Land of Strength and Sorrow

  No wonder it’s named Beastly. Not that I’ll see any beasts coming for my throat through the trees, Jovi worried.

  Meical clicked his tongue as he guided Horn onto the path. The mammoth barely fit and his sides scraped trees as he pushed forward, not bothered at all by it. He kept moving and didn’t stop no matter what struck him. Perhaps he really didn’t feel any of it. With so much flesh, maybe it acted as a cushion to stop pain from hitting his nerves.

  Or maybe pain just didn’t affect him the way it did her.

  It probably didn’t affect anyone the way it did her, man or beast.

  “Stay tight through the Pass.” Meical yelled behind her. “If something comes at us, it will be harder for the beast that way.”

  Great. So, he expects something to attack. Isn’t that just fantastic, she thought.

  Jovi reached up and rubbed her throat. How long would it stay smooth while they traveled through this place?

  She shook herself. What was she thinking? Meical would keep her safe. There were three other mammoths, all brown with short fur and long tusks, and they would keep her safe. Cappa and the rest of the Mammoth Riders would keep her safe. She had no reason to worry.

  Did she?

  Jovi had no way of knowing how long they’d be on this make-shift road, as she’d never even known of its existence, but if Meical was right, they’d be gathering ingredients tonight.

  Even if it took them two days, they’d have time to spare and would make it in time. For the first time on this journey, her chest lightened with hope. Jovi could save her parents now. Thanks to Meical and his warriors. Thanks to Cappa. Her parents’ lives would be spared in a matter of days.

  A cracking noise pulled her gaze up. She grabbed onto the sides of Horn’s fur and squeezed so tight her knuckles turned white. “What was that?” She kept her voice a whisper.

  Meical frowned. “That, my sweet girl, is the sound of a mammoth’s tusk splitting wood.”

  “Horn?” Jovi tried to look around Meical to the front of the mammoth, but she couldn’t quite see, although she did notice the mammoth had stopped moving.

  Meical nodded and put his hand up in a stopping motion. “Woah. Horn’s got himself in quite the pickle. His tusk has stuck through a tree and he can’t get it out.”

  The others laughed, although Jovi couldn’t understand why. Nothing about this was funny.

  Why can’t anything about this journey be easy? she wondered.

  The mammoth stomped and grunted and pulled, which almost made Jovi slide right off him.

  Meical hopped down and held his arms out. “Come on down from there. You don’t want to be on him while I work him free.”

  Jovi took the few steps on the ladder and Meical lifted her the rest of the way until he planted her feet on solid ground. She backed up a step and her hair snagged in a tree.

  Meical chuckled as he unwrapped her tangle. “Come, now. Don’t make your uncle have to free you too.”

  Gideon and Simone joined them, followed by Cappa and Bastien. Jovi couldn’t peel her eyes away as Bastien and Meical brought out small axes that were sheathed on the side of Horn and worked them through the tree with swift slices. Jovi could smell the fresh wood as they chopped it through.

  But she couldn’t understand why they had to chop a tree down. “What are you guys doing?”

  Simone shuffled to stand in front of Jovi. “They have to cut the tree down to free the mammoth. Once his tusks are stuck in something, it’s a bitch to get them back out.” Her hushed voice exuded confidence and respect. Jovi barely stopped her mouth from dropping. She hadn’t heard Simone say a word before.

  Now that she stared at the warrior, she noticed how exotic of a beauty she was. Her tan skin looked like it glittered under the sun’s rays. Her bronze hair shone as if the sun had turned it that color. The only thing pale was her eyes, almost like a pastel rose, too light to be brown.

  She wore a black shirt, fitted tight to her plentiful curves. Leather pants hugged her hips and showcased her long legs. No doubt, the woman stood tall, regal even, and showcased her beauty for exactly what it was. Jovi crossed her arms over her own small chest.

  Simone’s eyes fixed into Jovi and made her shift her gaze back to the men as they worked the woolly mammoth out of the tree bark. “Will it take them long?”

  Simone shrugged and even that looked majestic. “No way to know. They’ll be done when they are, not a moment sooner.”

  Gee. Thanks for that clarifying answer. It sure is helpful, Jovi said to herself sarcastically.

  It didn’t take long. When Horn’s tusk popped out from the tree, the sun hadn’t moved from its spot in the sky. Jovi climbed back up the mammoth, readied to get moving again, but a growl rang out, so close it might’ve come from right beside them. Every hair on her arms stood on end, and even the ones on her neck. The sound made her quiver, but even more, when she settled on the mammoth’s back, Horn tensed, every muscle pulled taut. Then he sounded a trumpet call unlike anything she’d ever heard.

