Forest of the Forbidden

by W. J. May

  Even still, her arm moved over an inch.

  Another inch.

  Heat radiated from Rhen's skin, warming Jinji as her hand shifted closer.

  Stop, she commanded, but her wayward fingers disobeyed, pressing even closer, until she was sure their hairs were touching, tickling.

  A creak sounded from above.

  The thud of footsteps.

  Jinji balled her fingers into a fist, hugging her arms close to her chest. Her ears were alert, listening for any and all sound.

  Boots pounded closer. Multiple sets.

  Muffled voices dropped through the floorboards.

  The Ourthuri were right above them, pacing, searching, shouting in anger.

  Yet, somehow, Jinji felt calm. Deep in her heart, she knew the spirits would not have brought her so far just to fail her now—she had to trust in them. And in Rhen, in his decision. The two were all she had left.

  Gradually, the sounds grew softer.

  They faded away.

  Until silence and darkness circled Jinji and Rhen once more.

  This time, Rhen did not break the quiet. So Jinji sat, imagining daylight, using all of her strength to keep her hands still—to keep them from weaving the illusion of light just so she could escape the shadows.

  After a while, the ground below her shifted. The gentle sway of water roughened. The bounces became choppy. They flew higher, landed harder.

  It could only mean one thing—they had set sail.

  They were free.

  A grin took over Jinji's face.

  Boots sounded above them, but no fear flooded her system. The desk scraped against the wood above her head, roaring in her ear. And the trap door opened, gloriously invading Jinji's vision with the sun.

  Rhen climbed out first while Jinji continued taking deep breaths of the fresh air coming in through the open window.

  A hand reached down, gripping hers, and Jinji was airborne as the shadows fell away behind her.

  "We passed the inspection, Prince Whylrhen," Captain Jelaric said, his voice light with amusement.

  Rhen smirked. "I had no doubt. What other nooks do you have tucked away on this ship?"

  The captain winked, bowing deeply. "I'm afraid that is a secret that cannot be shared."

  "Even with your prince?"

  "Especially with my prince, my Lord."

  Rhen nodded in understanding. "Have no fear, the king will not hear of your extra pursuits because of me, not after this."

  "Many thanks, Prince Whylrhen. I suggest you stay below decks until Da'astiku fades from sight. My chambers will be yours for the rest of the journey until we reach Rayfort. Do make yourself comfortable."

  "Will you have food brought? My stomach grows hungrier by the second," Rhen said, his belly rumbling in agreement.

  "Right away, my Lord." The captain bowed and backed away, not turning until he reached the door. It closed quickly with a resounding bang.

  Immediately, Rhen sighed heavily and ran a hand through his curling hair. He turned to Jinji, eyebrows slightly raised. "This is going to be a long trip."

  "It must be shorter than our last one?" Jinji questioned, picturing the maps Rhen had drawn for her in the dirt.

  "I'm not talking about that, Jin. Traveling through the Straits, we'll reach Rayfort in little over a week. But it will be excruciating."

  "Why?" She asked, honestly curious.

  He looked at her, smiling a half smile, shaking his head slightly.

  "You're so entertaining because you don't even know, the politics never even cross your mind. Did you hear the 'my Lords' dripping from their tongues? It's exhausting. And Captain Jelaric, he knows. I heard it in his voice. Make myself comfortable? He meant stay out of sight or his men will trip over themselves to bow every time I step on deck."

  "I guess I do not do that," Jinji mumbled.

  Rhen's grin widened. "No, quite the opposite in fact. The first time you met me, I thought you might kill me. The idea of you bowing has never entered my mind."

  "But these are things I should learn, now that..."

  She trailed off. Now that, what? Now that her family was gone? Her people? Her way of life?

  Now that she was going to meet the king?

  Jinji bit her lip, sinking into the captain's vacated chair.

