by Shae Ford
That suited them just fine. With all the planting finished, the giants spent the day wandering the fields, pulling up weeds, moving rocks, and enjoying the peace. Kael followed Declan and Brend around, helping wherever he could. Thick white clouds drifted above them lazily, and their shadows brought a long, welcome relief from the sun.
“It feels strange to work without a lash,” Declan mused, tugging a healthy weed from where it’d been trying to hide between two carrots. “I keep expecting the sting to come at any moment. My back keeps twitching for it.”
“The poor mages have got better things to worry about,” Brend said. He shot a wicked look at Hob — who was wandering distractedly between the fields.
His fingers had scratched raw, red patches into the skin on his arms and neck. He looked about him as he walked, and his hand was clutched tightly around his whip. His chew sat in a forgotten lump between his teeth.
“Amazing what one little tale can do, eh?” Brend straightened up and glanced down the row. “Looks like there’s just a few left, here. Want to head over to the radishes?”
Declan nodded in reply.
“All right, then. Finish this lot and then meet us over there, wee rat.” Brend pointed to a neighboring field, and Kael nodded. Then the giants strode away, leaving him to his chores.
It was nice to have a few moments to himself. And weeding or no — he was planning to enjoy it. He’d just wrapped his hand around the next clump of grass when a familiar cry glanced the air above him. He looked up and saw Eveningwing circling overhead, but didn’t think too much about it. He was probably just saying hello.
But when the hawk swooped down and batted the top of Kael’s head with the thick of his wings, he had no choice but to look up. “What?” he hissed, as loudly as he dared.
Eveningwing came at him from the front, gliding straight towards him. An object fell from his talons a few feet away, and then he shot back into the air. When Kael saw what it was, he knew immediately that something was wrong: a note lay in the grass, bound hurriedly in cord.
They’d already talked about this. Eveningwing knew full well that he wasn’t supposed to give Kael any messages out where the mages could see him. There must be some sort of emergency, then — perhaps Jonathan had gotten himself into trouble. Kael tore the letter open, hoping to mercy that it wasn’t too late.
Jonathan’s handwriting sprang from the page, though his words seemed more organized than before. His sentences were clipped tightly, and there were no poems or crude drawings scrawled in the margins. His message was earnest:
I finally convinced Clairy to sneak me into the upper tower — I found out that’s where the lady giants keep their chambers. But it’s not just that. It’s horrible.
Clairy led me to her friend’s room — a kind woman named Darrah — and she explained the whole thing: Gilderick’s trying to breed a new army of giants, and he’s using the ladies like cattle! A lot of the older women have already been chosen. Darrah was one of the first, and her belly was all swollen up to bursting.
I didn’t know what to say. I was a bit shocked, to be honest — I couldn’t believe that anybody could be so heartless. Not even Gilderick.
Then Clairy suddenly burst into sobs, Darrah teared up, and they finally told me the whole thing. Turns out that Gilderick’s started choosing the women who’ll be breeders on their eighteenth birthday … and Clairy turns eighteen three days from now.
I’m sorry, mate — I know you’ve been working on a plan and all, but I can’t sit by and let them take my Clairy. I won’t do it. I’m going to think up a way out of here, and then she and I will leave tonight. We’ll make for the seas, and I don’t care how many guards Gilderick sends after us.
I’m writing to you so you’ll know that I’ve gone, and you’ll know not to worry after me anymore. I’m sorry if this ruins things, mate, but I’ve got no choice.
-Jonathan
“Eveningwing, get down here!” Kael hissed.
The hawk dived down quickly, hiding himself among the tall grass at the field’s edge. Kael hurried over to him. He knew very well that whatever Jonathan had planned would never work: a witch guarded the kitchens, and it was likely that she used the same manner of spells on the tower doors that Hob did on the barns.
If they tried to slip out, the whole castle would hear of it in an instant. They would never make it out alive if they didn’t have an army to block their escape.
