by Dyan Chick
Frowning, I looked down at the bundle in my hands and pulled away the fabric to reveal a small loaf of brown bread. I broke it in half and steam rose from the loaf. It was still warm in the middle. The smell of fresh yeast and flour made my stomach grumble. "Where did you get this?"
He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep this morning so I found a bakery."
I knew there was nothing nearby, but I was too hungry to question the gift. I walked over to Cormac and handed him half. "Thank you."
"You eat it," he said.
"I don't need it all," I said.
"Then save some for later," he said.
Again, I extended the bread toward him.
He shook his head.
Knowing how stubborn he was, I decided I should concede. I could always give it to him later. Carefully, I wrapped the other half back in the cloth. "Thank you."
"I meant what I said, Cassia," he said. "I will protect you. We all will." He lifted his chin, indicating something behind me and I turned to see Dane and Ethan walking toward us.
"All cleaned up in the house," Ethan said.
"Ready when you are," Dane said. "Let's go hunt some monsters."
My thighs burned in protest as once again, we rode through the endless countryside. As much as I enjoyed riding Starlight, I found myself longing to stay put in the same place for more than one night. Though, I wasn't sure that I'd be granted that wish even once this was over. It was hard to picture a future that was so uncertain.
True to his word, the ride to the village of Twin Falls was short. It was still morning when we arrived. The warm sunshine and a touch of crisp Autumn air greeted us as we entered the sleepy village.
Twin Falls was a sleepy village nestled in a valley surrounded by trees. I could see why people liked living there. It was peaceful and cooler than it had been on the open road. Birdsong filled the morning air as I stepped onto some soft dew covered grass. I wondered if I could possibly settle down in one of these little villages and barter for room and board. Maybe when this was done, I'd ride back to a place like this.
We stopped in front of an inn and Cormac led my horse and his away while Ethan did the same with his and Dane's horse. Leaving Dane and me alone for the first time since last night.
"Did I do something to upset you?" Dane asked.
"No," I said. "I enjoyed our time. It's just hard to get used to how different things are here."
"Did it feel wrong?" Dane asked gently.
"No." I hadn't stopped to think about that and blurted the word out before I really let the question sink in. But it was the truth. Being around Dane felt right; being around all of the princes felt right.
Before we could go any farther with our conversation, Cormac and Ethan returned.
"I just want to meet with our source before we head into the forest," Cormac said.
We followed him toward a pub with a faded green dragon on a sign that hung precariously by one of its two hooks. The dragon on the sign, much like the exterior of the building, looked like it had once been crafted from a place of great care and fallen into disrepair over the years.
"This way." Cormac pushed open the door and Ethan followed him, holding the door open for me to enter. I went through after hesitating at the threshold for a moment. This didn't seem like the type of place that was safe to be stopping in. Quickly, I reminded myself that I wasn't alone and I wasn't in the company of humans who would abandon me at the first sign of trouble.
The inside of the bar smelled like pipe weed, sweat, and ale. It was a combination of every smell I disliked that seemed to cling to so many men. I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose in disgust and instead pressed my lips together and tried my best to maintain a neutral expression.
The pub was dark and empty this early in the morning as none of the window shutters had been open. I wondered if they ever opened them and let in the sunlight and I worried about what I would see on the floor or the tables if they ever did. As it was, my boots stuck to the floor as I walked and I had a feeling the same sticky substance covering the floor was probably on every flat surface.
A pair of double doors behind a shiny maple bar top swung open and a creature of at least eight feet tall with wide bulging eyes and gray, pallid skin walked through. He smiled, showing long yellow teeth that crowded his mouth so much, I wondered how he had room for them all. The creature took heavy footsteps toward our group then extended his arms as he reached Cormac embracing him in a monstrous hug.
"Cormac, it's been too long," the creature said.
"Levin, it's good to see you. Thank you for sending that information our way."
"Of course, those creatures are scaring away business. Can't feed my family with an empty pub and everyone's afraid to go out at night for fear of being attacked," Levin said.
"How many creatures have come into the village?" Dane asked.
"We've had six attacks so far. And the weird part is they're traveling in packs. Never seen that before," Levin said, then he turned to look at me. "Which one of you finally bagged a girl? And why the hell are you crazy enough to bring her along hunting Sodalis?"
"This is Cassia, she's helping us," Dane said.
"I'm sure she's very helpful," Levin said with a wink.
I frowned and bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from commenting. Levin wasn't a creature anyone should mess with. He clearly wasn't human and he didn't look anything like the Fae princes or any other Fae I'd met so far. I wasn't sure what he was, but he was big and intimidating.
"Don't let that pretty face fool you, Levin," Dane said. "She's already killed a few of the beasts."
Levin raised his brows. "Really? I won't even go after those creatures. They're disgusting."
"They really are," I said. "I think I'll be washing Sodalis blood and drool off of me for the next month."
Levin howled with laugher. "I like this one, Dane. I think you should keep her."
Chapter Twenty-Five
"When was the last attack?" Cormac asked.
"Two days ago," Levin said.
