Roan sprinted across the clearing and reached the tree first. He quickly started using his powers to transmute the trunk into handholds and footholds before he began climbing up.
Dash reached the bottom of the tree soon after but didn’t follow Roan up. He turned to look for me, and his face paled when he saw how much distance separated us. “Come on, Clio!” he yelled.
My exhausted legs were crying out underneath me, but I didn’t slow as I continued to power through the undergrowth. When I reached the edge of the small glade, I knew I’d be able to run faster, but as I darted through the last of the bushes, something else emerged in the clearing, blocking my way to the tree.
I slammed to a halt as a huge creature prowled out of the trees before me. It was just like the animal we’d seen yesterday with a long lithe body of black fur and powerful muscles that rippled under its coat. This one seemed far bigger than the yule cat we’d already encountered, and even while it was on all fours, it towered over me.
My eyes immediately darted to the massive fangs that hung down past its jaw, and I let out a whimper as I stepped backward. Magic shot into my hands as I tried to ready myself for attack. The creature was watching me, and I was desperate to run, but there was no way I could turn my back on it.
“Clio!” Dash yelled in a panicked voice as he saw the yule cat come between us. His magic swirled around him as he shifted. A reindeer was no match for the creature before me, and a fear of my own settled in my bones. I couldn’t let Dash try to fight the yule cat; there was no way he would win.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing. Drawing on as much power as I could manage, I started summoning balls of fire and hurling them at the creature as quickly as I could. The yule cat nimbly dodged my attacks though and let out a hiss before it started bounding toward me. As it got closer to me, it lowered its front legs, preparing to pounce, but with one powerful move, Dash hurtled forward and slammed his antlers into the creature’s side. The yule cat growled as it sailed through the air and landed with a hard thud on the ground, but it quickly righted itself and turned its attention on its new opponent.
Dash pawed the ground and lowered his massive antlers as he braced for attack. But he no longer had the element of surprise, and I knew it would take just one bite from the yule cat’s massive fangs for the fight to be over.
I ran toward the two of them, still summoning balls of fire and hurling them at the yule cat one after the other. Arrows were flying down on the beast from the tree above us, and I knew Roan had joined the fight. I glanced up at him to see he’d transmuted himself a bow, and his power was rippling at his fingertips as he continued to morph parts of the tree into arrows that he was letting loose at a rapid rate.
The arrows and my fireballs were barely more than a nuisance to the yule cat though. It easily managed to maneuver around them, and its attention remained on the reindeer that stood opposite it. The beast let out a deep growl before it pushed itself from the ground with its muscular legs and leaped forward, hurtling toward Dash.
I knew that if I didn’t do something its fangs were going to plunge into Dash’s neck. My blood was pounding in my ears as adrenaline and magic pulsed through my veins. I only had one chance to save Dash, so I needed to get this right. I skidded to a stop, and my hands flew out in front of me as I released a huge surge of magic. My golden power sizzled through the air as it shot toward Dash and the yule cat. The swirling magic hovered in the air between the two of them for a moment as I visualized the object I wanted to summon. My magic crackled and hissed, and a beaten-up old car appeared, hovering in the air in front of Dash. As the yule cat closed in on its target, my magic dispersed, and the car came crashing down on top of the creature, crushing it hard into the ground.
The car wheels came spinning off as the vehicle crumpled in a heap, and not a sound could be heard from beneath the wreck. I couldn’t see the yule cat, but since I couldn’t hear it either, I felt certain it was dead.
My body suddenly slumped forward as the adrenaline faded from my system and the exhaustion from using so much magic hit me. It took all my remaining energy to stay standing, and I staggered over to Dash, who had already shifted back into his human form. Roan must have transmuted him some more clothes because he was dressed, and he rushed over to me with a worried look in his eyes.
I practically fell into his arms as he wrapped them around my body to help support me. “Are you okay?”
Dash nodded. “I’m fine, but I’m more worried about you.”
I waved off his concern with a bat of my hand. “I haven’t ended up as a yule cat’s dinner tonight, so I’d say I’m doing fine.”
Dash glanced around the clearing, concern still clouding his eyes. “We should get off the ground. That might not be the only yule cat nearby.”
I swallowed at the thought and glanced nervously around the clearing. I couldn’t hear any more howls, but that didn’t mean we were safe. I was suddenly very eager to climb up the tree and join Roan.
“That was pretty impressive,” Dash said, as we slowly made our way over to the tree. “You were very brave.”
“I didn’t have much choice,” I replied. “Not like you.” I wouldn’t forget what Dash had done in a hurry. It would have been so easy for him to get to safety, but he risked his life to save me. I peered up at Dash’s face, and he swallowed as if my attention made him uncomfortable.
“It was nothing,” he replied.
“It wasn’t nothing to me.”
Dash glanced down at me. His eyes were intense, and the depth of emotion I could see swirling within their amber depths surprised me. He was angry and scared but also relieved, and there was an unusual gentleness to the way he stared at me. He was looking at me like my words meant something to him—like I meant something to him—and I struggled to look away.
