Hob looked down and splayed his long fingers over his thin chest. Then he looked up at her and shook his head, his ears flopping from side to side. “I am Hob.”
Wynn grabbed a nearby stick and held it, ready to hit Hob if he changed form. “Mildred was Mildred, then she was not Mildred.”
Hearing her name, Mildred strutted straight up to Hob and gave him a sharp peck on the top of his head. He covered his head with his hands and hissed at her.
Wynn leaped up and scrambled away, expecting Hob to change into another snake, but he just cocked his head as he looked at her. “Hob was Hob. Hob is Hob. I am Hob.” He grinned, baring his sharp teeth. He clapped his hands together. “I know! Look!” He pulled his little sack off his shoulder and opened it. “I liked your strap-bag. I made one! So Hob could carry this.” He reached into the tiny sack and drew out an old cork that had once been a part of a small honey bottle. It had been a gift that Elric had given the little creature when they first came through the Silver Gate.
“Hob!” Wynn cried, and rushed forward. The creature tried to leap away, but Wynn grabbed him and gave him a big hug. “I’m so happy to see you again.”
“Happy?” He braced his furry arms against her as he cocked his head to the side. His large ears twisted sideways. “No one is happy to see Hob.” His voice dropped a pitch and he frowned. “Elvsies don’t share their fruit. They chase Hob and try to catch him in their nasty traps. Darkling creatures try to eat him.”
Wynn hugged him again. “I am so, so happy. You are my friend.”
“Friend?” Hob’s large eyes grew round and shiny. “Hob is a friend?”
Wynn smiled at him. Slowly Hob wrapped his long fuzzy arms around Wynn’s neck and hugged her back. He sighed, and his long tail whipped from side to side.
“Yes, my friend.” Wynn gently let go of him.
He climbed up on her shoulder and patted her head. “I am happy too. You are a nice Otherworld child. My friend. With nice things to give Hob the way friends do.” He touched the silver band in her hair. She pushed his hand away.
“That’s not yours, it’s mine.” She scowled at him.
He just smiled and tucked his precious cork back into his little sack. “What are you doing? It is far here in the Nightfell Woods, and very, very dangerous in this place. Nasty beasties will eat you, elvsies will catch you in cages, or worse things will come.”
Wynn looked around the clearing. It was hard to believe there was a sun at all in this place. She shivered. “I’m lost.”
“Then we must take you back.” Hob bounced up and down, his tail whipping wildly behind him. “Because Hob is very nice. He is a very good friend. And the fairies will like him now and let him stay in the safe place where the bugs are so tasty.” Hob bounded through the trees. Mildred trotted after him.
Wynn followed as fast as she could. The sticks and leaves poked the bottom of her bare foot. It was scratched and it hurt. Still she smiled. She didn’t care if her foot hurt. She would be back soon. Hob would take her to the right place to go.
Then she remembered the shield. She stopped in her tracks. Hob glanced back at her. “I can’t go through,” she said.
Hob sat back on his long furry feet. He rubbed his chin. “Didn’t think of that. You don’t have fairy magic.” He thought some more. Then he bounced up so high, he flipped. “I know a way, a secret place. There is a crack. The fairies have not found it. They did not fix it. It has been there a long time, yes. But only little creatures like Hob can fit through. I will go and find the boy Otherworld child. I can bring him to you. Follow me!”
They changed directions and marched through the trees. Now that she had a friend, things didn’t seem so scary anymore. The trees were bigger here. The bark was very black. The leaves were heavy, too. But for a little bit, Wynn felt like she was walking through the woods back home. Those woods were very nice.
Wynn hummed a tune and marched along after her guide.
Hob stopped. Lifting his nose high in the air, he sniffed. Then his ear slowly twisted one way as his other ear turned a different way. He went very still.
Mildred ran over and perched on Wynn’s foot again. Wynn lifted her and stroked her back. “What is wrong?” Wynn asked. The cold feeling came back in her body. She shivered as each space between the trees looked dark and deep to her.
