The forests keeper, p.18
The Forest's Keeper, page 18
A silly grudge to hold against her. They were killing each other off plenty.
“If it comes to stealing, we can get it,” Finley said. She adjusted her hat so it sat primly on her head. “I have a feeling we have more experience in getting things out of unwanted places than you do.”
Rose propped herself up on her elbows and narrowed her brows. “How are you untied?”
Finley wiggled her brows. “I have water magic and have been working on disintegrating the ropes for days.”
Rose gaped at them.
“Sorry to have to fool you for so long,” Ai said. She had a gentle smile, and her eyes were soft, as though she were genuinely apologetic. “It’s better to be underestimated than over. We had to be sure we could trust you. The two of you go. We’ll meet you outside of the camp.”
Cal stood and helped Rose swing her legs over the edge of the bed. She wore a new set of fresh clothing, and they strapped her ankle into a splint made of wood and leather. It was sturdy and wrapped tight, so there was no chance of her leg moving.
“It’s broken,” Cal confirmed. “I mixed some herbs for you to help with the pain so we can at least get out of here in one piece. I’ll try to carry you as much as possible once we’re safe.”
Rose’s crutch and the ogre’s club rested against the wall next to the bed so Rose could use both to walk. They strapped her weapons across her back and upon her belt, and Cal took on his own as well as their travel sack.
Out of the travel sack, Rose found some herbs she’d been using to help Zorar and placed them on the side table next to her bed. At least they could continue to help her when they were gone, even if it was only a bit.
Outside, ogres roared and yelled as Rose and Cal stepped out. Arag met them at the door and helped guide through the crowds toward the cage. More beams of light poured over the camp as though the sun were shining in the middle of summer. Rose squinted as Arag led them to where Kartek was waiting.
The burning phoenix cried and shrieked, hardly able to hold her own head over the climbing flames. The fire started small and slow at first. Glowing embers beneath her clawed feet. They rose her legs and over her stomach until she glowed, and the flames grew larger. She cried and writhed in pain. Rose wanted to look away but could not, mesmerized by the tragic event. It wasn’t long before the whole bird was a pillar of fire so bright it nearly blinded those around the cage.
With a final caw, she exploded into fire and vanished. All which was left was a pile of ashes, black as night but had a faint glimmer. Cal nudged at Rose, who was staring at the sight. She pulled out a small container from her pocket, reached through the bars of the cage, and gathered what they needed.
It was just in time, for out of the silence came a tiny chirp. A minuscule beak poked from the ashes and there emerged a brand new bird.
“Now go,” Kartek commanded.
“Thank you,” Rose said as she hid the container in her pocket again.
Kartek stalked toward her with a sneer. “Now it’s your turn to uphold the bargain. If you do not return, I’ll track you and be sure you meet the same fate as your opponent.”
Rose gulped, seeing the promise in the ogre chief’s eyes. “Of course.”
Rose and Cal nodded to her and went on their way. As they crossed the edge of the camp, Rose looked back at the cage to where the newborn bird was held captive. Although it looked more like a tiny beast with their bulging red eyes and mucus covered feathers plastered to their frail body. “When we come back, we take her with us,” she said.
Cal squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll make sure she’s safe,” he reassured her and they went off into Eral Forest.
Chapter Twenty-Four
ROSE
The beams of light from the phoenix died away, but the fresh glow of the raging bonfire of the ogre camp reflected in the green haze hovering over Eral Forest as Rose and the others made their escape. Even with her Aros magic and the splint surrounding her broken ankle, the most Rose could do was bite through the pain and quickly hobble to keep pace with them. One ogre roared, and it shook the forest ground. Rose tripped over a protruding branch, the dirt covering it having been washed away from the water and mud overtaking the forest. She caught herself and bit her lip from the jarring pain in her ankle. She looked over her shoulder and something tightened in her chest. A small part of her worried for Kartek.
Which was ridiculous. She’d kept them imprisoned and wouldn’t blink or hesitate to rip Rose’s throat out if they betrayed her. But she helped them escape for some reason.
Rose shook her head and kept going. Kartek could take care of herself.
Finley and Ai raced ahead, but Ai looked around and paused. She put her hand on Finley’s shoulder, who rolled her head around in a dramatic circle, the giant feather in her hat circling like a bird over its prey.
“Excuse me, did you want to stay in the ogre camp and have them slaughter you?” Finley asked.
The heat of the phoenix ashes in Rose’s pocket only added to the burning through her at the question. Rose gritted her teeth and tried to catch up. It would be handy if Rafe would do one of his surprise pop ins and let her ride on his back.
Cal stopped his walking and waited until Rose was at his side. She paused and panted, trying to breathe through the throbbing in her ankle. The sharp pain from the initial break had subsided, and the brace helped keep things stable. But there was this feeling of wrongness coursing through her with each step. It was like a piece of her foot was out of place and missing and if she moved in the wrong way, it would fall apart. Rose had her fair share of injuries in the past, but usually had a day or so to recover before needing to get back on her feet. All she wanted was to sit for just a moment.
Cal leaned down closer to her. “Let me help. I can carry you.”
