The Dark Forest Read online

  “It’s just cobwebs, you diva!” Monet shook his head at her.

  “I’ll remind you that I faced down a nine-headed dragon without complaint,” she said. But she still allowed them to position themselves in front of her.

  “According to you,” Monet said, an edge of disbelief in his voice. He turned to Ever, who was at his shoulder. “She also said she made friends with a mermaid on her way to Terran.”

  “That’s strange. I’ve never known mermaids to be friends with homo erectus,” Ever said.

  “I made it rain for her,” Azure said, nearly twisting her ankle in a patch of vines.

  “Another bold-faced lie,” Monet said, turning back to her with a half-smile. He jabbed Ever in the side with his elbow. “It takes a gang of witches and wizards to produce a shower in Virgo. Man, this gal is really looking for attention.”

  “Yeah, I’m totally starved for it,” Azure said, deciding to ignore the two males, who apparently had bonded since the adventure started. She’d spike Monet’s evening brew with something unpleasant when they returned to Virgo.

  The idea that she was only a two-hour walk from her homeland filled her with a feeling she’d never encountered before. Soon she’d thrust her mother’s soul stone into her hand, giving her the thing she’d need to heal herself. Well, maybe she wouldn’t have her magic back, but she wouldn’t physically decline any farther. And part of her next mission would be to find the cure to this damn virus. Her to-do list was starting to overwhelm her, but that didn’t matter. Saving her people was what was important. Saving the Dark Forest, that was important too. She’d make it all happen.

  Azure was lost in thought when a rush of wind blew down on her from above. She peered up, but only found a few songbirds flittering around in the branches overhead. The canopy wasn’t as dense here, allowing the morning light to stream in and bathe her arms in warmth.

  Suddenly the sound of wings beating assaulted Azure’s ears, and she jerked her head up to find the light from overhead obstructed. She shielded her eyes with her arm so she could see properly as something dove at them from overhead. A loud screech rang in her ears, and Azure realized too late what kind of being had produced the noise.

  “Get back under the trees!” she yelled, sliding to the right where the trees were thicker. But she froze before making it there, realizing who the half-vulture, half-woman was trying to grab. In the blue sky above her, a large harpy dove forward, its clawed feet reaching for the ground. And just in front of it, Gillian stood with his arm covering his face.

  “No!” Azure screamed, darting forward. However, she was too far back, as were Monet and Ever. The gigantic bird-woman reached down and yanked the gnome from the ground. Beating its large feathered wings, it hovered in the air before rising higher. Gillian struggled in the harpy’s clutches, flailing his arms, trying to free himself. His face was red with frustration and his eyes were alight with fear.

  “Give him back!” Azure commanded, just as two more harpies swooped across the sky, circling as if stalking their prey.

  Ever ducked low, sprinting in the direction of the harpy who’d stolen Gillian. “I’m going after him!” he called to the group.

  Azure looked at Monet, whose normally bright face was pale and fearful. “We’ve got this,” she assured him. Rolling back her shoulders, she reached for her wand just as a high-pitched scream rang from overhead. She couldn’t stop herself from covering her ears. The sound was incredibly loud, making her think it would rupture her eardrums, and then the sky above her darkened. Azure jerked her chin up just as the harpy’s claws pinched the top of her head. She flung herself to the ground, wondering if the harpy had missed her. But when her hair fell to her shoulders, she knew what the beast had taken.

  “My wand!” Azure screamed, pushing back to her feet, pointing at the harpy who hovered in the air staring at the pair with contempt. The harpy’s face was that of a vengeful woman, with a pointy chin and red eyes. Its skin, body and feathers were darkly striped. It looked as if it was taunting her as it flew to the side and back again, Azure’s wand in plain sight.

  “Get back here, fucker!” Monet said, pulling his own wand from his robes.

  The harpy screamed and darted in the wizard’s direction. He directed his wand at the revolting vulture-woman and shot a neat bit of fire at her, which connected. However, she continued forward, diving at Monet even though her wings were ablaze. He leapt out of the path of the angry monster at the last moment.

