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"Damn it!" I hissed, putting a hand to the sore spot on the back of my head as pain and nausea washed over me. Right. They had attacked me. Hit from behind.
It was nighttime in the Untamed Wood. And I had no campfire, no supplies, no sleeping roll…no mount. My throat ached to call for Balefire, but I bit back the urge. Shouting could draw attention of the wrong sort—and I didn't just mean more men with dark motives. My pooka was loyal and tame–or as tame as such a pet could be. But most fae creatures like him, who stalked the night in wild places like this, were anything but safe.
And besides, my shouting was unnecessary. Balefire had some unerring way of finding me. If the pooka could be here, he would. I recalled the way the spell from our attackers had forced a spasm of shifts. And the way he had plummeted from the sky without reappearing. For all I knew, he was injured or dead.
I gingerly got to my feet, my sore head throbbing in time with my heartbeat as I simultaneously tried to figure out who attacked me and how to survive the night.
I patted my chest hopefully, looking for my flare amulet. But both it and my ring were gone.
Whoever those thugs were, they clearly knew about the emergency flares, and they were smart enough to check for additional charms as well. I was willing to bet they had also gathered up all of my supplies that had scattered when Balefire shifted, and ensured they were nowhere I would ever find them. From what little they had said, it sounded like they wanted it to look like I had died wandering the Untamed Wood, rather than by their hands. And the best way to ensure that was to make sure I had no shelter and no supplies.
It was surprising that they hadn't killed me outright. It would be easy enough to make it seem as if some feral creature had attacked me. But they were relying on the forest to do their job for them. It took me a moment to figure out why that might be.
Truth charms. If they were ever accused, they could truthfully say that they hadn't murdered me. They simply incapacitated me and let me be. It would be enough truth to work around a truth spell, as long as they were careful about what they said out loud. But why had I been attacked in the first place? Was it simply because they wanted a certain team to win, and they thought I was just an interfering gossip? Or did they know who I really was?
I puzzled over that question as I tried to find somewhere to shelter for the night, carefully shuffling my way through the dark woods by feel, alert to the low cacophony of night sounds around me. Anything was better than lying out in the open on the forest floor like I had been. It was a wonder that I hadn't already become prey to the first hungry creature to stumble across my unconscious body. But then again, the forest had accepted me and welcomed me the previous night. Perhaps something had watched over me tonight as well.
A slight break in the foliage above finally gave me enough light to see by. The moon was bright…nearly full. Fuller than it should be, actually. I shook my head in denial. No. Not possible. My hands shook as I ran them over my face before looking up at the moon again. The truth was right there in the very air around me and trembling through my body. I just hadn't noticed until now. I was already feeling a hint of the moon's wild magic tingling over my skin, a warning of what was to come.
It seemed I had been unconscious for more than a couple of hours. If what I was seeing and sensing was right, I was out for an entire night and day. I had meant to be home by now, my spying complete. And if they were smart, the teams of competitors would all be following soon after. But I had lost an entire day and night. The Wild Moon would rise tomorrow evening. But its influence would continue to strengthen until then.
And I was currently stuck in the Untamed Wood, one of the oldest and wildest places on this continent, with nothing but the clothes on my back.
A twig snapped from somewhere across the small clearing where I stood, and I discovered the reason that I hadn't been eaten by feral dire wolves or hungry redcaps the previous night.
Standing a few feet away was a glorious, glowing white stag, a forest spirit with its massive antlers wreathed in vines and flowers.
I froze as we stared at each other across the distance, not even daring to breathe. Wonder and fear moved through me in equal parts. Creatures like this could sense the essence of who you were. They could be very dangerous if they didn't like what they saw. Then the magical creature turned, took a step, and vanished.
The night around me immediately felt darker and colder. The woods less welcoming. The stag hadn't charged me, so I must have passed some sort of test. But apparently, now that I was awake, I was on my own.