Her face burned. It was one thing to be on Rafe’s back when he was in wolf form and didn’t feel different from riding a horse. It was another to have Cal carry her through Eral. She bit her lip and fought down the embarrassment burning in her chest. She slouched further on the makeshift crutch and club to relieve some of the pressure off her ankle. Oddly, the transition seemed to make it worse.
“I know it’s not ideal,” Cal told her. “But we need to get away. Let me help you get to safety.”
Rose shook her head. No. She was a fighter and could do this. But the crutch and club wouldn’t do.
Something flashed out of the corner of her eye, and Rose straightened enough to get a better look. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. One ogre had come for them.
Leaves from the bushes rustled off to the side and a pair of yellow eyes peered out at Rose. She gulped and gripped the aids even tighter. “Help me,” she said. “Give me something more so I can get to the swamp.”
Cal took a protective half step toward her and looked out to where Rose’s gaze had fallen. “Rose, who are you talking to?”
The yellow eyes continued to look out at her and narrowed as though it was considering her request. They blinked, then closed, vanishing into the dark forest.
Rose’s lips tightened into a thin line and was ready to jump into the leaves to search for those eyes and gouge them out with her bare hands. Why did it help her with the fight, but not now?
Ai and Finley exchanged confused looks.
Ai cleared her throat. “Rose, is everything all right?”
But before Rose could answer, Finley’s eyes grew wide and her brows rose so high on her forehead, Rose couldn’t even see them under her hat anymore. “Um… what’s that?”
The four of them turned to see a group of trees and bushes shaking and stirring. The green leaves swirled and spun off them into a twisted shape and branches broke off. They flew into the air and a cloud of fog and leaves, and branches spun around. They all instinctively reached for their weapons, and Rose felt ridiculous the moment they did so.
What were they going to use swords and arrows for against plants?
The branches spun around them in a circle and made the air whip through Rose’s hair as though she were stuck in a storm. Her eyes watered from the wind and forced them shut. Then all at once, the wind stopped and the branches and the thuds of things falling to the ground filled the air.
Cal muttered at her side. “What in the deities’ names?”
Rose blinked her eyes open and before her stood a tall creature that looked like a horse made of pieces of Eral Forest. Vines made its long mane and tail, with branches and twigs creating the body, head, and limbs. Moss-covered rocks were at the bottom of each leg like hooves. Then, dark brown acorns made up its eyes.
The wooden horse rocked its head back and forth and stopped its feet like it beckoned Rose to come near. She grasped her walking aids and moved forward toward it.
Deep breaths. It doesn’t hurt that bad.
“Are you here to help?”
The vines and leads rustled as it shook its head up and down. This creature was nothing like Rose had ever seen before.
“Who sent you?”
The wooden horse stopped moving and only looked at her. Its dark acorn eyes bored into Rose’s and yellow flashed through them so fast she almost didn’t see it. Something stirred within her as she looked at the creature. Something she rarely touched or acknowledged, as though they buried it deep and were now sprouting to life.
Rose lay the club aside, extended her arm to the horse, and ran her hand over the viny mane. It came to life at her touch and wrapped itself around her fingers in a warm hug. A half laugh escaped from her.
“Amazing.” She twisted around to talk to Cal. He, Ai, and Finley all gaped at the scene. “Cal, help me on?”
She gave him her aids and used his sturdy shoulder to jump onto the horse’s back. It wasn’t the same as sitting on an animal, but it was preferable to riding on Cal.
“Is this better?” he asked. His hand landed on her thigh, and he gave it a squeeze.
Then again, at least in this circumstance it was. She could think of a few other situations where she wouldn’t mind.
Heat soared through Rose and she suddenly wished the others were around. She glanced up at him, and he had a playful grin on his face.
“I guess so,” she answered. If only they could get some privacy and figure out how to help his own situation. Now that her ankle was in so much pain, she wondered if the jolts from Cal wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe even fun.
Rose’s face warmed, and by the way Cal’s eyes hooded, she wondered if he was thinking the same thing.
A faint chuckle broke Rose out of her lust filled trance. Ai wore a knowing smile and Finley rolled her eyes.
“Should we give you two more privacy?” Ai asked.
Cal backed away as though lightning had struck him. “Where to next, Rose?”
Right. This wasn’t the time or the place. She needed to get herself together. She’d never let a man distract her from her goals before and would not start now.
“The swamp. I think we’re getting close.”
She used the vines as reins and tugged them to guide the horse in the direction she thought they should go. Their time in the ogre camp made Rose lose her sense of where they were, but Eral changed so often even if she knew where she was going, it could still end up wrong. Off to one side, the mud looked thicker and the fog darker, so that was probably where the swamp water was coming from.
The rest turned to follow Rose; all but Finley, who looked over her shoulder in the opposite direction. “But what about the Chalice? Aren’t you going to bring it back to Kartek?” There was a thinness to her voice Rose wasn’t used to.
“We’ll get it, but we’ve made it this far. I’m not giving up on my mission now.”