We reached the tree, and Dash cleared his throat, looking away and breaking the intense moment we’d shared. I wasn’t sure exactly what had just passed between us, but I felt warm inside and safe despite the terror we’d just escaped. I found that I didn’t want Dash to let go of me, and he gripped my waist tightly like he felt the same.
Dash helped me onto the first foothold, which was slightly too high for me to reach. I placed my foot onto it and grasped on tightly to the closest handhold. I paused before I started climbing and peered over my shoulder back at the wreckage of the car on the forest floor. The motionless body of the yule cat was just visible beneath it.
“A car, Clio, really?” Dash asked, as he followed my gaze.
I let out a small, tired laugh, and the tension that had been mounting between us eased. “I’ve been missing cars a lot today. It was the first thing that came to mind.”
Dash chuckled. “Well, hopefully, there will be one in store for you tomorrow.”
“I can do without a car, just no more yule cats.” I turned and started up the ladder. On the other hand, each time I’d seen a yule cat, it had seemed to bring Dash and I closer together. If meeting another couple of yule cats meant we got more of those moments, perhaps I could make an exception.
Chapter Thirteen
My eyes felt like sandpaper when I opened them in the morning. The tree had been hard to get comfortable on, and the yule cats below had been making noises all night. Each time I heard one of their calls, I sat bolt upright, and adrenaline started rushing through my body. It took me ages to get back to sleep again, especially when it sounded like they’d been howling from right below us.
I slowly sat up, yawning as I scanned our treetop camp. Roan had climbed up higher than the small nook the three of us slept in and was sitting precariously on a branch with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, deep in meditation. Dash, meanwhile, was still curled up in his makeshift bed, but his eyes were open as he looked at me.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Isn’t it obvious from my bloodshot eyes and ratty hair?”
He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t know what you�
��re talking about.”
I rolled my eyes at him but laughed. “Well, I know you and Roan both slept well. The snoring that was coming from the two of you rivaled the ruckus of the yule cats.”
“I don’t snore.”
“Don’t you?” I asked with a smile.
“I don’t.”
He sounded so offended that I wanted to laugh. He was right; he didn’t snore. He had made a few cute noises during the night, but I was hardly going to admit that to him.
“Well, think whatever you want. You certainly sound like you do,” I lied. I couldn’t let him believe he was too perfect after all. I started crawling over Dash’s legs, attempting and failing to easily maneuver around him in the cramped space so I could get to the side of the tree where the footholds Roan had created were. I was more than ready to get back to solid earth.
As I moved, I found my body was even tighter and more exhausted than it had been the day before, and the thought of supporting my body weight as I climbed down the tree trunk was enough to make me want to cry.
My arms and legs were shaking from the moment I started to make my way down the ladder that was now carved into the trunk. I really hoped Roan didn’t have much trekking planned for us today, because I wasn’t sure I could handle it.
When I landed on the ground, I wanted to kiss it. That was, of course, until I saw all the paw prints surrounding the tree.
“The yule cats really were right under us last night,” I said, looking up. Roan had finished meditating and was descending right after me. He launched himself the last few feet of the climb down the tree and landed gracefully on the ground beside me.
“They would have followed our scent,” he replied. “We were always safe in the tree though.” There were long jagged claw marks in the bark at the base of the trunk, which made me question how safe we had really been.
“We better get moving,” Roan said as Dash joined us on the ground. He didn’t wait for a response as he set out ahead of us.
I glanced over my shoulder at the car I’d summoned yesterday one last time before I followed him. I was still reeling from our encounter with the yule cat, and looking at the car was a reminder that I was more than ready to get out of the Enchanted Forest.
I quickly moved to catch up with Roan and Dash and found myself rubbing my wrist as I walked. The favor tattoo was irritating me this morning. The tingling sensation had been growing stronger even since the nameless one had branded me with the mark. The tattoo constantly scratched at my skin, never letting me forget it was there.
We walked for an hour through the forest with no end in sight. I’d thought the dark, shimmering foliage was beautiful when I first arrived in the Southern Realm, but right now, I would have done anything for the sight of the open sky. Roan had said his transport for us wasn’t far and that we’d reach it early in the morning, but I was beginning to lose hope we’d ever make it.
“Do we have much further to walk?” I asked.
“It’s not far,” Roan called over his shoulder.
“I feel like he doesn’t perceive distances the same way I do,” I grumbled to Dash, as I walked just behind him.
Dash chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Want a piggy back ride?”
“Please don’t tempt me,” I replied. I had the feeling that if I got on Dash’s back, my legs would seize up and they’d forget how to function when I returned to the ground. He could hardly carry me the whole way to the edge of the forest.
When Dash faced forward again, I noticed Roan had drawn a little farther ahead. It seemed like the forest was becoming brighter, and I too started to move a little quicker, overtaking Dash in the process. The forest was beautiful, but if there was any chance we were about to reach the edge of it and stop walking, then I was happy to use up the last of my energy to get there as fast as I could.
