I gave Jorgen the opportunity to escape and he refused, now his own brother is going to execute him in front of all his people. I still can't believe that this is happening.
For Hommis, I failed. I failed in everything.
"Astri, Lenin is right. We don't even know if what these mages were talking about is true. Once we have the witch on our side we can think about other options. Don't let this get to you," Edvard adds, patting me on the back, but it doesn't help my heart.
In a way, I know I need to listen to him and forget about Jorgen for now. We have a job to do, and I can't let Emilia be sold to some labouring camp in the heart of the mountains.
When we finally reach the outskirts of the city, we head further into the forest. I wipe the sweat off my forehead, telling myself that I have to keep it together for a bit longer.
"Okay guys, I’ll deal with it somehow, but we can't let Ruscal execute him. Jorgen can't refuse help next time, not when he's facing death row," I say, still seeing that detached look on his face when I stood outside of his cell. He didn't care about my feelings or the fact that I willingly followed him to the Asian World where we both went through hell and back. He needs to realise that throughout it all I’ve been trying to fix my mistake. I just have to convince him.
"Jetli still thinks that lordi lord loves you Astri, but his heart needs some time to heal properly," Lenin whispers to me, and tears are beginning to form behind my eyes, but I don't want to fall apart in front of my Pixies. They’ve always looked up to me and I can’t let them down.
Jorgen will soon realise that he doesn't have anyone else left but me and then he’ll change his mind. I'm dreading the worst—we still haven't heard from Thayer or any of the other assistants to the Duke. Ruscal’s been killing anyone who refused to accept his power, and I suspect that one of Jorgen’s most loyal assistant's might already be dead. My enemy must now know that I'm the not the only Wyvern left in this world, that there is also Aria and Edvard. And that alone must have made him even more furious.
"The trolls are in the Decaying Mountains, so we have a bit of a walk ahead of us," I say, squeezing my knife in my right hand. We still have time and once Emilia’s back with us, others might join us too.
I want to kill Ruscal with my bare hands. Make him suffer excruciating pain and I will take everything away from him—everyone that he cares about.
After getting over the initial shock, we continue moving through the forest. We’re taking a hell of a risk because this territory is filled with wild shifters. They’re claiming this land as their own. I don't know their history, but Bratlav wasn't the first shifter who came to live in Rivenna. Ruscal must have made a hell of a deal with him—he must have promised him the land or even more. Either way, the two of them won't be in power for long.
It's starts getting dark after about an hour, and I sense other shifters around. We need to keep walking along the path, because others might have left unexpected traps close to the mountains. I’ve been hunting in this area many times before, so I know what to expect, unlike Aria or Edvard.
Wild shifters are also staying in the city, but we still have to be vigilant. The forest is silent, and the temperature begins to drop a little.
I attempt to ignore negative thoughts, and keep trying to convince myself that our plan won’t backfire. Shifters, humans and mages in the city will eventually come around, especially now that Ruscal plans to execute the Duke. They won't accept the ongoing violence. Jorgen’s been a good ruler, no one can deny it.
"There must be way to get further down to the mountains. I was there once during the contest, but we were allowed to use the tunnel under the castle. The trolls won't be keeping Emilia in their usual place. They have to be able to communicate with Ruscal's people somehow," I say as we start climbing up, passing large rocks and overgrown weeds. I recognise the space around me. The valley within the wild shifters village is located on the other side of Decaying Mountains.
I keep thinking about the time when Bratlav held Jorgen against his will and then preformed the cutting of the mage ritual. My stomach tightens with unease. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, apart from Ruscal of course. He deserves to have everything ripped away from him, the same way he shredded my life and the lives of others to pieces. Once we locate the hidden entrance to the cave on top of the hill, I notice that Edvard seems to be worried about Aria. No one knows what’s waiting for us inside.
