Dmitri nodded, and Kenji got to work right away, enlisting the help of two other Makalos. They carefully cleansed Dmitri and Kelson’s faces, necks, arms, and hands, then put a layer of brownish cream all over the burned skin. Dmitri could barely see past the stuff on his face. He wrapped a shawl around his head, ignoring the expressions of the men—several of whom looked to be almost laughing—and mounted his horse, motioning for the rest to follow.
He led them through the narrow canyon, wishing he had something more to protect his skin from the hot sun. When they neared Lasia, he jumped down, proceeding forward on foot.
The ground had hardened enough to walk on, and they got up close to the diamond sphere. Only the top few feet were visible.
Lasia jumped when Dmitri looked down at her, then started screaming and banging the sides of the ball again. The veins on her face glowed bright red, and then a burst of flame erupted from her pores, making the ball glow intensely.
“Can you feel that?” Kenji asked over the murmurs of surprise from the others.
Dmitri turned to him. “Feel what?”
“Her anger. This valley will be cursed because of her.”
“No, I can’t, but let’s hurry and cover her up so no one knows she’s here. Heaven help the people who discover her when that happens.”
“How long will she survive without food and water?” Kelson asked.
“I don’t know,” Dmitri said. “I’m not familiar with Fire Pulsers and their needs or habits. But it wouldn’t surprise me if she sticks around for a very long time.”
The sun was lowering in the sky when Lasia was finally covered, a small hill marking where her diamond ball rested.
“May this valley grow beautifully and cover the effect she’ll have on it,” Kenji said, a sad expression on his face. “But all the flowers in the world won’t mask her angry emotions.”
Dmitri nodded. He gave Kenji a moment to himself, turning to the others. “We haven’t gone very far today. We’ll continue until Kenji can no longer feel Lasia’s evil influence.”
They went onward for another hour, stopping well after Kenji noted they’d passed out of the reach of the Fire Pulser’s emotions. The men set up camp in a grove of trees.
A Minya approached Dmitri during dinner, informing him that Lahs and his army were stationed in a valley eastward. Dmitri couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Arien’s Minya. She probably searched far and wide, trying to find someone else to do her job.
“That was really fast,” Kelson said.
“Yes, it was.” Dmitri addressed the Minya. “Send my compliments to Lahs. How did he gather the army so quickly?”
The Minya disappeared, then reappeared. “He said that King Roylance had instructed him to do so before he passed away. Also, Lahs and Brojan have joined and are ready to attack when you give word.”
Dmitri thanked the Minya and dismissed him, then turned back to his food. He smiled to himself, proud he’d picked the same man the king had chosen. But thinking of King Roylance made tears come to Dmitri’s eyes. He was a great man, blessing the lives of those around him even after death. Dmitri shook his head. He still couldn’t believe his father-in-law was gone.
A renewed determination to reach Arien as soon as possible flooded through his system as he finished dinner. When he’d cleaned his plate, he jumped up, needing to pace to work through his emotions. He refused to think more of King Roylance—he couldn’t afford to have a breakdown right then. Instead, he centered his thoughts on Arien and how it would feel to have her back, protected in his arms.
Later, as they were settling in for the night, taking care not to further damage their healing skin, Kelson said, “Dmitri? One more element. Just one.”
“Yes—Earth.”
“I wonder what it’ll be.”
Dmitri didn’t answer. He couldn’t even fathom what the Lorkon would come up with for the next trap. The last three had been clever.
***
The next morning was cloudy and cold. Dmitri pulled his cloak closer with one hand while he finished strapping his saddle on his horse with the other. The cold felt good on his blisters, but he didn’t want to risk getting ill.
He smiled to himself, remembering the time Kelson had taught him how to put on a saddle. He’d been torn—wanting to learn in case he was ever alone with his horse and didn’t have someone to depend on, but recognizing how inappropriate it was for a prince to do such a task. It had taken them several tries before Amaryllis had allowed him to get close enough. She seemed to sense his hesitation and inexperience.
