24. Ever Woods
Ever Woods
Rez
As we wait to be called to the portals, Ryker takes the opportunity to tell us what we missed while Gus was talking.
Since this Gauntlet mirrors the very first one, we will visit the Fae Realm, Tranquil Waters, Ever Woods, and Hell.
Apparently, the natural elements we might find that look carved might as well have been made by the first students, so Ryker reminds us to use them well.
My night prior was so chaotic that I didn’t have a chance to share my information with everyone, plus I was a mess from the bloody arm that Reaper found, so I just went home and went to sleep.
I tell Levi the bad news that our memories will soon leave him, and that he will eventually actually seek out Emer, and he goes slightly pale at the news. I’m sure he’s realizing that’s why he allowed the sea serpent around him last night.
I continue to tell them that L.A.M.B. is one of our sponsors and that Murmur named the same places Gus did.
Ryker has read up on them, but no one has ever been to them, so, except for Hell, we are pretty much going in blind.
That’s practically our backyard now and shouldn’t be a problem for us, theoretically.
I also share the news that my magic will be unreliable from here on out, but I was able to place a small, yet thin shield around everyone this morning with the help of the healing waters.
As groups pass through the portals ahead of us, I watch a few brazen supes approach JP and Moni, offering them a spot on their teams. The first couple of people to ask, it’s obvious that Moni and JP are surprised and somewhat flustered by the request, but after the fourth time, Chester and Zeke start running interference.
Let’s just say, a lot of teeth and cross words are used until groups just start to give us a wide berth.
“Princes of Nova, you’re up.”
As we turn towards our portal, I notice we’re the last group moving into position.
There’s no one else waiting for a portal besides us.
So much for being important. Picking up Reaper, I step through and immediately put him down, but before I can grab his leash, he runs…
straight into an invisible force field that intercepts him and makes him yelp.
“Teaches you to just up and run off. You know better. We’re at war, buddy,” I reprimand as I pick up his leash and step to the side, making room for the rest.
“What’s going on?” Zeke comes out with his rings activated.
“Easy, slasher.” I put a hand on his arm, pushing it back down. “Reaper is just picking a fight with the shield,” I point out as we look over and see Reaper slowly slide down the invisible wall while his tongue stays stuck to the shield.
“Well, it looks like we have a minute before we’re set free,” Levi comments.
“How do you know?” Chester asks, and Levi simply points up.
Above us, in red, is a counter, ticking down the seconds.
“Oh, well, that makes sense,” Chester agrees, pushing up his glasses. “So how are we going to do this?”
“Hell worked out pretty well for us, so let’s take up those same roles. Defense, Healer, Warrior, that kind of thing, and improvise where we can,” Knox throws out.
“For private matters, use JP and Knots so whatever cameras are around here don’t pick it up. I don’t like the idea of us being watched 24/7,” Levi adds.
We all agree, and a chime rings out right when I get assaulted by a temperature change from a comfortable yet warm summer morning to a downright chill running down to my bones, and the sky darkens to dusk.
“Fuck. I forgot how cold this place could be,” Ryker howls, rubbing his arms.
“At least you listened to me and wore leathers and not the shit you wanted to,” Knox chuckles as he takes a step forward and starts sniffing. “If we’re meant to live off the land, we might as well look for sources of water and shelter, right?”
“I’d rather figure out which way the portal is first,” Levi states.
“Can we find shelter?” Moni asks.
Before we can agree, Fluffers is in front of me, being tackled by Reaper. *SIGH* Boys will be boys.
At least Reaper is a glowing torch for us to see by.
I don’t know how long we walk as we head north, in the direction of the portal, according to Levi’s calculations, until we run into a group of four students, a mixture of all our academies, going west. A few pause for a moment, assessing us, before nodding and continuing their way west. I assume they don’t see us as competition or worth their fight to take us on, and we don’t need the distraction.
Storm clouds are rolling in, and the fog is thickening around our feet and creeping up our calves, making visibility harder.
“I wish I had fucking wings. This shit is for the damn harbingers,” Zeke complains, yanking his foot free of a patch of weeds.
I shudder at the reminder of the furry worms on skeleton legs. After seeing their teeth, I think I would have a better chance with a piranha, but Zeke does have a point. We’re getting nowhere with this stuff.
