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Bad. Very bad. I had to rescue them. Right now.
KERRICK
At first, Kerrick fought to remain inside his body and not spread throughout the forest. He concentrated on the vines growing on him. On the moist earth cushioning his body. On the dirt wedged under his fingernails.
Then he struggled to hear the wind shake the tree’s limbs. The call of the birds. The rasp of air filling his lungs.
He inhaled the scent of wood smoke. The mist of pine. The faint aroma of vanilla.
Jolted by that smell, he clung to it. Memories flowed. Promises remembered. He pulled the scent toward his core, anchoring his consciousness to his body. Now he perceived touch, sounds, and smells all at the same time. Progress.
Other sensations intruded. Hunger. Thirst. Cold. Aches.
He awoke. Heart-shaped leaves obscured part of his vision. Sunlight flashed between them as they danced in the breeze. Kerrick tried to brush them away, but he couldn’t move. After a bit of wiggling, he discovered the vines not only blanketed him but held him tight.
Stretching his senses, he reached for his connection with the living green. Except it wasn’t there. Well, not the way he remembered it. Before, it required effort for him to draw magic from the forest. It was a conscious decision to form a link. Now there was no need to tap into the power. It already resided within him.
With a mere thought, he commanded the vines to release him. A ripping sound accompanied multiple stings of pain along his skin. As the vines retreated, cold air caressed his body, sending ripples of goose bumps.
Kerrick sat up. His stiff muscles protested. His pants had been destroyed by the roots. Blood welled from a number of throbbing cuts along his torso, arms, and legs. The vines’ roots had left creases on his brown-and-green skin. He held his hands out. They, too, matched the colors of the forest. His survival instinct had probably kicked in when he passed out, camouflaging him from danger. He’d worry about it later.
He rubbed the ache at the back of his neck. Had he collapsed or had someone knocked him out? Memories swirled through a thick fog.
Slowly the events that had led to his current situation assembled. Seeing Flea. The fight with Tohon’s dead ufas. Cellina and Sepp. The attack on Quain. Avry!
With a surge of energy, Kerrick stood, but he leaned against a tree as dizziness threatened to topple him. He needed food and water. How long had he been out?
He sniffed the cool air. Crisp and sharp, it no longer held the humid earthy scent of summer. A few red, yellow, and orange leaves littered the ground. Early fall. Panicked, he pushed through his jumbled thoughts, searching for answers.
Avry had stabbed Tohon. He smiled. That’s my girl. Flea had awoken Quain. And some sergeant had nicked him with a blade treated with...Death Lily toxin. Memories of being sick made him queasy anew. Kerrick sank to a sitting position.
Had he died? Was he dead? A ghost of the forest? He dismissed that silly notion. He hurt too much to be deceased. But how did he survive? Avry? No, she’d be with him. Plus she couldn’t heal those infected with Death Lily toxin.
And then he remembered the voice of the living green. Had it saved him?
No, the living green said in his mind.
Then who? he asked.
You did.
How?
Your magic.
But my magic doesn’t work that way. And the living green had never spoken to him before he’d gotten sick.
Mirth. No voice that you’d understand.
But now I can.
Yes.
Why?
You are of the forest.
But I’m alive.
Yes. Alive like trees and plants.
Kerrick’s temples pounded. Definitely alive. But how much time had passed? The living green showed him a tree’s small growth—its measure of time, but not helpful.
Concentrating on his immediate needs, Kerrick pushed all his other concerns aside for now. First he found edible berries, roots, and nuts with ease. A stream nearby quenched his thirst. As for clothing, Kerrick decided to stay camouflaged until he could slip back into the infirmary cave. He’d left his pack and the rest of his clothing with Avry.
Avry. He remembered her emotional reaction to their reunion. She had thought he’d died fighting the northern tribesmen, and then when he’d been poisoned she’d kept him at arm’s length most of the night.
Did she believe he’d died again? He hoped not. Hurrying northeast, Kerrick noted the location of the various patrols and avoided them. He had awoken much farther from the cave than he recalled. As he drew closer, he slowed. No one guarded the front entrance. Not good.
He looped around to the back. Deserted, as well. Waiting proved difficult, but he didn’t want to walk into an ambush. Well, not naked and unarmed.
After an hour with no signs of activity, he stepped from the forest. Or rather, he tried. A force dragged him to a stop. Pouring every ounce of strength into his legs, he managed a couple more steps. But his feet acted as if they’d grown roots and he stumbled to another halt.
The pull to remain in the forest was like no other he’d encountered. It felt as if an invisible net had been thrown over him and tied to a tree’s trunk. Perhaps it was the living green’s way of warning him. He drew power and the force eased. Odd. He stepped closer to the cave, but the force increased. More magic meant more distance.
Not stopping to analyze it, Kerrick gathered as much power as he could and sprinted. He had enough energy to confirm the cave had been abandoned and to find the message from Flea.
Weak and drained, he crawled from the cave toward the forest. Each inch a relief until he collapsed just past the border.
As he lay panting and spent, he’d realized he hadn’t needed to use his magic to find food or to locate the soldiers. That had required no effort. Unlike leaving the forest, which required a feat of strength and considerable endurance.
The living green’s comment repeated in his mind.
You are of the forest.
CHAPTER 6
I had mere moments to act. Once Odd and Hogan were taken to the enemy camp, I’d have no chance to rescue them. I considered my options. One—wait until they were out of sight, drop down from the Death Lily, and chase after them. Then what? It was twelve against one.