Kael told Eveningwing all of this, and he told him to ask Jonathan to give him some time to prepare. “I’ll have Clairy out before her birthday,” Kael promised. “Once he agrees, I need you to fly to the seas immediately and tell the pirates that we plan to attack. They won’t reach us in time to help with the escape,” he said grimly. “But they might be able to hold off Gilderick’s army in the wilderness … if we can survive that long.”
Chapter 34
Lake of Fire
The tunnels were dark and quiet, just as they’d been the first time Kyleigh walked them. Nadine traveled ahead of her, her shoulders bent towards her task. The swift steps of the Grandmot and Hessa’s quiet sobs echoed behind them.
Elena had left without a word at first light; Silas was nowhere to be found. Kyleigh hoped they knew what they were doing, but she wasn’t sure. She supposed that everything would work out the way they planned … but if it didn’t, they’d have to think very quickly. There’d certainly be no turning back, after this.
The thrill of the unknown, the weight of the risk — it made Kyleigh’s heart beat excitedly. Her sight sharpened, her ears stood on point. She could hear the dry rasp of Jake’s teeth as they scraped nervously across his lips.
It was midmorning, and Kyleigh wore her armor again. Nadine said it would only get her into trouble, but she didn’t care: she certainly wasn’t about to fight an army of trolls in a silk dress.
As they passed through the campsite at the end of the tunnel, the soldiers rose to greet them. There was pity on many of their faces as they nodded to Nadine.
The Grandmot followed them closely. It was obvious that she wasn’t going to let them out of her sight, this time. She was going to make sure Nadine didn’t walk out alive. “Form your ranks,” she said to the mots, swooping her arms out. The wide sleeves of her robe made her limbs look like the wings of some giant, bangled bird. “Prepare yourselves for battle! Do not let Nadine’s great sacrifice fall in vain — honor her with your spears.”
The Grandmot wrapped her talons around Nadine’s shoulders and squeezed tightly, as if she was trying to comfort her. But her eyes glittered with something that Kyleigh was certain wasn’t tears.
“Yes, honor her,” the Grandmot went on. They were almost to the end of the passageway, only a few dozen yards stood between Nadine and her fate. “Fight bravely, my warriors. Do not let —”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sharp, familiar tones cut through the passageway, and the Grandmot’s mouth fell open. “Who rang the bell?” she squawked.
The mots seemed confused. Many of them bolted forward, and a wall of soldiers flooded the end of the passage, trying to push their way into the bell chamber. More soldiers crushed in from behind, trapping the Grandmot in the middle.
All of her composure vanished. She flapped her arms about and stomped her feet. “Turn back!” she shrilled. “We are not ready to face the trolls —”
“No! If we turn back, we will lose the passageway,” Nadine cried. She held Hessa protectively behind her, their backs pressed against the tunnel wall. “The trolls will be at our doorstep —”
“Then we will push them back tomorrow!”
“We are not strong enough to push them back! If we lose this passage, it is lost forever —”
A chorus of loud barks echoed off the walls, and the soldiers began pressing forward all the more furiously. They were so crowded in that they couldn’t lift their spears. The mots at the front wouldn’t move: they were either waiting for an order, or frozen in fear.
And the barking w
as growing louder.
It was time for Kyleigh to put her plan into motion. She made to step towards Nadine when a swarm of mots flooded the gap between them, shoving them further apart. Kyleigh couldn’t reach Nadine without crushing the mots in front of her, but the trolls would overrun them, if she waited much longer. She had to think quickly.
While the Grandmot shrilled for the mots to retreat, Hessa watched from behind Nadine’s skirt. Her deep eyes wandered around the soldiers, studying their faces. Finally, they lighted on Kyleigh — who saw her chance.
She caught Hessa’s gaze and mouthed: The runes.
Hessa’s eyes flashed away, and Kyleigh was afraid she hadn’t seen her. More soldiers weaved between them, blocking her from view. Kyleigh was trying to fight through the horde to reach Nadine when a little voice cried:
“Consult the runes!”
“Yes!” the Grandmot said, shaking a finger at Nadine. “We shall see what Fate decides.”
