The forests keeper, p.11
The Forest's Keeper, page 11
Rose crinkled her nose as she read through the recipe. She didn’t know how someone would gather these things, let alone bake and eat them. She nudged Cal with the edge of a book and handed it to him. He grunted but took it anyway.
“Have you ever heard of bread like this?” she asked.
He shook his head as he read the ingredients, then pointed to one ingredient at the bottom. “Swamp water,” he said. “At least we can get more of that if she needs it.”
“In theory, and if we make it out there,” Rose said. “This bread sounds disgusting. I wonder why it’s so important.”
Cal shrugged. “Maybe it can poison a sorceress?”
It was a possibility, and one Rose liked. If that was the case, she would find the last ingredient as soon as possible.
They sat not speaking for a few moments, the only sound being that of the crackling fireplace. Cal placed the recipe book down on a table and leaned back in his seat.
“Rose, are we all right? After last night…”
She inwardly cringed. They’d gotten so relaxed, she’d forgotten about her embarrassing rejection for a little while. “Yes, we’re fine. It would have been nice to have a little more of an explanation, but you were right to an extent. I was a little drunk.”
“A little?”
She sighed. “Fine. Maybe a lot.”
“It took me by surprise,” Cal confessed. He shifted in his seat so he faced more toward her and ran a hand through his hair, their knees almost touching. “It’s not as though I haven’t thought about it.”
Rose’s stomach tightened. “You have?” She sighed and leaned back. “I was thinking I was crazy.”
“No, you’re not crazy.”
“So, it was just a surprise?”
“Well-”
The door burst open, and Grandmother paraded through with bushels of vegetables in her arms. “Here we are! I don’t know about the two of you, but I am exhausted.”
Cal was on his feet in moments yet again. “Let me help you with that, Renata.”
Rose curled her lip. For someone who wanted her and Cal to be together, Grandmother certainly had a way of ruining the moment.
Chapter Fourteen
AMELIA
Nothing was happening. Amelia strummed her fingertips on the porch railing and stared out into the dark green and foggy swamp. The slight glow in the distance helped illuminate the swamp in the night, and she could see small bubbles and ripples moving through the water. It’d been days since she’d recruited Kartek and her clan, and there was not a single sign in Eral that the Minister was dead. There was no word from Rafe or the Stulan priest either. Everything was supposed to be coming together and now… nothing.
Off to the side, Mother sat in a rickety chair reading a book by lamplight and rocked back and forth. The rocking of the chair against the rotting wood of the porch made a loud and sharp creaking sound that grated on Amelia’s last nerve.
“I’ve told you not to trust ogres and Stulan followers,” Mother told her. “The only ones we can trust are other sorceress and sorceresses. This is what I’ve been telling you ever since you were a child. Why you’ve gone back on my advice now of all times is beyond me.”
Amelia held back a snarl and gripped the railing as though it was Mother’s neck and if she squeezed hard enough, she could shut her up. “I am working with other sorcerers. I’ve told you this.”
Mother laughed. “You were sleepwalking it more sounds like. I thought I’d raised a more intelligent daughter than that. One who could tell the difference between dream and reality.” She sighed and set her book on her lap. “Maybe I should return to The Dravian Islands.”
“Yes, maybe you should,” Amelia snapped. Get her jabs and criticisms far away from her as possible. “All of this is your fault anyway.”
“My fault?”
Amelia turned on her heel to face her mother who sat there with a look of feigned shock. “Yes, your fault. I wanted none of this. But you insisted I marry the king and be the one to bring respect and power back to the sorcerers even though I was pregnant with someone else’s child.”
“Of course I did!” Mother shoved herself up from her chair and let the book crash to the floor with a loud thunk. “What else would you have done? Married a low born sorcerer who owned a tea shop? You are one of the most powerful sorceresses in generations. It would have been a waste, and you know it.”
