We switched.
I had thought Chance looked funny and I wanted to get a closer look at him hiking.
I studied him as we walked on another half mile.
Yep.
Sure enough, Chance was weaving as he walked down the trail, bracing himself against the trees every now and then.
“Hey, Chance,” I called. “Hold up a minute?”
He stopped in the middle of the trail, and stood, swaying unsteadily.
I walked up to him. Liesl and Renée joined me.
Chance stood still, facing away from us, holding on to the oak tree next to him.
He looked like he could fall over any minute.
I put my hand out. “Chance?”
He turned his head to glance at us, then promptly teetered over, falling into me.
Renée, Liesl, and I all caught him as he fell.
He was burning up.
“Let’s lower him to the ground,” Renée murmured.
We sat Chance down in the middle of the trail in some ferns.
“I’m fine,” he said faintly.
I looked into his unfocused eyes. Then glanced at his soaked shirt and red color.
“He’s practically delirious,” I said. “And burning up with a fever. This is not good.”
“Okay, okay,” Renée said, glancing around. “I actually don’t think we’re anywhere near the stream. We should have come upon it already.”
Liesl looked worried. “We’re miles from the school. Is there any way we can get a message back to them?”
“Chance got ill awfully fast.” I looked down at him, puzzled.
“I think he was already sick,” said Renée. “Then he hiked for a few miles through uneven forest.”
“And this made him sicker,” I whispered.
Oh, no.
“Everyone? Let’s sit down. Liesl, can you break out the lunch?” said Renée. “Holly, we need to get a message to the school. I’m going to call my familiar.” She spoke the spell, and a large jackrabbit appeared by her side.
She bent down and nuzzled the creature’s ears.
It took Liesl and I several tries to summon our familiars; we were nervous, being out here in the forest. But finally, Liesl’s snowy ermine and my two wolves appeared.
I patted the ground next to me and Aspen and Tundra lay down beside me.
“Should we lay Chance on the ground?” Liesl asked.
“No, I think he’s fine propped up against the tree,” said Renée. “His familiar should appear soon, though. He may not be feeling fright, but he’s in danger, all the same.”
“We all are, aren’t we?” I asked in a quiet voice.
“Not as much as you’d think,” Renée answered.
“Here’s your sandwich.” Liesl handed out the food Chance had brought.
I took a bite of the thick crusty bread, tasting the sweet turkey inside. The chef had added tomatoes, and the juice ran down my chin. I tried to lick it away.
I took another bite.
I was beginning to feel better.
“Things are always brighter with food in your stomach,” Aunt Clare used to always say.
I turned to my wolves.
“Aspen?” I whispered. The closer wolf turned her head to stare at me.
I swear, the best thing about having a familiar is that they understand what you’re saying.
“Can you find the stream? Find the water?” Aspen got to her feet, still staring at me.
“Here,” said Renée, handing me her bag. “It’s water-tight. Oiled it myself last year, when I went on a summer trip to Sweden.”
I took the bag from her and carefully put the handles into Aspen’s mouth, making sure the top was gaping open. Then I held the wolf’s face between my palms and touched my forehead to hers.
“Find the stream. Fill this with water. Bring it back to me,” I whispered. “Go.”
Aspen turned and began running through the woods.
“See now, I would’ve though the stream was back there,” Renée pointed in a different direction than the wolf had gone.
“I think she’ll find it,” I said.
“Oh, she’ll find it, all right,” said Renée. “I think that’s one of the reasons you were given two familiars, and two such powerful ones.”
“How do you mean?” I asked, curious.
“Because of your heritage, you’re ... drat it all, I can’t say,” Renée looked frustrated. “Suffice it to say, not even the headmistress of the school had such a powerful familiar, not to mention two of them.”
“I wondered why Holly has two,” said Liesl. She cuddled with her snowy ermine, kissing the crown of the beautiful animal’s face.
“I don’t think anyone’s got as cute a familiar as you, Liesl,” I said. “Snowbear is adorable!”
“Okay,” said Renée, brushing the sandwich crumbs from her hands. “I’m sending Jade to get help.”
“Jade?” Liesl said.
Renée picked up her rabbit familiar, cuddled her for a minute, kissed her forehead, then set her down on the forest floor. The rabbit turned and looked at Renée, unblinking.
Renée said, “Maintenant, va à l’Académie et dis-leur que nous sommes perdus dans la forêt.”
The rabbit dipped her head and turned and ran back the way we’d come.
“Look at her go!” Liesl smiled.
“Yeah, Jade can run very fast,” Renée said, pride in her voice. “Now we just wait.”
I glanced over at Chance. His eyes were closed. “Maybe we should lay him down now. He seems to have gone to sleep,” I said.
Renée looked closer at Chance, then leaned over and lifted one of the young man’s eyelids.
Chance didn’t react, which was really weird.
“Uh oh,” Renée murmured, pulling Chance from the tree and gently lowering him to the forest floor, with Liesl’s help. “He’s not asleep, he passed out.” Renée looked around the forest. “This is not good.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nightfall
Night was falling.