Once she’d stepped on his foot for the third time, however, he’d taken charge. She relaxed, he relaxed, and it had been easy ever since.
This part of the trail was boring. Rain poured from the skies, only letting up for a couple of brief moments. But after a while, the group finally reached something interesting to look at.
Boiling, shifting, dark-brown mud covered every inch of the ground from the mountain on the left to a sharp drop-off on the right.
“This must be the last element,” Kelson said.
Dmitri inclined his head, then instructed everyone to take a break, even though they’d only been on the trail for twenty minutes.
“There’s probably something wrong with it,” he said to Kelson.
“Only one way to find out.” Kelson jumped off his horse.
“Don’t touch it!” Dmitri called, also dismounting.
Kelson stopped and looked back. “I’ll be fine.” He grabbed a stick and poked it in the mud as Dmitri joined him. Nothing happened. Kelson shrugged, dropped the stick, then put his finger in the substance.
The section of earth around him boiled harder. He screamed and jerked back. “It’s burning me!”
Dmitri tried to grab Kelson to get a closer look at his finger, but Kelson wouldn’t let him. “Get it off!” he shrieked.
Kenji rushed forward. “I’ve got the cleansing solution I used on your blisters yesterday.”
Kelson nodded with relief. “Try it . . . please.” He held out his finger, cringing as Kenji raised the flask.
The green liquid poured over Kelson’s finger, and Kenji looked at Kelson hopefully.
“No good, no good,” he gasped, cradling his hand. “Burning still.” But then he started screaming.
“Kenji, there has to be something else—anything!” Dmitri said, nearly panicked. “I can’t watch him suffer like this!”
Kenji pointed back to where they’d camped. “The trees where we stayed looked like they might be related to Kaede trees.” He rushed on. “But the chances—”
Dmitri grabbed the Makalo’s shoulders. “Is there a possibility at all? Even remotely?”
Kenji nodded. “Yes. But if so, we’ll need a great amount of sap.”
“Do what you need to do.”
Kenji turned to the group and started calling out orders. Soon, someone had helped Kelson onto his horse, and everyone was rushing back to the grove where they’d stayed. Kenji showed two men how to gather the sap by cutting a ridge along the side of the tree and putting a rounded piece of bark at the end, holding it downward so as to allow the sap to drip into a helmet.
At the same time, another set of men ground dried bark and leaves from the same tree into powder.
After an agonizing hour, they had enough powder and sap mixed together, forming a thin paste, which Kenji then prepared to apply to Kelson’s finger. Kelson had slipped into unconsciousness from pain during the ride back.
Kenji stepped to Kelson, then looked around. “I forgot. I need clean cloth. The injury has to be wrapped to finish healing.”
Someone brought forward a clean sock. Kenji quickly covered the finger with the paste, then wrapped the sock tightly around it. Kelson didn’t respond.
“He’ll sleep for a while. It’s part of the healing process.”
“I’m surprised at how painful the mud was,” Dmitri said. “It was just the tip of his finger. Imagine if it had been his e
ntire body.”
“He wouldn’t have survived.”
“Well, we can’t continue forward until we find a way through.”
Kenji nodded and wrapped his coat tighter around himself. “I’ve been thinking about that. Kaede Sap purifies and heals. If we could gather enough, we might be able to cleanse the mud, allowing us to move through it.”
“How much would we need?”
“Gallons. Basically, everything these trees have to offer. If only we had pure Kaede Sap. It would be simpler.”
Dmitri grimaced, looking up at the trees, mentally apologizing to them. “All right. Get the men working.”
Kenji nodded, then organized the group into teams of two—one person to gather the sap, the other to grind the bark-and-leaf mixture.
Three hours later, Kelson woke up and joined Dmitri.
“How do you feel?” Dmitri asked.
“Aside from the blisters, really good.” Kelson showed his finger. “Nearly perfect again.”
