Once

by Alyson Serena Stone

  Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Forest of Doom

  Ryanon kept her eyes open as they entered the forest. It really did seem like a normal forest. Her horse's ears stood straight up and its breathing seemed to be somewhat laboured. The underbrush crunched beneath their hooves, making it sound as if there were actually more walking through the forest than there actually was.

  Ryanon kept the reins tight on her horse. She inhaled, letting both the mixture of the dead and life make its way into her lungs. Now, there was nothing to fully protect them. Sure, they could fight, but what good would that do against the evils of the forest?

  The forest thickened up. The trees were so close together that no sunlight shone between them. The little creatures that roamed the floor did not look like the ones that Ryanon had seen in near the Commons. No, these ones looked like they were made up of many different kinds of animals. She winced as a snake like creature with the head of a rabbit and wings like a bird flew out in front of her.

  "This land was hit by the curse. Not as bad as up ahead, but still bad enough." Dak pulled close to her. "Stay close. Most of these things are highly toxic."

  Ryanon ducked under a low limb. "What if this doesn't work?"

  Dak glared over at the other men close by. "It will work. Now is not the time to have second thoughts."

  Ryanon bit the inside of her mouth. Everything had to work out. It just had to; there was no other way for her to put it.

  Life buzzed all around them. A group of birds dashed out of the trees, sounding more like a pack of dogs than birds. Overgrown chipmunks ran across the branches; their weight so heavy that the limbs threatened to snap beneath them. Worms the colour of blood red crawled across the ground-so big that even the horses went around them. A bug with a row of teeth that were large enough to break through bone flew right by Ryanon's ear; she could have sworn that she heard it actually sniff her.

  The wind rustled through the branches and leaves, sending a chill right down Ryanon's spine. She urged her horse forward. There was no time to freak out now. She had to keep it together.

  They moved as quickly as they could toward a brook lined with berries. The berries were such unnatural colours that Ryanon knew one bite, possibly even more touch, would kill even the strongest of men. The neon colours gave them the light they needed to see just how deep the stream was.

  Ryanon listened to the gentle flow of the stream. The crisp water called out to her, begging her to take a drink from it. The legions in front of her kept going down the stream. Ahead, Ryanon could see that there was actually a rock path that rose out of the water.

  Ryanon carefully made her way over the path, trying to keep her horse out of the little bit of water which still lingered on the rocks. The few horses that got into the water had ugly looking purple blisters on their hooves and legs and it seemed to be growing with each passing second.

  She had almost made it across the path when she heard the scream. The very sound of the scream vibrated right to her core. She froze on the path, pulling out her sword. The legions around her were doing the same thing.

  The scream was close and while it did sound human, she was willing to bet that it wasn't. she looked around, wanting to speak, but one look from Dak told her not too.

  She flinched as another scream filled the air. It couldn't be human...It couldn't be human...It sounded so much like a human that she wanted to run and go help that person.

  Her stomach muscles tightened as she looked around. She wanted the screaming to stop, she wanted nothing more than to either odd it to silence or just flat out kill it.

  That was when she heard it.

  It was single cry, much sharper and shorter than the other scream. It was so long and so full of doom that Ryanon knew it wasn't human. It sounded like nails on glass and the sound of ice breaking beneath your feet. She felt her heart seize. Her horse threatened to rear up.

  Where there was one, there probably was another....

  An answering cry followed, then more...Ryanon tried to count them in her head, but there were far too many. It was impossible to tell just which way they were coming from.

  Weaving through the trees, the legions quickly made their way away from the stream; the cries only grew louder. The taste of metal filled Ryanon's mouth-giving her the feeling that she was going to be ill. She could taste the vile building up in the back of her throat, slowing working its way up to her mouth.

  The sweet scent of blood overtook her. The odor of death greeted her like an old friend.

  Keeping her sword out, she urged her horse up the hill right on Dak's heels. The brush crunched and blew out behind them.

  The cries seemed to be blowing more away from them than anything. There were going to make it...They were going to be okay.

  "Flaxache!" one of the legions called.

  Ryanon could only watch in horror as a flaxache climbed out of the ground, pulling at the dirt with the ease of a great plow. She had heard of these living devils. They lowered people into their lands and struck them down in a massive pack.

  And that looked just like what it was going to do.

  All around them flaxache broke out of the ground, crying their death cry. Their bodies were close to Ryanon in height, with black greasy hair covering their bodies in random places. The grey flesh was so wrinkled and dirty that it almost blended in with the surroundings. Its skin was so thick that none of the weapons they had would even come close to cutting through it.

  The closest flaxache opened its mouth as wide feelers spun out of it, lifting up in their direction as it was trying to get a taste of them. Ryanon winced, remembering that they could not see their prey and relied on their other senses to keep them alive. The dark empty eye holes started straight up, merely serving as nothing more than a way to make the creature feel whole.

  The feelers vibrated against each other; the slime flying off of them littered the ground.

  Ryanon could feel her heart racing as the flaxache assessed their movements....They had to get out of her before they realized just what they had.

