I look to Benny, the last one who needs to weigh in, not only for him but also for Loch.
‘Well, I’ll just look like a dick if I say no, won’t I?’ he replies. ‘Besides, I want to see one of the vätte fuckers. They’re a mainland thing. Might as well come out of the trip with a few stories, right?’
Next to him Loch is rocking and nodding. I’ll take that as his acquiescence.
All except Kyor have agreed. I look at him, already knowing there’s only one answer he can give.
He nods tightly. ‘Fine.’ He glares at Stide. ‘If you deliberately lead us into peril, know that I’ll kill you first.’
She smirks. ‘You’ll try, dog boy.’
I stifle a smile at her new nickname for Kyor. Honestly, his ego could do with being taken down a peg or two, and it actually makes me like the wicked Sanning just a little. She’s not intimidated by the Prince of Morathka.
I wonder what she’d call Korvane.
‘All right,’ I say aloud. ‘So that’s it then. We all agree. We’re crossing the burrows.’
As we begin our walk, it is clear that Stide is happy to have herposition as group leader, and it takes her no time at all to adapt to barking orders at us. Particularly Kyor.
‘Your wolf is moving too fast,’ she snaps at him. ‘If you do not make her listen, she will fall.’
‘She knows what she’s doing,’ Kyor responds curtly, only for a patch of land to give way beneath Elska’s paw. The wolf leaps forward to safety, but the prince pales notably.
My eyes, like those of the others in the group, are drawn down to the exposed pathways.
‘These burrows are incredible,’ Caz says.
She’s right. Even though we can only see a section, the intricacy is incredible. Like a rabbit’s warren, only with hints of sapience hidden in the maze. A scrap of fabric. Etchings of creatures made on the walls. Whittled wood.
‘If the hule is deserted, how come they’re still doing this?’ I ask as another illusion appears in front of us. A waterfall this time, although thankfully the horses are happy to be led through this one as we walk single file, following Stide, who is using her spear to tap at the earth, sounding out the hollowness before she decides where to take her next step.
‘There are always scavengers,’ Thessa tells us. ‘Making sure nothing has been left. It will be one of them. Maybe more,’ she adds as a writhing mass of snakes appears on the earth in front of us.
Elska snaps helplessly at the creatures, tossing her head as if she might be able to flick them away from her. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work.
‘Maybe those blindfolds weren’t the worst idea, after all,’ Benny says as he looks upwards, treading through the illusory mass of snakes. ‘For me, that is,’ he adds, shuddering. ‘Please tell me this’ll be over soon.’
‘How about I give you a big hug for being so brave when we’re past all this?’ Ruben offers with a smirk.
Benny visibly brightens. ‘I’m holding you to that,’ he replies. ‘Though maybe you could hold my hand now, too. Just for moral support, you know.’
‘Single file!’ Stide snaps as she spins around to glare at them. ‘Youfollowonlywhere I step. I will not die because of stupid, big-bellied city boys holding hands.’
Despite our current leader’s clear nervousness, I can’t help but meet Caz’s eye and suppress a smirk. At least she’s not calling us big-bellied city girls.
Still, Stide’s right to take things slowly. At one point, Caz is adjusting the weight on the horse she’s leading and drops a bag to the ground, only for the earth to swallow it up as a sinkhole the size of a small shack appears, stopping only inches short of her feet.
Another time, I’m the one who makes a misstep, drawn to an unusually pleasant illusion of snowdrops, only for my foot to sink beneath the earth. Before I can topple, Kyor grabs me by the arm and yanks me onto more solid ground.
‘You want flowers, I will get you all the flowers you could ask for after this,’ he grunts.
‘If you cannot tell if it is real, focus on them for a moment before you move,’ Stide tells me. ‘The vätte illusions are not solid. They shift.’
‘She’s right,’ Benny says. ‘That doesn’t stop them being fucking horrible.’ If I didn’t know better, I’d say the vätte are enjoying teasing Benny, because he’s the only one who’s been repeatedly targeted with snakes.
My attention shifts back to Stide, who is staring intently at me.
‘Look at the flowers again.’
