I nodded my head as I assessed the sensation. “Still feels weird, but kinda cool. I like it.”
The captain rolled his eyes and Fin chuckled.
Then the pair shot into action. Fin chose his sword, which he strapped across his back. He put knives against his forearms and a gun at the small of his back.
I pointed to it. “Good way to shoot yourself.”
“Safety’s on, of course.”
“Of course,” I said.
I didn’t see what the Captain chose, and I didn’t care.
“So back to the forest?”
Fin walked out of the room and I scrambled to follow him down the hall. It appeared we were just down from the sparring rooms in the basement.
“You know, it’s probably still a trap,” I said. “The first time was tame, so we’d let down our guard and go back.”
Fin stopped short and spun to face me. “Do you think everything’s a trap?”
“Obviously, yes. It’s how I’ve kept myself alive this long. Because, eventually, everything is a trap.”
Fin huffed at me and continued his walk. The helicopter already sat running on his massive lawn.
Shit. I didn’t want to go back up in that thing.
This time, the captain climbed into the driver’s seat and Fin slid into the back. They both sat waiting for me.
“Can I just stay here?” I asked from outside the helicopter. “You guys go ahead. Text me if you find something.”
Fin waved at me to join them. I sighed and ran toward the spinning death machine. As I approached, Fin scooted into the farther seat and I took the one next to him. He handed me a pair of headphones and I heard the captain’s voice repeating some commands through the microphone.
“If this thing doesn’t kill me, whatever is in that forest might,” I said.
Fin tipped his head toward me and gave me a smile. It set my insides fluttering so much I forgot to keep complaining.
But nothing could stop the fear creeping along my spine. We were going back to the forest that haunted my dreams and this time, I had a very bad feeling, we wouldn’t make it out alive.
Chapter Thirteen
The jumble in my belly became worse as we flew toward what I knew to be certain death. Did mages have premonition power? Because my nerves hummed with the thought that going to this forest was a terrible idea. I tried to express that opinion several times to the men, but they ignored me, same as they did every time I whined when the helicopter took a tilt in any direction that wasn’t completely straight.
The knives however provided some emotional support. I didn’t expect to feel safer wearing them. It was as if through their power they reassured me they would get me through anything at all. Whether I turned out to be fae born, or mage born, or whatever mutt mix comes from that pairing, at least the knives thought I was mage enough to use them. It gave me a sense of pride, something I hadn’t felt in a while.
If I needed reassurance in my life this much, it might be time to get a cat. Or a dog. Maybe a goldfish. Could I get emotional support from a goldfish?
The helicopter landed rather softly for the captain who’d taken great joy in hitting every air pocket on the way to the forest. The man delighted in seeing how many shades of green I turned before I actually puked. When we got out of here—if we got out of here—I was going to take it out of his hide. I didn’t care if he was Fin’s best friend, or second-in-command, or hell... boyfriend. None of it would matter when I showed him the business end of my taser Bea Arthur.
Oh yeah, I could feel the circle of deathly magic tightening around me, around us. Damn them for not listening to me. I’d spent the last half hour figuring out my seat belt buckle, so I didn’t have to wait for either of them to remove it. Once I freed myself and climbed out of the helicopter, the air hummed with menace. We were no longer alone in these woods.
The darkness had already descended, and the captain handed out flashlights to each of us. I strapped mine to my belt and hopped on both feet, trying to stay warm. No one had thought to bring warm undergarments, or hot chocolate.
Finally, the fact that they were both ignoring me so hard got to me. “Okay, I’d like you both to acknowledge that this is a bad idea, and we are about to get hammered. I’m going to register an advance, I told you so.”
“Noted,” the captain grumbled as he adjusted his weapons and then surveyed both Fin and I like we were kindergarteners about to take a walk to the water fountain.
We headed off into the trees, and I didn’t know how I was the only one feeling the tension in the air. If they did, neither of them showed it. Maybe they had practice walking into traps and looking unconcerned about it.