alarm as she came to an abrupt stop, then turned and ran back toward the village. No words were needed as Arryn reached through the bond to see what had frightened her so.
Her eyes widened as she looked back over her shoulder. The mist that was quickly approaching was not truly fog.
"Snow, stop now!" Arryn ordered. The big cat stopped quickly, and Arryn jumped off and turned toward the smoke. "Run. Run as fast as you can and wake the Chieftain, wake Cathillian, wake Elysia, wake everyone. Start with the Elders."
She covered her mouth as she began coughing again, pulling her hand back with blood spattered across her palm. "The smoke is poison. It's what Corrine warned us about. Go, Snow. Save as many as you can!"
The tiger briefly butted her head against Arryn’s shoulder, silently telling her that she loved her before she did as her master had asked.
Arryn turned back toward the smoke, her eyes flashing green as she lifted her arms out to her sides. She fought the urge to take a deep breath, knowing it would only do more damage. As she called her magic, hoping to bring enough wind to blow the smoke back, she was hit with another coughing fit.
Since lives were in danger, she pushed as hard as she could, but only a light breeze blew out around her. At that moment, she felt her entire body shake, and her eyes grew heavy. Fear began to crush her as darkness closed on her.
"Bitch help you all when I wake up," she said just before her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground.
15
Zoe awoke with a start, lifting her hand to wipe the thin layer of sweat from her forehead. She'd had a terrible dream regarding a letter she had received earlier in the day.
One of the mystics of the temple had sent it to her to let her know that Julianne was on her way back, and also that the bandit problem with the rearick on the road to Arcadia had gotten worse.
She had meant to talk with Arryn about it, to ask her opinion, but she had never gotten a chance. As she sat there shaking on the edge of her bed, she regretted that.
She dreamt she had been attacked by a group of bandits on her way home. During the fight, she somehow managed to save herself while watching everyone else in her party die horrible deaths.
Fearing another dream like that, she stepped out of the guesthouse and made her way to Arryn’s house.
She knocked on the door, but no one answered. That wasn't completely strange, since the girl usually slept like a rock, but when she reached out with her mind she felt nothing. Zoe rushed through the door, but Arryn was gone.
Zoe thought back through the day and remembered that Arryn wasn’t part of the night patrol. She very rarely took that assignment because of her heavy training responsibilities—even Zoe had learned that in her short time here. She then remembered how Arryn had clung to Elysia that day as orders were given for the night shift.
At that time Arryn was generally in her seat by the fire.
"Shit!" Zoe ran out the door.
She rushed to the Chieftain’s hut, knocking as hard as she could, knowing he'd had quite a bit to drink that night. The druids apparently had to drink far more than the average human to get any effect because of their bodies’ natural ability to heal and filter toxins.
When she didn't get an answer, she ran next door to Elysia’s house. She didn't even have the chance to knock before the door was flung open and the worried Elder stepped outside.
"Zoe? What is it?" Elysia asked, her face and voice strong.
Zoe shook her head. "I could be wrong, but I think Arryn’s gone. She's not in her house, and I know you didn't put her on duty tonight. Snow’s nowhere around either."
The Chieftain wandered up, yawning, but quickly regained his authoritative posture. "You think she's gone?"
“Who’s gone?” Corrine asked, walking outside the hut that stood on the opposite side of Arryn’s. She was clutching her blanket tight to her chest. “Is it Arryn?”
Zoe sighed as she looked to the small girl, Elysia and the Chieftain doing the same.
“Go back to bed, sweetheart,” Elysia said, obviously struggling to keep her voice calm while still holding an edge to let her know she meant it. “Everything’s fine.”
Corrine shook her head. “No, it isn’t. I heard Zoe knocking on Arryn’s door and say ‘shit.’ Arryn went after her dad, didn’t she?”
The Chieftain reached for Zoe’s arm, turning her attention back to him. “Are you s
ure that’s what happened?”
Zoe nodded. "I pay attention to people. It's just part of who I am, and being a mystic. I notice patterns, and I’ve learned that people rarely deviate from their usual behavior. Still, something didn't click tonight. Arryn was following Elysia around instead of sitting by the fire with her usual bowl of fruit or mug of weak, sweet wine."