  Azure pulled her knife from its sheath, about to sprint forward and stab the bird, which was splaying its wings as it tried to extinguish the fire. Then another gust of wind hit her face, and she raised her gaze to find another harpy diving at her. Azure was just about to roll out of its path when she realized that would be a coward’s way. Instead she took a running start and leapt into the air. The harpy’s red eyes registered surprise as it tried to change direction. However, it couldn’t pull out of its dive so easily. The tip of the knife stabbed into the body of the harpy as Azure thrust her arm forward. She pulled the knife back to the side of her body as she dropped to the ground and rolled out of her jump. In Azure’s hand, the knife glowed, like it had suddenly come to life for a moment.

  The shriek overhead told her she’d been successful, but the blood that rained down told Azure she’d done something the creature would try to punish her for. She jerked up to find the harpy regarding its wound with great offense. The harpy dropped down a few feet, losing the power to keep itself up using its wings. The monster landed before Azure. It was taller than her on its bird legs. And its wing span was considerable, which was probably why it kept its wings spread as it raced at her. The feathers on its front were covered in blood.

  Azure held her knife at the ready, not backing down from the grotesque beast attacking her, wings beating cold wind into her face. The vulture-woman looked like a giant chicken with a bad attitude problem. Azure darted forward just as they were about to collide, and brought the knife down into the harpy’s shoulder and across her body to connect with the first wound she’d made. The feathers made it tough to cut through to the skin, but she persevered. The harpy screamed its offense at Azure, soaring into the air, more of its blood spilling down to cover the witch’s shoulders. The harpy nearly rammed into the ground as it tried to take flight. The shoulder wound was taking its toll, but the harpy was determined. Finally it got enough momentum to clear the tops of the trees. Soon the harpy was met by the one who had stolen Azure’s wand. Azure turned to find Monet racing toward her, two wands in his hands. He pushed one at her, his face beaded with sweat.

  “You owe me big for this. Fortunately, I was able to save your ass, but only barely.” He doubled over, breathing hard.

  “I had my ass covered, but thanks for getting my wand,” she said, through ragged breaths.

  “I had to pull out some spells I hadn’t used in a while. Just remember that harpies don’t mind fire, but those ugly-ass birds don’t like water.”

  “Noted.” Azure turned to the trees where Ever had disappeared. A great rustling sounded from the area. A moment later the Light Elf appeared, his face as red as Monet’s. He’d received a few cuts on his face and arms. However, that was acceptable, because on his heels was her favorite gnome.

  “Gillian! You’re okay.” Azure sprang forward. She was just about to wrap the gnome in a hug that he’d thoroughly despise when something fell from the trees behind Gillian. Azure took a step forward, although running was probably a better option. Before her stood an Orc bigger than Drago, the one they’d rescued. Then, all around them, the sounds of something like drums echoed as Orcs jumped from the trees to surround them, their eyes radiating murderous rage.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “I daresay that Azure will probably be a bit late. We might think about postponing the meeting a tad,” Sari said, peering into the scrying bowl. On the surface of the liquid, Azure could be seen backing up so that she, Monet, Ever and Gillian were as close together as poss
ible, their eyes on the angry and brutish Orcs surrounding them.

  “Damn it!” Emeri gazed into the scrying bowl.

  “It’s just a tribe of Orcs. I’m sure they’ll only behead Monet, and let’s be honest—that could be for the best. We all know there’s nothing in that boy’s head.”

  “Mother!” Emeri stormed to the other side of the room, nearly tripping on her long pink gown as she did. The hem of her dress was encrusted with precious gems, which had been a gift from the pixies when the witch and wizards of Virgo had dug them out of a fortress of fallen trees after an Oriceranquake.

  “Well, you can’t expect me to sugarcoat things. But try not to worry. Azure has surrounded herself with a clever Light Elf and a resourceful gnome. However, I fear that Monet will open his stupid mouth and have them all roasting over a pit in no time.”