  Before she could get off him, before she even thought to move an inch, the mammoth charged. Jovi crouched down, her front parallel to Horn’s back, and grabbed fistfuls of his fur to hold on. She had no idea mammoths could move so fast.

  More growls drifted through the woods, and more muscles tensed.

  Jovi’s heart raced.

  The sound of flesh tearing smacked into her, followed by whimpering.

  The mammoth stopped moving and she looked down. A beast that looked like a dog but with razor sharp teeth stuck from Horn’s tusk, penetrated through and through. The animal’s eyes had glazed over, his chest no longer rising or falling.

  “Well, look at that. Horn got us some dinner.” Meical patted the mammoth. “Good boy. I’ll make sure you get the first bite.”

  Horn guffawed, nodding his head up and down. Jovi could’ve sworn he smiled.

  She didn’t move. No, Jovi just stared straight, her eyes drying out from not blinking. Perhaps she’d had no reason to fear the Beastly Pass after all.

  With woolly mammoths and Mammoth Riders and Cappa, she was just as safe as ever. She pushed against the mammoth and released his fur before she sat up, right in time to see Meical yank the meat from Horn’s tusk. He wrapped a burlap bag around the animal and handed it off to Gideon, who strapped it to the side of his mammoth.

  Then, they were once again on their way.

  The cabin loomed in front of Jovi as the sun’s heat began to fade. Evening had come as they’d arrived, proving Meical right with his guess earlier.

  The small wooden house sat nestled beside The Forest of the Giants. A pond shimmered in front of it, the sun’s orange glow reflecting at them as they passed the rippling water.

  The wind had snatched Jovi’s braid and pulled strands of hair from it, tossing it around her face. She tucked it behind her ear, hating the feel of the tickling hairs.

  She sat up straighter and took in the sight, another view she’d never laid eyes on before. So much of Central Orendor she’d never even seen, only read about. Some places she hadn’t even had time to study yet. How had she lived here for eighteen years and never been allowed outside the village walls? Another curse flew through her head, aimed at her father, but she crushed it before it materialized.

  She couldn’t blame the man. His first-born son had been murdered in front of his eyes. Of course he didn’t want anything to happen to his daughter. Not because Jovi would one day rule, and not because she was important to him as the heir, but because she was the only child he had.

  As much as it made her skin crawl, she understood his overprotectiveness, although she’d never agreed with it. From her standpoint, she’d always been safe, so he had no grounds to keep her locked away.

  As Horn came to a stop, Jovi and Meical scrambled down. Jovi stood still and admired the sights, until her eyes landed on the front porch where a hooded figure leaned against the rail.

  Jovi nudged Meical with her elbow. “Uncle. The
sorceress.” She flicked her head toward the woman.

  He elbowed her back. “I saw her already. When the cabin first came into view. Shall we go say hello?”

  Jovi shrugged. “I guess we should.”

  The other mammoths glided up and Simone, Gideon, Bastien, and Cappa flanked her, with Meical in the lead. For a moment, it almost felt like nothing had changed, like she’d just left her room at the castle and her guards had surrounded her. But these weren’t guards. They were warriors, at her side to help, not hinder.

  As she took her first few shaky steps, her stomach dropped. She was nervous. Her fingers shook with anxiety and her legs became so heavy she could barely lift them. Somehow, she pushed through it and ended at the top of the porch.

  Belisandre’s hood fell back as she rushed forward and grabbed Jovi’s hand in her own. “You made it. Thank the gods. Come inside. I will get you the recipe for the cure.”

  Jovi snatched her hand back as she furrowed her brows. “Tell me something, sorceress.” Even to her, the word sounded like an insult. “Why couldn’t you get the ingredients you need and make the potion yourself?”

  “Nobody can know I’m here. If they did, I would have already been captured, you see.”

  Meical tensed. “You shouldn’t be here, Belisandre. What you did…it wasn’t natural. A curse…” He spat at her feet.

  She only smiled. “Perhaps it wasn’t natural to you, but it is to me. I can’t help who I am just as you can’t help who you are. But, the curse wouldn’t have been my choice of punishment. King Ryan has an active imagination and a cruel streak, something not many of you know.”

  Meical shifted as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, I’m well aware of it.”

  Belisandre nodded. “Good, then we agree. I had orders and I completed them. End of story. Now, it’s time to make it right.” She paused and moved toward the dingy front door. “The King doesn’t want the cure to be given out, but I’ve decided it’s time to put an end to all of this.”

