“I made a promise to a dying man, Jack,” Gervase said heavily. “And was he wrong?”
“We’ve managed so far,” the huntsman—Jack, I could say now—replied.
I’d been right about Gervase’s reluctance. He had no greater desire for this marriage than I did. He, as much as I, was fulfilling a duty and hoping to make the best ofit.
It was only to be expected, yet I was disappointed, nonetheless. Jonquil had found ardor and romance in her arranged marriage. Calla had wed her love. I would have to content myselfwith being useful. Except, of course, I wasn’t even that. Behold, the great grower of hair.
“I suspect it’s too late for second thoughts now,” Gervase told Jack, before turning to me. “Am I right in doubting your queen would appreciate a broken courtship?”
“It would be a disaster,” I answered honestly. “She doesn’t enjoy having her plans foiled, and she likes being slighted significantly less. Your current troubles would seem a pittance in comparison. She might tear your castle apart stone by stone or turn the forest into a desert. As for you yourself, there is a good chance she would leave you blind, penniless, and wandering the wasteland for the rest of your days.”
He took a sharp breath. “Are her daughter’s powers as potent?”
“Not…as potent as that,” I admitted.
“I confess to being somewhat relieved.”
I wasn’t convinced he should be. “Isn’t it better for you the more powerful she is? I doubt you feel any safer now, with only me by your side to offer magical protection.”
“Your mistress will prove her worth, I’m sure, even if she cannot turn Tailliz into a wasteland.”
I made a noncommittal noise. It struck me as a bad time to tell him my “mistress” was neither what he expected nor what he wanted. He’d gotten a bad bargain in me. A very bad bargain indeed.
“And as for you,” he continued, “I wouldn’t worry unduly. No one knows where in the forest we’ve traveled. Nothing has happened to the hunting parties since we adopted Jack’s strategy. There’s no chance whatever that anything will happen today.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
And that, of course, was the moment the monsters attacked.
Chapter Eighteen
The Answer Lies upon Your Lips
They erupted out of the ground with the bone-shaking rumble of an avalanche. I caught a glimpse of something whitish and big before Poma squealed in fright and reared. Keeping my seat took all of my focus.
“Witch!” Jack screamed. “Is this your doing?”
I couldn’t reply. I could barely stay on my horse. She bolted away from the threat while I clung desperately to her neck. Gentle mare she might have been, but maintaining her calm in the face of whatever had just happened was too much to ask.
As I struggled to regain control, I heard shouts and curses, thuds and cracks and booms. To my left, a huntsman spat a bright blue poison dart frog at a giant swinging fist. To my right, an arrow shattered against an eyeless, misshapen head.
One of the creatures stepped in front of us, and Poma came to a terrified halt, so abrupt I was nearly flung over her head. When I thumped back into the saddle, my gaze fixed on the two great columns of leg that blocked our way. My stare traveled up…and fartherup.
It was at least ten times my height, and roughly in the shape of a man. It was made of unhewn rock, pale except where clumps of mud still clung to it. Moss and grasses dusted its shoulders, and a sapling had taken root on its elbow. Its great hand reached forme.
Two riders thundered past me on their stallions. The stone giant paused. One of the horsemen took the opportunity to duck under the enormous fist and slash at its leg with a sword.
Or tried to, anyway. His sword scraped across the stone with a shower of sparks. It didn’t leave behind so much as a mark. A boulder-like head turned with a grinding of stone against stone. That massive hand came at him with an almost disinterested swat, like the paw of a lazy cat batting at a toy. With a crunch, the green-clad swordsman went flying off his horse.
“Jacqueline!” screamed Gervase from my other side. He turned his steed and dashed toward the fallen huntsman.
I blinked, and a half-formed understanding flickered across my mind. But it would have to wait. The towering monster had turned its attention tome.
Finally, my horse and I reached complete agreement as to the proper course of action. Poma wheeled around and galloped away as fast as she could.
Sapling Elbow pursued us. We’d managed to get a decent head start before it swung into motion, and its movements were ponderous, the massive slabs of stone that were its legs shifting only with reluctance. But it hardly mattered. Each of its strides ate up great swathes of land.
Chaos was exploding all around me. The giant rock creatures seemed to be everywhere, fighting one-sided battles with huntsmen and guards. Dogs ran underfoot, adding their barks to the cacophony. Armored men lay smashed on the ground like broken dolls. The air had grown bitterly chill, and a violent wind threatened to pull me off my saddle. Max and Kit were making their stand—Hat On Ear and The Nose Blower putting theirpowers to the test. No doubt they were doing their best, but the rock monsters were unaffected. They were insensible to the cold and too heavy to be blown over.