“Okay, Holly, Liesl? This is not good. Really not good,” said
It had been at least six hours since we’d sent off our familiars, Aspen to find water, and Jade to get word to the school.
“They should’ve been back by now,” said Liesl.
“Holly, Liesl, help me,” said Renée, getting to her feet. “We’ve got to build some kind of temporary shelter.”
“Renée, don’t you think we should just walk back the way we came?” I asked. I remembered when Liesl and I were lost in the other part of the forest, by the cemetery, my wolves had led us back to the school.
“No,” said Renée. “I was testing that with Jade. She is very fast. We’ve only come four miles or so. She should have been there and back again within an hour. Certainly, within two. I’m really worried she’s not back. It wouldn’t help to move from our spot and get even more lost in the forest, trust me.”
I frowned. “And Aspen should’ve been back with the water, too.”
Renée nodded. “Something’s wrong.” She glanced about. “Here, let’s drag some of those larger branches over here. Help me?”
We gathered maybe a dozen long branches that had fallen from the evergreens overhead.
“It’s weird,” said Renée. “It should be getting colder now, but it feels warm and cozy.”
“Oh, I should have explained,” I said.
The other two looked at me.
“Explained what?” Renée finally said.
I shrugged. “Well, for some reason, it never gets too cold around me. I’m like a hot water bottle.”
Liesl just stared at me.
Renée blinked. “You’re kidding?”
I shook my head. “Is that something weird? I thought maybe other faefolk could do it, too.”
“Uhhh, a few can, but it’s very rare,” said Renée. “Rare like, one in a million.”
Now it was my turn to blink.
Huh
. Weird.
Renée shook her head. “Well, it’ll come in handy tonight, that’s for sure.”
I grinned, and she smiled back.
Renée was able to use some rope we found in Chance’s pocket, and string up a line across two trees.
“There,” said Renée. “These two are pretty close together, now let’s lay the branches against the rope, like so.” She rested a branch against the line. The smaller branches and twigs growing outward from the main branch spread out and acted like a windbreak.
Liesl and I brought two more large branches, and then we all got the rest.
By the time we were finished, we had a respectable lean-to built against the two main trees.
“Now we gather smaller bits and make a fire,” said Renée. “Let’s try to get enough to last until at least tomorrow.”
“We’d better hurry, it’s almost dark,” said Liesl. “Does anyone have flint and steel?”
“No, but I’ve got a lighter,” I said, grinning. “Aunt Clare always said to keep one on hand, because you never know when you might need one.”
“Oh, thank goodness for Aunt Clare,” Renée smiled.
Ten minutes later, we’d gathered a substantial pile of dried branches, each several feet long.
“I’m going to go get one more handful,” said Renée. “Holly, you know how to start a fire?”
I nodded.
I sure did.
Renée grinned. “Excellent. While you make a fire, I’m taking Liesl.” She glanced at the girl and gestured ‘Come on.’
They hiked off, Snowbear the snowy ermine riding on Liesl’s shoulder.
I turned to the space I’d already cleared.
“I’d better hurry, it’s nearly dark,” I said to Tundra, who had stayed by my side the whole afternoon.
I glanced at Chance. He’d been unconscious the entire time.
As I busied myself arranging branches for the fire, I wondered about Chance. Was this illness normal for a faun? He’d told me fauns came from the woods, so I would’ve hoped he’d be more resilient.
It’s almost like he’s been drugged. Except he’s burning up with fever. He’s definitely sick.
The wood was laid; now I needed kindling. I glanced around in the dying light.
“Tundra, can you pick up some small twigs and bark for me?” I asked the wolf. “To use to start the fire? But, listen: do not go out of sight of me. It’s important.”
The wolf bowed her head, then started walking around the forest, staying within ten feet of me.
Thank goodness.
I was really starting to worry about Aspen. Taking this long to find the stream very likely meant she’d met with some kind of problem.
Where could she be?
I looked out into the forest. An owl hooted.
Tundra trotted up to me, her mouth full of dried forest flotsam, and dropped it at my feet.
“Good girl. Just a bit more?” I said.
She trotted off.
I arranged the moss and twigs under the larger branches, then applied my lighter.
The fire caught immediately, and was soon blazing merrily.
Tundra walked up and dropped more twigs next to me.
I put my arm around her and gave her a hug, then patted the ground next to me. I didn’t want her to get lost; I wanted her right by my side.
It was another ten minutes before Renée, Liesl, and Snowbear returned, their arms laden with a huge amount of firewood.
“Hope we didn’t worry you,” said Renée, dropped her wood on the growing pile. She stood, hands on hips, surveying the fire.
I watched her, waiting for a reaction.
She nodded and smiled. “Good job, Holly.”
My back straightened in pride.
“Look what I found, Holly,” said Liesl. She held out several handfuls of dark berries.
“Ohhh!” I glanced up at Renée. “Blackberries?”
Renée nodded, then she and Liesl joined me on the ground.
Liesl glanced at Chance. “Do you think we should do anything for him?”
Renée looked over. “In the morning, we’ll try to wake him again. I’m just not sure what to do. I’ve never seen anyone get sick with a fever and pass out.”
I shook my head.
Me neither. It’s very weird.