Hob’s amber eyes flashed. “Hob can smell it, yes. A reaper nearby. Very stinky,” he said, his ears pressed low on his head.
“What is a reaper?” Wynn asked. She knew it was something scary. Raven said something about them.
Hob looked at her with huge eyes as he shook all over. “Grendel sends the reapers in the woods to do his nasty hunting. They catch creatures and bring them back to their master. Then the Grendel sucks the spirit out of them until they disappear.” He whipped his head up and looked behind them. “Run.” He hopped quickly down the path. “Run!”
Wynn grabbed Mildred and held her tight to her chest. The hen squawked. Wynn ran. She tried to run fast. Hob bounded ahead of her. With his bouncy legs he sprang over twisted roots and sharp rocks. Wynn had one shoe. Her bare foot hurt. The bushes caught her dress and ripped it. The skirt trailed under her foot. She stepped on it, and the jerk of the snag nearly made her fall onto Mildred.
She had to keep running. It was hard to run while she held Mildred, but she didn’t want to let go. She had to keep Mildred safe. She had to get back home.
“Run, Wynn-friend!” Hob shouted, his tail whipping behind him. “Run fast. The shield is near.”
A howl slid through the darkness. Wynn gasped as she turned to look behind her. It sounded so close. Hob jumped over to her and leaped up on her shoulder. “Too close. You must hide. I will draw it away. Then you go that way.” He pointed. “Find the shield. The fairies will see you.”
“Hob, no,” Wynn said.
He yanked on her hair, and pointed. “In there.” He motioned to a place where mud had washed out from between a tangle of roots forming a cage of roots at the bottom of the tree. Wynn tucked herself inside. Hob hopped around the roots, furiously kicking and scratching wet and slimy leaves over the tree roots, until he made a little den of leaves around her. Some fell on Wynn in cold clumps. The scratching continued as Hob gathered big bunches of leaves in his little arms and threw them over her until she was completely hidden by the pile of moldy leaves.
“It’s okay, Mildred,” Wynn whispered, stroking her hen’s neck. Mildred didn’t make a sound, but she pressed her neck against Wynn’s cheek. Wynn peeked out of a tiny gap in the leaves. She saw one of Hob’s shiny amber eyes.
“I will keep you safe, friend.” His long finger came up to his lips. He gave her a short nod, then hopped into the clearing. A howl filled the air around them.
The reaper was here.
CHAPTER SIX
Elric
ELRIC RAN AS FAST AS he could back to the heart of the palace. The shadow of the great stone archways passed over him as he crossed into the courtyards. The archways towered hundreds of feet high, more magnificent than any structure man had ever made, a perfect ring that old druids attempted to mimic with their own circles of stone in the Otherworld. Swirling runes shimmered in the enormous towers, set off by the light of the great shield that protected this place.
In the center of the circle, the great tree grew, its high branches reaching out over the stones. Patterns of circles upon circles in endless woven druid knots had been set in colorful stones paving the way to the palace. He ran toward the steps that led up the large roots of the tree, and passed through the doorway carved in the center of the enormous trunk.
As he entered the great throne room, a glowing crystal floating in the center of the cathedral-like chamber, pulsed with a soothing white light. Like a heartbeat, it set a calm rhythm. The magic flowed through the chamber, unseen, but as present as the air around him. It settled over him with the warm feeling of sunlight on his shoulders. Normally it both awed and calmed him, but it couldn’t help him now
. He was in too much of a panic. His heart skipped and raced with terror. They didn’t have any time to lose.
He stopped at the edge of the great magic seal on the floor. The queen’s symbol, an iris blossom imposed over a star, took up most of the chamber. A small crowd of fairies were gathered there, drawing magic from the crystal. It flowed to them in waves of colored light.
“Where is the queen?” Elric shouted. His voice echoed through the chamber and carried up through the trunk of the great tree. All the fairies stilled and looked at him in shock. He’d never caused a stir before.
A tall, very thin fairy with narrow eyes and a pointed chin turned to him. It was Lord Raven, the queen’s adviser. He wore dark indigo robes and a haughty air that always floated around him along with the overpowering scent of lilies. He looked down his long nose at Elric. “You are supposed to be practicing fighting techniques with Master Elk. Why are you shirking your duties?”