"And they wait until nightfall?" Ethan asked.
Levin nodded. "It's not typical. They don't usually stick around like this and they never travel in packs."
"And it came from the North?" Cormac said.
Levin nodded again. "Were guessing they're staying somewhere near the falls. But since they're traveling in groups now, none of the fighters here are willing to go into the woods after them. We don't exactly know how many there are. Could be the same group attacking or it could be sending out hunting parties to collect fresh meat every few days."
I shuddered at the thought of the whole herd of the monsters organizing enough to send out hunting parties to return back to a massive number of them.
"Thank you for your help, Levin. We’ll take care of them."
"Anything I can get you before you head out?" Levin asked.
"We could use a small restock of rations, just in case it takes longer than a day," Cormac said.
Five minutes later, we were out the door with a bundle of food and a mission: Find the creatures, and as Cormac promised, take care of them.
As we rode away from town, I rode up alongside Cormac. "What are we expected to do? Smell them out?"
"That's one way. As you notice, they had a very distinct scent," Cormac said.
I meant the words sarcastically, but Cormac apparently didn't notice or didn't care.
"You said you'd help teach me how to do this." I knew Cormac wasn't great at answering questions, but this was something he might agree to follow through on and I was eager to learn anything I could.
"Lesson begins once we get out of town," Cormac said.
Several minutes after we had passed the last building on the edge of Twin Falls Village, we were still riding in silence. I was about to ask him what I should be doing when Cormac suddenly halted his progress. Starlight stopped next to his horse.
"Tracking is about using your senses," Cormac said. "All of your sense
s. Smell, when it comes to creatures such as these can be a powerful ally. There's also sight, sound, taste, and your intuition. Don't ignore that little voice inside that tells you not to overlook something or to turn in a different direction. All great trackers have it and it can mean the difference between life and death. But you can't only follow your intuition. It needs to work in concert with the rest, a symbiotic relationship of the things you experience coupled with the things you feel."
I nodded and took a deep breath, trying to take it all in. It seemed a little unbelievable that in addition to just looking for things, I could find an inner voice to give me clues. I wasn't sure I had something like that. I had a feeling, I was going to have to rely on my senses. Wanting to show Cormac that I was taking it seriously, that I could learn, I looked around us. We were on another dirt road, once again lined by trees. The Autumn Court seemed to be mostly made of woods and forests.
The trees swayed musically in the wind, leaves mimicking the sound of rain. I took a deep breath, expecting to smell nothing but grass and dirt but was surprised that I caught the tail end of the scent of death. It was the smell of the Sodalis, and I found my mind assaulted with images of blood, sharp claws, and snapping jaws.
I wrinkled my nose and opened my eyes then shook the vision from my head. My stomach twisted at the thought of facing the monsters down again.
"What is it?" Cormac asked.
Pushing the fear away, I turned toward the scent and noticed more details. "The tree branches, they're broken. The grass is matted. Something large came through right there."
"And?" Cormac asked.
"I can smell them," I said.
"And what do you think we should do, little tracker?" Cormac asked.
Something inside me told me that following them there would not give me the results I was looking for. A flicker of fear signaled danger, but that didn't make sense. Wasn't that what we were there to do? Follow the creatures and find them?
"Trust your instincts, Cassia. What do you think we should do?" Cormac asked.
"We can't go in through that way," I said.
"Why not?" Cormac asked.
"I'm not sure, but it doesn't feel safe."
Cormac smiled. "Perhaps you would be a good candidate for tracking at the Academy. You're right, entering through that small path could be dangerous. We could be trapped in the undergrowth and the horses won't make it through. If the creatures are hidden, they could attack us before we even saw them. We have to find another way that gives us the advantage. At least now we know they're near," Cormac said.
"We'll take the bridge to the other side of the river. If they’re anything like the other creatures we've hunted, they don't like being too far from water. The closer we get to the falls, the more likely we are to run into them."
As we continued down the road toward the bridge, the smell of the monsters grew stronger. By the time we crossed the bridge, I pulled my tunic up over my face to try to filter out some of the stench. We had to be close and I wasn't sure I wanted to know how many of the beasts we would find if they were letting off that strong of a smell when we couldn't even see them yet.
I continued to scan the undergrowth and trees for any signs of disruption. My heart hammered in my chest partly due to anticipation, partly due to fear. I didn't want one of these creatures to sneak up on me, that had happened too many times already. Fiery red and orange leaves of the trees wrestled with the wind, but other than that, I couldn't hear any sound in the forest.
"Do you think they're sleeping?" I asked.
"It's possible, he did say they've been coming out at night."
Cormac stopped riding and lifted his fist into the air, signaling for the rest of us to stop. I held my breath as I looked around for any sign of what made him decide that this was where we needed to wait.
I didn't have to look too hard, in front of us was a massive patch of flattened moss and grass littered with broken tree branches and bones. I saw a patch of what looked to be human hair and gagged, swallowing down the bile that rose up in my throat as I turned away. The creatures weren't here anymore, but they'd been here.
