Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
“Well, that’s not ominous or anything,” Freya commented as we approached a rickety old bridge. Men’s heads had been shoved onto pikes near a sign that read NONE WELCOME AHEAD. They had been all but cleaned of their flesh.
“A little theatrical, isn’t he?” Narcissa observed. “This Ember King isn’t subtle.”
“No, he’s not,” Auggie agreed, shifting his eyes to Freya. “Neither is your friend’s green skin. She’s definitely going to stand out in Kingsbury, you know.”
I nodded slowly. “We don’t exactly plan on staying long. We’ll get by. Worst case, she can teleport us away.”
“She also has four arms,” Auggie pointed out as he watched Freya’s extra limbs lift from beneath her cloak to test the rope that held up the bridge.
“It’s a little unsettling at first, but you get used to it.”
“I haven’t gotten used to it,” Therese croaked, wriggling out of my bag.
Auggie stared at the frog. “Ah. I thought it would be just the cat. Do animals talk around all witches? Because it is rather charming.”
“You hear that, Callum?” Narcissa purred. “I’m charming.”
“He’s just being nice,” I grunted. I leaned over to whisper to Auggie. “Don’t encourage them.”
A man, hanging by his neck from a nearby tree, swung gently in the breeze. He was in much better shape than the heads, just beginning to decay. I brightened, stepping forward and pulling out a dagger. With one fluid motion, I snipped one of the man’s toes.
“Developing a taste for toes now too?” Narcissa asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Toes?” Auggie echoed.
“She’s teasing,” I assured Auggie. “It’s for the potion to change Therese back. One of the ingredients. Hangman’s toe.”
“Only one more to find, right?” Therese asked excitedly.
“That’s right,” I said, then cocked my head. “Lexi didn’t perchance say how long this potion of hers to allow you to speak would last, did she?”
“No,” said Narcissa. “But it’s far superior to your potion.”
“I would like to see her recipe. So that I might burn it and never have to suffer such extended torture again.”
Freya rolled her eyes.
I eyed the nearest head; the man’s face was twisted into a scream of agony.
I felt a lurch of worry for our safety, but if things really got bad, Freya could teleport us away easily enough.
Although … I paused to reach my fingers into the skull, my fingertips dancing over the teeth. I began to salivate.
“What are you doing?” Auggie hissed.
“Witches have need of ingredients,” I hissed back.
“Have you no shame?” Narcissa sniffed, staring up at me with scrutiny.
“What?” I frowned down at her. “They don’t need them anymore.”
Freya crossed her arms. “You could leave the dead with some dignity intact.”
Even though my heart sank at the thought of leaving such delectable morsels behind, I supposed I had to consider my company. Auggie was looking a little green. No doubt due to his soft human heart. “Fine,” I grumbled, dropping my hand. “They’re probably dried out and flavorless anyway.”
I shifted my attention back to the bridge and its skulls marking the beginning of the Ember King’s territory and all it promised. Below, water raged past.
I hesitated before I stepped onto the bridge. I really did not want to have a confrontation with another witch following the events with Ambrosia, but I had little choice. I only hoped we would be able to avoid this witch’s scrutiny until we reached Kingsbury.
It was irritating how slow our progress was, especially as I watched the sun traverse the sky far too quickly for my liking.
Auggie showed less haste as the day went on, and I worried his ankle might have something to do with it, but he insisted he was fine when I put the question to him and picked up his pace for a time.
As we ventured into a particularly dark patch of forest, the sun was sinking over the horizon, slowly sending the world into shadowy darkness.
Howls erupted across the land. At first, they could have been mistaken for ferocious winds, but as more joined the chorus, a shudder ran down my spine. There were so many, and some of them sounded far too close for my liking.
“We have to hurry,” I said.
“We can only go so fast,” Freya said. “And your magic is surely sufficient to deter any demon-hounds, as is my blade.”
“And we can always surround ourselves with salt if we need to,” Narcissa pointed out.
She was right, of course. But I still didn’t like knowing that the demon-hounds were out there. I felt exposed. “Everyone, just make sure to stay close.”
“Not a problem,” Auggie assured me. He prodded a sack of salt ahead of him that floated lazily over the ground. He sent nervous looks into the trees around us. Good. He should be frightened.