The mots went deadly silent. They could hear the trolls racing towards them: their claws struck the stone, tapping like a fierce spring rain, growing more thunderous with every step. The Grandmot reached inside her pouch, felt around, and after a moment, her mouth dropped open.
“They — they are gone! My runes are missing!”
“Then we have run out of time.” Nadine’s voice carried through the tunnel as she cried: “We must fight! To arms, mots!”
No one seemed to mind that this order came from Nadine. Not a one of them spoke against her — instead, the mots cried out in answer. Those at the front spilled into the bell chamber, with the others shoving behind them.
The Grandmot was so busy trying not to get trampled that she didn’t see Kyleigh until it was too late.
“I’ll just take that back, thank you.” She grabbed Harbinger around the hilt and ripped him free, snapping the Grandmot’s belt. Then she sprinted down the tunnel — and laughed when she heard the Grandmot’s angry scream.
In the bell chamber, the fight was already thick. Rocks flew from all directions. The trolls at the back of the horde used their slings to keep the mots at bay, while those closest to the front were forced to spar. They slung their shovel-like paws in mad arcs about them, swiping desperately at the spears.
A few of the mots got too close, and the trolls caught them in the chest. Kyleigh grimaced as their bodies rolled backwards. Some were even tossed clear over the heads of their companions.
Though the mots fought bravely, the trolls kept pressing in. It wasn’t long before the bell chamber was packed full of black, hairy bodies; their stench filled the air. There were far too many of them, and more kept coming — pouring out of the tunnels in an endless stream of glinting teeth and claws.
Kyleigh had to act quickly.
Something brushed against her leg as she sprinted. She caught a brown blur out of the corner of her eye and her ears rang with a familiar roar. “Follow Silas!” she called to Jake, who panted along behind her. “Signal me when you’ve sealed up the tunnels!”
He nodded and loped away, struggling over bodies and toppled chairs.
Kyleigh never slowed down. She charged headlong into the fray, and Harbinger flew from his sheath, cutting through the first troll in their path. She nearly cried out when he sang in greeting. His voice echoed beautifully against the stone, rising and falling as he sliced his way through his foes. The tones of his song seemed to give the mots a burst of strength — while the trolls fell back in terror.
Nadine vaulted in beside her. She dispatched the trolls with quick, powerful thrusts of her spear. She goaded them with the tip until they wandered too close, and then she skewered them. Her weapon went through the center of their fanged mouths and came out their throats.
As they fought, Kyleigh watched for Jake out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t see him over the crush of bodies, but every now and then, a handful of trolls would go flying through the air, or suddenly burst into flame. And she knew Jake was behind it. He worked quickly, and it wasn’t long before his signal came.
A tail of blue fire arced to the ceiling, filling the chamber with an eerie glow, and it was time for Kyleigh to do her part.
She’d been aching for this for weeks. Her dragon form had been wriggling inside her, teasing her like an itch she couldn’t scratch. She sheathed Harbinger and arched her back, grinning as she felt her muscles stretch and pull, as her fingers became claws and her teeth grew pointed.
She didn’t even have to breathe fire, this time: all she had to do was roar.
The trolls remembered her well. They yelped loudly at the sound of her voice and turned on their heels for the tunnels. They slammed against the opening, crushing each other as they tried to squeeze through. But Jake’s shielding spells kept them out. There was only one tunnel that he didn’t seal — and the trolls had no choice but to flee for it.
“Follow them! Finish them!” Nadine cried, as Kyleigh slipped back into her human skin. The mots were only too happy to obey. They knew very well where that tunnel led — and they knew the trolls had no chance of escape.
“Yes, finish them!”
Kyleigh turned and was surprised to see the Grandmot shuffling after the charge of mots, a spear clutched in her hands.
“Oh, now she’s found her courage,” Silas grumbled. He’d come out of his lion form and was grimacing as he pulled down on his breeches. His chest was peppered with angry red dots from the trolls’ slings.
“Go stay with Hessa,” Nadine ordered him, and he left without a word.
Jake and Nadine charged after the trolls, darting close to the grand chair in the middle of the room. As they passed by, a dark figure dropped out from inside the big silver bell.