  What would she do when they reached the King's City? The spirits were guiding her, but to what and where? Despite her earlier fears, the shadow was not here. It had disappeared. And the last she had heard of it was from the two sailors in Whylkin, whispering about mysterious deaths. She was no closer to answers.

  Rhen stepped into view. His black boots were covered in grime—scraped and roughed.

  Jinji's eyes traveled up his legs, up his broad chest, right into his concerned gaze.

  I could tell him.

  It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed her mind.

  She could tell him about the nightmare, about the shadow, about the massacre. She could tell him all of that without telling him she was a woman. And maybe, just maybe, he would be able to help.

  But would he believe her? Fire spirits might cling to his figure, but that didn't mean he knew they were there. It didn’t mean he would believe in magic, would believe in something as preposterous as spiritual possession.

  Yet, in Da'astiku, the princess had believed Jinji enough to abandon reason and help her rescue a stranger. Her figure had been draped in blue strands of elemental water, and she had seemed well acquainted with the idea of magic, completely unafraid of Jinji's illusions. That had to mean something.

  Even if Rhen had given no hint of—

  A knock sounded at the door.

  "Come in," Rhen said.

  The door swung open to the top of a man's head.

  "My Lord," he said, speaking to the ground. "I brought food." The tray was nearly to the floor he was bent so low.

  "Just put it down here, please." Rhen pointed to the desk. The man scurried forward, keeping his eyes downcast.

  It was a wonder he didn’t fall flat on his face.

  But in almost no time, the tray was prepared and he was backing out of the room.

  "See?" Rhen scowled at the closed door before reaching to grab a piece of ripe fruit. He stepped back, jumping onto the tall bed in the corner of the room, sprawling out until he was comfortable. Still frowning at the door, he took a large, crunchy bite.

  "Can I..." Jinji paused, fiddling with her fingers before finally grabbing a slice of bread from the tray.

  "What?" Rhen raised an eyebrow.

  "Can I ask what happened to you in the palace? And to the other men?" Her mind filtered back to Mikzahooq as he stared out at the horizon, unabashedly proclaiming his own death. He had known exactly what his king would do.

  "I'm still not sure." Rhen shook his head while he munched. "The second we got to that city, our fate was sealed. King Razzaq had no plans to ever let any of us escape. But I don't understand why or how. He must have spies within my kingdom. He's been planning something for a long time, something he was afraid I would mess up.

  "War?"

  "It has to be." Rhen stood and began to walk slowly across the room, just to turn and walk back to the bed, then back across the room, pacing. "I thought it was just the ships," he said slowly, working through his mind, "but it has to be more. He was stealing resources he could easily afford. Ourthuro is flooded with gold, so why resort to thievery? Unless the entire point was to see how much he could take before we noticed? Unless it was a test to see how easily he might invade? Killing your people, that was the first stage, the first unnoticed move against my father. He is planning to attack, of that I am certain—the only question is when."

  "When do you think?" Jinji asked, ignoring the mention of her tribe. She couldn't—wouldn't—tell Rhen the truth until she knew he had magic inside of him, until she knew he would believe her.

  He stopped moving in the middle of the room, jaw dropping open as he slowly spun to face her. His pupils dila
ted. His nostrils flared wide. Jinji noticed his hands begin to shake until they were balled into tight, trembling fists.

  "The Naming," he said, deep and growling. Rhen took a long breath. "It's so obvious. At the ceremony, my nephew will be given a name of Whyl. It symbolizes the future of the kingdom. Every lord and lady will be there. Every knight. The outer cities will be defenseless. It's what he's been waiting for all this time, a moment when we're all distracted."

  Rhen's feet seemed to step of their own accord. His mind was elsewhere. Jinji saw the vacant absence in his eyes, the mounting dread. He reminded Jinji of a caged animal. His movements became quicker, jerkier. The wooden walls of the small room were like bars, containing him.

  She sat in wonder, wishing there was something she could do to help. But there was something behind his expression that stopped her—some memory playing in his head. Her thoughts filtered back to the afternoon not too long ago, when she was sitting with Rhen on the crow's nest—her first sea adventure. He had spoken of a younger brother, a brother who had been killed. A murder he had tried to stop but couldn’t.

