21. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
Embla
I’ve read stories of wisps, and the wishes they grant. When I saw the small purple flame floating through the air I couldn't stop myself from thinking maybe they could be the ones to cure the illness, and we can go home. I didn't leave Ash too far from here, but when I look back, trees have enclosed me on every side. I can smell smoke, but I can’t hear the thwack of Astrid’s sword against the vines anymore. The silence is deafening. The purple wisp appears again from behind a tree, my gaze following it before it starts to make its way again through the forest. Black vines with long white thorns wrap around some of the trees. I swallow, uncertain if I should turn back. The wisps could solve all our problems, and I would get to go home. This is also my only opportunity to get answers about the faeries who cornered me in the woods that fateful day, and why they came for me. I don’t let my doubts talk me out of it as I plunge after the wisp.
The forest passes around me as I think of what the future will hold now, wondering if Astrid will be successful in finding a cure for our people, or if this is all for naught. The wisp disappears into the side of a boulder. I approach the large rock and gently place a hand against it. Somehow the stone is warm. I press my ear to it and hear a rhythmic thrum. It lifts and falls like it’s breathing under my touch.
A yelp escapes me as it uncurls large gray limbs that have the creature standing taller than the trees. The ground shakes as two more giants join the first. The purple light isn’t a wisp, I walked right into their trap. I turn to run; I won’t be getting answers about faeries from them. The giants don’t give me a chance to get away before hard, calloused hands as wide as my torso close around my waist, lifting me into the air. I struggle to free my arms , only succeeding in scraping the top layer of skin off parts of my limbs. The stone creature lifts me up until we are face to face. I’m greeted with similar hooked noses and hollow eyes. The other two creatures follow, crashing through the forest.
When we reach a clearing, my gaze sweeps across the area. Tall grass is trampled and packed down with a fire that rages in the middle of the small area. Three mounds of dry grass and hay take up most of the perimeter. A tripod has been rigged together with rope and tree trunks to hold a cauldron large enough for a woolly cow over the blaze. The giants move around the clearing gathering knives, vegetables, and leafy plants I can only assume are spices.
“Zaejin, you can’t use thyme with human meat. Try this pepper root,” one of the other creatures says to the one closest to me, its voice like rocks grinding together. Zaejin drops me on the ground near the cauldron and I stand. Without a second thought, I sprint to the tree line hoping to disappear among the vines and trunks. I don’t even get five steps away.
“Zaejin,” the third giant sing-songs as his fingers snatch me into the air. “Your pet was trying to escape. Hand me the rope.”
I would have covered my ears at the sound of his voice if my arms weren’t stuck at my sides. The rope is heavy, immobilizing me before he’s finished wrapping it around my waist, pinning my arms there. I try to pull my arms free, but this only succeeds in making my earlier wounds sting and burn where they rub against my bindings. Tears well in my eyes as fear climbs up my throat. The creature chops their vegetables, adding them to the liquid in the pot. They continue to add ingredients to the cauldron for some time until Zaejin turns to me. His thumb and forefinger pinch around the ropes that constrict more with his touch making it difficult for me to breathe.
“Put me down you… you cretin! My sister will come for me,” I huff out, my legs thrashing in the air. He plops me into the pot, the warm liquid splashing slightly before settling. Fear rocks my stomach, threatening to turn into nausea and my hope that Astrid will come wanes as the trolls prepare to cook me for dinner.
I study the tree line, begging for any sign that Astrid is here and ready to save me... again . Why can’t I do anything right? My stomach drops at the thought of Ash getting here too late to save me from becoming dinner. My fear spikes into panic at the thought. I struggle against the rope binding me, wishing it would loosen. When that doesn't work I shake my head trying to remove the hysteria. I can’t let myself think that way. There’s still time. I know Astrid is coming for me. This will not be the end of my story.
Shadows that look like fog billow from the forest, obscuring the ground blanketing the clearing. The light dims around us, the fire being the only source until shadows snuff that out too.
“Did the demons follow us?” the tallest of the trolls asks, freezing, knife hovering over the carrots.
“The dragons said they would make sure they made it back behind the wards of Mor Ed Helen before anyone noticed,” Zaejin says, his voice far more confident than the stony look taking over his face. “We weren’t having any issues until we caught this one. Is this your magic, witch?”
“I don’t have magic. I’m human,” I snap before using my teeth to bite at the ropes that bind me. Demons. Without Demendia’s walls, are they something I have to worry about now? Mor Ed Helen or not, I don’t want to be around when they decide to attack. The wind picks up, and I gnaw quicker , seeing the shadows wax and wane like waves in a pool.
“Are you certain it's not demons? That the dragons held up their end?” One of the other giants asks , approaching the cauldron.
“No,” Zaejin says, fear enters his voice, and he becomes paler. Two silhouettes materialize in the clearing. A grinding growl sounds from the darkness, and Zaejin takes a few steps back only to trip over his brother’s foot. With a howl, he falls crashing into one of their makeshift shelters. A large crash shakes the clearing as the rocks fall. Zaejin darts to his feet.
“You can stay and eat, but I’m not going to stick around for one of them to claim my body,” he says before fleeing the clearing with the other giants close on his heels. The ground shakes with their retreating steps. They leave me tied in a cauldron, like a second thought.
I struggle trying to free myself from the ropes as the silhouettes glide closer. I can't die here; I'm going to get home again. In between heartbeats , the sun breaks through the shadows as the dark fog dissipates to reveal Astrid and a stranger.
“If you’re done playing house with day trolls we need to get out of these woods,” Astrid approaches the cauldron placing her hands on her hips. It takes a few tries, but Astrid shimmies up the trunk holding the cauldron over the fire. Hanging from her knees she grabs my bindings , swinging until she tosses me over the edge of the cauldron and into the stranger’s arms.
“Hi, I’m Effie. I’ve heard so much about you,” she says cheerfully, setting me on my feet before slicing through the rope that holds me. Recognition flits through me. She’s the fae they were hunting in Demendia. I turn a questioning look to Astrid as anger simmers in my chest.
Under the cover of the forest’s canopy, the branches stretch across the open sky. I should be relieved, but my anger bubbles each time I look at Effie. A reminder that not even my sister can be trusted to do what she says she will. I walk in silence behind Astrid and Effie as they whisper-argue, trying to keep their conversation quiet.
“You’ve met her before in Demendia,” Astrid stresses, between me and the fae.
“She obviously doesn’t remember or she wouldn’t have looked at me like that. She’s angry, Ash. You need to talk to her,” Effie insists. After a few more minutes the fae stops, glancing around. “This is a good enough place to camp for the night,” she announces, breaking away from her and Astrid’s back and forth. “I’m going to hunt for something to eat, if you two can set up camp.” Her eyes drift between Ash and me.
“We can do that.” Astrid sighs, and the fae disappears into the forest, as though the trees claim her as one of their own.