RESCUE MISSION
6
- ALANIS -
W hat. The. Hell.
An army?
This can’t be happening. I chose this realm to escape war. I don’t want to be dragged right into another one. I inhale for a count of seven, then exhale for a count of seven, and force myself to stay calm.
I nod. “Thank you for letting me know. Will you update me when you find out anything more?”
Kailu looks at me for a long moment, as if waiting for me to storm right past him, kitted up as I am. “Of course,” he says when I stay put.
With that, Hannah and I return to my cottage, bidding all a good day.
As soon as the door is shut, Hannah stares at me with wide eyes. “What is going on?” she whispers.
I shush her and move further into the house to get away from any prying Fae with extra sensitive hearing. “We’ll sneak out and follow them.”
If possible, Hannah’s eyes grow wider. “Are you insane? Are you trying to get us killed? Or thrown in jail? He told us we are to stay put.”
“No, but I refuse to sit by and do nothing. Go home and pack, and I will meet you outside your house in an hour.”
Hannah grumbles but doesn’t argue. Peeking out the front window, I watch Kailu and a few soldiers depart, leaving only one to guard my front door. It seems overkill, given I haven’t seen any other soldiers guarding any other doors of the families of missing soldiers. Perhaps I’m simply special.
I peer out my back window and smile.
An hour later I slip through the back window, careful to make no noise for fear the soldier’s Fae hearing will pick up on it. Hell, I don’t even think I breathe until I’m hiding on the side of Hannah’s house. She tiptoes around the corner of her garden, finding me crouched down. I point in the direction I watched Kailu ride off, and once we are far enough down the trail turn to Hannah. “They came this way. These hoofprints are the freshest, and there are several of them on top of each other like a group passed through. These have to be theirs.”
Hannah shrugs. “If not, we’re wasting time.”
Frustration courses through me as I pull my hair back from my face. “I know, but I think it may be our best bet. I didn’t hear many travelers passing through since they left, especially in a group this large.”
Hannah’s expression is wary, but she nods. “Lead the way, then.”
The dusty road turns muddy as we head deeper into the woods surrounding the Outskirts. The slight breeze moving the ash trees leaves in a gentle motion, creating a hushed murmur. A howl of an animal in the distance sends goosebumps up my arms. The air is sticky, the smell of rain hanging heavy in the air. We hike for a few hours, so long that I worry we lost the soldiers and followed the wrong tracks—and then I hear murmurs up ahead.
Hannah and I sneak through the trees, the forest opening up to a small field. A small stream burbles close by, the soldier’s horses chomping away at the blades of grass and dandelions that blanket the area. We hide just out of sight as we listen to the soldiers. A soft rain beginning to fall.
“The trail was lost,” Kailu murmurs. “We need to head in that direction. I think it best to camp overnight…” His words fade out as he turns towards someone behind him. “…for safety reasons.”
I don’t actually have a death wish, though my pulse races at the thought of what is to come. When no conversation continues—at least that I can hear—I dare to creep along the edge of the clearing to try to overhear something useful—and step right onto a branch that cracks . I freeze as Hannah curses and every soldier whirls, hands landing on the hilts of their swords.
I throw my hands up and say, “It’s just me!” since I’d rather not get stabbed.
Kailu’s shoulders slump with relief, though that doesn’t stop him from snapping, “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I won’t sit around and wait. My brother would do the same for me.”
“Yes, but your brother is a trained soldier. You are not.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have the skills to do it.”
He sighs, glancing at the soldiers around him.
“I will not be a liability, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I blurt. “Both my father and brother taught me hand to hand combat, as well as how to wield a dagger. Elion and I train multiple times a week still. He always said we should be ready for anything. Plus, he was concerned with the increasing ghoul sightings so close to civilization and wanted me to be prepared.”
It’s tempting to mention my magic, but given how little training I have with it, it seems like something I should keep to myself. At least for now.
When Kailu says nothing, I add, “I can help. I’m good with maps and history. Ask Maryanna at the library. I have studied those maps, listened to every story she has to share, and studied this realm’s history for a year, learning hidden details. I’m a new set of eyes. Someone who hasn’t lived here their whole life and may be able to offer a fresh perspective. And Hannah is good with herbs and medicines and can help along the way with illness or injury.”
“Doesn’t sound like she will give up easily,” says a soldier whose name is Hendrix, if I heard Kailu correctly outside my house. “May just be easier to let them come along so we don’t waste time. We would lose hours off our journey if we took them back now.”