  “Strange how in one breath you set me at ease and in the second you nearly give me a heart attack.” Emeri started to pace. She shouldn’t be expending so much energy—she needed every ounce of her strength for the coming meeting in the city center. However, it looked like that would need to be postponed. Her head was muzzy with exhaustion. She would have laid down right then and there if her dress would have allowed it, but the tight bodice and giant hoop skirt prevented many things, one of which was breathing. Emeri needed to look regal for the meeting, which she had to assume it would still happen close to its set time. She’d half-expected that Azure would bring Richard with her, but had been relieved when the princess left him behind.

  It had been amazing to watch her daughter battle a harpy, a trial the queen had never had to face. However, when the Orcs dropped from the trees, Emeri’s heart had fallen with them.

  “There has to be something we can do,” she said, her back to her mother.

  “We wait.” Sari bustled around behind her. The old witch was always on the move, always making a potion or jotting down notes in her grimoire.

  “How can we sit around and wait when Azure has probably been taken prisoner by Orcs?”

  “Because she’s Azure, and this is part of her path. She might get hurt. I actually think she’ll return with a scar or two, but maybe only on the inside. But if I know my granddaughter, she’ll find a way to persevere. You need to have the same faith, my dear.”

  “Well, I would, if the idea of losing my daughter on top of everything else wasn’t too much,” Emeri said, her emotions starting to rise to the surface. She’d been so strong for so long. It might be time for the dam to break.

  A hand she had known since birth clapped down on her shoulder, and she turned to find the smaller woman staring at her, lavender eyes shining brightly. “Don’t worry, Emeri, Azure will return. Go tell the council that the meeting will be postponed one hour, but that it is still on.”

  Emeri’s eyes hesitated on her mother’s face. How could she be so sure? No one escaped from Orcs. They were savage beasts who rarely took prisoners; usually they just slaughtered their prey. It was against the truce, the things they did, but some species couldn’t be tamed.

  Pulling a handkerchief from the sleeve of her dress, Emeri lifted it and pressed it to her nose, sniffling slightly.

  “Okay,” she said finally, and turned for the exit. If faith would save her daughter, she’d wrap herself in it until the very end. Honestly, this wasn’t about surviving this virus anymore. Now that she was about to lose Azure, she knew what she valued above her very life. If her daughter returned to her, she’d die happy.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The Orc standing just between Gillian and Azure eyed the princess, then dropped his gaze to the bone-handled knife she gripped firmly in her fingers. The Orc didn’t have a neck, and his head was mostly block-shaped. For that reason, when he revolved his gaze around the group, he looked like a mound of muscle with eyes.

  “You!” the Orc lifted its thick arm and pointed a bulky finger at Azure.

  She stepped forward, stumbling down as she did, her nerves making her clumsy. “Let my friends go,” she bellowed at the Orc who had spoken. He narrowed his beady eyes.

  He pressed his bottom jaw forward more, his large pointy teeth nearly touching the ring that pierced his nose. “No! They die with you!” the Orc roared, and he picked up a mallet she hadn’t noticed and slammed it into the ground. Suddenly brutish hands grabbed all of them.

  Azure tried to twist away from the Orc at her back, who was trying to grab the knife in her hands. Her wand dropped to the ground as she fought him. She spied Ever and Gillian, who were frozen, not fighting the Orcs but rather allowing themselves to be bound by the beasts. However, Monet was throwing a huge fit, screaming about how they were crushing the Cheetos stashed in his robes.

  “I’ll give you a whole bag if you’ll just stop with your Orc-ish ways,” Monet said, sounding more offended than hurt by the treatment.

  “Give me back my knife,” Azure screamed when the Orc succeeded in pulling it from her grasp.

  The chief turned his wild eyes in her direction, venom written in them. “Your knife?” he demanded, stomping over to loom above Azure.

  She pushed up on her tiptoes. “Yes, mine!”

  “You stole that knife from an Orc. It has our handle. It is Orc-made!” the beast roared.

