Nix took off from Kade’s shoulders with a loud, echoing squawk.
“Wait!” Kade’s voice was stern as he tried to halt his familiar, but she was having none of his over-protectiveness. You go, girl! It hadn’t quite been twenty-four hours since Nikoli had given her a flying ban, but she looked to be moving easily. She was probably dying to stretch her wings.
The valley was wide enough that she could flap her huge wings, ascending rapidly, zooming from side to side so as not to make an easy target. Rocks were still falling, most situated where we were standing, but also a few more up the path, which would make running very difficult. I leapt to the right when a huge boulder crashed close to my legs, before it bounced off the wall.
Nix screeched again, this time much duller. She sounded like she was way up the mountains.
Is she okay? I checked in with Kade and Finn, both of them able to communicate with her easily.
There are bandits in the mountains. Kade’s mental voice was growly. She said they have a full setup up there … they must take out travelers and steal their possessions.
Smart. If Kade hadn’t sensed that first rock falling and yanked me out of the way, I would have been squashed, and then when my friends tried to help they all would have been too.
A shout rang through the valley and another object dropped from above. This time it wasn’t a boulder, nope, it was some little green fae with leathery skin, pointy ears, and huge bulbous eyes. Well, they looked bulbous with him splattered across the rocky floor.
His death was followed by three more. Nix was cleaning up shop and she was taking no prisoners. “What are they?” Monica asked, poking her head out around Blaine so she could see better.
“I think goblins.” Okay, that was a total guess. I didn’t know every single creature who made up the inhabitants of this world, but the treeling had given me a solid overview. I knew goblins were green, and kinda evil, so it made sense.
After ten minutes, the rocks had stopped tumbling down and so had the goblins. Nix had brought down four of them; none of them were moving from where they had tumbled. Thankfully their skin seemed to be even tougher than leather, because there wasn’t a whole bunch of blood or guts spilled everywhere. They remained intact. Flat and intact. Still pretty disturbing.
As soon as Nix made her way back down to rest on Kade, it was safe for us to set out again.
“Nix can have my beef jerky ration tonight,” Blaine said with a grin.
Everyone chuckled, and Nix gave Blaine a head dip, her majestic and wise eyes unblinking.
Our laughter disappeared as we focused on getting out of Death Valley without further incident. I was really relieved to see the end closing in, and then we were out and winding our way down a long path. In the far distance I could see some gates and small buildings.
The village.
It took us a bit of time to finally make it down, but when we did I fell a little in love with the quaint township. The huts were modest and the village folk looked like a mixture of fae, but none of the crazy, giant ones. We kept our heads down and only nodded or gave a polite smile when necessary, not wanting to draw too much attention. I almost failed at remaining undetected when we passed a food cart. I had to physically restrain myself from begging them for a taste of the meat being butchered and prepared, before being tossed onto a skillet. The animal looked a bit like a rabbit – whatever it was, it smelled delicious.
Did we have anything else to trade? We didn’t bring any modern jewelry, like watches, for fear of being recognized, and I wouldn’t dare part with my furs. Sweet shifter gods I was hungry. It worried me that we might have to steal, because our rations were not going to last until we got to Violet. I had no doubt that to successfully rescue her, we would need our full strength. I hated the thought of stealing from people who looked like they didn’t have much to give, but it was life and death for us, and I would find some way to pay them back.
Stopping in what looked like the town square or center of this village, we huddled together trying to decide if we should camp here for the night or pass right through. Everyone was tired and hungry, but we hadn’t actually walked very far today. We would probably have to press on. I was just about to mention stealing some food before we left when I felt a tap at my back.
I spun quickly, my hand already closing around the hilt of my sword, ready for a confrontation. I stilled as I found a little boy before me. He stood no taller than my waist. On Earth, I would have put him at the age of eight. Here, I had no idea. His big brown eyes were locked onto my elven blade, wide and fearful. His pointy ears peeked up out of his matted mess of hair; he was covered head to toe in dirt. I immediately took my hand off the blade so as not to spook him further.
With a shake of his head, he took a deep breath, leaned into me, and whispered so low I could barely hear: “Arianna?” He seemed unsure.
What the actual freak? I’m sure my eyes went as wide now as his had been when staring at my blade. Kade, sensing my shock through our bond, stepped closer to me, ready to protect me if needed.
The boy was still waiting for an answer, so I nodded. Without another word he turned and ran, making his way down a nearby alley that passed between two of the taller huts. I swiveled so I could see Kade. His brows were raised with a what-the-hell-is-going-on-here look.
I shook my head. I had no answer. But this child knew my name. Which meant we should follow. Right?
Chapter Four
Help is only a flower call away.
Before I could move, the boy caught our attention again, reappearing close by and waving us on.
“No way,” Kade said. His hand had not moved from his sword. “This is probably a trap. How does he know your name?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea, but Baladar did say help was coming … maybe this is it. I’m willing to take the risk.” Before anyone else could protest, I took off after the kid. Kade’s groan followed me, along with the sounds of our people grabbing their stuff and hightailing it after me.
The boy took a left at the end of the alley, I kept a reasonable distance between us as I followed. I might be willing to take a risk, but I wasn’t planning on being completely reckless. I kept him in sight, but left enough distance to give me warning of an ambush. Finn was at my side, his warmth comforting.
Turning another sharp corner, I paused at the same time as the boy. He slowed to a walk, crossing to one of the larger, more square style huts. He held the door open, waving us all inside. Kade’s hand came out to stop me before I could cross and enter the building.