“I was worried about that…” Aurora sighs. “He’s so flighty.”
I can only assume that this “Zeeb” is a spirit of air. “We can make do without him. Getting our scent off the ground will be enough. Scatter fresh leaves from the trees; that will help move the air.”
“I will do this, but not for you, human.”
“Thank you,” Aurora whispers. “I merely want to be whole again.”
“You will be.” Brundil’s optimism fills me with confidence. The spirit turns her attention west, in the direction we were running.
The ground ripples like water, tree roots and branches arching away to clear a path. The trees sway, as though a sudden wind has whipped through their branches. A rain of leaves cascades down, perfuming the air with earthy richness and providing an unexpected screen that will also help conceal our movements.
“Good luck.” With the tired remark, Brundil sinks back into the earth.
“Thank you.” Aurora and I both express our gratitude and we are off again.
I worry less about keeping our movements concealed with the cascade of leaves. I’m not staring at the ground, stumbling over root and snag. The forest moves around us—accommodating us. The path is laid and all we must do is take it.
As we run, I think of Aurora’s first escape. She made it all the way past the Fade on her own. If she could make it so far with such little help, then surely the two of us together can make it to the land of the elves.
I glance her way. She’s able to keep up with me without issue. We’re both strong and powerful.We’re going to make it out of here.
We don’t slow as the lake comes into view. We race toward it, speeding into the water. My teeth chatter as I swim along the icy bank. The lake bed drops off precipitously from the shore, plunging into a yawning blackness so complete that it’s impossible to see what might be lurking right beneath me.
Conri and Evander’s stories of this lake fill my mind. Visions of ghosts and beasts plunged beneath its surface to a haunted, watery grave accompany the thoughts, prompting me to swim even faster. The pace keeps my blood moving and some senseof feeling in my limbs. Though my toes and fingers are almost completely numb.
Still, we swim on.
The magic of the lake makes the water heavy and potent. Our ripples don’t reach much farther than ourselves. The splashes are muted. Both sound and sight are dulled from any lykin that could glance this way. I hope that whatever magic is in the water will also help hide our tracks and cover our scent when we finally emerge.
Aurora drags herself onto the distant shore. I drag my waterlogged boots up with heavy steps, turning back to see how far we’ve come. It’s a far distance that we’ve swum around. We’re nearly at the edge of Den. I can see where the silvery trees stop on the ridge high above. The sun has moved through the sky, dipping a bit lower.
“We need to keep going.” I reach out a hand to Aurora.
“A moment.” She pants, staring up at the sky. “I truly hate this place.”
“Do you know what happened here?” I ask, continuing to scan the shores for any signs of lykin. I’ll give her the answer before forcing her to move. “You’ve been around long enough that you would know those early times, right?” It’s hard for me to speak, too. But I fight to get my breathing back under control.
“Vaguely. The world was very young then. And I didn’t pay much attention to mortals.” She stares up at the sky, as if remembering looking down upon the world in those early years. I step into Aurora’s field of view and hold out my hand. She stares at it for another few breaths. “Should we stay here tonight? Use the water to our advantage? The banks get steep here…we could find a sheltered, out-of-the-way spot.”
“No.” I shake my head. The question is genuine enough that I know it’s not just exhaustion talking. “It impacts our magic as much as the lykin’s.” I say “our” but I’m not completely sure ifit has any effect on my magic. I do know, however, that it seems to have some impact on Aurora’s. “We can’t risk being caught at all, but especially not with diminished powers. Moreover, there’s the town of Holfast not far from here. Conri will likely have them mobilize first on the roads—watching for us. We need to get across the main road and to the woods before they have a chance to establish proper patrols.”
Aurora sits with a nod. She’s lived with the lykin long enough to know their ways and all the places I’m mentioning. “Our best bet is through the forest,” she says, repeating what we had all agreed upon in the grove.
“With luck, we’ll make it before the moon is high.” I hold my hand out to her again. It trembles as it hovers in the air.
She stares at it for a moment. “Are you scared?”
“Of course I am.” I know what Conri can do—what hewilldo if we’re caught. I am scared for Evander, who is back there with the wolf king, trying to buy us time, trying to navigate the first to be sent out for the woods since he is the one who “knows them best.” He was the one who showed me the paths and could suspect where I might go. He’ll have the rest of them go to the road and patrol the forest’s edge while he escapes to meet us. “I’m also freezing.”
“The water is never much warmer than that, winter or summer. But the farther we get from the northern tundra and scars of the ancient battles, the better we’ll feel.” Aurora takes my hand and I help her up.
“Once more into the water, then we run again.”
Dripping wet, we scramble up the steep bank of the hills that lead to the Lykin Plains. We stay low until I have a chance to stand and scan the horizon for signs of movement. The breezes across the grasses trick my eyes three times, causing me to suck in my breath and drop to the ground. But when I dare to stand again, I don’t see movement in the same place twice.
“All right, Mary.” I kneel to meet the marigold that buds up, turning its petals toward me. “I need your help.” I’m leveraging every spirit I have. And none are more loyal than Folost and Mary. “Track ahead of us—we’re going to the forest. Warn us if there are any patrols or lykin ahead.”
The flower folds back into the earth and then a single one appears beyond where the first was. I stand and approach it. The second flower collapses back under the soil and a third pops up.