My heart thundered in my chest as I tried my best to remain calm. But I could sense the unseen beings watching me from the deeper shadows at the edges of the clearing. I muttered a spell, an insignificant brownie charm to exude warmth and peace. Hopefully, it would calm anything that came too near. But I knew the limitations of my mixed blood heritage and my hearth-and-home magic. It wouldn't do much more than slow down whatever decided to come for me. If it even managed that much.
Clambering over the trunk of a fallen tree, I checked the hollow beneath its gnarly, twisted roots where they had been torn from the ground. Then I climbed inside the hole and jammed myself as far back into the tiny cave of earth and roots as I could manage, hoping it would disguise my scent 'til morning.
A hint of wild magic rose thorough me in an uncomfortable wave that made me equal parts giddy and nauseous. And in the distance, a long, chilling howl split the night. I scrunched my eyes closed tight and wrapped my arms around myself against the fear and the chill of the cool night air as I whispered prayers of protection and strength to the old ones.
No matter how desperate and afraid I was, I made sure that nothing escaped my mouth that could be mistaken for a bargain. I might be doomed, but I wasn't that foolish.
Pressing back into the rough dirt and exposed tree roots and rocks behind me, I started to count my breaths until morning. Or until the wolves found me. Whichever came first.
Chapter 28
It was the longest night of my life, stuffed in that little earthen hole, hoping with every fiber of my being that the dire wolves—or something even more sinister—didn't find me and decide I'd make a tasty snack. I somehow managed to doze fitfully in the wee hours of the morning, before coming awake with a start and clumsily climbing out of the sheltering tree roots.
Something had woken me, but I didn't feel that impending sense of danger that had stalked me through the night. I looked around the bit of forest where I had sheltered through the night, but saw nothing besides a tuft-eared squirrel and a few birds flitting about in the canopy of branches above. Dappled light was beginning to filter down through the tree branches, and I took in a deep breath of fresh morning air. The forest no longer felt menacing, and from the quiet-but-constant chatter of the small forest creatures around me, I assumed there were no predators in the immediate vicinity.
Now I just had to figure out where I was and how to get out of the forest.
It should be a simple task. Orient myself to the sun and start walking. Except…I wasn't sure how far I had wandered last night, or in what direction. And I could still feel a faint hum in the air, a tingling around me. The wild moon would rise tonight, but even now, in the bright morning light, the effects lingered, hinting at what was to come.
The danger in places like the Untamed Wood wasn't purely because of the creatures who lived here. There were the usual predators, of course. But there were also the older entities, nature spirits who were indifferent to humans, who would as easily lead you astray or let you bumble into your own death than do anything to help. Then there was the forest itself. A place as ancient and steeped in magic as this place was…well, it was said that the forest had a sentience, a will of its own. And with the influence of the wild moon lingering in the air, anything could happen.
I took my best guess about which direction the capital city might lie, took a bracing breath, and started walking. It was no use standing here worrying myself all day. Either I'd get out before nightfall, or I wouldn't. Eventually, someone would come looking for me. I just had to stay alive long enough for them to find me. The dire wolves had been close last night, so I'd just as soon not try to spend another night in this area.
I did my best to pay attention to landmarks as I went, stopping now and then to forage for edible berries and other plants along the way. For a time, I was optimistic. It felt like I was making good progress, and the way berry bushes, and energy-rich mushrooms, and all other sorts of fae-friendly food kept appearing in my path made me think that maybe I still had the favor of the forest spirits. Maybe they were leading me toward home, easing my way out of the woods.
Then I came upon a tall, thick wall of thorny bushes that stretched as far as the eye could see, positioned so they completely blocked the direction I was trying to travel. I eyed the bushes warily as I wiped my berry-stained hands on my dirty breeches. The thorns were as long as my fingers, and they glistened at the tips as if they were wet. It wasn't a variety of plant that I was familiar with, but I wasn't willing to risk what I was pretty sure might be a poisonous substance. Huffing at my bad luck, I turned and continued walking parallel to the row of dangerous-looking shrubbery.