“You know, I feel like I’m on a flying carpet,” Therese said, throat bobbing excitedly from where she perched atop one of the bags.
Auggie gave the bag a nudge forward, and Therese squealed like it was some sort of thrill ride.
We passed beneath a canopy of dense foliage. “Do you see those pretty brown bats in the trees overhead?” Narcissa asked.
I squinted up into the trees but couldn’t pick out the bats from the darkness. I would need to take another draft of the potion to enhance my sight.
“They’re like little drumsticks, fluttering from one branch to another, and me, unable to eat them,” Narcissa lamented. “Listen to their cheer. They’re mocking me!” She paused to cough up another furball, her third on this stretch of our journey.
“I don’t think they have much meat on their bones,” Therese said, attempting to soothe Narcissa. “They would barely sate your appetite.”
Narcissa looked up. “Oh, you think so?”
“Absolutely. They’re not worth catching.”
“Very well.”
The forest parted ahead, and we all stilled as a clearing opened up in our path, lit sporadically by torches.
It stretched on for several yards beneath the sky.
Fully dark, hard-packed earth with patches of wild grass and long-dead tree stumps led to a stone wall fifteen feet high.
The wall encompassed a large area, that of several city blocks.
At each corner, sheltered platforms loomed high in the air, serving as watchtowers.
The moment we stepped into the clearing, we would be spotted.
“How do we proceed?” Freya asked.
“What do you mean, how do we proceed?” Auggie asked, frowning. “We march up to their doors with the salt.”
I exchanged a look with Freya, who assessed the camp for another moment, before nodding to herself.
“It won’t escape their notice that the salt bags are levitating.
They’ll know straightaway that witches are among the party.
We should demonstrate that we are no threat and walk slowly to the fence with arms held high. ”
“Will they even listen to reason?” Narcissa asked, cocking her head. “If they’ve been terrorized by the Ember King for so long, why would they believe we don’t mean them harm?”
“I could go on alone,” Auggie suggested.
“No,” I said, too quickly. “They might mistake you for a witch. We’ll do as Freya suggests.
If it comes to a fight, I’ll have a protection potion in hand that I can quickly throw over us.
It’ll deflect any arrows, at least.” I glanced at Freya.
“If they storm out of the gates, it won’t be much help though. ”
Freya suggested, “Then I’ll fight them off while you escape. They will have the salt at their door. They’ll take it. Augustus’s quest will have been fulfilled.”
Auggie nodded slowly. “That’s true. As much as I would like to see Kingsbury, the main thing is that they have the salt.”
I sent him a look. If we’d come this far, he was going to get his look at the town.
“All right, let’s do this, and hope they react like civilized people.
” I stepped into the clearing, arms raised.
I nudged a floating bag of salt ahead of me.
When no arrows sailed through the air, I gained confidence and walked faster.
I glanced back once to make sure the others were following my example.
Narcissa kept her wings folded back against her body to make herself look like a normal black cat, while Freya had two of her arms hidden beneath her cloak. That was for the best.
It was clear from the noise behind the wall that we had attracted notice.
People yelled and shouted orders. Their voices grew louder the closer we drew to a closed steel gate set into the wall.
I noted the salt encircling the wall, a pitifully thin trail that looked weather-worn in places.
When I stopped a dozen feet from the gate, a small iron covering slid open a peephole in one of the doors at eye level and revealed three pairs of eyes staring out at me expectantly.
“We heard you have need of salt,” Auggie said in a loud, clear voice. “We brought it so that you may remain protected from the Ember King.”
There seemed to be some sort of debate taking place behind the doors, and the iron suddenly slid shut across the small opening.
We stood for a minute with bated breath.
Freya might have to open a portal if things turned ugly fast. I wanted her to be prepared.
She seemed to understand my look and gave one nearly imperceptible nod, before a loud screeching filled the air and the iron door slowly lifted ahead of us.
Auggie looked visibly relieved, but it was short-lived; the gate raised to reveal five men armed with pikes and morning stars, advancing on us, grim-faced.
Behind this entourage was an elderly man in a dark blue robe and a beard that tufted low beneath his wrinkled chin. He considered us with cold blue eyes.
“What do you want in return?” the man asked.
I frowned. “Nothing. It’s yours.”