  And suddenly it became clear—his hunched shoulders, flexed muscles. He just cared so much. About his family, his people. He cared. Why else would he have taken in a lost little boy? Why else?

  Jinji opened her mouth, not sure of what would come out, but it was only air.

  "The Naming," Rhen spoke right before her, stealing the words from her throat, "it is likely in two weeks, maybe less." He gripped his skull, sinking back against a wall. "I'll be too late. We'll be there after all of the guests have arrived. They won't have time to send word, to prepare their homes. We'll all be too late."

  "Rhen," she said softly, "I'm sure everyone is prepared. It cannot be as bad as you say."

  He nodded, trying to convince himself. "You're right. They would have left a second in command; the men must be prepared for an attack when the lord of the city is gone. The people would not be helpless."

  "Of course not," she quickly agreed, "and you will talk to your father as soon as we arrive. There will be time."

  "There will be time," he repeated, "everything will be fine."

  He walked back to the desk, grabbing another piece of fruit before crashing onto the bed again.

  "I need to think on lighter things, Jin, or I will go crazy trapped on this ship for a week."

  "What sorts of things?" She leaned back in her chair, relaxing just slightly now that he seemed more composed.

  "Tell me about the princess," he sighed.

  Her body went rigid.

  Jinji began to cough, doubling over in her seat and clutching her stomach.

  "Why?" She squeaked.

  "Because I cannot stop picturing the face hidden behind that veil of hers...or the body under that golden dress."

  "She was in a carriage." Jinji rolled her eyes. She was very sure that Rhen had seen plenty of women—what was hidden under any dress was no mystery. She shivered, remembering the tavern. Some women left little to question even fully clothed.

  "No, I saw her before. She was holding me."

  Jinji jerked, widening her eyes as she stared at Rhen, but he was looking dreamily at a painting of storm clouds on the wall.

  "Holding you?" Her voice was airy. Shallow.

  "I have this memory." He paused, smiled. "A golden-veiled woman cradled my head in her lap, ran her fingers over my cheeks, and then it ends. It had to have been the princess, right?"

  It was me! She almost yelled.

  Instead, Jinji clapped her hands over her mouth, stuffing the proclamation back down her neck, swallowing it down her dry throat.

  All she could do was nod.

  "I knew it," he said, leaning forward. "This sounds odd, but I felt like maybe I knew her, somehow. Her eyes looked familiar, golden-speckled and warm."

  Jinji immediately studied the floorboard beneath her feet.

  "I think her eyes were blue," she mumbled.

  Rhen shrugged. "Maybe."

  "I spent more time with her, they were definitely blue."

  "That's why you must tell me about her, distract me." He sighed. "How did you even meet? How did you get her to help rescue me?"

  Jinji pursed her lips, unsure of what to say without giving her powers of illusion away—a secret she would not share, ever.

  At her silence, Rhen looked up, frowning.

  "Come to think of it, how did you even get into the palace?"

  "I..." Jinji took a deep breath, swallowing the saliva now pooling in her mouth. "I snuck onto one of the flying platforms."

  "The flying plat...oh, the giant pulleys." His eyebrows lifted. "The gods, Jin! How?"

  "Well, Captain Pygott, he threw me from the ship and I swam under the docks, trying to remain hidden. I saw the platforms and knew it would be my only chance, so when no one was looking I swam over and climbed into one of the boxes."

  Jinji tensed. She hated talking this much. Her limbs felt squirmy as her chest squeezed with pressure.

  "Genius." He shook his head in awe. "What next?"

  "Um," she paused, eyes flickering around the room. "I stayed hidden in the box, I felt someone carry me and then set me down. After a while, I got out of the box and realized I was in the palace."

  Rhen's eyes started to narrow.

  "How did you meet the princess?"