  The legion behind Ryanon cursed...The flaxache all turned on the legion, who realized his fetal mistake a few seconds to late. He swung at the flaxache as it slammed into him, dragging him down from his horse as more descended on him.

  "Let's go!" Dak whispered, urging her forward. She hadn't even realized that the others were moving.

  "What about him?" Ryanon asked, wincing as the flaxache crunched on bone; the man's screams rose above the other cries of the forest.

  Dak shook his head. "There's nothing more we can do."

  Ryanon cast another look over her shoulder. The flaxache had tightened their circle even more around the man. Blood poured around them, creating a lake of red and gore. She galloped on behind Dak.

  The trees kept getting closer and closer together. They were so close now that the horses struggled to get between them. Ryanon winced as a limb dug so deeply into her thigh that she knew it was going to leave a mark in the morning.

  Actually, the tree weren't really covered with limbs now that she looked at them. They seemed to be layered with thorns.

  Behind them, the cries of the flaxache filled the air as they went in search of their next meal.

  On and on they rode. The trees kept growing even closer together. The tips of the thorns seemed to be coated with a fine liquid.

  "Don't touch anything," Dak warned. "One little poke from one of those things will kill you."

  "I know that," Ryanon snapped.

  Dak just shook his head. "Forgive me for trying to be a gentleman."

  Ryanon just glared at him.

  Ahead of them, a horse brushed against one of the thorns. A greenish puss ran out of the thorns and onto the horse. Ryanon didn't even have time to process what was going on before the horse landed on its' side, gasping for a brief minute before finally going still. Its rider stood over it, completely dumbstruck.

  Ryanon ducked under a low limb, trying her attention away fr
om the scene. "What if this doesn't work?"

  Dak glared over at the other men close by. "It will work. Now is not the time to have second thoughts."

  Ryanon bit the inside of her mouth. There just seemed to be something wrong about killing a man who had been sleeping since the dawn of time. How big of a threat could he really be?

  The trees were starting to become lined with thorns. Ryanon found herself keeping even closer to Dak. The thorns were so long and pointy that they would probably kill her. Plus, they were probably laced with who knows what.

  Ryanon winced as a snake-like creature with the head of a rabbit and wings like a bird flew out in front of her. All of the creatures seemed to have the same strange mixture to them as if they couldn't even decide what kind of breed they were going to be. It was far worse than seeing the overgrown and mixed colour animals.

  The thorns seemed to be snaking around the different trees, forming almost a wall. Ryanon found herself gulping. It could only mean one thing: They were getting closer to Trelia.

  The legions in front of her were starting to slow down. Ryanon did have to admit that it was almost next to impossible to get through the thorns without being brushed by one. The legions in front had pulled out their swords and were slowly whacking away the thorns.

  Dak stopped in front of her. "Just wait a minute."

  Ryanon narrowed her eyes as she watched. The thorns were getting pretty close to the legions, but they never seemed to touch them. She knew they had pretty good military training, but to see them in action was just unbelievable. She hated to think what it would be like to go up against them in battle.

  "Do you know how much further?" Ryanon asked.

  Dak shook his head. "I wager it's no more than a few kilometres, but don't hold me to that."

  Ryanon urged her horse forward. The thick undergrowth was making it next to impossible for her horse to go away. She barely was able to dance away from the thorn as her horse stumbled around, like a lord who had had a bit too much to drink.

  They were getting off course. Ryanon could tell just by the way Dak was acting. Above them, the sun was quickly setting. The idea of having to spend the night in this place was just too much. The flaxache probably were not the only demon to walk these lands.

  The terrain did not allow for them to really see what was close to them. Ryanon was learning not to depend on the other's movements to give her warning if something was lurking. They jumped at even the tiniest of shadows.

  Ryanon stole a glance at Dak, whose brow was pressed. A nervous Dak made for a nervous night.

  "What?" Dak snapped, catching her looking at him.

  "I was just thinking. How is Vicar holding up being this long away from civilization?" she mused offhandedly.

  "I figure he's about ready to wet himself, if he hasn't already."

  Ryanon didn't answer. There had been something in his tone that told her to keep her mouth shut.

  She could hear the other legions whispering to themselves. A whispering army was not good, especially if they were not loyal to the king. If the legions decided to turn back, they would all be dead.

  "There's a clearing just up ahead!" one of the legions called.

  Ryanon winced; his words sounded so much louder than they actually were. Nevertheless, she found herself turning her horse with the others and following them toward the clearing. A clearing would not actually be a bad place to spend the night. They would be able to see what was coming at them and get away from the thorns. However, knowing the curse, there was probably a good chance that the ground was littered with them.

  They rounded the trees, making it seem as if they were never going to get there.

  Dak paused in front of her, so suddenly that she almost ran into him.

  "What the hell?" Ryanon snapped.

  Dak was looking up at the trees. "There's something up there."

  The few legions behind them were starting to grumble.

  Ryanon looked up. She couldn't see anything. "Did you see something?"

  Dak kept looking up. "No, but I just have this feeling. It's been following us for awhile."

  "And you've just now decided to say something?"