“Maybe we should find shelter and let this pass. It looks like it’s going to storm anyway,” I suggest.
“What’s that?” a feminine voice screams off to our right.
We turn as a group to find a team of six women, all dressed in dark green and black fatigues, about twenty feet away, scrambling backward and tripping over themselves frantically.
“Wait, I don’t see it,” one of the redheads cries out.
I scan the area right in front of them, but don’t see any visible predators or other enemies pursuing them.
“There it is,” a brunette woman points down at the ground.
The redhead next to her screams as her skin and hair quickly blacken to the color of her outfit, before cracking and floating down like ash to the ground.
Her screams never stop, I realize, because it’s carried on from her other teammates as they follow in her demise.
Piles of ash just fall to the ground as I back up away from the site.
“The Sulks,” I whisper.
I hope it’s full, or it’s picked a new target that is not us.
“I suggest we head this way to try and find shelter. Keep your eyes on the ground,” Knots says.
There’s no reason to argue, so we agree to look for shelter and keep an eye on the ground, and after about thirty minutes, we come across a promising area to rest and maybe get some fresh water.
“Is that a glen, a swamp, or a pond?” Zeke asks, coming up beside me and leaning against a tree. He peers over my head as he looks between the break of trees, seeing the cropping of rocks across the way.
“I’m not sure what’s on the ground, but I’m more interested in that cave I see up there.” Knots points. “I think I see an opening, which we might be able to use to bunker down in before it rains.”
“Well, I for one am ready to get out of this mist,” Lynx complains, stepping up and out of the black mist onto a stump.
It only lasts a few seconds until the mist follows and seems to cling to his boots.
“It’s like a stage-five clinger who’s finally ready to lose her virginity, and you're the only male around.”
“No one would be that desperate to cling to you,” Knots snorts. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Hey! I thought you guys made up?” I ask, motioning between the two of them.
“Just because firewood deserved to be dusted off every once in a while doesn’t mean I can’t burn it,” Lynx replies with a smile and jumps down. “Now, ladies first,” he says, bowing and swinging his arm out wide for me to lead.
“You asshole.” I push him, and he stumbles in front of me.
Click.
His eyes go wide as he freezes.
“Um, guys. I think I stepped on something.”
“Ya think!” I hiss, but before I can do anything, air is jolted from me as a force hits me, knocking me to the ground and falling with me.
I quickly push my curls out of my face to see Ryker’s beautiful face staring down at me.
“Ryker?”
“Sorry, Goddess, but I wasn’t about to let you be skewered.” His labored breathing blows into my face as his eyes dart to the tree behind me, where there’s an axe embedded.
“Fuck!” I whisper.
‘Cyanide. 9 O’clock,’ Knots yells. ‘Archers in the trees.’
Well, at least I know who’s trying to kill me.
“Stay down,” Ryker tells me before he rolls off of me and disappears in the fog, which is now up to our thighs.
I’m not about to stay out of this fight. I might not have reliable powers, but that doesn’t make me helpless. I get to my feet and pull my glavies, staying low to the ground, when I hear a twig snap, freezing me in place.
‘Lynx? That’s not you flanking me, is it?’ I ask, slowly pivoting to my right.
‘No. I’m sneaking up to this archer in my Lynx form,’ he replies. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Oh. Then can you let everyone know, there’s possibly more out here than the archers in the trees?’
‘What do you mean?’ he asks, worry evident in his words.
‘You and I were ahead of everyone, Lynx. Someone is flanking me from my right. You do the math, yo—’
I don’t even get a chance to finish my sarcastic sentence as a battle cry rings out and an outline of fog leaps at me.
It’s not really a solid form I see, but a moving landscape that breaks away from the background.
If I weren’t staring at the fog, I would easily miss the movement, but I quickly raise my glaives and block the knife coming down for my throat.
“Bailiwick! I don’t know how many,” I scream it out loud, forgoing the internal communication we had agreed on, since I need this information out as fast as possible.
I think I see something move in the fog and dodge, guessing which way to move, but I guess wrong, and I hiss as I’m cut along my ribs. “I’m fighting the Hollowman here, could use some help,” I yell and dodge once more, but this time I kick out and take pleasure in making contact.
“Got you, Rez,” Levi calls out, and a blast of light shoots across the area, making my eyes slightly water.
