“Wait a moment.” Queen Mikko scratched at her dirty forehead, tiny bits of deer blood flaking off. “Last night, Queen Alora commented on the Fae wanting us to be worthy of saving the realm. I believe she is correct. Would it not be worthy of hiding the artifact in the most dangerous location we would have to go? That we would have to care enough to risk our lives together to save our kingdoms?”
Father nodded gradually. “That would be worthy if that is what the Fae wish us to prove.”
“Is the location of High Pointe the rough terrain?” I asked slowly, a thought coming to mind.
King Elon stated, “It is. It’s not too far away from here. Where we are now is basically where we first entered since we backtracked.”
King Athon’s solid black eyes narrowed on me. “What do you know that you aren’t telling us?”
I rolled my eyes but sighed heavily at the end. “Everyone here knows that my grandmother Isabella was my teacher. She taught me much. I remember now an old nursery rhyme I never understood then. She’d say it to me at night to help me fall asleep when I was barely old enough to walk. It is about High Pointe.”
Queen Mikko’s eyes widened. “My good Fae, that is why the Misfits think you—”
“Or maybe they simply know I am capable,” I groused, shutting the queen down. No one understood why I was here—including myself—but I was getting Fae damn tired of them saying as such. “Anyway, here is the nursery rhyme…
‘High Pointe, oh High Pointe.
Why so, so high, thee say?
These trees do thee see. Yay, see. Yay, see.
High Pointe, oh High Pointe.
Why so, so high, thee say?
To show thee thy worth. Thy worth. Thy worth.
High Pointe, oh High Pointe.
Yay, see. Thy worth. Thy treasure is found.’”
Father shook his head with a fond smile on his face. “Brilliant. Mother did it in a way you would remember when she wasn’t there physically to help you.”
King Athon rubbed at his chin and gazed to the north. “That is where we need to go. We can get there by tonight since we don’t have any dead weight to carry.”
I sniffed. The shifter king really was dreadful.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Confession of a princess:
My, my, my, what a big mushroom he has.
One would think the size of a mushroom wouldn’t be important, but in the Blood Forest, it is. I must admit to being jealous. If I had it, I would rejoice. But nay, I am green with jealousy.
My blasted soul mate is always one step ahead of me.
There is one way to fix that...
I could always chop off his feet.
In the fading light of the day, the five rulers and I stared up at the mountain that was High Pointe. Our heads tipped all the way back to try to see the top. It was impossible from our vantage point, but it did give us a decent indication of the sheer size of what we would need to accomplish.
“Well, let us set up camp,” King Athon ordered. “Same jobs as the other nights for everyone. Princess Trixie, you’re more than welcome to go and throw up like you have been waiting to do.”
My eyes flayed him.
But I quickly strolled away to find a bush far enough that no one would hear me. The hike through the Blood Forest had been uneventful, except for my lack of energy and queasiness. I hadn’t wanted to slow them down, so I’d forged on despite my poor health.
I may have swallowed my vomit twice. Ghastly.
The only decent part of the day was when we’d accidentally stumbled upon the stream of clean water. All our many canteens were full again—though it weighted our bags further. We had plenty of food and water now, so it was a blessed day based on that.
My eyes scanned for a large enough shrub to hold all that would be revisiting the realm from my stomach. The talking deer were rebelling—and rebelling hard. The black bush to the right seemed appropriately sized for my needs. I rushed to it and bent over, heaving out all the contents remaining in my unsettled stomach.
I spit a few times before standing, then bent right back on over. Eating as much as I had after no food for three days wasn’t my brightest idea.
I wiped my mouth and groaned. That was unpleasant.
I rose and arched my back, working out the kinks. I was weak and tired, but I had made it through the day on my own two feet. No one had to carry or help me once. I had managed—barely.
I strolled in a large circle where the camp was almost ready, inspecting the terrain and searching for creatures through the mist. It may have been the blood remaining on us from the pack of deer, but no other living thing had appeared. Their teeth had been sharp, so they were meat eaters. They may have been the breed that rules this part of the forest.
I squatted through the mist and peered down at an odd crack in the ground. It was four feet wide and corkscrewed across the expanse of ten feet. I got closer and squinted, but there didn’t appear to be an end to the hole, it going far, far down. The camp was a bit of a walk away right now, but the rulers needed to see this. It was fascinating.
I stood up and waved my arms, shouting, “Your Royal Highnesses, come and look at this! There is an odd crack in the ground over here—”
“Don’t move!” King Elon and Queen Alora bellowed at the same exact moment, their hands shooting up in the air quickly in a stopping gesture.
I froze where I stood—my arms still up in the air. I asked loudly, “Why?”
“Earthquakes can cause those or sinkholes from heavy rain,” King Elon barked. “The ground may be unstable where you are standing!”
I peered down at the Blood Forest’s floor. “It looks stable enough!”
“We will come and get you, Trixie,” Father snapped. “Do not move.”
“All right,” I conceded. I didn’t know enough about earthquakes and floods. I needed to read on them when we finally got out of here. “How are you going to—”
I snapped my mouth shut as I started to slide.