Kailu groans. “Fine, but you do as I say with no argument. Understood? If I say run, you run. If I say hide, you hide.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
He squints at me. “Don’t make me regret this,” he snaps and turns, leading the way deeper into the forest.
- KAILU -
“We will head in the same direction they were taken,” I say, checking my saddle girth. My pitch-black horse Zephyr flicks one ear back at me as I click my tongue in greeting. I won him in a game of dice when I was younger, and he’s been a loyal friend for over a decade now. “We’ll see if there are any clues the soldiers may have missed. If that fails, we’ll head through Bone Valley. And since you don’t have horses, Alanis, you’ll ride with me. Hendrix, you take Hannah.”
“I’d much rather walk,” Alanis declares, even as Hannah walks toward Hendrix.
“I thought you were in a hurry, sweet cheeks, so let’s get a move on.”
She growls at me, actually growls.
I smile, flashing my sharp canines. I must give her credit, though, since she doesn’t balk or shy away from me. Most humans are hesitant when it comes to getting near the Fae—especially humans from the Caselian Realm. I’m not sure what they’ve been told, but some stare at me like I might eat them.
When I simply continue holding my hand out to her, one foot kicked free of my stirrup, she sighs and stomps over. When Zephyr swings his head around to look at her, she stops and carefully offers one hand, palm flat. He takes a sniff, then nuzzles into her palm and blows out a breath. When she smiles, I glare at my traitor of a horse but still help Alanis up into the saddle.
I give my soldiers the signal and we take off at a slow and easy trot. The Obsidian Hills loom in the distance, but instead of climbing upward, I lead our group to the hidden passageway that travels underneath. The temperature drops and the horses clomp through the puddles that have accumulated on the ground, water dripping from the hills overhead. Alanis sits behind me, her hands holding on to me, but just barely. If we have to make a sudden start, she might fall right off. Light filters in at the end of the tunnel as we travel up the gentle slope, warmth from the setting sun greeting us as we exit out into the grassy meadow. From the corner of my eye, I watch as Alanis stares wide-eyed at the wide expanse of knee-high grass and endless wildflowers before us. A warm breeze kisses my skin as I take in her look of wonder and awe.
“Have you never been on this side of the Hills?” I ask, although I already know the answer just by her excitement. Her hands flex on my waist, her fingers gently grazing my thigh as she situates herself into a more comfortable position. The movement causes my body to tense.
“I went to Elderwood once, but that’s about it. There everything was green and bright, but here…it’s like a rainbow.””
I take in the passing scenery, the town of Selianthe visible in the distance against the symphony of colors decorating the sky as the sun dips from view.
“We should be at the junction within the next hour, we don’t want to be traveling too long in the dark.”
I feel her move around, her body not as stiff as when we first started on this journey. The valley between the Obsidian Hills and the Sinwood Mountains comes into view. The torchlights from the campsite guide us in the growing darkness.
The scouting group is still there doing patrols. The grass in the valley is trampled down from heavy foot traffic through the forest closest to the Sinwood Mountains, dark and ominous as the torches flicker and cast shadows through the trees. A handful of tents are sporadically placed within the small valley, a weather-beaten table close to the makeshift campfire. Siveral, the soldier in charge, approaches me as I help Alanis dismount and tie Zephyr to a post.
“So these are the tiny humans causing a ruckus?” my best friend comments as he nears. “I received a letter from Captain Thelos about an hour ago, warning of Elion’s hard-headed sister.” He gives me a look. “Very pretty.”
His smirk makes me want to punch him, but I know that I will never hear the end of it from our mothers if I give him a black eye.
Siveral and I have been friends for decades. We grew up next door to one another, and our mothers were the best of friends. I chuckle. “Yeah, who knew that such a tiny woman would be such a pain in the ass?”
Siveral looks over at Alanis and Hannah who stand beside the campfire, talking to Hendrix. “Is that Elion’s sister?” He nods his head in Alanis’s direction.
“That’s her.” I can’t but help admire the way her body moves as she helps set up a tent. Her body is muscular but her movements are graceful, almost feline.
“Elion always talked about her. Was doing research on this weird pull he said Alanis felt towards this realm.”
I frown. “Did he find anything?”
Siveral clucks his tongue, leading us towards the campfire that crackles and pops sporadically, lacing sparks into the darkness. “I overheard him talking to another of the soldiers, Levi. Said he found a scroll in Selianthe’s library. The night they were taken, they were poring over the thing. Murmuring about prophecies.”
I smirk at the Fae next to me. “Quite the eavesdropper, aren’t you?”