  "I don't see anyone else worrying about it," Dak snapped. His frown deepened. "No, there is something up there." He urged his horse forward." Let's not give it the chance to figure out that we know about it."

  Ryanon kept looking back up, but she couldn't see anything in the trees. They weaved through the thickness of the forest. Every once in awhile someone would cry out as they brushed against the thorns. The trees actually seemed to be getting, so it was possible something could be following them.

  The little bit of moonlight that managed to find its way through the did little to nothing to light the way. Ahead, Ryanon could make out a small opening in the forest.

  "It's getting closer," Dak gasped.

  Ryanon nodded. She looked up at the trees. She could actually see it now. It was a soft swishing that seemed to whisper through the air. The silhouette swung from branch to branch. It had the limbs like a monkey, but, yet, is seemed to be almost more humanlike than an animal. It wasn't alone either.

  Ryanon urged her horse forward. "It's xarxidals," she breathed.

  "I think so too."

  Xarxidals were a tree-dwelling creature. They were close to a monkey, but also had human features, which made it very easy for them to blend into society. They were able to get into the human world and kill before anyone knew they were there. They were the prefect assassin. Their only drawback was they couldn't stand direct sunlight.

  Ryanon kept right on the heels of the legion in front of her. "There's more," she hissed.

  They seemed to be everywhere in the trees; they kept following the legions, like they were running down their prey...They probably were. The thought sent even more shivers down Ryanon's spine.

  The clearing was so close....If they could just get there, they could actually see how many xarxidals they were up against. Maybe it wasn't as many as it seemed.

  They wove through the maze of trees. Ryanon had to duck more than once as a xarxidal hand swiped down at her from the trees. Every time she looked up, she could see one, grinning down at her with its devilish smile as it rested on its knees.

  She pulled out her sword, gripping it tightly. Her horse was moving faster now, as if it had finally sensed the danger. It didn't take much to figure out that they were surrounded.

  They were completely under the xarxidals now. Ryanon kept moving as the creatures watched them. Every now and then, one reach down and try to grab at the passing legions.

  The legions in front kept cutting away at the thorns, while those right behind them started to cut down the xarxidals. Those in the trees just kept watching with wide eyes. They didn't seem to want to attack for some strange reason.

  "Dak!" Ryanon screamed as one of the xarxidals broke away from the group, it hands were positioned just right to wrap around Dak's throat.

  Dak looked up wide eyes. With a curse, Ryanon dodged the trees as she hurried forward. Dak had his sword up, but if it managed to get its fingers around his throat, he would not be able to get himself free. She swung at the xarxidals closest to her, cutting them down with one swing of her sword. A few of her cuts managed to hit the toxic thorns, but it did not touch her.

  "Move!" she screamed at the legions, who just seemed to be watching and getting in the way. It was as if they had forgotten all of their training and were just along for the ride. "Get out of my way!"

  Dak kept swinging at the xarxidal above him. It wasn't doing anything. The xarxidal actually seemed to be enjoying Dak's struggle.

  Ryanon charged forward. She was so close now. She nearly froze when she heard Dak cry out. The xarixdal had closed its hands around his throat and was starting to squeeze. Ryanon cursed herself for not carrying a bow and arrow set with her. She hated that the king had insisted on putting most of the weapons in a wagon at the very front of the line. She just hoped it wa
s still up there...

  She swung and swung, hoping that she could at the very least get the xarixdal to pay more attention to her than to Dak. She eyed the other legions, who didn't seem to be coming to the rescue.

  Dak was gasping for air, but he was still swinging. His passes were getting shorter and shorter and did not have as much force behind them.

  With a curse, Ryanon reached into her pocket. It was a long shot, but it was the only thing she had. Gripping the dagger in her hand, she let it fly. It huffed faster than anything she had ever thrown. The xarixdal didn't even have time to react before it struck it in the neck.

  With one final gasp, the xarixdal loosened its grip on Dak and fell to the ground with a thud with blood gushing out of its throat.

  "You're welcome," Ryanon said as she climbed off her horse, pulling her dagger out of the xarixdal's throat.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Clearing

  Amberfall peered out through her carriage as it made its way through the rough streets of Skalavik. Teodric had said it would be good for her to get out and see his wonderful city, but all she saw was death and despair. The stench seemed to rise from the depths and linger in the air. She wondered if Teodric even knew just how badly off his city was.

  Frostfire sat beside her, in full military dress, while others of her guard rode on the outside. They really hadn't been in any sort of battle since the Warynian Wars, which had left her homeland so badly damaged. However, it didn't mean they could let their army go to waste.

  Not that too many people were mental enough to cross an army of fairies...

  Frostfire leaned back into his seat. "Have you seen enough already?"

  Amberfall frowned. "I think so. I wonder how long it is until these people riot."

  "What do you mean?"

  Amberfall watched as a half-starved man approached a wealthy looking gentleman, who quickly moved away from the beggar. "They saw the castle's wealth at the ball. It's only a matter of time before someone makes a stand."

  "You know, I really hate it to admit that you are probably right."