I followed Roan as we broke out from the dense undergrowth and arrived in a large, open meadow. It was warmer out in the open than it had been in the forest, and deep green grass flowed over the ground like an endless sea before us. The sky really captured my attention. I could see the sun high overhead, but a veil of midnight blue stretched across the sky and dimmed the sun’s bright glare. There were sparkling specks of light floating through the veil, and it seemed like there was a magical screen between the sky and us. I found myself both troubled and mesmerized by the beauty overhead.
“What’s wrong with the sky?” I lowered my gaze to look at Roan.
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” he replied. “That’s just how the Southern Realm sky has always been.”
He wasn’t really focused on my question. Instead, he was examining the meadow. He walked out onto it before he raised two fingers to his mouth and whistled. The sound was high pitched and loud enough that it could probably be heard for miles. I had no idea why he’d whistled, but I was beginning to worry we weren’t about to hop in a car like I’d hoped.
The ground started rattling and shaking in response to Roan’s whistle. Chunks of dirt were rolling over the grass, and big cracks were beginning to form in the ground. It felt like an earthquake, and I instinctively reached out and gripped Dash’s arm for support.
“What the hell is he doing?” I asked as the ground continued to rumble beneath us.
My answer came as something started to break through the ground. At first, all I could see was a skeletal head, tossing and turning as it flung the grass and soil away and emerged from the ground like it was rising from a grave. But then another head appeared and another.
I took several steps backward toward the safety of the forest as more of the creatures appeared. They started to scrape their way out of the ground, their hooves digging into the dirt as they dragged themselves upward. Long limbs of bone gave way to sleek and angular skeletal bodies as they rose. Despite their bony frames, they looked like strong and powerful creatures. They reminded me of horses, but these beasts were far larger, and I watched in horror as they came to stand before Roan.
“Please tell me this isn’t our other means of transport,” I muttered.
Roan grinned at me over his shoulder and winked before walking over to pat the closest creature. “These are mari lwyd,” he said, beckoning us to join him. “Don’t worry, they are gentle creatures.”
“Says the man patting some kind of zombie horse.” The more I looked at the mari lwyd, the more I was convinced that Roan was joking. Steam blew from their nostrils as they clawed their large hooves across the ground, and dirt clung to their bony structures as their silver tails swung in the breeze. Surely, we weren’t going to be riding the skeletal creatures.
“They’re not zombies,” Roan replied, shaking his head at me.
“I’m still calling it a zombie horse.”
“They will carry us to the ruins,” he continued, ignoring my comment. “There’s no better way to get there. But, there is a price for such a request.”
“If it wants a nibble of my flesh, you can tell it that I’m not interested,” I replied.
Roan scoffed. “They don’t eat meat.”
“He’s right,” Dash agreed, moving closer to the beasts. “I’ve heard of these creatures before. They will bear us, but first you must prove you are worthy of being carried.”
“How do we do that?” I asked. I was really beginning to worry. If I had to battle a moving bag of bones I would not be impressed.
“The mari lwyd connect best with those who have a quick mind, so you have to solve a riddle,” Roan said.
He turned to the mari lwyd beside him and looked deep into the hollow sockets where the creature’s eyes should have been. He stared for several moments before smiling. “A fairy,” he replied.
The mari lwyd bowed its head in acquiescence, and Roan’s grin grew large as he turned to us. “Now, you do the same. Choose one of the creatures and look deep into its eyes. It will speak into your thoughts and ask you a riddle. But make sure you know the answer before you say anything. They do not respond well if
you fail their test, and there are no second chances.”
“I don’t even want to know what not responding well means,” I said as I started toward the closest mari lwyd. It was smaller than the one Roan had chosen, but nerves still clenched at my stomach as I approached. I had a bad feeling I was about to fail, and I really didn’t want to have to run alongside the guys all the way to the ruins. I also didn’t want to face the creature’s wrath, whatever that entailed.
I reached the mari lwyd and took a deep breath in before lifting my head and staring into the creature’s soulless eyes. The moment I looked into the hollow grooves, I felt a strange presence in my mind.
“Hello, young one.” A feminine voice invaded my thoughts.
I swallowed and had to fight the urge to pull my eyes away from the creature. I was surprised it had called me by the same name Jack used for me, and I was unsure how to respond. Had the creature somehow caught the name in my thoughts? Should I return the greeting out loud? I was too scared to vocalize anything after Roan’s warning.
“I have a riddle for you,” the voice continued. “I always appear to be traveling, though I never take a step. You will only see me during the day, though at night I never rest. You feel my warmth against you though I shall never feel yours. What am I?”
I wrapped my arms around my body, frowning at the creature as I tried to think. I had never been very good at riddles, and this one wasn’t nearly as obvious as I had hoped it would be. How could something travel and not walk? The answer to Roan’s riddle was fairy, but that didn’t sound right for mine as they rested and could be seen at night.
Christmas Chaos (Christmas Magic Book 2) Page 14