Elysia’s eyes closed as she sighed, her head falling back. "She needed to know where the warriors were gonna be, so she could leave without anyone knowing. Dammit."
"It's possible she hasn't been gone long," the Chieftain said. "Let's fan out and see if we can find her."
“I’m going, too!” Corrine said, throwing the blanket she had been holding down to the ground.
The Chieftain grabbed her shoulders to still her. “No, you need to go back inside and get to sleep. We’ll find her. Everything will be okay.”
She yanked herself away from his grasp, her expression angry. “No! Arryn’s everything to me. I’ve survived on my own all this time. I think I’m more than capable of looking for someone.”
Sighing, the Chieftain nodded. “Fine. You’re with me, kid. You know… You take after her more and more all the time.”
Corrine and the Chieftain began to run south as Elysia and Zoe stopped to beat on Cathillian’s door, waking him for the search party. Within moments he was up and out the door, ready to help the moment his mother said the words, "Arryn is missing, and we need to find her."
Zoe only hoped the young woman had left for a walk to think things over, but deep down she knew that wasn't the case.
As Corrine and the Chieftain moved south, they noticed fog moving in from the east.
"Do you smell that?" Corrine asked as they ran. As soon as she asked, she broke into a coughing fit, falling to the ground and wheezing.
"Corrine!" the Chieftain shouted as he dropped to her side, his eyes flashing green as he pushed power through her.
A loud roar sounded out, and the Chieftain sensed Snow’s rapid approach, but Arryn wasn't with her. Suddenly, he grew weaker and began to cough as breathing became harder and harder. Within seconds, blackness surrounded him, and he collapsed to the ground next to Corrine.
Snow ran as fast as she could back to the southern village. The smoke had gotten much worse, but she stayed underneath most of it—and it didn't seem to have the same effect on her as it did on Arryn.
She came across Zoe and the Chieftain lying on the ground. Knowing she would be unable to carry both, Snow did the only thing she could. She lowered herself to the ground and took a deep breath before roaring as loudly as she could.
In seconds, Zobig’s roar came back. The colossal animals didn't get along very well, but they understood a cry for help and what it might mean.
Snow rolled Corrine onto her stomach before grabbing the back of her clothes, then lifted her and began to run. Within moments, Snow heard the heavy footfalls of the large black bear coming toward them. When they met, each regarded the other with respect, and Snow sent him after the Chieftain.
The white tiger bypassed the village entirely and ran straight to the river before dropping the girl by the bank, then headed back to wake Elysia and the others.
When she got there, people were already scurrying about. She realized Elysia, Cathillian, and Zoe were looking for Arryn. The group, having heard Snow’s roar earlier and more than likely Zobig’s answer as well, believed something was wrong with Arryn.
Snow ran in and slid to a stop, growling as she began tugging on Elysia's arm. Elysia quickly reached out with her free hand and laid it on the side of the big cat's face as her eyes flashed green.
The tiger could feel the brush of the Elder’s power as she communicated to Elysia what had happened. She showed Elysia the images of Arryn telling her to find everyone and get them out.
Elysia also saw the girl coughing up blood.
Elysia's green eyes widened as she turned to Cathillian. "Wake everyone and get them to the river quickly! The dark druids are blowing poisonous smoke into the village. Arryn is trying to use wind to blow it back out, but the Chieftain and Corrine are down. Snow sent Zobig after the Chieftain, and Corrine's already on the riverbank. Hurry!"
A worried Zoe stepped forward as Cathillian ran off, obvious fear on her face. "If people are already down, how will we evacuate them?"
Elysia reached for the girl’s hand. "We will have to start ripping people out of their beds and using vines to move them through the trees. This is going to take an enormous amount of magic, but we can do it. I need you, too. Go around the village and send out warnings with your magic. Wake everyone you can and implant a sense of urgency to run toward the river."
Zoe nodded. "I can definitely do that."
Elysia turned to Snow. "You've done an amazing job. Now go bust into houses and drag people out of bed if you have to. Get them to the river."
Snow took a deep breath and let loose with another very long, painfully loud roar, nearly causing Elysia to cover her ears. Almost immediately, Elysia heard the howls of the wolves in the village, many of which were familiars, and the loud hoofbeats of the familiar horses, Chaos being one of those.
