Eventually, I was the last in line. Or so I thought. Footsteps splashed behind me, and I turned to ask for help as the girl had grown too heavy for me. And just when I’d thought we’d avoided Jael, there she stood, wearing a penitent’s robe and holding a sword. Her fury pressed on me like a wet blanket. Or was that her magic? This wasn’t going to end well.
“Side tunnel, now,” Jael ordered, indicating a left branch.
I headed into the tunnel, walking until the light dimmed.
“Keep going,” Jael said.
I pushed deeper into the darkness until ordered to stop.
“Put the girl down.”
Setting the girl on the ground, I knelt next to her. Her breath rasped in painful gulps. There was just enough light to see fresh blood had soaked her robe.
I turned to Jael. “I need to heal her.”
“No you don’t.” Jael stepped closer. “You need to stop interfering, to stop ruining all my plans. To just stop!”
“How did I—”
“These women were mine. I planned to rescue them and use them for my new army and you...you...” She sputtered with rage. “You. Need. To. Stop.”
I braced for Jael to suck my breath from my lungs or use the air to smash me against the stone walls. But she ran straight at me. I jerked in surprise right before the blade of her sword pierced my chest just below my right breast.
Pain exploded as my ribs broke. Air whooshed from my right lung. After she yanked the blade out, I collapsed to my knees, sucking in air laced with tiny needles. Fire burned around my heart. I keeled over on my left side.
Jael leaned over me. “That should stop you.”
And this time, I agreed with her.
KERRICK
Kerrick had to keep the smugglers from entering the aqueducts. Concentrating, he encouraged the bushes to thicken around the five smugglers’ legs, impeding their forward motion so the vines had time to wind around their ankles. Because it was the middle of autumn, he needed to use his magic to spur the sluggish vegetation.
“What the...” Jack swore.
“The vines!” Princess dropped her barrel and yanked her sword out.
Kerrick increased his efforts, hoping to trap them before they could cut the vines.
“Just calm down,” Sylas said.
But his companions ignored him. Dumping the barrels, they thrashed and swung their swords.
“Death Lily,” the third man cried out. “Has to be—”
“Not possible,” Sylas said.
“You lying sack of— Eep.” A vine twisted around the other lady’s sword arm.
They fought and struggled, but the vines soon ensnared them. While they accused and blamed each other for their predicament, Kerrick leaned against a tree, panting from the exertion.
What now?
He listed his options. One—keep them immobilized until Avry arrived. It’d work for a day, maybe two, but after that it would be cruel.
Two—the forest could transport them away from the entrance and then release them. But what would stop them from returning with more armed men and cutting a path? Nothing.
Three—scare them away. How? Every citizen of Ozero Realm was terrified of the priests and acolytes. Perhaps he could... No. If they’d been caught by priests they’d be arrested, not warned off. What about a rival gang? He huffed in amusement. A gang of two—him and Hux—real scary. And yet... Something snagged in his mind. A ghost of the forest. That wouldn’t quite work. But when combined with Quain’s weed boy...
A silly idea popped in his head. He almost dismissed it, but, upon deeper inspection, it might just work if he could pull it off with a straight face. If the monkeys ever found out, he’d never hear the end of it. Best to ensure they didn’t find out.
Kerrick mounted Huxley. The contact transformed the horse’s hide into the colors of the forest. Signaling Hux into a quiet walk, he headed back to the trapped smugglers. Before they reached them, Kerrick stopped Hux and invited the vines to spiral up Hux’s legs. The horse cocked his ear back and turned his head to peer at Kerrick with his left eye, questioning.
Kerrick patted him on the neck. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
The easygoing horse seemed satisfied and stood still while the vines wrapped around them both. Weed Boy, the ghost of the forest was ready to make a grand entrance.
Moving at a slow pace to accommodate the vines, Kerrick and Hux stepped into view. The smugglers’ bickering ceased the moment they noticed him.
With a booming voice, Kerrick asked, “Who dares enter my forest?”
They stared at him for a moment. He hoped they saw a giant leaf creature.
“Uh,” Jack said. “This isn’t your—”