Chapter 9 #3
She bobbed at eye level while glowing a dizzying mix of purples and blues. She was about the size of my arm from elbow to fingertips, but she was powerful, especially here in her grove. Her long hair covered most of her tiny body, save for her wings, face, and feet. A feral, terrifying thing.
“Hello,” I greeted. “I apologize for trespassing.”
She flew to my other side while giggling. An arm no bigger than a twig appeared from her hair, and she held her hand to her mouth as she laughed. “So funny,” she said softly. “There’s no need to apologize.”
I squinted at her. “Still, I shouldn’t have disturbed you. I’ll go back to my fire now.”
“You can’t,” she said with another giggle, this time more mocking than humorous. My stomach knotted. “Not until I tell you a secret.”
My fingers strained around the hilt of my sword. “No, thank you. I don’t want to know. I’d like to just leave.”
Her expression dropped into a pout. “Please? I have something to say to you, Ellinore the Brave.”
I froze. My throat went tight with fear. Oh, that wasn’t good. That wasn’t good at all.
She laughed again, more sinister than airy.
“Oh yes,” she said with a twirl, her hair fanning out around her as if she were a dandelion puff in the wind.
“I know your name. I heard them talking about you. It’s not every day that the greatest quester the kingdom has ever known graces your grove with her presence. ”
“My reputation precedes me.”
I slid my foot backward along the ground, trying to test how far the boundary of her influence extended behind me. But she noticed. Her pout became a pronounced frown, then her eyes narrowed. She flew over my shoulder and grabbed my ponytail in her small hand and tugged.
I bit down on a yelp and resisted smacking her away with the back of my hand.
She huffed in displeasure when I didn’t react, and flew around to face me again, her hand still tangled in the strands of my hair. “Don’t you want to know what I know?”
I did, but I wasn’t about to say so or ask. That way lay tricks and trials. “No.”
“You’re no fun, Ellinore.” She released me and crossed her arms over her torso, her long hair tangling around her ankles as she hovered. “I only wanted to play a game and have a little fun. It’s so rare that I get to have fun with humans nowadays. Not since the road became less traveled.”
I took another step backward. Something snapped beneath my heel, loud enough to break through her silence.
I chanced a glance down to find the bleached bones of a human hand gleaming in the moonlight, the finger bone cracked cleanly beneath my boot.
No doubt the rest of the skeleton loitered beneath the flora of the forest floor.
I swallowed. “What about them?” I croaked, jerking my chin in the hand’s direction.
“Oh,” she said, covering her mouth again and letting out another giggle.
“Oops. Well, that human wasn’t as fun. He tried to use his sword instead of his brain.
Like most of the human rabble that tromp through my grove carrying weapons.
Always attacking before engaging in conversation.
” She clucked her tongue and shook her head.
“He was too easy, honestly. At least you’re giving me a challenge. ”
I swallowed, suddenly certain there was more than one skeleton on the forest floor. A drop of sweat ran down from my temple, and I wiped it away with my fingers.
She strangely stilled and her large eyes widened, glossy and silver beneath the moons. She flew closer, hovering near my wrist.
“Now, where did you get that?” she asked, voice soft with awe.
I looked down, and the slim silver of Dave’s bracelet glinted in the light emanating from her. “From a good friend.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, that changes things.”
None of the other minor magical creatures had seemed phased by the presence of the bracelet before. Or if they had been, they didn’t mention it.
“It does?”
“Yes,” she said sadly. “I can’t play with you and risk the ire of a dragon. A dragon is an ancient, and far more powerful than a second being like myself. They breathe fire, you know.” She cupped her hand around her mouth. “That’s dangerous to forest faeries.”
Relief washed over me. “I understand. I’m leaving now.” I turned, intent on running as fast as I could. I didn’t know if she would allow me to go that easily, but it was worth a try.
“Wait!” She flew in front of me. “I still want to tell you a secret, Ellinore. I’ll make it a gift, since you didn’t try to trick me or capture me or threaten me with your friend’s power.” She zipped to a branch and sat down, crossing her legs and wiggling her dainty toes. “You’re being followed.”
“What?”
She smiled, wide and eerie, her teeth sharp, little glistening points. “Something is pursuing you. It’s on the other side of the forest right now, and it is speaking your name. It wants something from you.”
“It wants something?”
“Yes,” she said, wings fluttering. “It’s not friendly and it’s not far.”
This was a trick. It had to be. She was attempting to frighten me, to get me to make a foolish move so she could trap me, as she had the person before. I mean, I hoped she was. Otherwise, I was in more danger than I assumed. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Why would I lie?” she asked with a melodic hum. At my raised eyebrow, she added, “I wouldn’t lie to a friend of a dragon. I know better.”
I gulped. Okay. That was terrifying information all the way around. “What is it, then? What’s following me?”
She plunked her chin on her fist, elbow propped on her knee, and tsked. “I already gave you a gift. Any further information would constitute a game.” She pointed to the skeletal arm on the forest floor. “Those are the rules. Dragon or no.”
I took the hint. Okay. No more questions.
“Thank you.”
She perked up, her expression easing into one more friendly.
“You’re welcome, Ellinore the Brave.” She cocked her head to the side, as if listening to a sound I couldn’t perceive; then her smile sharpened again into something threatening and wild.
“Though I should warn you, if one of your companions crosses over the boundary of my grove as you did, I can’t promise their safety. ”
Zig! Aven!
She waved her tiny hands. “You should go.”
I didn’t need any more prompting. I ran, uncaring that I crashed through the underbrush, snapping twigs and generally making too much noise.
The fire still burned in the distance, much lower than when I’d left it, but a guiding light all the same.