Siveral scoffs. “I was wondering why they weren’t at dinner with the others. Not my fault my hearing is good.”
I look at Siveral, but his eyes are focused across the field at the torches that are slowly burning out, unattended as they are. The torches surrounding the camp provide a magical ward to keep everyone inside the circle safe from creatures. Siveral barks an order at his soldiers to maintain their light.
“Problem is,” Siveral says to me when the soldiers have hopped to it, “the scroll went missing when Elion did. Seems a little suspicious to me.”
If Siveral is bringing this to my attention, it’s for a good reason. What my brain is screaming and what I want to believe are at war with each other. I look to the blue-eyed human just as she tucks her rich, chocolate-colored hair behind her ear and makes eye contact with me.
What exactly are we walking into, and what use is a scroll to a group of ghouls?
- MALAKAI -
I traverse through the quiet streets of the Upper Shrol. The once-bustling town now stands deserted for fear of the unfolding terror the realm is facing. Everything started to escalate a year ago: ghouls attacking towns and villages in greater numbers, lone Witches attacking civilians. Now we have people going missing daily. The entire realm has lost their damn mind for fear of the growing unknown.
So if I want information on errant Witches, who better to seek out than one of the largest covens in the realm?
I walk into the rundown bar in the back alleyway just behind the local brothel to meet with a witch from the Shadow Vale Coven. The Witch’s bright white hair is like a beacon in the dark, seedy bar, and I saunter towards her, amused when people scramble to part around her. She has full lips and sharp cheekbones, a nose ring sparkling in the candlelight in the dimness of the bar. Her piercing gray eyes take in the space around her. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone, get the answers I seek and have some fun.
The instant I slide into the sticky booth tucked in the back corner of the bar, she pins me with a scathing stare and snaps, “Don’t even think about it.”
I plaster on my most charming smile. “I have no clue what you mean.”
She huffs. “Please. You have womanizer written all over your face and I want no part of it. Ask whatever questions you have so I can be gone from this place.”
Irritation replaces my smirk. Damn Witches, so introverted. Heaven forbid I ask one to enter civilization. She acts like it’s an inconvenience to spend time with the rest of us.
“What do you know about the rogue Witch attacks that keep happening?” I ask.
She takes a sip of her water, licking the droplets from her bottom lip. My mind flits to how those lips would look wrapped around me.
A foot stomps down on mine under the table and I curse. “What the hell?”
She shoots me a dirty look. “Knock it off.”
Rolling my eyes, I signal for the waitress and order a whiskey.
“I don’t know much,” she says at last. “Our matriarch has been keeping tabs on the attacks. They don’t seem to be tied to any coven. She assumes they are just lone Witches, the ones who want nothing to do with a coven. Some are not pleasant company. They tend to feed on animal blood. With the increase in humans in this realm, it makes sense they would be drawn to their blood as well, since it’s richer and provides nutrients that animal blood doesn’t. There is a good chance that some of them used to be part of the Nightblood Coven that disbanded nearly a century ago when their matriarch was sent to Hell, but that is speculation.”
I file that knowledge away for later. “What about the ghoul attacks? Do you know anything about that?”
She shakes her head. “No, just what you do most likely. It seems they are multiplying—and fast. Before, there were only a handful in the realm, and now there seems to be dozens, if not hundreds. They also aren’t behaving like normal. It is rare that a ghoul would travel into such populated towns, but these ones don’t seem to care. They move in packs larger than before; what used to be no more than four is now doubled and they don’t seem to cower away from heavily populated areas. If anything, they’re drawn to them.”
I swallow down the whiskey and stand. “Thank you for the help,” I say, throwing coins down on the table to pay for my drink.
I’m heading for the door when a game of dice in the center the room catches my attention. I turn back, walking through the crowds, my boots squeaking on the sticky floor with each step I take. I slide into an empty chair at the table, throwing more coin down.
I’m always a sucker for a little game of dice.
And it seems it was a good idea, for a mention of ghouls from a nearby table instantly has my hair standing on end.
“Yeah,” says one male. “Said he saw a whole herd of ghouls.”
His friend laughs. “Sal is always dramatic. Probably saw one or two. Or is lying.”
Cashing out of my game, I sidle up next to the two older Fae, throwing my arm around the one with the big mouth.
“Any idea where I can find your friend Sal?”
The Fae’s face pales. “Uh…probably the pub in the Lower Shrol. Practically lives there.”
Throwing him a smile, I chuck a coin onto the table, watching as the two males fight over it.
Looks like I have a drunk to visit.