"Aria, I think you and Jetli should stay outside and be on the lookout for any intruders. We don't need anyone following us inside the caves. I have a feeling that Ruscal's people might waiting for us in here. Ruscal knows that Emilia and I are very close," I say, thinking ahead. Edvard doesn't say a word, but he looks pleased with my suggestion.
My cousin reluctantly agrees, and Lenin starts telling his sister what might happen to them, which isn't very helpful at the moment. We need someone on the outside who can watch out for any signs of trouble.
The entrance is hidden between thick bushes; there are signs on the rocks in a language that none of us recognises and dark energy begins to drift around, lifting all the small hairs on the back of my neck. It grows thick and heavy, settling around the centre of my chest. It's a sign that there are other creatures nearby, and not necessarily friendly ones. The trolls are greedy, nasty little shits and I want to make sure that we’re not in the underground for long.
"I'll walk ahead. Trolls know these caves like the back of their hands, so we all need to be careful. Especially you Lenin, everyone knows that trolls can easily detect Pixies. I bet that they would cut you up into pieces without thinking twice about it," I warn Lenin, knowing that we only have one chance to get Emilia out of there.
Failing isn't an option and I don't want to think what might happen to us after that. There’s only a handful of us and hundreds of trolls inside, so we have to use every trick up our sleeve to succeed.
Aria stays behind, using her father's protection spells and we disappear inside. Lenin starts entertaining us explaining what he’s planning to do if we get attacked by a bunch of trolls. He seems to be in a good mood, but I can’t help the uneasy feeling in my gut.
Edvard passes me a torch when we enter the cave, and I walk ahead of him. Jetli’s looking after Aria, and in a way, that makes me feel a little better. At least my cousin isn't alone. I just hope they don’t run into any trouble while we’re gone.
My heart rate speeds up a bit when we start walking through the pitch-black darkness. Last time I was around trolls, their General hung me upside down and forced me to give up my mother's necklace. It was the only memory that I had left, and I was devastated when I had to trade it for protective crystals. Now I realise that I probably would have never won the contest without losing something so dear to my heart.
The cave stretches for miles, and as we enter the tunnels we spot shining stones all around us. Lenin keeps whispering that he's not scared, which normally means that he’s completely petrified.
The tunnels are getting damp and humid as we wander further down into the mountain. Several minutes later the path ends, and right in front of us there are three tunnels that split into various directions. I stop for a second, not knowing which tunnel will lead us to Emilia. I glance at my uncle who takes something out of his pocket. It's a tiny bag filled with some sort of dusty powder, and as I suspect it's been enhanced with magic. He spreads it everywhere, and the dust instantly starts drifting towards the tunnel to my right.
"What's that, Astri's uncle Ed?" Lenin asks, buzzing around me as his wings keep tapping the air.
"Fairy dust with enhanced magic that should take us directly to the trolls’ location. It's my own design. Did I tell you that I like experiment with magic and potions from time to time?" my uncle asks, looking at me.
I'm still not used to calling him my uncle, but apart from Aria he’s the only family that I have left, apart from Beatrice. Ruscal took them away from me, and for years I was convinced that only my aunt had managed to survive
.
"No, but you can tell me all about it later. We need to keep moving for now," I say, and follow the direction of the dust. I feel a cold draft, and goose bumps appear on the surface of my skin. I don't slow down, because this might mean that the tunnel leads us to the wider cave on the other side of the mountain. Lenin flies behind me and Edvard tries to keep up with us. The tunnel narrows and narrows further until it becomes increasingly uncomfortable to walk through. I start feeling a little lightheaded, and my breathing becomes laboured. I keep glancing behind me to make sure that Edvard is all right. Finally, an hour later the tunnel ends again, and we reach a massive open space.
Several caves come together in here, stretching for miles ahead. We spot trolley tracks crossing each other in the distance. I glance down the steep hill, and see that the trolls have gathered at the bottom of the cave. There’s at least a couple hundred of them there, and they’re all holding tiny torches.