An hour later, we’d eaten another sandwich each, and were licking our fingers.
“We should leave the rest for tomorrow,” Renée said. “Thank goodness Chef is so generous.”
We’d each brought a bag of food, enough for days.
“Generous? I think he overfeeds the entire school,” I chuckled.
I heard a whine in the distance.
Tundra’s ears perked forward, and she turned her head to the noise.
Another whine sounded, a bit closer.
“That’s Aspen. I’ll bet my lighter on it,” I said.
“You’d better not, we need that,” laughed Liesl.
Tundra stood up, and I followed her.
I whistled into the dark. “Aspen! Here girl!” I took a few steps toward the direction of the noise.
The whine sounded again, even closer.
I was about to walk a short distance into the woods, thinking Aspen might have hurt herself, when Tundra stopped me cold.
A low growl emanated from my wolf, and the hackles down the top of her back rose.
Just the sight of that sent a streak of fear through my heart.
“Holly,” Renée said quietly, “Back up to the fire again. Now.”
I felt an icy trickle of sweat drip down my temple.
I reached out and grabbed Tundra’s ruff, pulling her as I took several steps backward, keeping my eyes on the dark forest ahead.
I felt a hand grasp the waistband of my skirt and pull me from behind, guiding me backward.
“Come on,” whispered Liesl.
Tundra and I backed up and stood alongside the fire with Renée and Liesl.
Renée tossed another few branches on the fire, and they caught immediately, blazing up high and lighting up the woods further.
Tundra continued to growl, her head down. She was an impressive sight, and whatever was out there in the dark would think twice about approaching further, I hoped.
We stood there for at least ten minutes, waiting, but the whining did not happen again. Eventually, we all sat back down.
“Good thing you guys got more wood, I said, trying to calm down.
“Renée, what would do that? Whine like a wolf like that?” Liesl said.
“I am sure that was not Aspen,” I said, petting Tundra next to me. “Her sister would not have growled that way.”
“Besides,” said Renée. “If it had been Aspen, she’d have come right into camp and straight to you, instead of staying twenty feet out and whining, trying to get us to go out there.” She shivered. “Liesl, to answer your question, there aren’t many creatures that can mimic a wolf’s whine like that. But there are a few. And we wouldn’t want to tangle with any of them.”
It was a long time waiting as we calmed down.
About two hours later, Tundra suddenly jumped up and barked, and Aspen came trotting into camp.
“Oh my gosh!” I said as the white wolf ran straight up to me and dropped the bag she was holding at my feet.
I caught it as it fell, and grinned. I held the dripping bag up for the others to see. “Water!”
We all drank our fill, faefolk and familiars alike. About two inches of water were left at the bottom of the bag.
“Let’s leave this till morning,” said Renée. “Good Aspen, good wolf!”
I laughed and patted the wolf’s head.
She’d returned to camp with all kinds of brambles stuck in her fur, as if she’d run twenty miles through the underbrush to get to the stream.
“Very weird,” said Liesl. “Wasn’t the stream supposed to be close to the edge of the school?”
Renée nodded. “Within a mile, I think.”
&nb
sp; “It’s like we’re dozens of miles from the school, but how could that have happened?” I asked out loud.
“I don’t know, but if that’s the case, we’re in more danger than I realized,” Renée said.
“What do you mean?” Liesl asked in a small voice.
“The forest surrounding the school is protected,” said Renée, “But the protection has boundaries. It keeps out dangerous animals, from the expanse near the school. Farther out? No protection.”
I swallowed in nervous fear.
I hugged my wolves close, extremely glad they were back with me.
Renée tossed another branch onto the fire.
“Gerghuik, klasdcvgh ...,” Chance mumbled.
Renée rose and walked to where he lay, crouching next to him.
Wow, he’s even hotter,” she said, her hand against Chance’s forehead. “Here, hand me the water sack?”
Liesl passed the large bag over.
Renée dribbled some water against Chance’s face.
“He’s delirious,” Renée dribbled water into his mouth, and he swallowed automatically.
“Do you think he’ll be all right?” asked Liesl.
“I hope so,” murmured Renée.
I looked at Chance, worried.
“Well, listen, I think maybe we’d better try to get some sleep,” said Renée. “It’s well past midnight, and if we don’t sleep, we’ll be zombies in the morning.”
“Ohhhh, why did you have to say ‘zombies’?” moaned Liesl.
“Ha ha ha!” laughed Renée.
And suddenly, the dark night wasn’t so spooky anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Attacked
An hour later, it happened.
We’d lain down next to Chance and the fire, the lean-to of branches over our heads, and tried to get some shuteye.
I fell asleep between Aspen and Tundra; they acted like a white furry blanket around me.
And all was still and quiet.
An hour later, it couldn’t have been more than that, I was awakened by the sound of low growling.
I opened my eyes and saw Tundra and Aspen on either side of me. Their hackles were raised straight up, making them look almost twice their normal size, which was considerable to begin with.
The sound of two wolves growling and the sight of them staring into the darkness, their eyes fixated on some unseen threat, was enough to make me nearly pee my pants.
Faerie Misborn Page 17