Chapter Fourteen #2
“Uh, I mean …” Before I could think of a correction, everyone cried out in alarm.
The sunlight burned our newly sensitive eyes, and everyone scrambled to find some way to block it out.
Fitz held a book up to his forehead, Delilah flipped her hair into a fluffy curtain, and Angelica scrambled to stand in Maximus’ looming shadow.
Maximus and I both opted to hold our packs over our heads.
“Are we going to be blinded by the sun until the damn potion wears off?” I demanded.
“No,” Angelica said. Then added a slightly more hesitant, “I don’t think so …”
“We did this out of order,” I complained. “We should have done the night vision potion last.”
“Whining won’t help anyone,” Fitz said. He removed his glasses with his free hand and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “Let’s get this over with. Everyone double check your packs, then let me know when you’re ready.”
I lowered my pack and squinted through the bright light as I checked the contents. Bedroll, three changes of clothes, a miniature first aid kit, two canteens with fresh water, a money pouch, and two weeks’ worth of food.
Angelica’s pouch held most of our supplies since it compressed all the items into almost weightlessness. It hung off her belt, a thief’s perfect temptation.
“Maybe someone else should carry that for you,” I said, nodding toward the pouch.
She arched an eyebrow. “I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own supplies.”
“Our supplies, you mean. You’ve got the extra food, the potions, the research books, even a spare pair of Fitz’s glasses. What happens if you drop it, or someone takes it from you?”
She placed her hand over the rapier hanging on her other hip and confidently stated, “No one will take it from me.”
Why was I arguing with her? The old man would love it if she lost our supplies due to her own negligence, and no one could blame me. “Fine, do whatever you want.”
“I always do.”
I settled my pack on my shoulders and shrugged them to test its weight, then swung my upper body in a circle and bent at the waist. While doubled over, I looked through my legs to find Maximus watching me.
Does he suspect something? I searched his face for some sign he knew who I was, that I was leading them into a trap, but only saw mild curiosity.
Belatedly, I realized I was still hanging upside down and awkwardly explained, “Just making sure my pack is secure.” Then straightened and looked at the forest.
With the night vision potion, the trees seemed less foreboding.
The shadows were thinner, gray instead of pitch black.
The overhead branches no longer resembled clawed hands.
The white stones blazed brighter than before, guiding people directly to the center.
It was as close as we would get to a clear path.
“What now?” Angelica asked, pursing her lips. “Do we just … walk in?”
“You could run, if it would help,” I said. “Might attract those ghost wolves the farmer mentioned though.”
“Princesses do not run.”
“I do,” Delilah declared, bouncing up next to me. “Are you sure you know anything about princesses?”
“I am one!”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you get to generalize. If we decide what princesses can and can’t do based on our personal experiences, then I would say all princesses are secretly cats, they just don’t know it yet.”
“Of all of us, I certainly have the most experience to speak on what is normal for a princess,” Angelica insisted, tapping her chest.
“Actually, I think I do,” Fitz said. Speaking at all was a mistake. Both girls looked at him, eyebrows raised as they invited him to dig his own grave. “I mean, I have two sisters, while both of you are only children, so I have twice as much data to pull from.”
“And do your sisters run, Fitz?” Angelica asked.
“You’d be surprised how quick-footed they can be when they are running from their responsibilities.”
I snorted. “We’ll see if you still think princesses don’t run when the ghost wolves chase us.”
When she couldn’t think of any argument, she led the charge, stomping straight into the Grimnight Forest.
Maximus followed her, his long legs catching up to her in a few strides.
Fitz clutched the straps of his pack and ran in after them, then promptly tripped over a root. He caught himself on the edge of a tree and said, “I’m alright!”
I tensed and watched the tree carefully, wondering if it would retaliate. The branches overhead swayed slightly, but were they disturbed by a breeze or his presence?
When he stepped away, nothing happened. No lunging branches or roots breaking through the earth to entangle him.
Maybe this wouldn’t be too hard after all.
Delilah followed at a more sedate pace than usual, looking over her shoulder at me. “Trey?”
I took a deep breath and stepped into the forest. The moment I did, a distant wolf’s howl echoed through the woods, like we’d rung someone’s doorbell. A coincidence, or one of the old man’s scouts, letting him know we were nearby?
Will their song haunt us for the entire journey?
Maybe they would scare away the other predators, allowing us to travel safely through the darkness.