Cormac dismounted and Ethan walked up from behind us. I noticed Dane was holding the reins of both his horse and Ethan's while Ethan took hold of Cormac's horse so he could go exploring.
"Come on down, maybe learn something," Cormac said to me.
I dismounted, nearly landing on my face in the process, and handed my reins over to Ethan. Wordlessly, I joined Cormac stepping around the piles of bones and matted fur. Flies buzzed over the carcasses that had been left behind and I swatted them away as I walked through. My stomach churned and I hoped I'd be able to refrain from getting sick all over Cormac's boots.
Cormac walked to the edge of the matted grass and crouched low. I joined him, copying his movements. From this vantage point, I noticed there was a tunnel through the underbrush, between the trees, that seemed to go on for quite a distance.
Low hanging branches around the tunnel were broken and stomped on as if the creatures fled from this space to another.
The part of the woods they headed into was thick with trees and shrubs and would be impossible for horses to pass through. I stood and weaved in between a few of the trees to get a closer view. Cormac grabbed my hand and pulled me back. "You can't go that way."
I pulled my arm away from his grasp and stared off into the distance. The trees beyond this growth looked different than the rest of the woods. The fiery leaves were gone, replaced by fields of green.
"What is that place?" I asked. It was clear there was a change there. Something shifted with the disappearance of the trees I'd grown accustomed to in the Autumn Court. It was as if some invisible divider separated these woods from another place. It was unfamiliar, yet part of me felt a pull toward the new trees.
"We're at the border," Cormac said. "Beyond the Autumn trees is the Winter Court. We can't pass through that."
"But the creatures can?" I asked.
"We have no jurisdiction there, we signed the treaty. We can't violate it," Cormac said. "Sodalis don't worry about treaties."
"And even if we wanted to," Dane said. "None of us can pass through that barrier. Only the Fae with winter blood can get through. For the rest of us." Dane made a slicing motion with his finger across his throat.
"So how do we finish this? How do we get rid of these monsters and keep them from attacking me?" If the creatures were taking sanctuary in the Winter Court, did that mean they knew we were hunting them? Were they there biding their time until the princes left me alone so I would be unprotected? "How do we close the tear?"
"The only way the monsters can travel into the Winter Court is if the tear is in that court. The barrier should have kept them out," Dane said.
"Well there's a ruler there, right?" I asked. "Surely there's a way to communicate the importance of this."
"There's a prince there," Ethan said. "But he doesn't take kindly to visitors. We have to do this the right way, through official channels."
"What's to stop them from coming back then?" I asked. "I'm tired of constantly worrying that I'm going to be mauled to death. Do you think they will stay there? That they're done coming after me?" I asked.
All three princes were silent, but I could read their expressions. Even Dane, who usually wore a face of confidence, looked crestfallen.
"How do we send the message to the Winter Court?" I asked.
"We have to go to the border crossing," Cormac said. Without any other explanation, he mounted his horse. "Back to town. We'll have to slide there."
Chapter Twenty-Six
I was surprised when Cormac led us right back to the stables in town. I thought the stable master was surprised, too. But he was happy to accept the coin Cormac offered in exchange for housing our horses.
"Is it that far away?" I asked. Hadn't we just been at the border for the Winter Court? I wondered why it was that we would need to use the strange and slightly uncomfortable process to
travel from where we were to where we were going.
"We border the Winter Court, that entry point is at the southernmost tip of both of our lands. It's easily a full day's ride from here to there."
"But that makes no sense, why not just go in where we were? The creatures are sneaking in at that point, we're wasting time."
"This is more than just hunting monsters. This is politics. I'm not going to start a war over this," Cormac said.
"It would be that big of a deal if another Fae crossed the border?" I asked.
"I already told you, none of us would be able to cross even if we wanted to. You have to have Winter Court blood to even be allowed through. The only way we will get a chance to talk to someone is if we enter through proper channels." Cormac paused, a frown on his lips. "I wish we could just leave you here. The Winter Court isn't a place we should take someone like you."
"Someone like me?" The words stung. I thought we were finally starting to understand each other and that I had gained at least a little bit of respect from Cormac and the other princes.
"I'm sure Cassia can take care of herself just fine," Dane said.
I smiled at him, grateful that someone was stepping up to defend me. "I've already demonstrated that I can be useful. I helped you find their tunnel and I saved your life."
"It's not that. It's Tristan, the Prince of the Winter Court. He has a reputation and I'm not sure how much of it is true," Cormac said. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Well, based on his reputation, having her there to speak for us might be beneficial," Ethan said.
"I'm not going to parade Cassia in front of someone like him," Dane said.
"I'm going with you, you know I attract those creatures and if you leave me here they'll just come back. We're wasting time standing here," I said.
"She does have a point," Dane said, winking at me.
"Fine, don't let go," Cormac said as he embraced me with his strong arms.
I buried my face into his chest and squeezed him tighter than I needed to in anticipation of the strange sensation I knew was coming. I wasn't a fan of traveling like this, but if this was the way to seal the tear between realms and put an end to those creatures hunting me, I was willing to do whatever I needed to. Including speaking to some depraved prince of a forbidden court.