  "Well, I was running through the halls trying to find you when I came upon her crying. She was sad, someone she loved had just been killed." Jinji was hoping that thought would distract him.

  It didn’t.

  He leaned closer, eyes pinning her to her seat.

  "And you didn't run into anyone? No guards?"

  "No," she shook her head. "No, the guards were all with you. The princess hid me in a servant's robe. She knew her father had taken you to the garden, and she convinced one of the guards, her friend, to help. When no one was looking, we pulled you away from the pool. He carried you to the carriage, hid you in her traveling box."

  Jinji was rambling. She felt words tumble unbidden from her lips. Felt them fall to the ground, crashing every time. Each sound made her wince.

  Outright disbelief shone in Rhen's eyes.

  "So you just walked into the palace, befriended the princess, and walked out?" The sarcasm was not lost on her.

  "I was very lucky," she said, playing innocent. "You were very lucky, too."

  Rhen sat back as she said it. She could see him weigh the words—almost believe them—but his gaze sharpened.

  "We never did get a chance to talk about the battle against the Ourthuri, the one aboard the Old Maid."

  "Hmm?"

  She squeezed her palms together, turning away from Rhen, observing the items on the captain's desk. Papers. A feather. A dark black liquid.

  There were scrawls all over the pages, symbols she could not read or understand. But they meant something. There were charts with the images Rhen had once described to her—maps. She looked closer. One of those depicted her home. Did it mean anything that she could not say which?

  "Jin, what are you hiding?"

  There was a light next to her, a flame flickering inside a warm glass bulb. The oil was low. The cloth holding the flame looked short.

  "I really do not know what you mean, Rhen."

  "I think you do, or you would not be so panicked right now."

  Jinji leveled her gaze, meeting his eye.

  "What are you hiding?" She asked.

  As soon as the words were spoken, the spirits sprung to life in her eyes—the fire spirits. They circled his figure, dancing around him like a living flame. Only this time, they extended beyond him, stretching out from his arm, connecting him to the light. The fire arched in his direction, calling for him.

  With no plan, no thought but a need to know the truth, to know if Rhen was like her and held magic in his bones, Jinji acted.

  She did not want to be questioned any more.

  She did not want to have questions any more.

  S
he just wanted to know, for the first time in a long time, that maybe she wasn't completely alone.

  Reaching her hand to the side, she gripped the glass and threw the light onto the floor between them. It crashed, breaking into a thousand pieces, sparking as oil slipped over the floor.

  "Jin!" Rhen shouted, jumping back.

  The flames grew, spreading with the spill then sinking into the wood.

  Jinji looked away, looked at Rhen. He was mesmerized by the fire.

  Do it, she thought. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something the spirits were trying to show her.

  Something about Rhen they needed her to know.

  The flames grew, burning against dry wood, creating a wall between the two of them. Smoke began to filter through the window.

  Jinji choked as the char grew.

  Rhen had to act now.

  The crew would notice any minute, would see the black billowing into the sky.

  He looked at her, green eyes prickling something in her soul. The muscles in his neck were coiled tight, pulling away from the fire as the rest of his body sunk closer.

  And then he stopped fighting.

  His hands sunk into the depths of the flames and with a deep sigh of pleasure, the fire started melting into his skin.

  A different person might have screamed, backed away, run in fear.

  But Jinji smiled. Her heart sang. And something so deep inside of her that she didn’t even know was there thrummed with the rightness of that moment.

  Then the fire vanished, leaving a black stain on the wood at their feet.

  "Rhen," Jinji said, but he was already gone, running from the room as fast as his feet could take him.

  ––––––––

  14

  Rhen

  Dueling Sea

  ––––––––

  Rhen was sulking. He knew it. But he just couldn't stop.

  More than a full day had passed since the fire, and his mind was still consumed with what had happened. He had never shown anyone his gift—not even his own family. His mother, Rhen knew, suspected something. But she never pressed, never asked, and in truth, avoided learning more.