“Is the box really worth it?” I asked. “I’ve been interrogated by her before. She’s scary.”
Dynlan glanced between us, and their brow furrowed. Truthfully, I didn’t think they looked a lot like me. Maybe similar build and brown hair, but they had cranky eyes and looked like they sucked on a lemon. I didn’t have that lemonish expression, did I? Maybe when I woke up in the morning?
“How could you have confused us?” I asked Kali, who stepped up next to me and sighed.
“Blame the shitty drawing I received,” Kali said with a shrug. “So, what’ll it be, Dynlan? I’ll just say, I’m incredibly good with a knife.”
A sensual shiver rolled down my spine at the memory of what Kali had done to me with those knives. The whole encounter had been scorching. Though, this was probably not the right time for a stroll down memory lane.
Dynlan spat, then glanced between us, then their gaze locked in on the knife.
Their shoulders tensed, and I braced myself for them to lunge in our direction. They were smaller than me, enough that I could easily grapple.
Except, then they pivoted around and burst forward in the opposite direction, back toward their campsite.
I frowned. “Did they just bolt?”
“We did give them an ultimatum,” Kali said with a shrug and took a few steps backward from the way we came. “Trust me, these situations turn out anticlimactic a lot more frequently than you think.”
“I expected a bit more blood and carnage with all the mercenary talk.” I held up my hands. “Though I’m happy for less mess.”
“If I can’t have it, no one will,” Dynlan roared, rushing toward us again. This time they held something shiny in their hands.
Probably not good news.
“Go,” Kali called back, and together we bolted forward.
They flung the shiny sphere in our direction, and it landed a few feet behind us.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Oh no.
I kept pace with Kali as we raced away as fast as we could muster.
The sound hit me first, a massive boom that shook the surrounding trees. Then the acrid scent of smoke filled the air, traveling our way, making my eyes sting. I choked down a few bad breaths of it, peppery and tear-inducing, and spluttered, even as I continued to run, keeping pace with Kali.
We raced down the path we’d traveled before, moving hard and fast, all sawed breaths and mechanical motion. Where Dynlan had gone, I hadn’t the slightest, but he wasn’t my main concern at this point. My feet thump, thump, thumped on the forest floor, leaves and twigs kicking up all around us.
When I glanced back, one of the trees had caught on fire, and I swore. If this fucker had started a forest fire, I’d be furious. Worry filtered through me fast and fierce. Socks was still missing, most likely in these woods. What if she was innocently asleep?
“This direction,” Kali called, the box still tucked under her arm. She’d pocketed the knife at some point during our run, miraculously not fumbling or pausing to place it in a sheath. That came with the territory after years of practice. I’d probably stab myself if I tried.
Kali took us down a different path, this time in a more westerly direction, and I focused on the winding path. The cleared dirt trail led us through carved areas where the tall, dense trees loomed all around. More freewhills burst into sound, and some forest critters shook the bushes, some of them going the same direction we were, which was away from the problems Dynlan had caused.
Ultimately, throwing a bomb was ineffective too, as not only had we escaped with the box, but they’d caused destruction in a hissy fit. Some elves needed to take a second and think.
I cast another glance back. In the far distance, smoke clouded where we’d come from, but it didn’t seem to be spreading at a rapid pace. Up ahead, the low murmur of a creek snagged my attention.
“Figured we’d put some space between us,” Kali said as we slowed down close to the creek. “The water boundary will slow things down if it does catch, but it rained recently, so it’s unlikely his foolish move will cause a full forest fire.”
When we stopped at the creek, I heaved in breaths, my legs burning from the sudden burst of running. I was meant for slow and steady movement, not sprints. I grabbed my water bag and filled it up. Then, I crouched next to the creek and scooped handfuls into my mouth, splashing some over my sweaty face.The coolness was bliss on my skin after the full-on dash through the woods, and I basked in that and our sawed out breaths mingling with the babble of the brook.
“Well, we’ve got the box,” Kali commented, crouching beside me at the stream. “So all that’s left is finding your pagwai.”
I wrinkled my nose. “In the mad dash, I gave up on looking for prints.”
“Prints aren’t the only ways to track,” Kali said. “Thankfully, this is in my domain. We’re still in the northern sector of the woods, and chances are, if we follow the water here, we’ll find where the animals cluster.”
