After we survived this little journey of course.
The path from the traveler’s settlement was a fairly flat and easy hike. We walked for a few hours, stopped for a snack, and then continued on our way. The closer we got to the Winter Court’s main city, the more the foliage around us changed. Gone were the burnt orange leaves of fall trees, and in their place were the gnarled sticklike branches of winter. With this change came a chill in the air that was beyond anything I’d felt before. It even cut through my thick furs.
Nikoli paused, turning his face upwards. “I sense trouble,” he said, his eyes fluttering closed as he perceived things the rest of us couldn’t.
Our group didn’t move. None of us spoke as we waited. I tried to tap into the mecca energy inside, tried to sense what Nikoli was perceiving, but all I felt was the icy and insidious air as it slapped at my body.
Monica, Blaine, and Victor made the first move, falling into battle formation around me. Kade remained close to my side, Finn before us. No doubt dangers were everywhere here, even if I couldn’t see them, so it made sense for me to unsheath my weapon. It would save me seconds if we were attacked. I would never forget how quickly that fae assassin in Kade’s garden had killed so many of our guards.
A whistle cut through the air then, and an arrow burst out from the trees, heading right for Kade. My mind immediately flashed back to the last arrow from the Otherworld that had hit Kade. It had been laced with a fast-acting poison, and only Violet’s magical expertise had saved him – Violet who was not with us right now.
Before I could panic, Kade twisted to the side and the arrow whizzed right past him to land in the ground behind us. In unison then, all of us lowered our stances into positions suited for defense and attack. Mecca crackled in the air as Nikoli dropped his illusion and threw up a magical shield. It had a slight purple haze and fell in a dome around our tight group. A few more arrows shot out. I focused on their arc – behind the safety of our shield I was able to calm my mind and follow their trajectory back to the shooter – to a pocket of forest to the right side of our group. The trees were almost bare of leaves, but we were too far away to determine how many attackers were waiting for us.
More arrows hit the shield, falling harmlessly to the rough ground. Movement drew my attention and I saw two fae, partially hidden behind some thick trees. Both were dressed in black robes, with weird chest and arm plates, like armor draped over a robe. One was tall and looked semi-human, the other had a thicker hunched-over shape, and something about his whole aura was giving me the chills.
Blaine turned to me as he pulled out a small dagger. “If you all distract them, I’ll attack from behind.”
Even though I wanted to protest, I knew we couldn’t just stay safely behind the shield for long. Nikoli would tire; he was already weakened by having to hold his physical illusion for part of the day, and this extra shielding was going to drain him completely. We had no choice, I had to trust in Blaine’s skills.
“Be safe,” was all I said. I wanted to call out again as my friend crouched and rolled out of the protective shield, but I was afraid to distract him, or draw the attackers’ attention right to him. Blaine moved quickly, ducking behind a tree, taking cover. I lost sight of him after that but knew he was going to work his way around, hiding amongst the trees until he was in a position to attack them from behind. Now it was time to keep the attackers’ attention firmly on our group.
Monica stepped closer to the front of the dome, loading an arrow of her own. I was relieved that she had picked up a bow somewhere in the Otherworld. She was an excellent shot.
“I’m going to need you to drop the barrier for a second,” she said over her shoulder. The barrier was designed to repel weapons. “Let me get a couple of shots off so they don’t focus on Blaine.”
Nikoli didn’t reply, but the second Monica’s arrow was nocked, the purple haze fell. Her hands moved so fast they were a blur, an example of shifter speed at its best, as she fired three shots in rapid succession, each moving straight and true toward the two fae. Both of the tall and creepy fae dived behind their trees, and Nikoli got the shield back up in a flash, protecting us again from retaliation.
I caught a glimpse of dark clothing high in the trees, which gave me a pretty good idea where Blaine was. He was slowly making his way from tree to tree, and looked to be getting pretty close to them. Monica readied her arrows again, and so far our plan seemed to be working. The fae were facing us, not noticing Blaine at all. I was just about to suggest we start moving closer to the attackers, but before I could speak, a branch cracked to the right of us.
We spun and my grip on the sword tightened as I stared at the beast only a few feet away. He must have been at least ten feet tall, with bony spikes along his shoulders, and thick, leathery skin that was the color of coal dust. Holy crap! He was definitely of the troll-giant fae family, and from what the treeling in Kade’s yard had told me, their strength was unmatched.
The sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh beside me told me all I needed to know. Kade was going to shift and take this guy on.
One of the bandits yelled from their place behind the trees: “Give us your food, furs, and weapons … and then you can go free!”
I wondered how many were hidden away there. We’d seen two, but there could have been any number further back.
None of us bothered to reply, we weren’t parting with anything. I didn’t plan on showing up to Violet half frozen and starving. We would need all our strength to rescue her.
Of course that still meant not getting beaten to death today.
Kade had fully shifted now – was he getting even faster? – his clothes in a pile at his mammoth bear feet. Nikoli dropped the shield just as Kade burst through to take on the giant troll creature. Finn bumped my leg and I quickly ripped the bag off his back, swinging one leg over him to ride. Most of my attention was on Kade. I was relieved to see him get in the first few hits. The creature was much slower than him; shifter speed was definitely an advantage. With a roar he barged the troll right into a tree, matching the troll in strength too, which was a relief.
The treeling had said a troll’s strength was their biggest advantage. Their lack of brains canceled out most of that advantage though. Stupidity was something Kade could and would use against his opponent.