He snorted.
“You live out here by yourself?” I could barely make it out here a day without getting in trouble. But I didn’t have magic. That I knew of, anyway.
“Have for as long as I can remember.”
I thought for a moment before I made a decision. “There is a pouch of coins tied to my belt. It’s yours as long as you free me,” I said with some reluctance.
“Fine, but I can freeze you again in a second, so don’t try to pull a fast one on me. I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
Suddenly, I had the mobility of my limbs again. I groaned as I stretched them out. I rolled my head around on my stiff neck. I took the pouch off my belt and tossed it to the boy before I could change my mind.
“Ma’am, do you know how much this is?” he said in awe with an eyeball focused in the pouch.
“It’s yours, but you need to quit freezing people. It really isn’t nice,” I replied while rubbing my neck. The rabbit seemed to look straight at me, with I swore, pleading eyes. “And unfreeze that rabbit right now.”
“Whatever you say, miss,” he said with his eyes still on the coins. The rabbit hopped off his shoulder and ran through the forest at record speed.
“Thanks!” the boy yelled while he started running toward town. He abruptly stopped and turned around. “Watch out for the red marks!” he shouted and then took off again.
I spun Gallant around until I found a small red mark on the base of the closest tree trunk.
What a tricky kid.
* * *
The longer I went without seeing Weston, the more I believed I had actually killed him. I looked down at my hands in front of the fire I made and imagined I could still see the blood. The warmth from the flames warmed my skin while I tried to convince myself this was a good thing.
Tried.
He could walk through the Burning City’s flames. I hadn’t killed him with a knife to the stomach. But there had been all that blood. My thoughts only had my chest tightening uncomfortably, and I pushed them away.
Earlier, I’d gone to the stream and tried to wash with my magical soap the best I could in the small body of water. I had shrugged the dirty clothes back on and used my knife to sharpen a spear and caught a fish from the stream.
The fish cooked over the fire while I sat wearily in front of it. The Star of Truth was bright in the sky, and I imagined Grandmother looking at it at that same moment.
I fell asleep to melancholy thoughts and my catch burning over the fire.
* * *
Alyria must have been looking down on me because I had spent the night alone and woke up still alive. And not captured.
Unfortunate as it was, those were the two things that made me the happiest.
With a growling stomach, I caught another fish from the stream, and cooked it over the fire while I sat there anxiously. Something was telling me I needed to leave, and I listened to it. I would take any help Alyria decided to give me.
As I progressed further into the forest, sweat ran down my face and into my eyes, blurring my vision. The heat here seemed to wrap itself in a suffocating hold. I pushed up my long sleeves and rolled up my pants, but it barely helped. I had multiple layers of the dirty clothes on, and there was nothing more I wanted at that moment than to shed them all off.
It was too risky. I didn’t come this far only to get caught again.
The sun barely made its way to the forest floor, the trees a thick canopy. Moss covered most of the wood, and the large leaves had water dripping down from the one above. The forest was dark and had a still, eerie feel to it. At this point, I’d had so much of unnerving forests that I was only trying to get through it faster, but the roots sticking tall out of the ground created a maze that could only be navigated slowly.
We entered a small clearing with a small body of water. I looked at it with a grimace. It was so murky that I imagined if I went up to it, something would pull me into it. A shiver ran down my spine, and I told my imagination to shut up.
A burst of air rushed by my face and before I could even blink, another one flew by in the opposite direction. When I opened my eyes, a naked woman stood before me. She had long dark hair that reached her knees. An exotic tilt to her eyes and tanned skin. Some kind of brand wrapped around her arm, and when she stepped to the side and tilted her head in an unnatural way, I noticed the brand on her arm was an extension of the tree behind her; it blended in with the spindly branches.
I blinked, and three women stood before me now. They were all the same woman: tanned skin, long black hair and exotic looks to the detail. Six appeared before me now.