"We need to get closer, " Edvard tells me.
"Emilia must be somewhere down there. You might have to distract them with smaller bombs. More powerful magic might cause an avalanche, and we don't want to end up being buried in here," I say, feeling a little apprehensive all of a sudden about using Edvard's magic. He’s a powerful Wyvern with excellent skills, but sometimes his explosions can get out of control. On top of that, trolls have magic that can be deadly. We have no idea how many of them are guarding Emilia.
We start moving down the hill, keeping close to the rocks at the edge of the cave. There are several trollies traveling up and down in the network of rail tracks around this enormous cavern. The path is steep and it takes us several minutes to get close enough to the trolls gathered around General Zishan. Yep, I recognise him well enough even from a distance. He's standing above the trolls on a giant rock, waving his hands, shouting at his people, dressed in the same navy uniform. It looks like he must still be in charge. I'm just about to tell Edvard that we should split up, but then I notice movement amongst the trolls.
Zishan keeps pointing at his army, then gestures for others to approach.
"Emilia, that's Emilia, oh boy, Astri … she doesn't look so good. There’s something heavy hanging over her chest," Lenin comments and my stomach tightens with nervousness. I see my ex-boss and dear friend as she’s being dragged towards Zishan where he’s standing near three other trolls. She has heavy silver chains around her neck and hands. Lenin’s right, there’s something wrong. Emilia looks scared, and weakened by what must be powerful spells. Her normally colourful tunic is torn and dirty, and her hair is a mess, sticking up at different angles. We’re too far away to be able to tell if she's hurt or not, but I know for a fact that her magic is gone. Ruscal or Bratlav must have found a way to disable her abilities and she most likely lost her wand too.
"We have to get a little closer, Astri. I want to know what that short troll is shouting about," Edvard says.
We creep closer, bending our knees, sensing energy drifting around the place. All the trolls seem to focus on the General. He seems angry, furious about something and his normally wide, wart-filled face is red. Seconds later, he steps up and shouts towards the crowd.
"We have been given a lot of gold to take care of the witch, although the tall humans have lied to us. They said that she would give us more crystals, but her powers are useless, even without the chains!"
He doesn't seem too pleased with the fact that Ruscal must have sold him a useless witch. I glance at Emilia, and my heart shudders in her chest. She may have lost her magic, but I don't think she’s lost her desire to fight. I see some dried blood on her hands, and dread keeps filling my gut. I need to get her out of here safely.
If there is even the slightest chance that Zishan has my mother's necklace on him, then I must get it back as well.
"Right, two bombs should be enough to create havoc in here. You have to get to her Astri, while Lenin and I try to keep them away," Edvard states and I nod, remembering our plan.
The bombs are filled with special gas that should disable the trolls, but it won't affect me. Yet again it's Edvard own design, something useful that he’s worked on the side in the past.
I watch how my uncle starts creeping a bit closer, disturbing several rocks rolling down the hill. A few trolls turn around, but luckily, they don't notice him. Apparently, their eyesight isn't that great.
Seconds drag on, and he when he finally takes out his handmade magic bombs, my heart speeds up. We’ve never had a chance to talk in depth about his abilities, and now I'm curious what else he can do.
I count to ten, and when he glances at me, I nod. Then, he rolls the bombs into the crowd, and a split moment later the explosions start going off. The trolls panic, some scream and run around frantically. The bombs released a magical gas that evaporates into the air, slowly disabling them, so they have no idea what’s truly going on.
A lot of them are running in different directions, trying to avoid each other. The ground underneath my feet begins to rumble and my heart skips a beat. Rocks are tumbling down, and panic fills my gut. Edvard's magic might have caused too much damage. I shout at Lenin to fly over to Edvard, and then pull out my hunting knife. For a moment, I’m no longer able to see Emilia or the General. The gas is obscuring the entire cave now, and I have no idea where they disappeared to.