I wasn’t moving on purpose. The ground was moving under my feet, bringing me toward the crack. The edges started to crumble and disappear into the depths below, pulling farther and farther away, the gaping crack becoming more massive.
“I’ve got a problem!” I screeched. “I think it’s collapsing more, and it’s taking me with it!”
The five rulers broke into a sprint straight at me.
I glanced back and forth frantically, scouring the ground all around. “It’s all moving! Stay back!”
“If you die, we all die!” King Elon bellowed, not halting. None of them stopped. They kept charging forward. He bellowed, “Run, dammit! Get away from the hole!”
“You told me to stand still!” I screeched. I pivoted and started racing away from the opening, but that only made it worse, the edges of the crack falling off faster. I wobbled on my feet and fell straight onto my face, clawing at the ground to keep from being sucked in. I bloody well screamed, “Help!”
“Trixie!” Father shouted with fear.
I scrambled on the ground, but it suddenly wasn’t there.
There was no Blood Forest floor beneath me anymore.
My stomach dropped…and then I dropped. I screamed.
A brutal hand snagged my wrist from above, and my body swung down to slam against the side of the expanded crack. Dirt and twigs toppled down onto my head, tumbling to my shoulders and further into the void. I choked from the mud pieces, coughing brutally, and quickly lifted my other hand to grab the wrist of the person holding me. I knew immediately who it was by the size of it—far, far too big.
“Athon!” I shrieked in terror. “Get me out of here!”
“We are trying, you fool!” King Athon grunted quietly, his face pinching in discomfort. “Your father’s tying a rope around my waist now. Just hang on and try not to squirm. The ground is crumbling around me fast.”
I screamed, “They’re going to pull us back?”
“Yes. Calm down, Princes
s. You need to stay calm.”
King Athon snarled as the edge of the crack broke off again, throwing his torso over the side. My entire body hit free fall for a few feet before it jolted to a stop again, the shifter king retaining his hold on me. His other arm swung down and grabbed my other wrist now that he was dangling halfway over the side.
The King of Shifters glared down at me, his hanging long white hair swaying slightly between us. “Does trouble just follow you wherever you go?”
“Not until I met you,” I growled.
Solid black eyes stayed locked with mine. “You are not leaving your father’s side from now on until we leave this Fae damned place. Do you understand?”
“Just get me out of here, and I will do it,” I griped. “My hands are starting to sweat. I’m going to slip!”
“Be quiet, elf. They are starting to pull.” King Athon’s dark forehead crinkled. “And stop your Fae damned wiggling! You are not helping the issue.”
“Sorry.” My legs stopped swimming in the air. A wet drop hit my forehead. “Did you just spit on me?”
“For the love of Fae, you are an imbecile.”
I hissed under my breath. Another drop hit me. “Well, what is it then? Your stinky sweat?”
“It is rain,” King Athon sniped. “You have heard of it, yes?”
“Oh. Why aren’t we moving yet if they’re pulling?” I glanced down and then swiftly looked back up. “They should hurry.”
“Shall I go ask them?” He sneered.
“Fae dammit all! I am not thinking straight. Quit being an asshole about it.” I dug my fingernails into his skin when I did start to slip. My panting breaths came even faster. “Tell them to hurry!”
King Athon grunted, but shouted, “She is slipping! Hurry up!” His words were so deep and loud that my ears rang.
There was no answer.
We waited a few more moments…
But only silence lingered.
King Athon’s dark brows furrowed, and he stated quietly, “Something has happened. I am going to pull you up, and then you are going to crawl up my body. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I replied evenly. A sudden calm surrounded my mind, with the fear that my father could be in trouble. “Pull me up.”
The shifter king put his grotesque muscles to work. He gripped my wrists even more brutally and curled his arms upward behind himself. I lifted in the air past his head, and he stopped for a moment.
He grunted softly. “I’m going to release your right arm. You need to grab onto my armpit and start pulling yourself up. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
He released my wrist.
I grabbed on tight to his arm. I used the wrist he still had ahold of to pull myself up to chin level, then jerked my free arm around the arm he now held out straight. His muscles held as I yanked one of my legs around that arm and was able to straddle it. The shifter king released my other wrist, and I started methodically climbing up his body despite the dirt raining down on us.
Near the top, I grabbed onto the rope that pulled tight with a tug and used my arms to pull myself out the rest of the way. I lifted to a crouch and kept moving, using the rope for support against the ground sliding under my feet, giving him room to save himself, too.
I glanced back as the rope jerked.
King Athon was out and standing to his feet. He gripped the rope tight between us, and said, “They tethered it somewhere. Keep going.”
We slowly made our way toward the mountain where the rope led, light rain sprinkling down on us, but it was starting to get dark. Once the ground was firm under our feet again, King Athon untied himself. We ran side-by-side at a fast clip and followed where the rope pointed us, to where the four other rulers had been last.
King Athon and I stopped at the tree the rope was tied around.
We squinted through the dark, trying to locate them.
“Father!” I shouted.
But a warm palm pressed against my mouth.