Blinking, I focus once again and see a petite little devil in front of me, decked out in blades, a medallion around her neck, and what looks like tar balled up in her hand.
“Peek-a-boo. Now I see you,” I say with a smile.
The look on her face pleases me as her eyes go wide and her jaw drops slightly. Her medallion flashes briefly, and she stands up taller, grabbing a knife. The tar slides over the blade as she reaches back to throw it, and before she can blink, there’s a sia, poking out of her gurgling neck.
“Didn’t Astaroth tell you not to play with your kills?” Moni says, flying up next to me with a slight smile.
“Since when did you become such a badass?” I ask, watching as she grows to her four-foot self and takes her sia, wiping it off on the grass at her feet.
She gives me a thoughtful look.
“I guess it started just now. Pretty cool, huh?” A large smile slowly spreads on her face, and I move to hug her, but I push her to the ground instead.
I dive, pushing a hand holding a knife up and into the air, and slicing in and out with my glaive, gutting the other Bailiwick student that was creeping up on us.
I wouldn’t have been able to see him if it weren’t for Levi’s spell that uncloaked the asshole.
I don’t even think the guy knew he was visible, to be honest.
The shock on his face definitely tells me he didn’t think it was possible.
“See, it’s a good thing I have a bestie watching my back! I’m gonna do a swim-by to check if there’s any more goons. Be right back. Toodles.” Moni shrinks down and zips off out of sight before I can stop her.
“Drive-by Moni, it’s called a drive-by,” I murmur, feeling the sting in my ribs, but thankfully, it’s just a scratch.
As everyone converges back to me, Knox shifts and points to the right.
“There’s a small trail leading up to the cave that Knots saw. I don’t know the full condition, but it looked fine, from what I could see,” he explains, scraping bark along his tongue afterward.
“Are you okay?” I can’t help but worry as he spits out saliva after he scrapes off all of his taste buds.
“Yeah, why do you ask?” He furrows his brow while he scrapes another layer from his tongue.
“Maybe because you’re getting rid of your best feature?” Ryker answers.
Knox chuckles, “Ah. No. My best feature is my dick. Ain’t it, Kitten?
” Heat immediately flushes to my cheeks as he winks at me.
“But to answer your question, one of the Cyanide students coated their skin with poison, and it tastes funny on my tongue,” he explains, scraping at it with the bark once again.
“Okay…then.” I slowly turn away from my Alpha and his weird dental habits, and spot Moni flying back to us.
“Guys! Look!” she screams, waving something in the air that’s bigger than her hand. “I found something.”
Right as she reaches us, the sky opens up and douses us with rain.
“Fuck. Let’s save this for the cave. Let’s go. Knox, lead the way,” Levi suggests, turning to our Alpha as he’s already shifted back into his wolf form.
The good news is that with the rain, the fog lifts, allowing us to see where we are stepping. The bad news is that now the rain has awakened the greenery, and the vines are out for blood. Too bad it doesn’t want the blood of the already deceased.
Thorny vines whip out, slashing at us as we make our way to the path of the incline. As my glaives slice through one vine and I take a couple of steps, another vine snakes up the path to once again block my way.
“This is taking forever,” Zeke yells over the pounding of the rain.
“Let me try something,” Moni shouts back, putting her sias away. Immediately, Chester, JP, and Zeke surround her and start hacking away at the shrubbery that inches her way.
She spreads her hands out wide, and my mouth drops as I watch green sparkles come out of her hands and seek out the rogue plantlife.
As her magic touches a hostile patch of greenery, it jerks as if it’s been electrocuted and drops to the wooded ground.
I turn to look back at my bestie as her eyes pop open and she breaks out into laughter.
“I did it! I really did. I truly am a badass. I saved us.” Moni does a little shuffle until Chester grabs her shoulders and kisses her in the rain. It would be a swoon moment if I weren’t getting colder by the second.
“Great. Thanks for saving us, but can we not freeze to death?” The annoyance in Lynx’s voice is not missed, given the frosty look Moni shoots him.
“This way. Come on, Kitty Litter, you won’t freeze to death out here, you’re practically a rug,” Knots urges as we follow him up the incline.
“Sure, says the firewood we’re going to use at our camp,” Lynx mumbles next to me.
Aww, the joys of camping. And to think I missed all of this when I was back home on Earth. Something tells me the act wasn’t the same thing.