“All right, Elena?” Kyleigh asked as she jogged by.
She rolled her shoulders back, and her eyes glinted above her mask. “It was a bit tight in there, but I’ll be fine.”
Kyleigh laughed as they sprinted after their friends.
The trolls had fled down a narrow tunnel. The deeper Kyleigh went, the more the air began to thicken. Soon an incredible heat filled the passage, tingling her skin. Around the next bend, the darkness gave way to an impossibly bright light — and then the passage spilled out into an enormous chamber.
The fire lake was exactly like Nadine had described it: as if the very waters were made of liquid fire. Black crusted over parts of it, as if the fires were so hot that they’d somehow scorched themselves. The black cracked in places, revealing swollen veins of angry red. Waves broke over the white-hot shores in brilliant oranges and yellows.
Kyleigh had never seen anything like it. The heat was so thick that she could practically hear it: it clogged her ears with a deep, contented groan — as if the earth was enjoying a warm bath.
The mots had the trolls pushed up against the edge of the lake. The trolls’ barks were high-pitched and panicked as they fought for their hairy lives. They swung their paws desperately, trying to claw their way through the army of mots. Large, white-hot stones littered the shoreline, and the mots chased the trolls towards them with the points of their spears.
A few of the trolls accidentally stepped too far backwards, and Kyleigh could hear their flesh sizzling from the back of the room. When they yelped and sprang to clutch their wounded feet, the mots gave them a stiff push into the fire.
Though they were able to trap most of the trolls in, quite a few managed to squeeze through the mots’ ranks and break for the tunnels. But they didn’t get far.
Kyleigh and Elena were there to stop them. Harbinger bit eagerly through their furry necks while Elena’s daggers flashed in and out. Her hands moved so quickly that Kyleigh had a difficult time seeing what she did — but judging by the amount of blood that followed her strokes, she was doing it well.
The first few lines of trolls got shoved into the fire lake, leaving the survivors no choice but to try to mount some sort of counterattack. The front row sparred furiously with the mots while the back row began hurling pebble
s from their slings.
Stones flew from every direction, an endless volley hurled by a desperate force. The mots stumbled over each other, struggling to keep the trolls cornered. When they tried to shield themselves, the trolls broke free — shoving their way back towards the tunnel.
“Fight! Shove them back!” the Grandmot squawked. She’d found a rock to perch on, safely out of reach of the trolls’ grasping claws. The feathers in her hair bounced wildly as she stomped her feet. “Do not let them escape!”
“We need another body at the tunnel,” Elena grunted, burying both of her daggers into the chest of a fleeing troll. She pulled the blades free and kicked the troll’s body in the path of its comrades — sending them all for a tumble. “Where’s Nadine?”
Kyleigh had to get a few heads out of her way before she finally caught sight of Nadine. She stood near the edge of the battle. Her spear hung loosely in one hand and in the other, she clutched a troll’s sling. Kyleigh called out to her, but she didn’t turn:
Her eyes were on the Grandmot.
The sling spun around and around in Nadine’s hand; her eyes narrowed on her target. And Kyleigh could only watch in shock as the stone left its sling.
Time seemed to turn back on itself. The noise of the battle faded, the stone whistled over the heads of the mots, streaking for its target — then with a loud thwap, it struck the Grandmot between her wicked eyes.
Her body went limp, and her eyes rolled back. She toppled over off of the rock and into the lake. There was a splash, a burst of orange, and then the fire swallowed her up. When Kyleigh turned around, Nadine met her eyes.
Her gaze was hardened and sure. She nodded once, firmly.
And Kyleigh nodded back.
“Out of my way!” Jake bellowed, waving his hands. “If you’ll all just clear out for a moment, I can take care of this.”
The second the mots leapt to the side, Jake slammed his staff into the ground. The earth in front of him buckled and snapped back under the trolls, launching them almost to the ceiling. They squeaked and flailed their hairy limbs as their bodies sailed through the air, but couldn’t stop their fall. They plunged down into the fire — splashing like a handful of pebbles into a pond.
