Selene spun on her heel and stormed off, head held high.
Nix barked.
“I know,” said Bo. “She’s as unpredictable as the Scribe, but are you going to tell her and risk being blasted with magic?”
Nix scooted off after the others in a hurry.
“Thought so,” said Bo, and followed.
They weaved through the tightly packed trees until they came upon a small village of abandoned stone huts, many of them little more than rubble. They searched for signs of Galvin but he was long gone or had never been there. When Tam motioned to the tracks leading from the village to the forest, Bo’s blood turned to ice. Neither of them said a word but Bo knew they both had heads full of gleaming bones and straw dolls.
They didn’t follow the tracks. Instead, they chose the strong-est-looking hut and locked themselves inside, then lit as many candles as they could find. They ate a meager meal of dried meat and bread, all of it scrounged from the bottom of Bo’s rucksack. Thank you, Sister Vela, thought Bo.
“We sleep in shifts,” announced Tam. She did not say why but Bo understood—candles did not keep Shadow Creatures away anymore. “I will take the first shift—you sleep. We will decide our next move in the morning.”
Bo’s body ached with exhaustion. It felt like an age since he had last slept. Rolling his cloak into a pillow, he curled up beside Nix and closed his eyes. I’ll only nap for a bit, he told himself. Make sure I wake up for my shift. But when he next opened his eyes, pale morning Light streamed through the window.
He sat up, groggy and confused. Nix snuffled in his sleep, lying across Bo’s shins and refusing to budge. Bo rubbed his eyes and spied Tam sitting in the same spot he had last seen her. She was wide awake.
“We were supposed to share the lookout,” he grumbled.
Tam was cross-legged on the floor, the weapon she had called Redfist in her lap. She was running her fingers in slow circles along the feather-shaped blade. “I did not feel like sleep,” she answered. “I have slept for too long.”
Bo prodded Selene awake; the Nev’en was curled up on a pile of blankets beside him, snoring loudly enough to frighten away any Shadow Creature.
“Careful,” she said, voice syrupy with sleep, “if you jolt me awake I might accidentally zap you with magic.” Despite her grumbling, she sat up, scooping her long silver braids into a pile on top of her head, securing them with twine. “How come no one woke me for lookout?”
“I have been thinking,” said Tam. “All night. About the riddle. I think, perhaps, it is a river.”
Bo knotted his brow in thought. I run but do not walk. I have a mouth but do not talk. I have a head but never weep. I have a bed but never sleep. His eyes lit up. “That’s it! You’re a genius, Tam. A river fits.”
Tam chuckled quietly. “Ah well.”
Selene stood and dusted off the back of her trousers. “But how do we know which river? There have to be hundreds in Ulv. Maybe more.”
Bo rubbed the back of his stiff neck and sighed; he hadn’t thought of that. Searching every river in Ulv would take forever!
“Ah, but there is only one called the Serpent River,” said Tam. “Remember the shape of the key? A snake. So.”
Selene broke into her wonky smile. “Oh, you really are a genius, Tam. Where is it? Is it far? Maybe we can beat Galvin to it. Do you think he’s worked it out too?”
Bo leapt up, dislodging Nix with a yelp. He was so busy gathering his things, eager to get started on their journey, he did not notice Tam had remained silent. Finally, he looked up and saw the Korahku with her head lowered, eyes trained on her lap. She ran her finger along the edge of the blade until it reached the tip. She drew her finger up to her face and calmly inspected the slither of blood she found there.
“The Serpent River runs through the Valley of Eyes,” said Tam.
An uneasy feeling squirmed in Bo’s stomach. “Where is that?” The place sounded familiar but Bo couldn’t think why.
Tam stood, dusting off her tunic, refusing to meet Bo’s eye. “It is close to where you will find my flock. In Korak.”
* * *
“Keep moving,” said Tam, voice tight. “Quickly.”
“We don’t have to do this,” said Bo for what felt like the hundredth time. He had been arguing with Tam ever since they’d left the hut. If Tam set foot in Korak, then her flock would surely capture her and sentence her to death. There was no way on Ulv Bo was letting that happen—he owed her. “You should stay here. Selene and I will collect the key and return to you.”
