Page 41 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

Time went by, and we walked in silence. I counted my breaths and tried to relax my mind. We walked through a large prairie field, the road cutting straight through the middle. The sun beat down, and I resisted the urge to ask Elikki again if she wanted any water.

After a while, we entered another green forest of the Willowisp Woods. Trees grew larger around us, some trunks triple the size of my torso. The road was smaller here, and it meandered in curves around the trees, up and down hilly inclines. Tiny birds chittered above our heads. They flew from branch to branch, dancing around each other and singing noisily. I spotted a few rabbits hopping around in the undergrowth. Encountering a small green turtle, I carefully picked it up before Pebble’s hooves trampled it, moving it off the road and back onto the forest floor.

Elikki caught me doing this. She had a strange look on her face, her mouth scrunched up tight. When her gray eyes met mine, I saw the woman I’d kissed just this morning. Then she shifted, darting her eyes away to look anywhere but at me.

“I—I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” she said. “Have to pee.” She moved off the trail, slipping between large ferns and tree trunks until I couldn’t see her anymore.

I should keep moving. This was probably creepy, waiting for her to pee over there, right?

Or—what if she was so uncomfortable with me now that she was actually leaving? For good. My heart seized up at the thought, but I took a breath. If that’s what she wanted, it was up to her. I wouldn’t make things worse and run after her.

Wait—her pack was still here, on Pebble. She’d never leave without that. It had all her earthly possessions. Where is your brain today, Barra?

Reluctantly, I tugged Pebble’s reins a bit and started walking again. If the way she ran from the constables was any indication, Elikki could easily catch up with us when she was finished.

And when she was back, we were going to have an honest conversation about this weirdness between us. I would apologize for whatever I’d done, and we’d figure out a plan. If she wanted to journey separately, I could give her Saho’s packed lunch and hold back to give her a head start to Old Orchard.

… And then return home instead. Where I belonged. That might be for the best. My family might be getting worried, and if Elikki didn’t even want me here—what the fuck was I doing?

Lost in my thoughts, I ambled along the road. A sudden scream pierced the forest.

Elikki!

My mind froze for a split second in terror.

Then I dropped Pebble’s reins and tore back up the road and into the woods, guessing at where she’d entered. The scream came again, more muffled this time, along with some loud, angry cursing.

“Elikki! ELIKKI!”

Panicked, I ran, swinging around for a glimpse of her. There!—a flash of lilac through the trees. I dashed toward her as quickly as I could, stomping plants and twigs beneath my feet.

“Gerroff! Agh!!”

A stout cloaked figure was wrestling with Elikki and trying to carry her off. They had one arm clenched around her neck, the other gripping her wrists tightly.

“GET. THE. FUCK. OFF. ME,” she managed to grind out from the chokehold her attacker had on her. She thrashed back and forth, trying to throw them.

“Let her go!” I yelled desperately, still fighting through the undergrowth toward them. I reached for the sword at my waist and—fuck, I’d left my sword hitched to Pebble’s saddlebags.

Elikki lifted one foot and kicked back, hard, ramming her boot heel into their knee. The attacker’s leg buckled, and they loosened their grip on her. She wasted no time. Yanking one arm free, she called her power to her with a few abrupt movements.

Faster than a blink, a dagger flew into her hand, and she stabbed the arm that was clamped around her throat. The attacker yelped, releasing her. Elikki spun, slashing out again with the knife. They backed away, clutching their shoulder.

Their hood had fallen back, revealing a dwarf woman with light sandy-colored skin and an irritated face. No—she must be a half-dwarf because she was nearly as tall as Elikki. Full cheeks and a strong jaw led down to her sharply pointed chin, with the equally sharp slashes of her brows set above fierce and very vexed eyes. She radiated desperation. This was not someone I’d want to encounter in a dark alley, never mind that she was at least two feet shorter than me.

“All right, damn! Calm down,” she shouted. “I wasn’t going to hurt you!”

“Calm. Down. Really? CALM DOWN?!” Elikki advanced on the woman. Her face was beet red from being choked. Hair in disarray, fierce anger pouring out of every inch of her.

“I’m a bounty hunter! I’m supposed to bring you to Povon on the lord’s orders.”

Elikki shook out one wrist, thick silver bangles jangling, wincing at the pain from how tightly they’d grabbed her. “Good luck with that,” she said ferociously, taking another stride toward her prey.

The bounty hunter stepped back. She’d pulled two long knives from somewhere and settled into an attack stance, seemingly resolved to settling this with weapons instead.

With a wicked smile, Elikki flung her arm toward the half-dwarf. The bangles flew off her wrist, zipping to her attacker. She curved her hand outward, whispering something. The metal expanded, widening.

Two clamped onto the bounty hunter’s own wrists, jerking her back roughly against a tree. They pulled around the trunk and hooked together, forcing a pained shout from their prisoner. Two more held her ankles. The final bangle had stretched wide around the woman’s head and settled on her neck.