Amelia hadn’t thought about Nell’s father in years. She’d never entertained the idea of marrying him. Either. Allowing herself to be with child was what she thought would get her out of the engagement to King Brennan. It was the foolish and unthought out plan of a desperate young woman. The only thing she’d been thinking about was taking back control over her future and not pulled into the political and power-hungry plans of her mother.
Ironically, it turned into Amelia’s own plans of power. Power and revenge.
Perhaps it was time she included Mother in those plans of revenge.
“And look where it’s gotten us.” Amelia spread her arm out to the bubbling and foggy swamp. “Don’t you love our kingdom where we sorceresses can live in peace?”
Mother lifted an accusing finger at Amelia and stalked toward her. “Don’t you dare speak to me like that!”
But Amelia didn’t back down. She hadn’t needed to answer to her mother outside of letters in years, and she wasn’t about to start now. “I will speak to you however I want. You can no longer shame or scold me. I am a queen.”
Mother stopped her stalking and lowered her arm. She leaned back slightly and chuckled. “You used to be a queen, and we both know whose fault it is that you aren’t any longer. You-”
She let out a shriek as something pulled her to the ground. Amelia jumped and almost fell herself then caught herself on the rail. A boney hand covered in swamp slime and mold grasped around Mother’s ankle. Another hand pounded onto the porch floor and whatever it was, pushed itself up out of the swamp water. All at once the swamp grew cold and clammy, making Amelia shiver.
Dusan rose out of the water, a swamp-covered specter there to haunt them, and Mother shrieked again. She clamored against the floor to get away from him, but he only tugged her closer, so her legs hung over the side and her eyes met his. She visibly shook, and the sight thrilled Amelia. Served her right.
“Don’t call us a dream,” Dusan seethed. “She will restore our grounds. We will finally rest in peace.”
Mother’s face paled, and she slowly nodded. For the first time in Amelia’s life, the woman was speechless.
Seeming to be satisfied, he released his grip on her, and Mother scrambled away back to the rocking chair. She stood beside it as though it could protect her from any other swamp creature attacks.
The part-man continued to push his way up onto the porch until he stood there towering over the two of them. There was something different about Dusan than the last time Amelia saw him. More skin had grown over his bony face, and flesh gathered on his bones. He was still part skeleton, but with a hint of humanity. His focus was now on Amelia, and she shivered again as he turned to face her. He barely moved but his whole body rotated around to look at Amelia as though it was on some sort of floating platform.
“Why is the Minister still alive?”
She wouldn’t let him know that she’d been wondering and worrying about the same thing, or that he made her stomach roll and tighten. Instead, she gave him a casual shrug. “How am I supposed to know? Ask that wolf the priest gave me. You told me to recruit him. We did his silly ritual, and it was supposed to be done.”
The ancient sorcerer snarled. “He’s avoiding it. But he only can for so long if the ritual was performed correctly. And what of the ogres?”
“They’re willing to work with us. They already have a phoenix and once the Minister is gone, they’ll have the rest of it.”
“And the rest of their task?”
Amelia shifted her shoulders, trying to release some of the tension with no one noticing. That piece was almost as important as killing Renata. At least for her. They needed to find Finley to get back the mirror. “Well, what do you expect from ogres? They’re land creatures you’re expecting to capture pirates. What did you think was going to happen?”
Dusan clenched his fists and the swamp water around them bubbled and rolled in reply. The fog thickened and trembled around them like thunder. A small whimper came from Mother’s direction, and Amelia shot a glare at her. They couldn’t show too much weakness.
“The pair are on land, and they’re close. I can feel it,” he said. “Get the mirror and kill the Minister. I don’t care how you do it.”
His bossing her around was getting under Amelia’s skin. Her own water magic waved through her veins, and she wanted to send a wave at him to push him back into the swamp where he belonged. Droplets of water pooled around her fingertips, and she let them hover for a moment. With a deep breath, she calmed her magic and her skin soaked up the water again.
