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After Edith’s comment, I couldn’t take a step without glancing to my left and right. I looked up at the trees, back behind me, and then scanned the surrounding forest, breathing much faster than our pace required. Fear, palpable as it rose in my belly, threatened to turn me to stone. I fought to keep moving, to keep trusting Edith. I had no food and had never killed an animal in the forest with a blade before. I also didn’t trust the edible flora in this place, so I had no other choice than to trust the woman in front of me. Ash I did not trust, but I liked the idea of his arrows hitting any approaching monsters.
Several times, Edith stopped to urge me along. “Come on. The monsters can smell your fear. Heck, I can almost smell it.”
Ash huffed in agreement.
She patted the torn lace sleeve of my dress and pressed me onward. “Keep walking. It’s not long now until we reach the fort.”
As we walked, my mind flashed with images of the old fort in Westburg, an imposing structure with turrets and an armory, that once served to save the royal family from attackers. Though I doubted Edith’s fort was as strong as the king’s, I hoped it was truly safe. I longed for a moment free from the flutter of panic in my lungs.
Before long, the hunger pangs in my stomach sounded like veritable beasts. Edith increased her pace, forcing my bare feet to scamper faster over the forest floor. I had to tamp down thoughts of the pain in my feet that kept threatening to overtake me. Who knew there were so many broken things in a forest? So many sharp edges waiting to pierce human flesh?
“Faster,” Ash urged, his own breaths quick and his eyes wide as he pushed me from behind. “They’re coming.”
I didn’t stop to ask what was coming. Edith charged forward, leading the way.
I ran. Moving faster made my feet hurt less. I barely touched the fragmented acorns and small, half-hidden rocks. My eyes scanned the ground, careful to step where I wouldn’t turn an ankle. The brush was thick, and the nettles gathered in ever-denser patches until we were entirely surrounded by thorns.
Ash slung the bow over his shoulder and started chopping at the brambles with a machete that had been stowed in a long leather sheath at his back. Edith whipped out a dagger from beneath her apron and began to hack at the thorns methodically, like she’d done this before. I drew Ash’s blade and attempted to do the same, though it took me two chops to cut through one of the vines.
Ash hacked in an X motion, chopping a thin path through the nettles. They grew back just as fast.
After a few minutes, Edith huffed angrily. “It’s no use!” She stuffed the dagger back into its hidden sheath. “These vines aren’t responding to my magic—they’ve been locked against magical attacks! We have to climb over.”
“Hurry!” shouted Ash as he backed up. “I’ll hold them off.” He took off back the way we’d come.
I tried to swallow, but my throat closed up. Without warning, Edith launched herself onto the bramble patch like a cat. She crashed down into it, thorns tearing her sleeves and drawing blood. She let out a small yelp but pressed on, thrashing her arms and grabbing the vines with her bare hands.
I bent down and pulled the outer layer of my lace dress up over my shoulders. Tucking the fabric tight against me, I charged into the brush. The thorns bit at my dress, but very few poked all the way through to my skin. The layered skirts protected my legs from some of the sharp points, although I could feel scratches tearing the skin on my arms. Edith shot me an amused look and nodded her approval.
Then the vine wrapped around my ankle, and I went down, hands splayed out to shield my face from the thorns.
“Edith!”
A large thorn pierced my palm until the red tip glistened above my knuckles. Several other thorns lodged in my stomach and thighs. I yowled. My head swam at the sight of the blood oozing from my hand. Using all my mental energy, I closed my eyes and shut my mind to the pain. Soon, my hand barely hurt, and I yanked it off the thorn, tucking it against my stomach as warm blood leaked out.
Edith thrashed through the nearby vines.
A low rumble in the distance indicated something very large was quickly heading our way. A shriek from Edith brought a wave of fear so palpable it eclipsed my remaining pain for one breath. I couldn’t move.
Edith shouted, “As soon as you’re free, run. Don’t look back. Stay straight and you’ll reach a big tree—wide as a house. There’s a girl there. Name’s Ferrier. You shout her name, and she’ll let you in.”
I tried to speak, but my voice was caught in my burning, aching throat.
Thundering hoofbeats approached. Had the creature trampled Ash?
In a heartbeat, the vines caging me withdrew, pulling free from my skin, and I flopped the rest of the way to the ground.
I scrambled to my feet, cradling my punctured hand against my stomach. I lurched forward, glancing back and forth for Edith.
“The enchantment broke! Run!” she screamed.
Blond hair caught my eye right before the snout of an enormous bull moose burst through the trees. Ash was running back toward us, behind the creature.
The moose charged directly toward me, and I bolted for the nearest tree, hopping behind it as the massive animal tore past, splintering the trunk with the edge of his antlers. My heart beat madly, and I breathed in ragged terror. The moose’s eyes held a reddish tint, and its shiny, black antlers were wide as a river boat and tipped with knife-like points.
Turning away, I watched in horror as Edith tripped and hit the ground hard. She lifted her head up and then flopped back onto her stomach.
The moose charged.