"Astri, here over here," Lenin shouts flying somewhere around my ear, pointing to my right.
The visibility is poor, but in the distance, I can see Emilia being dragged inside a small tunnel by other trolls, but I don't see the General.
I curse and run after them, knowing that we haven't got much time. Edvard's magic is only going to disorient them for a few minutes, and I need to hurry.
"The Wyvern girl—the other shifter warned me that you might show up," a high-pitched voice speaks behind me, and then I nearly pass out, as something sharp jabs me in the back.
Chapter Three
Some things don’t always go to plan.
The pain paralyses my muscles and my knees nearly give out. I turn around, seeing Zishan standing right behind me. He only reaches down to my waist, holding a small pointed knife in his right hand. Blood drips down the blade. He must have crept up behind me when the bombs went off, and I didn't even sense him.
Without hesitation, I launch myself at him, noticing my mother's necklace. Pain makes me nauseous and I don't even have a chance to rush against him. Seconds later I start swelling, levitating above the ground.
My face, legs and arms are swelling at an enormous rate, exactly like the last time. Panic envelopes my body, and blood rushes to my ears. This can't be happening again, but the General starts laughing when my body changes shape, turning into a giant balloon. The gas isn’t working on him for some reason or his own magic is protecting him somehow.
A moment later I slam on to the ground, and the whole world starts spinning. My left side is bleeding badly, but I'm too pumped with adrenaline to feel anything right now. When I look up, I see Edvard. He’s dragging Zishan away by his feet, the troll keeps wiggling his tiny hands, trying to jab him with the same knife, but he’s too short to be able to reach my uncle. Fortunately for me, no one notices that their leader is in trouble, the other trolls are running around us in complete chaos.
"I stunned him with more magical gas, go on. We haven't got much time. You have to get Emilia," my uncle shouts at me, and I run up to him, remembering the necklace. I kick the general who keeps waving his tiny knife in front of my face and he finally goes still. I grab the necklace and yank it from his fat neck. My heart is pounding away, and I can't believe that I finally have it back after all this time.
"He shouldn't give you any more trouble for now. I'll be right back," I say to Edvard, and run towards the tunnels where I saw Emilia being pulled away.
Seconds later two larger trolls are blocking my way. I'm just about to launch myself at them using my hunting knife when Lenin flies over, screaming.
"Take that, you midgets!" Lenin shouts, sparkl
ing something all over their heads. They start burning and screaming.
I go through the narrow tunnel, while my heart pounds in my chest. I finally see her standing behind three abnormally large trolls. My heart pounds in my chest when I catch up with her. All of them are armed, and the first one approaches me holding a small axe in his hand.
"Astri, be careful, they have—"
I attack quickly, but the little guy with the axe is faster. He keeps swinging it right in front of my face. I somehow manage avoid it, jumping to the left. As a result, the troll hits the rock behind me. His axe gets stuck and he keeps trying to pull it out. I whirl on my feet and stab him with my knife.
Green blood pours down my hands and the creature roars out in agony. His two other friends seem paralysed with fear, staring at me with their enormous grey eyes. I wipe the sweat from my forehead, thinking about Jorgen. His magic is lost because of me, and I can't allow this happen to Emilia. The two trolls left standing must realise that they’re in huge trouble. The one on the right drops his weapons and runs, the other one reveals his ugly teeth, and launches himself at me.
I jump up and kick him in the gut. He goes down immediately, slamming to the ground. The pain makes me dizzy once the adrenaline slows down and I remember that I'm hurt. The green blood is burning my skin, so I wipe my hands off on my pants.
"Emilia, are you all right?" I ask.
"I’ve been better," she mutters, when I help her back to her feet.
"How do I get these chains off?" I ask her, aware that we’re slowly running out of time. She grabs my hand.
"Use your fire magic, Astri. I can't do anything; my magic is gone. You shouldn't have come here, Ruscal's people are almost certainly waiting for you on the outside," Emilia hisses.