“Do you know what a blood bind is, little Irin?” said Tam. She had asked this question at least five times already.
“I understood it the first time you explained it to me and it still doesn’t make a difference,” said Bo. “I’m not letting you—”
“Hush, little Irin. We will sneak into Korak and beat Galvin to the key. We leave before my flock realizes I have returned. It is no worry. Now, hurry, we have much land to cover before Dark.”
It was no good. There was simply no arguing with Tam.
“I could try and magic her, tie her to a tree,” whispered Selene as she passed. “Can’t promise I won’t turn her into a mud-myg, though. Or a togre.” She shivered.
Bo told Nix to come along and quit barking at nothing. They were weaving among the trunks of a thick forest—still no sign of the sickness, thank the Light.
The trees were so densely packed that both Tam and Selene kept disappearing from view, obscured by the massive trunks. Nix stuck close to Bo’s feet. Bo tried to keep his distance from the shadows but did it matter? Now that Shadow Creatures could attack in the Light . . .
“Tam?”
“Keep up,” called the Korahku, though Bo couldn’t see her.
He caught a glimpse of movement to his right. Was that Selene flicking in and out of view between the trees? “Selene?”
Bo jumped as Selene suddenly appeared at his left. He grabbed her hand in fright. “Did you see that? There was . . . something.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll blast any Shadow Creatures with my magic. I’m getting the hang of it. Sister Magrid always said I was a slow learner but she was wrong. You just think about what you want to happen and it happens. Sort of. I have to really want it. And feel it. Something like that, anyway. And I guess magic can’t be bad if it saves people. Right?”
But Bo wasn’t listening. He stared hard at the gaps between the trees. Were the shadows moving?
“I’ll have my hand back now, please,” said Selene. Bo looked down and found he was still gripping it tightly. He dropped it, blood rushing to his cheeks.
Selene smiled at him, a dangerous twinkle in her eyes. “It’s not just Shadow Creatures you have to worry about here, though,” she said. “We’re in the Labyrinth of Liars, after all.”
“The labyrinth of what?”
“The Labyrinth of Liars. It’s a forest that stretches for miles and miles and it’s haunted.”
Nix barked.
“I know,” muttered Bo. “Maybe one day we’ll stumble upon a forest that isn’t haunted.”
“It’s because of the Elfvor,” said Selene. “There used to be two kinds of people: the Elfvor and the Ulvians. You and me, we come from the Ulvians but some people, like the Korahku and the Qirachi, come from both. But here’s the thing.” She leaned in close, lowering her voice to a husky whisper. “Elfvor are monsters. You best not catch sight of one. Keep your eyes on the ground—you don’t want to step on their tails.”
Tails?
Bo kept his eyes on his feet as he hurried after Selene. He skipped over exposed roots and rocks and mulch and leaves but no tails. Do trees have tails?
“And they have hooves,” said Selene. “And wooden horns that grow out of their foreheads and if you look them in the eye, you turn to stone. Some of them can shape-shift into animals and instead of skin they have bark and flowers and vines growing all over them and they live forever. So, really, any one of these trees could be an
Elfvor in disguise,” she said as she hurried away.
“I’m not sure what you read about being friends in those scrolls, Selene, but this isn’t it,” Bo called after her, but she only answered with a hoot of laughter. “I think she’s making a fool out of me,” Bo told Nix.
“Of course she is,” said Tam, suddenly appearing in the gap between two trees on Bo’s left. “There is no such thing as Elfvor anymore. They left these lands long ago.”
“But what are Elfvor? And why did they leave? And how come they’re your ancestors and not mine?”
Tam clicked her beak. “I see you have not lost your appetite for questions.”
“I see you still refuse to give me answers,” Bo grumbled. He sidestepped a shadow nervously.
“The point is, there are no Elfvor here anymore,” said Tam. “No more monsters, okay?”
Bo let out a shaky breath.