Dmitri stared at the hand in awe. “That’s incredible.”
“I know. I can’t believe it—it’s like nothing happened. And what a relief. It’s impossible to describe how painful that was.”
Neither said anything for a moment. Dmitri raised his hand to rub the back of his neck in frustration, but remembering his blisters, dropped it. These Lorkon traps were very effective, and getting Arien was taking way too long.
Kenji approached. “I have a better idea.”
Dmitri turned to the Makalo. “What’s that?”
“Instead of using the Sap to work on the mud directly, we’re going to cover our bodies and our horses’ bodies with it. That way, we’ll make our way through without delay, purifying as we go. It’ll take much less time because when we get to the other side of the mud, we’ll have cleansed everything already. Hopefully.”
Dmitri nodded, a smile growing across his face. “Sounds great.”
Kenji reached for Kelson’s hand. “Let me see your finger.”
Kelson held it up, and Kenji inspected it. “Good as new. Healed and purified.” He smiled broadly. “I’ll tell the men the results and the new plan. It should give them energy to continue.”
Several hours later, nearly all the trees had been worked on—only a few remained. Dmitri shook his head, watching. “It’s sad that so many trees will be destroyed just to make it possible for us to cross a very small section of earth.”
“I have a feeling they’d give up their lives willingly to undo the poisonous effects of the Lorkon.”
Dmitri turned to Kelson, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’re right. Let’s go help.”
The sun was two hours away from setting when everyone finished. It took forty minutes more to mix the sap and bark and spread it all over themselves and their horses. Once this was done, Dmitri gave the signal to mount, and they headed back to the poisoned mud.
Kelson volunteered to test the mud again. Dmitri protested at first, but then decided to allow Kelson the . . . well, honor, for lack of a better word. The man must be suicidal!
But nothing happened to Kelson when he touched the surface. And what’s more, a film on top of the mud rushed away from the sap, similar to how oil tries to get away from soap. The mud had been purified, as Kenji predicted.
The men cheered and lined up behind Dmitri and Kelson. The horses were skittish at first, and it took a strong, unrelenting hand to keep them moving forward.
Dmitri watched with interest as the mud parted from his horse’s hooves, causing a small wall on either side of him to form. It didn’t stay back—parts of it collapsed several times, trying to reconnect between the horses. But it didn’t burn the animals, and he could see the film racing away.
After a few minutes, everyone was in the boiling earth, and Dmitri had to put all his attention on pressing forward. His horse really struggled with how deep the mud was and how high the wall went when she pushed into it. The film roiled back from them, with occasional splashes of wet dirt hitting them. Dmitri was grateful Kenji had asked everyone to cover themselves all over—otherwise, those splashes would’ve proven deadly.
For fifteen minutes during the trek, they walked into mud at least forty feet deep. The sunlight disappeared, whether from sunset or the high walls, Dmitri wasn’t sure, but he had to slow down, allowing the others to keep up with him. Several times, he worried he’d lead them over the edge of the cliff if he wasn’t careful. Eerie shapes formed in the surfaces around him, and he patted his horse’s neck, comforting her.
Then it was all over and they pulled up at the other end, nearly as clean as they’d been when they first entered the sticky substance.
They didn’t get far before everyone dismounted and collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Not only had gathering the sap been tedious, but holding on to a skittish horse for over an hour, slowly moving through deep mud, had been very taxing.
They set up camp, ate a quick dinner, then went to bed.
***
Dmitri and Kelson were pleased to find that the Kaede Sap had healed their blisters overnight. Dmitri sighed in relief—the constant burning would finally stop!
The trail took the group down a series of switchbacks and past a small forest. They neared a cabin and hesitated. After sending a scout ahead, Dmitri finally decided it was all right for them to continue onward.
They were passing the cabin when the door burst open. Aldo jumped out, nearly causing Dmitri to fall from his horse. But when he saw who it was, he quickly dismounted, running to the older man and hugging him.