As I approached it, the sound of the forest came roaring back in—the hoots of an owl, the scurrying of animals underfoot, and the sound of Aven calling my name.
Oh, thank the ancients. I quickly glanced over my shoulder, the flickering blue of the faery disappearing between the trees, but I didn’t slow my pace.
I had to keep Aven and Zig out of the forest. Not only was that feral faery terrifying, but she knew of my friendship with Dave.
She could reveal my secret to Aven or Zig.
And that would be worse than trapping them in her grove.
Whipping my head around, I let out a strangled yell as I smacked right into Aven’s chest.
We tumbled to the dirt. I had the awareness to drop my sword, lest I skewer them as we slammed to the forest floor. Their back slapped against the ground, and they let out an “oof” as I fell square on top of them, my chin bouncing against their collarbone.
They groaned. “Ellinore?” they rasped.
I scrambled off them, fully aware of how I’d landed on them with my full weight and how we’d pressed together in interesting ways, and fully embarrassed about it. However, I’d have time to freak out later. Right then, knowing Aven was relatively safe, I had to get to Zig.
I grabbed their hand and tugged them upright.
“Ellinore?” they asked again.
“Yes. It’s me. Let’s go.”
“Where have you been? I’ve been calling your name. I never found the source of the noise and—”
“Doesn’t matter.” I picked up their bow and shoved it into their hand, then yanked my sword from a pile of leaves. “Don’t go farther into the forest. Come with me!”
Aven huffed. “I know you’re the leader but—”
“It’s not safe, Aven! We have to leave! Now!”
I didn’t have time for them to second-guess, and Zig—oh my ancients, Zig!—was all by himself. What if he woke up and wandered away, looking for us? What if something else stumbled upon him? I linked my fingers with Aven’s and took off, pulling them along behind me.
“What’s gotten into you?” they asked, panting. “Did something happen?”
“I met a wild forest faery,” I said. “She tried to trick me, but when I didn’t succumb to her game, she told me that there was something in the woods following us and it’s hostile.”
“What’s following us? Did she tell you?” Aven asked, stumbling after me.
“No clue.”
“And you trust her?”
“I don’t want to take the risk of not believing her.” I couldn’t very well explain to Aven that the faery wouldn’t lie to someone under the protection of a dragon. That would just ruin everything.
“But—”
I whirled on them, finger pointed at their chest. “ ‘Ellinore the Brave’ does not mean ‘Ellinore the Foolish.’ ”
Their expression morphed into one of confusion. “I never said it did.”
Right. They hadn’t. Well, fine. “Good. Let’s go.”
We lurched into the makeshift campsite, and my knees went weak to find Zig right where we’d left him—asleep in his bedroll.
But my relief was short lived at the sight of our bags tossed about.
Someone or something had been here and had clearly disturbed the soil, though there were no discernible footprints.
“Did you do this?” I whispered to Aven.
They shook their head. “No. I’ve been searching for you.” They picked up their open saddlebag. “Our bags have been rifled through.”
“Please tell me they were looking for gold.”
Aven held up a purse that clinked when they jostled it. “Not quite.”
Shit. That could mean several things—that whatever had done this wasn’t something swayed by gold. Maybe another faery or a curious sprite had stumbled into our camp. Or, if a human, they were looking for something else other than coin.
“The scroll you found…”
“At the castle. I didn’t bring it with me.”
“Good,” I said, picking up my saddlebag. I shoved my hand inside to find my own bag of gold hadn’t been taken. Thankfully, I’d kept the countdown scroll in the small bag attached to my sword belt. “Believe me now?”
“I always believed you,” Aven said without hesitation.
The unwavering truth in that statement made me pause. I’d expected a snarky comeback, not blind acceptance.
Aven continued, despite my internal confusion. “But yes, we should go.” They cleared their throat. “The king would not want our quest to be hindered.”
Oh, right. The king. I’d almost forgotten that the only reason Aven was even with us was to report back to the Crown. Well, at least they’d hear about an exciting encounter with a faery. I’m certain the bards could spin it into something long and fanciful and utterly untrue.
We quickly packed our things. I woke Zig with several hard shakes. Luckily, because of the travel, he had slept like the dead; otherwise, whatever had done this might not have wanted to leave a witness behind.
“What’s happening?” Zig slurred.
“We’re leaving.”
“What? Why?”
“A faery tried to kill me,” I said simply.
Zig’s eyes shot open. He rushed out of his bedroll. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly. Come on. We have to move. It’s not safe for us out here.”
We woke our mounts, quickly saddled them, and tied our bags. I bent my head to Zig as Aven led their stallion out of the trees. “Do you still have it?” I whispered.
Zig’s eyebrows drew together. He slipped his hand under the collar of his tunic, where he kept a bag tied close to his chest, and took out the cloth. I wilted in relief.
“Good. Keep it hidden.”
He nodded. “Yeah, okay. Did a faery seriously try to…” He made a slashing motion with his fingers over his throat.
“Yes. I stepped on the bony hand of her previous victim. It wasn’t great.”
His wide eyes reflected the moons. “Wow. Okay. Glad I was asleep.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
Bluebell and Carrot plodded slowly to the road to join Aven and their steed. We mounted and rode toward Ashin by the light of the moons and stars. I kept my sword within easy reach, and I noticed that Aven had slung their quiver across their back instead of tying it to their horse.
I hoped that whatever had gone through our bags was merely a curious creature and not whatever malicious entity the faery had warned me about. It had not been motivated by gold, but it had been searching for something. At least it hadn’t found the scrap of magic cloth.
But that didn’t do much to allay my worries. The faery had heard my name spoken in the forest, which meant that whatever was tracking me had to know what I was after. Which made this whole journey even more dangerous than I’d initially feared.