“See?” he told Nix. “Nothing to worry about.” Except Shadow Creatures and wolves and witches, he thought wryly.
“Oh, I would not say nothing to worry about,” said Tam. “She is right about one thing: this is the Labyrinth of Liars. With magic returning, this might be a dangerous place to be for dishonest folk.” Without further explanation, Tam strode off, disappearing among the thick trunks.
Bo frowned at Nix. Nix barked.
“I am not dishonest,” he said. “I wasn’t the one who stole a second helping of rabbit this morning, was I?”
Nix nipped at Bo’s ankles before charging away.
As they trampled through the forest, the trees grew closer together and the ground became harder to navigate—rocks and exposed tree roots and holes and dense scrub but still no tails. Shadows loomed ominously around them.
Bo’s foot caught in a tree root and he fell forward, landing on his hands and knees. “Skugs fud,” he said, and felt a cold nose press against his arm. “I’m fine, Nix,” he said, dusting off his palms and knees. Bo tried to stand but his foot became tangled in the root again; down he tumbled.
“I think this forest hates me,” he told Nix.
“Better hope that wasn’t a tail,” said Selene.
“Better hope I don’t set Shadow Creatures on you,” said Bo. Unlike the village children, who would have run away screaming, Selene merely rolled her eyes and skipped ahead. She didn’t fear him at all. Maybe she does know a thing or two about being a good friend, he conceded.
Bo looked up and saw a flash of blue robe: Tam appeared between two trees, frowning at him.
“No time to rest,” said the Korahku.
Bo opened his mouth to protest but was shocked into silence when the vines crisscrossing the ground suddenly rose up and charged toward Tam.
She hacked at the vines with one of the small swords she’d claimed from the temple, but each time a vine was cut, two more replaced it.
“What is this?” Bo yelled. He looked left and saw Selene with her eyes wide in shock as the vines sprang up off the forest floor and walled her in too.
She was trapped.
The True Histories of Ulv, Vol. XVII
On the Peculiar Relationship between Trees and Magic
Did you know trees are particularly susceptible to the whims of magic? Don’t believe me?
Then you will find yourself in trouble should you stumble upon a certain forest in the easternmost corner of Ulv, called Ov Carn Flik in the local dialect, which translates to “evil magical trees that rip off your face and eat it.”
And let us not forget the Great Future-Telling Birch of Ny, which, should you place your hand on its trunk, will offer three glimpses into your future. Which is splendid! Astonishing! Fabulous! Except that the Great Future-Telling Birch of Ny has a wicked sense of humor and takes great joy in making misleading predictions to drive you mad.
One particularly fascinating—and by “fascinating” I mean “ghastly”—case of magical trees is the Labyrinth of Liars, a forest on the southern banks of the Sea of Widow’s Tears. Should you enter the forest with a lie in your heart, the tree roots will rise up and entomb you, squeezing the life from you slowly but surely. Cut a vine and it doubles, triples, quadruples! So take a big breath before you’re all wrapped up because it might well be your last for a while!
Of course, since magic vanished, the Labyrinth of Liars is a perfectly ordinary forest and is a lovely destination for day walks and picnics, even for liars.
Edit: Magic has returned. Be wary of the Labyrinth of Liars.
Chapter Twenty
Nix barked at the tangled vines that had wound around Selene—there wasn’t even a gap Bo could see through.
“Selene?”
“Bo?” Her voice was muffled and faint.
“Keep back,” said Tam, unsheathing Redfist. She slashed at the vines but more kept coming, tangling around her feet. Bo danced on the spot to keep the vines from curling around his ankles, but they slithered right by him, drawn only to Tam and Selene. “It is no good,” said Tam, panting heavily after several minutes of fruitless slashing and chopping. Another vine slithered up her calf.
“I’m going to try something,” came Selene’s muffled voice. “You lot might want to get out of the way.”
“Are you sure that’s—” Bo ducked as a flash of blue Light zapped through the air; the hair on the back of his neck stood at attention. More Light zoomed by him as he huddled on the ground, arms wrapped around Nix: zap, zap, zoom!
