Tonight’s challenge was similar to the last one I participated in. Our “prize” sat hidden somewhere in these trees, and we were tasked with finding it and returning it to the registration tent. Zombies would try to thwart us and avoid our Nerf guns and killer marshmallows. It all seemed so stupid when I thought about what could also be in these woods with us.
Kaiden said there were no djinn to be found, and my power sat fully charged in my belly, ready to go if that proved false, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking into the lion’s den. This deep, the ancient trees grew close together, and we were forced further apart. I kept the others in my peripherals and focused on finding that damned piñata and getting out of here.
A thick, ropey fog rolled in around my ankles. It hovered over the ground, seeking, and the frigid temperature that came with it betrayed the source. Dry ice. This was part of the challenge. Further ahead and off to my sides, the fog grew thicker and floated up until I was surrounded. Shouts and co-ed squeals echoed from all around.
The fucking zombies wereinthe fog? Whose bright idea was this?
“Kaiden!” I shouted. “Rani! Anyone?”
My own muffled voice rebounded off the ancient trees as my ability to see decreased. The fog was disorienting and far more powerful than basic dry ice. I had a bad feeling something else was at play here. I pushed harder, moving faster, despite not being able to see, and thanked every lucky star there was whenthe fog cleared a few feet later. Standing ahead of me, in an ugly-ass neon green shirt stood a guy. His hair was dark; brown or black I wasn’t sure in this lighting, but he appeared my age. Good. I hadn’t wandered too far from the games.
I threw a marshmallow with perfect accuracy. It bounced off his chest and landed somewhere in the leaf litter at his feet. He just stood there. Fucker. He was supposed to sit for thirty minutes. That was a grenade and a direct hit. His face was hidden in shadows, so I couldn’t tell if he was high or being an intentional dick.
“Hey!” I threw another marshmallow and it bounced harmlessly to the ground. “Dude, you’re supposed to die.”
Silver glinted in his hand, just to the side of his right leg. Still, he said nothing, only continued to play with whatever he had that captured the scarce moonlight so easily. The hair on my neck prickled as magick reached out with greedy hands. I stumbled back, tripping over roots and debris as the fog once again increased, stemming from the man before me.
His strides easily cleared the obstacles bogging me down, diminishing the small stretch of forest that kept us apart. White surrounded me, blocking out even the bark of the tree at my back. Still, that man came closer. I realized in growing horror that the silver glint in his hand was a knife.
“Who are you?” I called out and tried in vain to become one with the tree.
My magick coiled within me, ready to perform whatever task I asked of it. I tried offensive first, but my projection lacked any real strength, and the thin tendrils of power I sent toward him did nothing more than dissipate with a wave of his hand.
“You should feel honored, bond of Alantes, that I’ve decided to take care of this myself.”
Now, only feet away, I still couldn’t tell what color hair this guy had. Dark. Greasy. Unkempt. Those were the adjectives thatcame to mind, along with dangerous, djinn, and probably a murderer. My murderer: if I didn’t find a way out of this. Hands flat against the tree, I used it to keep me grounded in the fog and gingerly eased around its thick trunk. The guy kept rambling.
“I should have known I couldn’t trust anyone else to take care of this.” He lunged, pinning me to the tree before I had the chance to bolt. His rancid breath clogged my nostrils as I struggled in his grip. Bruises bloomed beneath his fingers where they gripped my arm, and he grinned. “My father will reward me greatly for this.”
Silver flashed, and I screamed, agony spreading from my side into a steady throb of pain. I twisted at the last minute, but the burning told me he succeeded enough. Death hovered in his eyes. This was it. My hands grappled at arms covered in thick leather sleeves. There was no bare skin to find, and my magick floundered inside me, desperate for a release. My attacker grunted, his head falling forward as something hit him from behind.
He doubled his hold on me but turned enough that both of us could see the furious redhead behind him. Rani held a rock in her hand, and a promise of retribution twisted her face into a sneer.
“Let her go, you fucking creep!” She shouted and swung again with the rock. It landed on his upper back, and then again on his shoulder. Too small to reach his head, she mercilessly attacked his body, aiming for whatever soft spots she could find.
The djinn looked more annoyed than deterred, mumbling something insulting about humans as he gathered his magick to him. He was going to use it on Rani, I just knew it, and I couldn’t allow that to happen. Seeing this as my only opportunity, I yelled and planted both my palms on his face. At the contact, the floodgates to his mind opened in a brief moment of surprise.
That was all I needed. His mind was a vault; he wasobviously trained in defense against my kind. But there…in the back, a small hairline fracture in his defenses. It was just enough for me to wrangle control, and I held onto it for all I was worth.
“Release me,” I demanded, and his grip on me disappeared. “You will stand here, in this very spot, until the sun rises high enough to touch the base of this tree.”
He grunted, fighting the web of power slithering through his mind, but I held on. I wouldn’t be able to maintain the control for long once I let go of his face, not with the amount of mental strength he had. Hopefully, the command would be enough to hold him until Rani and I got away. With a final, painful breath, I let go and threw myself at Rani.
“Run!”
She resisted at first, determined to beat the guy bloody with her small weapon, but we were wasting time. I had no choice. Using only the smallest strand of magick, Ipushedat her mind, and Rani fell into step beside me without argument. With one hand pressed against my bleeding side, I dragged us through the forest, listening out for where the other challengers might be. Safety in numbers, even from the djinn.
We saw no others until the checkpoint tent came into view just outside the tree line. I pulled us to a stop, half bent over as I tried to catch my breath. My hand felt sticky, and I knew I left an easy trail for my attacker to follow. Fear over how bad my wound really was blinded me. The idea that the blade was poisoned also froze the breath in my lungs.
“Eryn, what’s going on?”
Focus. One problem at a time. There was no talking my way out of this, no explanation I could give her that wouldn’t lead to more questions. Keeping one eye out for the djinn, I reached for Rani’s hand and gave her a smile, even though I’m sure my lips trembled, and I wasn’t at all convincing.
Her mind was wide open and pure. There were no defensesin place to keep me out, and her only thoughts were about me. She was confused—terrified—but willing to do whatever it took to protect me. It was all too easy to erase her memories of the last few minutes and replace them with false ones. Nothing too complex. The more complicated I made the memories, the higher the chance she would find holes in them later.
I’d just finished planting a false narrative of us searching the trees and coming back empty-handed when the bond in my chest fluttered. Ezra and Kaiden made a beeline for us, worry etched into both of their faces. I shut down my half of the bond as best I could to mask the pain I felt, but I wasn’t that successful.
“What happened?” Kaiden asked. “I felt…”