“Aldo! You’re safe!”
“Wonderful timing! I just got back and saw you out front.”
Dmitri turned to the men and asked them to set up a temporary camp. He and Kelson joined Aldo in the cabin. “I’m so grateful to see you!” Dmitri said. “Any news of Arien? How is she?”
“Last I saw, fine. Still pregnant, still being kept with the Shiengols. Who, by the way, have been held hostage this entire time.”
“Is that possible?” Kelson asked. “Shiengols? Captured?”
Aldo shrugged. “Apparently, since it’s being done.” He leaned forward, steepling his fingers. “The Lorkon have kept away from Arien—so far. We should be able to key into the surrounding town and get the Shiengols out at the same time as we rescue Arien. It’ll have to be done in stealth, however, since the Lorkon aren’t likely to let us walk in without putting up a fight.”
“Where are they now?”
“In the center of August Township.”
“Are they far enough away not to cause problems when we get to the fortress?”
Aldo shook his head. “I doubt it. We’ll need to have a solid plan in place.” He rubbed his thinning hair. “I suggest a diversion. The Minyas could provide that by making it seem like we’re heading for the city center. Meanwhile, we’ll split the group into two. Half will approach the fortress on foot, and the other half will use the key. Dmitri, I’ll need to instruct you on how to use it, since you’ll lead that group. I can take charge of the group that sets out on foot.”
Dmitri put his hand on Aldo’s shoulder. “Thank you—I really appreciate this.”
Aldo nodded. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
***
They arose early. Dmitri went from person to person, assigning them all to a specific group. He was nearing the last individual, one of Kenji’s friends, when Aldo burst out of the cabin and rushed toward him.
“Your Majesty! Plans have changed!”
Dmitri whirled and joined the elderly man. “What now?”
“Arien’s had her baby, and is no longer being held with the Shiengols!”
Dmitri felt the blood leave his face. No! “What? What do you mean?” He’d missed the birth of their child!
“I scouted things out one more time this morning with the key to verify that our plan would still work. And Arien has had her baby!”
Dmitri sank to the steps of the cabin. “I’ve faile
d her. I can’t believe I missed the most important event of my life with her.” But then he jumped to his feet, grabbing Aldo’s shoulders. “How is she? Is she all right? And the babe?”
“They both appeared to be fine. But this changes our plans drastically, since she’s now being kept with the Lorkon. The Shiengols are completely left alone, and what’s more, the fortress feels different—something has changed, though I’m not sure what.”
“I’ll get Kelson. We need to figure out what to do now.”
Aldo nodded, and a couple of minutes later, they met in the cabin again, Kelson in tow, looking confused.
Dmitri quickly explained what had happened. “We have to make new plans.”
He motioned to Aldo, who leaned forward, unrolling a map of August Township. “I’ve been thinking. We won’t have to change much—we’ll still have two groups heading that way. One with the key, the other on foot. The difference is this—those of you with the key will go to the town center to get Arien and the baby instead of heading to the fortress. The other group will still rescue the Shiengols.”
Aldo looked up at Dmitri. “Who do you want to assist you?”
Dmitri scratched his chin. “It depends—my group will probably need stealth more than numbers, and the others will need forces—and as many as possible.”
“Agreed.”
“All right. I’ll take Kelson, Kenji, Early, and you, Aldo.” Dmitri thought about it for a minute. “That should be enough.”
Kelson raised his hand. “Actually, I’ve been thinking. You need someone you trust to head up the attack on the stronghold. Why don’t you have me do that?”
Dmitri nodded, seeing the wisdom in Kelson’s suggestion. “That would be good. And you’ll take everyone else with you.”
“Also,” Aldo said, motioning to Dmitri, “didn’t you say there’s an army of Makalos and humans waiting for word from you?”
“Yes—they can attack the fortress as well, and provide a much-needed diversion.”
Stolen Princess: A Kilenya Chronicles Story Page 6