Bo coughed on smoke as the zaps finally stopped. He looked up, and through the hazy blue smoke, he saw Selene’s long limbs tearing at the singed vines.
“How about that?” said Selene, ripping off the final charred vine. She grinned in triumph, then sent a blast of magic to free Tam, too. “Take that, creepy vines! Ha!”
Bo rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the fond smile that curled his mouth. “Magic isn’t so bad, is it?”
Selene bit her lip, trying to contain her own smile. “Perhaps.”
But their relief was short-lived as new shoots suddenly sprang up from the ground and began weaving toward Selene and Tam.
“Hogsbeard! Why do they keep coming for us? Why not go for Bo and Nix?”
“Hey!”
“Quickly,” said Tam, taking Selene’s hand and pulling. “Run!”
They dashed through the forest, weaving between the trees with vines slithering after them like rabid snakes. Though they brushed past Bo and nipped at Nix’s tail, their focus was Selene and Tam. Zap, zap, zap! Selene shot sparks of fire at the vines as she ran. Soon, they reached a large clearing.
With a startled cry, Selene tripped on a tree root and fell. As she hit the ground, a luminous green vine roped around her ankle. A dozen more sprang from all directions and wrapped her up tight, arms pinned to her sides.
“Hogsbeard! How am I supposed to magic these vines now?”
In a frenzy, Tam attacked the creepers trying to capture her—chop, chop, chop with her sword. Bo looked for a rock, a fallen branch, a bone, but there was nothing.
He kicked them. “Get back, vines. Leave them alone!”
The vines coiled tighter around Selene, squeezing the air from her lungs. She gasped. “Help me!”
Bo tore the vines with his bare hands until an unmistakable sound froze him to the spot: a wolf’s howl.
“No.” He shook his head. “No.” He tore at the vines until his fingers bled. “Not now! He can’t come now!”
Tam crouched into her battle pose, head tilting as she listened for the approaching wolf. The vines continued to claw at her but she chopped them one by one. “Use this.” Tam handed a small sword to Bo—it was Firewand. “Free Selene and then run,” she said. “Whatever happens, do not stop.”
The sword shook in Bo’s grip. No matter how much air he gulped, it was never enough to fill his lungs.
“My arms,” Selene wheezed, struggling against the tightening vines. They were up to her neck. “Free my arms.”
Bo hacked at Selene’s sides where the vines were thickest, wincing with every w
ild slash, afraid of hurting her. He was swimming in sweat. So hot!
The wolf howled again, closer this time.
Selene squirmed against the shredded vines as they wrapped around her. “Just a few more,” she groaned.
“Hurry, Bo,” said Tam as the thump-ta-thump-ta-THUMP of Ranik’s approach drummed through Bo’s body.
At the cracking of a branch, Bo looked over his shoulder and saw the wolf bounding toward them, weaving through the densely packed trees with mystifying grace. He reached the clearing and pulled up in front of Tam.
“Is you. Again,” sneered Ranik, baring his teeth at the Korahku. “Thought I. Killed you.”
“Not as strong as you think, wolf,” said Tam. She deftly slashed the vines curling up her calves, all the while keeping a steady eye on Ranik.
“Will be glad. To finish you. This time,” said Ranik, pawing at the earth, readying himself to attack. “Best you. Stay out of. My way. I just. Need to speak. With boy. He has. Answers.”
“And if he does not give you the answers you are after?” said Tam.
The wolf grinned. “Then he. Is of no use. And I am. Hungry.”
Bo attacked the vines with a roar, but each cut only increased the number of vines constricting Selene. Sweat was dripping from his chin, down his chest. So hot! He was burning up! It took Bo a moment to realize it was the crystal pendant around his neck, burning hot and throbbing, making him sweat.
But that meant . . .
Bo turned in time to see the air rippling before a familiar ball of Light bobbed and expanded and poured into the shape of Mads. Instead of joy or relief, Bo felt queasy.
The apparition maneuvered between Tam and Ranik. “No, you don’t, wolf,” Mads growled. “Why must you always spoil my plans?”
The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars Page 17