  “It is Orc-made, but I didn’t steal it!” Azure yelled to be heard over the grunting of the Orcs, who were starting to act restless. Damn beasts.

  “You did! And now you’re going to die for taking from one of our people. To get that knife, you must have killed the Orc who owned it,” the chief said, shaking his large head at her. His greenish skin paled as he glared at her.

  “I promise I didn’t kill Drago!” Azure cried, so loudly that her voice felt like it cut her from the inside out. The brutes were now making so much noise it was causing her chest to vibrate.

  “What did you just say?” the chief said, the muscles on his large chest heaving as he pointed at her.

  “Drago! He’s the Orc who gave me the knife!” she bellowed.

  The tribe suddenly fell silent.

  “Drago is missing!” The chief took a step forward, ground shaking under his weight.

  “That’s because he fell into a pit created by humans. He’s probably looking for you. Are you his tribe?” Azure asked, her words frantic. She was aware that Ever, Monet, and Gillian were all restrained, but her attention was on the Orc before her.

  “How did you get his knife?” the chief asked, his nasty breath filling her nostrils as he stared down at her.

  “He gave it to me for saving him from a pit, the one the humans set for him. Then he told me his name.”

  A great murmuring arose from the Orcs in a language Azure didn’t know—or maybe it was just filled with so many grunting sounds that it sounded foreign.

  Finally the chief turned back to her with a measured glare. “If what you say is true, why would you save an Orc?”

  She blinked as the smelly beasts stepped back an inch, giving her nose a bit of respite. “I don’t know,” Azure finally sputtered.

  “Bad answer, Azure!” Monet yelled. “Know! Have a good fucking answer!” He was restrained by an especially hungry-looking Orc, who was presently drooling on the back of his head.

  Azure spun back to the chief. “I mean… I saved him because it’s wrong to cage another. I heard him screaming and found him trapped. We,” she motioned to the others as best she could, restrained from behind by an Orc who smelled like rotting garbage, “lifted the bars off the top of the cage and freed Drago. After he got out, he introduced himself and gave me his knife. I saved him because I wanted to help him.”

  The chief regarded her for a moment, then huffed and turned his chin to the side. “If what you say is true, Drago is out there.”

  “And we will help you find him,” Azure said at once, earning a worried glare from Monet. “I’m Princess Azure, and I can tell you that he was caught in a trap placed by the humans. They were trying to catch one of my people, but instead they got Drago. I’m so
sorry.”

  The chief’s eyes changed, a sudden softness taking them over. “You speak from the heart,” he said, pounding his large hand to his chest.

  “I know of no other way to speak,” she said, her voice full of conviction. “I’ll send Ever and Monet to look for Drago, but I must return to the land of Virgo. I have important business.”

  “Fuck me,” Monet groaned from a few feet away.

  Ever simply lowered his chin, accepting the task she’d bestowed on him.

  “Thank you. Your help in finding one of our lost clan means much. The harpies,” the chief said, indicating the sky. “We saw them.”

  “The humans from Terran,” she said. “I believe they sent them after us. Their new leader is out to get us, and he’s the one who set the trap which caught Drago.”

  “It sounds like you are in danger,” the chief said.

  “After everything I’ve been through, that is an understatement,” she said with a morbid laugh.

  The chief looked at the Orc holding Azure. “Let her go. Let them all go,” he said, and extended his hand to the Orc behind her. The knife Drago had given her was immediately placed in his palm. He lowered his hand, giving her back the weapon. “If you’re in danger, you’ll need this.”

  She blinked at the giant Orc in disbelief. “Really? Thank you!”

  If he didn’t smell like three-day old trash, she’d have hugged him.

  “Yes. Drago wanted you to have it. I believe you when you say you didn’t harm him, and that you’ll help us to find him. Honestly, we’ve never had a reason to hate the witches of Virgo. It’s only that I saw you with one of our knives and was worried.”

  “We would never hurt you. I only want what’s best for Oriceran,” Azure said.