The pirate queen’s eyes met Ai’s, and they seemed to communicate something to each other in a silent language only the closest of people could understand. It reminded Rose of how she and Cal had their own silent routines and communication. They nodded to each other.
Finley straightened her shoulders and tossed her hair to the side as though she were only deciding where to go to have dinner. Did nothing bother this woman? No matter what happened, she behaved as though these were normal occurrences in life. Maybe for a pirate it was.
“Fine, lead the way.”
Once again, Rose ventured into Eral Forest. The horse maintained its footing, but the others struggled, slipping and tripping over the mud and the mushrooms that seemed to have grown thicker. They climbed and spread over the trees and ground like a lumpy multicolored and poisonous blanket.
The further they went, the darker and damper Eral became. And quieter. Too quiet for Rose’s taste. Eral was usually full of sound and life with the flicker of pixies flying around, the rainbow-colored leaves on the trees, and creatures rustling and clawing about. This deep and this close to the swamp, everything was an odd glowing green, and the only sound came from their feet squishing through the mud and the occasional buzz of insects.
Moisture hung in the air and the green fog filled the space as though they walked through a cloud. Rose pulled her red cloak away from her neck to relieve some of the heat, but it didn’t help. She considered taking it off, but with the luck she’d been having, she needed all the protection she could get.
The horse stopped. It happened so fast Rose nearly fell off and they bumped into Cal, who took a few steps to the side. She gripped the vines tighter to keep her balance. “Whoa! What’s the matter?”
Then the ground shook. At first, it seemed like the tremors of a group of horses galloping through the area and Rose looked around, wondering who was there. The others searched too. Finley and Ai’s brows both furrowed together, and they tightened their jaws as though on high alert. Rose knew soldiers had come through this area, but she didn’t realize anyone remained.
But soon, the trees and bushes shook too. They trembled like the ogres had come back to shake something down from them. Rose reached for the knife hidden in her boot, but Eral went black and a harsh chill burst into the air. She gasped at the sudden cold and felt around for the horse or something to hold on to. She could barely see anything in front of her and only the faint shadowy silhouettes of her companions.
“Rose?” Cal’s voice rang out in the darkness, and Rose extended her arm out to reach for him.
“I’m here, I’m okay,” she reassured him, her hand flailing about until his firm grip grabbed hers. Her breath steadied, at least a little, knowing he was there beside her. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
In the distance, a faint purple glow shimmered in front of them. Once again, all four travel companions prepared to grab their weapons at any moment. It flew toward them then hovered in front of Rose, giving the space a soft purple hue, and allowed Rose to see everyone more clearly. She blinked a few times and saw it was the pixie she’d met earlier who’d been so worried about her friend Daisy.
“Oh, thank Kutalous I found you!” the pixie cried out. Her voice pitch was so high and shrill Rose almost covered her ears. Finley did.
“What are doing here?” Rose asked.
“They commanded me to find you as soon as possible. You must come quickly!”
Rose shook her head, but already her heart dropped into her stomach. The way the little pixie fluttered in panic, and she looked she was about to combust told her that this wasn’t a pleasant command. “Come? Come where?”
“To your grandmother’s house. But I’m afraid it may be too late.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
AMELIA
Amelia waved her arm in front of her face and coughed from the smoke that surrounded the usual chair Kartek sat in. A phoenix cage sat beside her, sparkling ash filled the bottom and a tiny wormlike chick perched on a bar inside of it. She curled her lip at the sight of its barely there feathers that made it look more like a naked rat than a bird. Amelia made the trek to the camp to see how things were progressing, and it was a pathetic sight they greeted her with.
“What do you mean, they’re gone?”
The ogress seemed unbothered because not only Rose and Cal had left the camp, but they took Finley and Ai with them. Amelia hadn’t planned on having Finley and Ai captured too. Then when she heard they were in Eral, she leapt at the opportunity to have them seized. All four being gone was not part of the plan. Water whooshed around inside of her, and she struggled to keep it contained. It’d been too long since she’d shown people what she was capable of and wondered if maybe it was time to let it go.
Kartek sat in her stone seat and counted the teeth on her necklace. She waved an arm toward some tents. “Exactly what those words mean. They’re gone. Rose killed one of my best warriors, took what she wanted and the rest of them with her.”
There had been a massive puddle of blood in the center of the camp. But this was a place inhabited by ogres. Amelia assumed it was nothing unusual. “And you couldn’t stop them? With these ogres around, you couldn’t handle four little humans? I thought I could trust you.”
“Nothing has changed for our bargain.” Kartek put her necklace down and took a long stretch like a cat. “The wolf has been gone for days, so I’m sure the task will be done soon. The bread will be made, and I’ll enter the Trials as planned.”
“But you were supposed to be sure Rose didn’t enter them. If she’s roaming Eral free, we can’t stop her. How am I supposed to kill her if she’s not here?”
Kartek raised and lowered a single shoulder. “I’ll defeat her in the trials. If I don’t kill her, I’m sure you’ll figure out another way that satisfies you.”
“That’s not the point,” Amelia snapped. “You have betrayed me and our agreement by not keeping her here. How am I supposed to trust you now?”