King Athon’s nostrils flared in aggravation. He dropped his hand and pointed to the side—silent. The shifter king unsheathed his sword and stalked past me, keeping me behind him.
The limbs were broken where we headed.
I pulled my own sword from my scabbard.
The gentle sprinkle turned into a steady pouring from the sky.
Soon, we would lose any light to see by.
King Athon stopped in his tracks. He jerked his free hand behind him and grabbed my arm. He pulled us both down flat on our stomachs underneath the mist, holding completely still.
I gripped my sword tight and held my breath.
Dark wings flapped over our heads. Large wings. Redbirds with black wings—the size of me—flew low in the Blood Forest, their yellow eyes glinting in the few remaining rays of sunlight and their sharp red talons ready to grab their prey.
The beasts kept circling and searching near us but seemed unable to find us where we hid in the mist. The mammoth birds eventually lost interest and flew to the north with cries of fury screeching the air and shaking the trees—back in the direction of the mountain of High Pointe.
“We won’t make it back to the camp in time. We need to find shelter,” King Athon whispered. He jumped to his feet with the grace of a tiger and looked from side to side. “We don’t have much time before the blackout happens.”
“What about the others?” I asked quickly, getting to my own feet. “We can’t leave them.”
“If we cannot see to find them, we cannot help them right now.” King Athon marched straight ahead toward the mountain, the rain pelting us hard now. “We must hurry. Come on.”
I pulled one boot in front of the other, the ground thick with mud and bits of leaves mixed in from the downpour. Each step was harder as the mud coated my boots and suctioned my feet to the ground. I grunted and heaved forward, scanning the area on either side for anything suitable for shelter.
“I get the big one,” King Athon stated out of nowhere. “I won’t be able to fit under the other one.”
“What are you talking about?” I hissed. “I can’t see anything in front of me thanks to your Fae damned big ass.”
King Athon turned and used his sword to point. “Two mushrooms. They will work for tonight against the rain.”
I evaluated them in the darkness. “The second one is tiny. I don’t even know if I’ll fit under it.”
They were abnormal colossal mushrooms, but it would still be cramped. I would have to lie flat on my back to even get underneath it.
King Athon snorted. “You’ll fit.”
“This is not fair,” I grumbled and pointed my sword to the larger one. “That would be much more comfortable for me. You can find something else to sleep under.”
“Where?” he asked dryly. “Can you see anything else right now? Fairy, can you even see past the mushrooms? We need to get over there before we get lost.”
“I—”
“Shut up, elf,” King Athon snapped, stopping my argument. He grabbed my right bicep and started dragging me. “You will be quiet and appreciate the fact we found anything.”
“I don’t like this. It isn’t going to end well.”
He shoved me toward the small mushroom. “Get under there quickly. It gets cold fast, and it’ll be even worse with the rain.”
I grumbled under my breath but quickly took my blanket out of my bag and wrapped it around me—absently shoving my sword into my bag as an afterthought. It was muddy by the time I squeezed underneath, but it was warmer, and rain no longer hit me, the edge of the mushroom tipping downward far from my body. I wiggled to the center and pulled my bag next to me by my head to help keep it warm.
It was going to be a Fae damned long night.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Confession of a princess:
If I could draw, I would use miraculous colors. I would paint everything I have seen so far in the Blood Forest. There have been a few moments in my life that I have cherished and wished I h
ad a painting to remember it by. My time here will be one of them, despite the horrors. I would draw it all if only I had the talent.
I hope I never forget how the Blood Forest comes alive when you open your eyes to the possibilities.
“Trixie!” Father’s voice was muffled. “Where are you?”
“King Athon!” Queen Alora must be underwater because her voice was actually quiet. “Can you hear us?”
I raised my brows as my eyes creaked opened. I stared up at a red mushroom two inches from the tip of my nose. My teeth were chattering, and my entire body was shaking. My eyelashes had little ice particles on them, brushing against my cheeks with every blink I made. I couldn’t move because my entire body was stiff and frozen.
“I think I see something,” King Elon said, much closer than the others had been. “Yes! Over here. There’s clothing sticking out from under this mushroom.”
I opened my mouth…but nothing came out.
My throat was even frozen.
The only sound made was the click click click of my teeth.
Had I even slept?
I think I just passed out from the cold.
Boots crunched on frozen leaves near my mushroom, but the others soon passed by my hidden location, and then their trekking stopped. They had surely found where King Athon had taken shelter. A few grunts rent the air, and then the silence came for an awfully long moment.
“Oh my Fae.” Queen Alora asked softly, “Is he dead?”
“I can’t tell,” Father stated bluntly, his tone utterly serious. “King Athon, can you hear me?”
No response came that I could hear.
I opened my mouth…and still nothing came out.
King Elon muttered, “I’ll get under there and check him. If he’s still alive, we need to get him to camp and near the warmth of the fire.”
Many snaps of twigs and grunts occurred until King Elon finally spoke again. His voice was stifled. “I’m bringing him out. I think he’s alive. He just can’t speak or move.”
Queen Alora sighed with relief. “He’s alive.”
Marvels and Misfits Page 17