Kira yips and starts to change. Draven rushes forward with her pack and blocks everyone’s view of her and digs through the bag, handing her clothes and her boots.
“She let me shift back. She wasn’t happy about it but understood what’s needed, I guess.” Kira bounces on the balls of her feet.
“I promised her a run,” Greyson says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I know. I could hear and see everything. I was just a passenger, though. I didn’t have control over anything.”
“You’ll learn to trust each other with control.” Greyson waves us forward.
We wander the forest for hours before I let out a growl of frustration. “We’re going in circles. I’ve seen that big rock three times. What in Hades is happening?”
“There’s something I can’t get past scent wise. It’s like sulfur and fire. I can’t pick up a trail and there are no landmarks when trudging through the forest.”
“I need to get to higher ground. You think that one could hold my weight?” I ask Raven, pointing at the fir tree.
“It’s possible.” Raven cranes her neck to glimpse the top of the tree. “Do you think that’s wise, though?”
“Probably not but if Draven stands below me, magic at the ready in case I fall, it would be preferred.” I shrug my pack off my shoulders.
“Why you? I’m an excellent climber,” Greyson says.
“I’m not risking you all.” I plant my feet in front of the tree.
“But you’ll risk yourself?” Raven glares at me.
“My mission, my risk, Raven. Just like always. Draven caught both me and Kira last time. He can catch just me no problem if I fall.” I grip a branch just above my head and haul myself up, swinging my body so I can grip the next branch.
“Beth, this is crazy. Greyson knows how to climb. Just let him do it.” Raven shouts but I’m halfway up the tree already.
“I’m already up here. We don’t even know if the upper branches will hold me let alone two hundred and fifty pounds of built like a tank shifter. I’ve got this.” I keep climbing as several curses fill the silence of the forest.
“Not helping,” Kira sings. “They are about to send Draven up with magic to extract you from the tree.”
“Don’t you dare. I’ve got this.” I glare down at them.
“You guys,” Kira says. “You’re just delaying the inevitable and distracting her. She’s going to do it whether we like it or not so might as well stop harassing her.”
“I agree with Kira. I’m almost there and if you assholes try anything, I’ll zap the shit out of all of you except Kira,” I call down to them.
“Fine,” Raven shouts, throwing her hands up.
I climb the rest of the way up. As soon as I am above the rest of the trees, I smell what Greyson smelled before that was keeping us from navigating toward anything. Sulfur and flames. The air is thick with an oppressive dry heat that shouldn’t be present in Montana. Something is terribly wrong here.
I spin around until the mountain looms in the short distance and glance down at my friends in horror, pointing to the east. Etna is billowing oppressive black smoke into the sky.
“Fuck,” I shout.
I scramble back down the tree as quickly as possible, breathing heavily when I get back to the ground. I glance at the others’ horror as I point to the east.
“What is it?” Raven asks. “What did you see?”
“We have to move faster.” I heave in a breath. “I found out why you can’t smell anything but sulfur and fire.”
“Why? What did you see?” Greyson asks.
“Mt. Etna is going to erupt. The forge will be impassable to us if that happens, and the world will end.”
“Let’s go.” Kira spins on her heel and stomps the direction of the volcano. “I’m going to stop this. Those assholes don’t get to ruin my dad’s main forge on earth. That’s not happening.”