No. She needed the sorcerers and sorceresses hurried beneath the swamp. She needed to play nice for a little while longer.
“If you didn’t trust me to get the job done, then perhaps you shouldn’t have dragged me down to your grave with you,” Amelia told him. “You’ve waited this long, a little while more won’t kill you.” She smiled. “Oh wait, you’re already dead.”
The sorcerer took three gigantic steps to Amelia, so they stood nose to nose. She didn’t blanch or gag at his moldy swamp stench but stared at him back. “Care to join us?”
“Thank you, but the glowing green water isn’t my style.”
“Could have fooled me.” He took a step back and lifted his chin, so he looked down on her even more than before. “Don’t expect me to stand aside and watch if you fail. I’ll have no regrets dragging you or anyone else down with me.”
The fog thickened and swirled around him, bringing swamp water up to engulf the sorcerer. It poured down over him and he melted back into the water and rolled off the porch. Wind whipped around Amelia, and she shivered, then it stopped, and the swamp was even more still and peaceful than it had been before.
Amelia stood where the sorcerer once was and glared out toward the water. How dare he come to her in such a way and threaten her? Amelia was perfectly aware things had stalled yet again and didn’t need the reminder.
Mother’s squeaky footsteps sounded, and she stood next to Amelia. Her skin was covered in bumps and her hand trembled. Amelia raised a brow. “Yes, just a nightmare from sleep walking, don’t you agree, Mother?”
Chapter Fifteen
ROSE
After two days of reading, practicing with the Shadowslayers and working with Grandmother, Rose and Cal were finally deemed prepared enough to venture out to find the swamp Amelia was hiding in. Along with the ingredients for the all-important bread Grandmother wouldn’t let them forget about.
Grandmother squeezed Rose so hard in a hug as they prepared to leave, she thought her ribs were about to snap. She straightened Rose’s tunic and the sack of supplies wrapped around her, then swiped away dust that wasn’t there off her shoulder. She was like a mother, sending her child off to school for the first time.
“Now remember what I’ve told you, be careful of this new ogre chief because she’s clever, don’t drink the swamp water, and-”
“Don’t eat the mushrooms,” Rose finished for her. They’d only been told every hour since they’d arrived. There was a time Rose could tell which ones were safe to eat, but now none of them were.
Grandmother smiled, and her shoulders relaxed a little. “I wish you sister were here with you to see the two of you working together.”
The bow across Rose’s back seemed to dig in deeper at the words. As much as she tried to ignore the way she betrayed Eira’s trust, it still haunted her if she let herself think about it. But the result would outweigh the means. They were finally going to capture Amelia.
“I’m sure she would be here to help if she could,” Rose said. And it wasn’t a lie. If it wasn’t for being bonded to Luana’s castle, Rose was confident her sister would be there at her side. And she wouldn’t have stolen anything.
Cal went to Grandmother next and wrapped her in an all-consuming hug. “We’ll take care of your forest, Renata. We can promise you that. Thank you for everything. It’s been an honor.”
She patted him on the shoulder; her face tight like she was holding back tears. Something in Rose’s stomach knotted. Things must be bad if she was emotional like this. All the more reason for them to stop it.
“We should get going,” Rose said, but surprised at how her voice shook at the words. Oddly enough, part of her was sad to go. She had limited time with Grandmother, and she hated to end it. “But we’ll be back soon.”
Grandmother waved her hands, shooing them away. “Yes, yes, go, go, go. Do what you need to, but hurry back once you’re done. I want to see you one more time before you return to Eira.”
Still, Rose gave her one last hug before heading out. Then it was time. Grandmother waved to them from the door and they were on their own.
Rose and Cal stood shoulder to shoulder, the Shadowslayers strapped to their backs, and sacks slung over shoulders. Eral Forest loomed before them, a green haze around the trees and hovering over the mushrooms and shrubbery. Tiny blue specks danced across the forest floor, beckoning the pair to join them. Or maybe warning them to stay away. A shiver ran through Rose. This wasn’t the Eral Rose once knew, but the two of them would bring it back.
