Page 69 of The Chosen Fae

Then Xena screamed at Silas. "Don't you dare!" She screamed even louder, her voice dropping down from the rope, and Rune glanced back to see what was going on.

Silas had pulled Xena off the rope, but he fell too, and both were on the net below. Rune worked even faster to reach the end now that no one was making it sway.

Silas and Xena were fighting each other in the net. Xena was trying to move forward underneath the rope Rune was on, but Silas grabbed her leg and wouldn't let her go. She kicked and screamed at him.

"You're letting Rune get to the flag!" Xena said.

"If you would stop fighting me, I would get past her and retrieve the flag."

"No way am I going to let you get it. You're a beta wolf."

Rune smiled. Not because Xena was being nasty with Silas—Rune didn’t approve of her comment—but it helped to cement his desire to capture the flag and not let Xena have it.

"Let go of me!" Xena screamed.

Rune glanced down at them again, figuring Silas would be trying to climb over Xena, but instead, he was just holding her in the middle of the net, not allowing her to make any progress, and she was having a fit.

She was kicking, screaming, trying to shake loose of him; Xena couldn’t move. Silas was strong; maybe not an alpha, but people could change, and he definitely was keeping Xena pinned. Was he helping Rune get the flag like he said he would? Assist her and Stone in winning the last of the challenges in any way that he could?

If so, she appreciated it!

She finally got to the end of the rope and jumped off, mouthed a thank you at Silas, and he smiled at her, but then he was in a fight again with Xena. Rune figured Xena thought that if she could get free, she still might have a chance to capture the flag. And truly, she might.

Rune just hoped the flag was close by and she didn't have any more obstacles to go through. But as soon as she was on the path in the woods, she saw three wooden chests off to the side that looked like pirate treasure chests, with domed tops, brass hinges, and locks.

Then she saw keys hanging off the branches of a nearby tree. Boy, she sure hoped Silas was keeping hold of Xena! If she got loose and came after Rune, she could still beat her.

Rune grabbed the three sets of keys and started to work on one of the locks. After going through one set, she switched to another, and after trying the second key, the lock clicked open. She pulled the lock off the chest and opened it with a squeak. But there was nothing in the chest.

She closed it, put the lock back on, and locked it, just in case Silas or Xena managed to get here. Then they could try to unlock it and find it was empty.

She tried the next chest a few feet away. After going through most of the keys on the ring she hadn't used yet, she finally found the one that unlocked the chest. Inside, she found a piece of paper, her heart racing with excitement. A hand-drawn map showed where she needed to go next, and she closed the chest and locked it.

Then she put her hand all over the last chest's lock, so that if Xena or Silas managed to reach this point, they wouldn't know which chest she'd been in. Though she also had the clue. And they could just follow her scent.

With no choice, she raced off toward the woods and into the dappled shade, where she took a left after a pile of boulders, followed the next path, and then took a right on a path that led to a waterfall. Once she navigated the path, she came out into an opening and saw the waterfall straight ahead, surrounded by ferns and moss-covered rocks. The fall roared and glimmered from the top of the cliff to where it bashed the boulders below, with droplets of water splashing heavenward.

She smiled. It was beautiful, but she hadn't won yet. She had to make her way behind the waterfall, grab the flag, and put it in its final resting place.

A flag bearing a wolf howling, its fabric clinging wet and heavy to the pole, was tucked between the falling water and the rock face, visible only in the brief moments when the wind shifted the curtain of water.

She hurried around the pond surrounded by plants. She made her way across slippery, moss-covered rocks. Some of the loose rocks shifted under her weight, making her catch her breath and balance, until at last she ducked beneath a curtain of ferns and stood behind the falls. The fresh water and mineral smell carried the scent of wet stone and crushed moss. Mist rose to meet her, dampening her cheeks and hair, clinging to her lashes.

The clue for where to take the flag to finish the quest was in a waterproof bag, attached to the flag.

When she looked at the map, she realized she would have to return the way she came. Great! She hoped she could go in a totally different direction and not run into Xena or Silas or have to cross that rope again.

She started running back along the path, the flag tucked into her belt. She loved the suede boots that Brett had gifted to her; they were comfortable, and she swore they made her feel like she was running on the wind.

She didn't see any sign of Silas or Xena, or smell that they had been there yet. She saw the locked-up treasure chests, but they hadn't been touched. Running back along the trail toward the rope, she wished that Silas and Xena had given up and gone home.

But she was sure that wouldn't be the case. As long as the Game Master didn't tell them that the game was done and Rune had won, they still had a chance to win.

She came out to the opening where the rope started, and Silas was still holding Xena in place in the middle of the net, their faces red with exertion. Xena hadn't made any progress.

When Xena saw Rune returning with the flag, she tried to turn around on the net and head in the opposite direction, but Xena couldn’t shake loose of Silas, who wouldn't let her make any progress.

"I will kill you."