Echo called out from overhead, and Elysia realized at that moment that Snow had alerted every one of them.
The large animals followed as Snow took off running. She could hear the tiger grumbling as she reached the first house, slamming her front paws against the door and throwing it wide open before growling loudly just inside.
Once the animals saw her do this, they began to spread out, busting the doors in and running inside before howling, and in some cases, dragging people out.
For a moment, Elysia was overwhelmed by the actions of their familiars. They were working as a team to save everyone, not just their individual druid.
Elysia ran for Chaos, jumping onto his back and riding for Nika's house. When she arrived, Nika was already dressed and stumbling out the door.
"What the hell's going on?" Nika asked.
"The dark druids have attacked using deadly smoke, the very thing Corrine told us about. Familiars are waking people, but I saw a few dragging some. I don't know if they were alive or dead. We have to get everyone out."
"Luna!" Nika shouted as she climbed on Chaos’ back with Elysia.
"Snow called all the familiars, so Luna is probably with her."
"Seriously? Did you know they could do that?" Nika asked.
Elysia shook her head as Chaos began to run for the village again. "I'm not surprised by anything anymore. I've seen them do it on a small scale, but I didn't realize Snow had established herself as the dominant. I’ve never seen anything like that."
"We have to find Dante," Nika said.
Elysia didn't respond as they reached the village. Everything was chaotic, and people were running everywhere. Smoke had begun to fill the area, and Elysia almost immediately felt the effects.
"I'll call wind," Elysia said. "You go find Dante."
Elysia's eyes flashed green as she dismounted and walked farther into the village. Facing southeast, she surrounded herself with power and a gentle breeze began to blow, then blew even harder.
She began to cough and felt weakness in her knees, but she couldn't let up. The village needed to be evacuated quickly. People were being carried out, and some of them weren't moving.
A hand rested on her shoulder, and she almost immediately began to feel better. Looking behind her, she saw Cathillian’s green eyes glowing as he pushed his magic through her.
Even though her own magic continued to flow out of her, she felt much stronger because of the healing. Now that the smoke was out of the immediate area around her, she was able to breathe clearly, and Cathillian stepped away.
Beside his mother, Cathillian raised his hands and added his power to hers. "We have no idea how long this will last, so I figured you could use some help."
She nodded. "That's true, and I did. Thank you. Don't use large gusts—just a heavy breeze. Only strong enough
to keep the smoke from blowing this direction. As long as we keep it simple, we should be able to maintain it for a while."
Cathillian nodded, opting for silence as each of them focused on what was around them.
"I found Dante," Nika said as she ran up. "He's hiding high in a tree, and for once that was a good thing. I told him to stay put. I also ran into Ryel. We’re mobilizing all the warriors and taking to the trees to travel over the smoke. We’re going to fan out and make sure the dark druids aren’t inside."
Cathillian snorted. "If we can’t handle this, as strong as we are, how the hell could they?"
"Their bodies are used to breaking down hazardous substances. It's possible they can walk straight through this and not be affected,” Elysia said. “We definitely need to check the area. Nika, go ahead, but please be careful. If any of you feel the slightest tingle in the back of your throat, get your asses back. Search for any fallen warriors on patrol as well. We had several along the southern and eastern borders."
Nika saluted Elysia before her eyes flashed and a vine pulled her high into the tree.
The Chieftain coughed and coughed again, rolling to his side just in time to throw up. He hadn't done that in many, many years—and he didn't like it.
He struggled to sit up, his eyes blurry. He remembered the smoke, but the grass around him didn't feel the same as it had when he fell.
He was somewhere new.
He tried to focus his eyes, but his head was splitting. It felt as though there were a vice squeezing his chest relentlessly. There was a loud rattle and wheeze every time he took a breath, but it was slowly getting better.
Still unable to see, he did what he could to focus his power to heal himself, but it was useless. Nothing would come.
Just then, a hand touched the side of his face. It was warm and soft, and it grew even warmer as power radiated through him. His next breath cleared as he took it in.
Slowly, his vision came back, and his head quit pounding. He was looking into the face of Clara, a mute druid warrior with a unique magical gift that allowed her to communicate telepathically.
