I grow a soft, broad leaf, then use it to wipe down my hands and pants as best I can. Not a shower, but better than nothing.
I turn back to the bee, who’s watching me from a safe distance with an expression that can only be described as deeply uncertain.
“Thanks, friend. I’m sorry I scared you. Have you seen Kevin?”
They buzz and give me a look of pure confusion.
I sigh. “Right. Worth a try. Listen, go on back to your home. Your owners are probably waiting for you.”
They look at me like they’re afraid to leave the red-haired lunatic alone for fear she’ll burn down the entire forest. But they don’t budge.
“Go on now.” I slap their hind end like I’ve done to horses back home. They take off, leaving me alone with my thoughts and no plan.
I walk for a few minutes, trying to get my bearings, when I hear a scream.
I don’t think. I just run. Kaelren would be proud.
I jump over two logs, cross a stretch of mossy stones without falling on my face. Not even a stumble.
The scream comes again, sharp, terrified. I cut left, deeper into the woods.
As I round an outcrop of boulders, I stop dead.
About thirty yards in front of me is the angry mob again, but they aren’t coming after me. I’ve come up behind them. They’ve got someone corralled against a massive tree, ropes and chains and way too many sharp implements for anything good. My stomach drops before I even see who it is.
I’m trying to make out what’s happening when I catch a flash of red hair.
My stomach drops.
No, it has to be a coincidence. Just as the thought crosses my mind, two of the mob crouch down to tie ropes around the person’s ankles, and I get a full look at their face.
It’s me.
At least, I think it’s me. She’s wearing something I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Some kind of medieval peasant getup that looks like someone who’d never heard of a zipper assembled it. But the face. The hair. The jaw set at that angle that means she’s about three seconds from doing something reckless.
Right at that moment, she rears back and spits directly in the face of the nearest mob member.
Yep. That’s me.
I can’t hear what she’s saying from this distance, but I can see the fire in her eyes and the insults she’s hurling at them like it’s an Olympic sport. She’s giving them absolute hell, and for a second I just watch with something close to pride.
Then one of them picks up a torch, and the pride turns to ice. They hold the torch close enough to her face that all shadows surrounding her are erased by the fire.
Damn it. I have to help her. I don’t know what the rules are about interfering with past versions of yourself. On TV, it alwaysmesses up the future timeline, but I’m not about to stand here and watch these assholes murder me.
I look up. There are branches overhead, thick ones, stretching from the trees behind me almost all the way to the one she’s strapped to. Close enough.
I use a vine to pull myself up into the canopy and start creeping across. Do not fall. Do not fall. I chant it over and over in my head. The last thing I need is to give these people two of me to deal with.
I make it to the other side without incident and lower myself down the back of the massive tree, pressing my spine against the bark. Now that I’m here, I realize I haven’t actually thought about what to do next.
Think, Elle.
Just as I am about to round the tree, vine magic on full display, a voice pops into my head and I have to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.
"She with fire in her hair shall save us all."
“Who said that?” I whisper, spinning around.