“Wynn is missing!” Elric shouted at him. A loud gasp and a couple of worried cries followed his words as the fairies gathered around him. “She’s wandered into the Nightfell Wood.”
“That’s impossible. I left her in her room not that long ago,” Raven said. “A child like her cannot sneak away unnoticed. She must be in the palace.” He waved an imperial hand toward the fairies near the crystal. “You there. Search the rooms in the eastern branch.”
At his words, several of the fairies broke away, flying through the hall and out the doors and high windows to search.
Elric held out the ribbon from Wynn’s dress. “Zephyr found this on the other side of the barrier. She’s trapped out there. We have to find her; there’s a reaper in the woods. It already attacked Master Elk.”
The voices rose around him, filled with terror.
Fairies rushed this way and that, disappearing into thin beams of light or streams of mist and smoke. The frantic motion was like standing near a beehive that had just been struck with a stick.
Elk and Fox entered the chamber. Their color looked diminished, as if a part of what made them solid and real had disappeared, and now they were something like a reflection. Elric ran to his master.
“Wynn is missing,” Elric said. “I left her safe in the garden when the reaper attacked. I didn’t want her to cross any bridges on her own. Now she’s gone.”
Elric choked on his words. This was his fault. He never should have left her alone. He should have found someone to watch over her first. But he had no reason to believe she would do something dangerous. If he hadn’t been at the battle . . .
Elk placed a hand on his shoulder. It steadied him, but it didn’t make him feel any less guilty. Wynn was gone.
“Are you certain she didn’t return to her chambers on her own?” Elk asked, his voice weak. “She found you by herself. She could have returned.”
At Elk’s words, what little color that was left in Raven’s cheeks fled. “You saw her outside? How close was she to the shield? Could the elf spies have seen her?”
A chilling wind blew through the chamber and the air filled with the crackling sound of delicate ice forming on the walls. The queen appeared, a blizzard of snowflakes swirling around her. Her eyes flashed fire as she floated toward Elric. “Where is she?” Her deep voice carried through the room like thunder. She gripped a silk slipper tightly in her hand.
Elric swallowed. His eyes stung and he blinked hard. He had never been this scared, not even when he had faced mad dogs or fallen off a crumbling cliff. This fear was like a monster gripping his heart and threatening to rip it straight from his chest. He saw the same fear in the queen’s face.
Elk strode forward. The queen turned to her captain. He bowed low, dropping to his knee, then was slow to rise. “My queen, while I was training Elric as Lord Raven instructed, near the shield, the princess appeared, looking for her brother. She seemed distraught. I covered her with my cloak and sent Elric to return her to the palace. But then the reaper that has been lurking nearby found a weak place in the shield. Remembering the plan, I sent Zephyr to call Prince Elric back. But the reaper nearly broke through. Fox and I were forced to battle it outside the shield. It fought to kill. Prince Elric appeared and distracted the beast long enough for us to escape. Then the creature ran off into the woods.”
The queen towered over him, and Elric felt as if he were shrinking. “You left your sister alone.”
Elric wished he could hide. She was right. He should have never left Wynn’s side.
“Yes,” he admitted. “I believed she was safe where she was.”
He watched as the queen’s expression turned to despair. Her magic snow melted around her as her face fell. “How could you leave her? She is too frail and delicate to ever leave alone. Where was she last?”
Elric stepped forward and answered. “I left her in the garden for not more than half of an hour. She promised she would stay and wait until I came back for her. She was safe there. But when Zephyr and I returned, there was no sign of her. We found her tracks. It looks like she ran toward the shield. Something drove her straight into the Nightfell Wood.”
“What?” The queen stared at him in disbelief. “What could have possibly frightened her enough to make her do that? She knows the forest is dangerous. The shield keeps the monsters out.” Her voice cracked.
A fairy with spiked pink hair came forward. “My queen, only an hour ago, Mildred was pecking at scraps in the kitchens. Suddenly she lifted her head and then ran straight out into the gardens. We didn’t know what was wrong with her.”