There weren’t any other options.
The map didn’t make sense. Rose looked at it, then out at the path three times before finally lowering it with a frustrated huff. She thought they’d been following it exactly, but this looked nothing like what she was told.
Cal leaned against a tree off to the side and took a swig of water from his canteen. “Admit it, Rose, we’re lost.”
“We’re not lost,” she snapped back. They’d been walking all day, and only a little while ago did they venture out of the areas Rose was most familiar with. “The map is just wrong.”
Cal heaved a sigh and snapped his canteen closed. “Whatever you say. I’m going to find water, I see more animals gathering, so I think there’s a stream nearby. Do you want any?”
Rose was getting thirsty, and her canteen was painfully low already. She whipped it off and handed it to him. “Fine. I’ll wait here and figure out where to go.”
“If I’m not back in ten minutes…”
“I’ll come find you.”
She found a log to sit on and took a seat to make sense of the map Grandmother gave them. Eral couldn’t have changed that much, could it? Fungi covered the log, but she found a small empty spot to perch on, and a cloud of pixie dust flurried into the air when she did. They’d gone through the knoll, and past the rabbit glen, and over the hills exactly as the path showed and where the map led. But she couldn’t figure out where they were.
Something cawed overhead and Rose lowered the map to look. Kudo swooped and soared over her and landed on the log. “Kudo! What are you doing here?” she asked the bird.
In the rush they had to leave the Paravian mountains, they’d sadly had to leave Cal’s hawk behind. The bird was excellent with directions, so she was glad he was here.
Kudo extended his leg out to her, and a piece of parchment was attached to it with a string. She untied it and rolled out the paper. It was a letter from Eira. Rose would know her swooping handwriting anywhere.
Rose,
I can’t believe you took the Shadowslayers after we specifically asked you not to. Don’t you know how dangerous it could be? And Aytigin is furious. It’s going to take a lot of convincing for him to allow anyone in the castle again. I know why you wanted them, and I understand why you took them, but I’m still hurt you did it even when I asked you not to. Beyond that, the castle is a disaster because of it.
I’m working to calm Aytigin and Malle down, so when you return, it’s in peace. But please, be careful. It’s only because I love you and am worried. Who knows what those weapons can do? I wish we’d had more time so you could have at least practiced.
But I hope this letter finds you well and safe. Kudo was pestering us non-stop and wanting to return to Cal.
I know this is important, and I’m glad you’re helping Grandmother, but please don’t do anything else so reckless. We need to save Eral and find Amelia, but not at the cost of you endangering yourself.
I hope to see you soon, happy and safe. I know it’s been a difficult time, and thank you for all your patience. We will defeat Amelia and put things right again. I promise.
Love you,
Eira
“What are you doing?”
Rose jumped and Kudo cawed in her ear as Rafe swung from a branch above her. She frowned. “Must you always do that?” He had a terrible habit of leaving her behind, then appearing out of nowhere and startling her. He chuckled.
“But it’s so much fun.” He let go of the branch and landed perfectly on the log Rose was sitting on, making Kudo fly over to another tree branch. He handed her a sack of berries. “I found these.”
As much as Rafe irked her sometimes, he had his uses. Rose was fairly familiar with Eral and could figure out where to find the good food. But Rafe still knew it far better than she did. Rose opened the sack once she’d put the letter away and ate. “Where am I exactly?”
Rafe opened his own sack of berries and ate as well. “In Eral Forest.”
Rose’s shoulders slumped. Of course, he wasn’t actually going to be helpful. She was wondering if this whole thing was a waste of time. Or at least that they had recruited a guide of some sort. Maybe she could befriend some of these pixies and fairies if she managed to not destroy their mushroom homes. “Is this whole thing pointless?” she asked.
Rafe paused and looked up from his snack. “Why would you say that?”