Two—drop down before they left, surprising them. Then what? It was still twelve against one.
Three—I had nothing. What did I have? A Death Lily and a dozen Peace Lilys. But they didn’t know the others were Peace Lilys.
Vines? I asked the Lily. Grab the men? Will the Peace Lilys help?
Yes. They go.
Drop me down, I’ll distract them while you and your friends ensnare them. Okay?
Yes. Taste them?
Despite what I’d contemplated earlier, the thought of the Death Lily snatching each soldier and essentially killing him or her didn’t sit well with me. No. Please let them go after we disappear into the mines.
Agreement pulsed.
Thank you. Okay, drop me...now.
The Death Lily yanked its barbs from my arms and spat me onto the ground. I yelped as I hit hard, rolling. Disoriented for a moment, I lay there. But the voices of the soldiers returning to investigate reminded me of the danger.
I staggered to my feet as the nine men and three women stopped to gape at me. The soldiers needed to be closer to me for the vines to reach them. Hogan and Odd stood in the center of a loose circle. Odd kept his expression neutral, but an amused amazement sparked in his eyes. Hogan frowned, but kept quiet.
Swaying, I gestured wildly to the Lily. “Whoa. Did you see that?” I asked. “So fast. I just dropped my pack and...swoosh!” I hugged my arms and faked a shiver.
They moved in a few feet. The Lily’s vines crept toward their boots.
My shirt had been ripped by the Lily’s barbs. Blood welled. I coated my fingers with it and then thrust them out, showing them the bright red tips. “Look! It attacked me!”
“Calm down, miss,” the leader said. He stepped in, but kept out of the reach of the Lily’s petals. “You survived. You might live—”
“I’m going to die,” I screeched. “No one lives. No one. Ohh...” I put my hands on my face and stumbled as if about to faint.
Instinctively, the soldiers shuffled a couple more feet before they halted. Good enough. Vines from the Peace Lilys snaked along the ground behind them.
“Miss, you need to move away from the Death Lily so we can help you.” The leader held out his hand.
I stared at him. “Help me? There’s nothing you can do.”
“She’s right, Vonn. Leave her,” a woman said.
Vonn turned to her. “She’s with them.” He pointed to Odd and Hogan. “Since they won’t talk, maybe she will. And we can’t have her running back to her commanding officer as soon as we leave.”
Blinking as if really seeing the group for the first time, I said, “You... Oh, no.” I backed away.
The Death Lily hissed. Everyone’s gazes jerked to the huge white petals parting above my head and not to the vines circling their ankles.
“Maybe this time it will kill her,” the woman said.
I squealed in alarm and rushed Vonn. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I knocked him over. On the way down I touched the base of his skull and zapped him into unconsciousness. Other cries and yells followed mine as the eleven remaining soldiers were yanked off their feet by the vines.
They struggled and some grabbed their knives to cut the tendrils. But regular steel wasn’t sharp enough to do the job. It didn’t take long for them to be wrapped tight. Not able to move, they begged me to help.
His face white, Hogan stared at them.
Odd grimaced. “The Lily has enough food for a season.”
I searched Vonn’s pockets until I found the key to the manacles. Unlocking the cuffs, I freed Hogan and Odd.
Hogan rubbed his wrists. “What—”
“Not now. I’ll explain later.”
“Did you get what you need?” Odd asked.
“Not yet.” I picked up my knapsack and returned to the base of the Death Lily. It bent over and deposited two toxin sacks and two seed pods into my open pack. “Thanks.” I secured the flap. “Let’s go before another squad finds us.”
“But what about them?” Hogan asked. “We can’t just leave them.”
Odd agreed. “I know they’re the enemy, but that’s cruel.”
I studied the panicked faces of the patrol. Odd had a point. And what difference did it make to tell them now versus them realizing it later? That was if they even believed me, which I doubted they would.
“Listen up,” I said to the soldiers. “You’re not going to become the Death Lily’s next victims. Once we’re well away, it will release you.” I turned to Odd. “Now can we go?”
“Are you lying to them?” Hogan asked.
“No.”
“How can you...” He caught my expression. “You’ll explain later. Got it.”
We hustled back to the tunnels. Once deep inside, I told them about the squads heading east and the seeds.
“And you learned all this from a Death Lily?” Hogan asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Death Lilys can communicate?” Again he didn’t mask his incredulous tone.
“Only with healers. We’re immune to the toxin.”
Hogan glanced at Odd with a “do you believe this?” look.
“I’ve ceased being surprised when it comes to Avry,” Odd said.
Now it was my turn to gaze at him. Did Odd mean that in a good or bad way?
“Oh, come on. You can’t deny that you’ve been full of surprises since we’ve met, Sergeant Irina.”
He had me there. I’d worn a disguise and joined Estrid’s holy army using the name Irina from Gubkin Realm to gather information. “But I had good reasons.” And they benefited the most by learning how to go silent in the forest.
“I didn’t say you didn’t. You just keep things...interesting. Like today, for example.”
Uh-oh. Time for the lecture.
“I’m torn over how to feel. If you hadn’t insisted on going to that Death Lily, we wouldn’t know about Cellina’s plans. But when we were captured, my thoughts about your impulsiveness weren’t all warm and fuzzy.”
I’d bet.
Odd spread his hands out. “I figured we were done for. The only bit of hope was that you might escape and tell Prince Ryne what we encountered. But then you dropped out of that Lily, and I thought you were insane.”