“We found her feathers near the shield,” Zephyr said.
If something had attacked Mildred, Wynn would do anything to save her hen, even brave the wood. But it didn’t make any sense. If Mildred was eating scraps in the kitchens, she wouldn’t have left that for anything. There was only one thing that chicken loved more than eating, and that was Wynn. There was no reason for the hen to leave the kitchens except for Wynn, and no reason for Wynn to leave the gardens except for Mildred. Something strange happened.
“My queen.” Master Elk stepped forward. “We have to consider that the timing of the reaper attack on the shield was not a coincidence. It was meant to be a distraction. This was a planned attack, just like the last one that claimed your child. Someone within the dome knew of Wynn, and set out to claim her for the Grendel. The only question is, who has betrayed us this time?”
The queen covered her mouth with her fingertips and slowly sank to the floor. “She’s gone. My winter baby.” The wind picked up around them, chilling Elric’s blood. The sound matched the wail of his own heart.
The queen clutched Wynn’s slipper to her heart, and let out a sob.
The floor beneath them began to rumble and shake. Elric nearly lost his balance as the light flickered in the chamber. A sound split the air like lightning striking at Elric’s feet. Light flashed, and for a moment he was blinded. He blinked his eyes, but strange colors lingered in his vision before he could see the room again.
The chamber fell silent as everyone in the room gasped in horror. A deep crack sliced through the heart of the crystal. Silvery mist streamed out of it. It looked like fairy blood.
Beneath the crystal, the queen lay motionless in a soft drift of snow.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Wynn
WYNN CLUNG TO MILDRED WHERE Hob had hidden her at the base of the tree. The wet leaves covering the tangled roots felt like a soggy blanket that dripped water on her hunched head and neck. She remembered hiding under a thorn bush with Elric and wished he was next to her with his arm wrapped tightly around her. She didn’t know what to do. Hold still. Be quiet. That’s what Elric said to do under the thorn bush.
The horrible howl from the wood faded into a low rumble. Wynn felt it shiver down her back. It made her tummy feel sick. She couldn’t see anything from beneath the thick pile of leaves. She shifted so she could peek out through a small gap between a root and a large spiky leaf. Suddenly she could see the form of an animal out there as it pass
ed by her hiding place. It came so close, its shaggy gray hide blocked everything she could see out of the hole, before it circled around to the center of the clearing.
She had never seen anything so big. It was twice as tall as her father was. The monster had a thick bare chest and scraggly, mottled light gray hair that matched the pale color of its leathery skin. It dropped to all four feet like a true beast and sniffed the ground. With its long snout and sharp teeth, it reminded her of the mad dogs that had chased her once.
A voice filled the woods. It didn’t sound like it came from the monster. It didn’t move its mouth. The voice sounded like it came from inside her own head.
“Where is the girl?”
Hob bounded to the far side of the clearing only a dozen feet from the beast. “Please! Please don’t take me to the Dark One!” Hob begged, flopping over on the ground, then scrambling back up. “I know Hob knows many things that the dark master wants. He will take me and suck the thoughts from my head to know them.”
Hob’s words came out in frightful squeaks. What was he doing? Her friend was so tiny. He was almost the same size as Mildred. The monster was huge. Hob couldn’t fight a beast like that.
Wynn bit her lip until it hurt. Her eyes stung, but she held very still.
“I know she’s here. I can smell the sweetness of her flesh.”
Hob lifted his arm and took a big sniff beneath it. “That is just me.”
The monster roared.
Hob took off, speeding through the woods on his rabbit legs. He was very small and quick. The beast followed after him, loping through the trees on all fours.
Wynn shook all over. She had trouble bringing her thoughts together. Mildred struggled out of her arms and broke through the leaves. She ran in the direction Hob had pointed before he hid her.
“Mildred, no!” She pulled herself through the roots, the sticky leaves still clinging to her. They couldn’t hide now.
They had to run. Run!
Into the Nightfell Wood Page 5