  Jovi pushed past Meical. “I agree. So, let’s get this recipe, and we’ll get what you need.”

  Inside, the small room barely held all of them. A cot was stuck to one wall and a kitchen against the other with a table squeezed between the two. Just enough room to have lived, but not necessarily with comfort.

  Belisandre glided to the table and rifled through paper after paper—scattered across it—until she held one up. “Ah. Here it is.”

  Jovi drifted back, but then grabbed the yellow-edged paper. It stuck to her fingers in spots and felt like it might crumble in others. The old parchment’s lettering was thick and old-fashioned, but easy to read nonetheless. It said:

  Ingredients

  One vial of milk from a nursing fairy of delphinium

  Four cole-cap mushrooms from the top of mount Soumahalla

  Two vials of stone giant tears-must be retrieved directly from eyes of Bertson’s waterfall

  One vial of ground mammoth bone from the remains of a woolly mammoth

  Three vials of bathing water of the fairies-can be retrieved from the fountain in delphinium woods

  Combine fairy milk, stone giant tears and bathing water of the fairies, heat until bubbling.

  Add ground mammoth bone and when liquid turns milky white combine cole-cap mushrooms. Boil until potion is deep purple. if the liquid turns dark blue, it has gone bad.

  Jovi’s heart dropped. How would they gather all the ingredients and get back to Belisandre so she had enough time to make the potion before they took it to the castle? They only had three days!

  She met Meical’s eyes as she handed him the recipe. “It’s impossible.”

  Meical scanned the paper. “Not impossible. We still have daylight left. We will start gathering tonight. If we take Beastly Pass, we can start with the mammoth bone and work our way up from there.”

  It hadn’t taken long to get from The Mammoth Fields to the cabin when they used the shortcut, but it had been more dangerous. As long as they were careful and quiet, perhaps they wouldn’t run into any issues.

  “Or, since you are right beside The Forest of the Giants, you could start with the tears,” Belisandre suggested.

  Jovi knew if they used the pass, they would have a better chance of making it in time. She also knew it wouldn’t take long to get to Bertson’s Waterfall from here, either, since that would be the hardest ingredient to retrieve, maybe they should start there. Plus, Jovi and Cappa had walked, which had taken a lot longer than it would now, riding on woolly mammoths. The clock didn’t stop ticking, not even as they stood and tried to figure out a plan. It kept moving, its hands mocking her with each stroke.

  Jovi realized Meical stared at her, waiting for her reply. She nodded. “Let’s go to Bertson’s Waterfall, first. There’s no time to waste.” She hoped she’d made the right choice.

  As they shuffled out the entrance, Belisandre grabbed her by the elbow and held her back. “Be careful, Princess Jovi, but hurry as well. Your father is in grave danger. The Frost Mages do not go back on their word.”

  Jovi glanced at her elbow, then met Belisandre’s eyes. “I appreciate your help and your concern. I know how my father is and trust me, I’m well aware of the time crunch. I will not hesitate, not once during this journey. We will see you again soon.”

  Belisandre smiled, and her brown hair fell back from her face as her burgundy lips pressed together. “Safe travels, then. Until we meet again.” She paused and dug through the deep pockets on her long, purple gown. “Before you leave, take these.” She slid glass vials into Jovi’s hand. “It will make it easier to gather the things we need.”

  With a nod, Jovi surged out of the cabin and hopped down the steps. Once she sat on Horn, she slid the vials into the bag fastened to his side while she explained what they were to Meical. Then, she slumped forward, her cheek resting against Meical’s back. Her eyes wouldn’t stay open. They’d become so heavy the only thing that might keep them open was a stick, or something equally abrasive she could stick between them to pry them apart.

  Meical ran a hand down the top of her head. “Sleep, Jovi. I will wake you when we get to the waterfall.”

  She yawned. As her eyes closed, she saw through the slits that only two mammoths had joined the party. “Where are the others?”

  “They stayed behind on my orders.” He paused and stroked his beard. “I do not trust the sorceress, niece. I want her watched to make sure she isn’t up to anything. Gideon and Simone will keep guard, and if she doesn’t try anything, then at least they can keep her safe if any of the Frost Mages find her. A win-win if there ever was one.”

  Another yawn escaped and she barely covered her mouth in time. “Okay. Whatever you say. I can tell you know what you’re doing.”

  Meical smiled. “Sleep now. Talk later.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  As the last word drifted from her mouth, her eyes closed and she let the darkness swallow her into a dreamless sleep.

  After the Princess and her entourage left, Belisandre found herself picking under her fingernails. Dirt had caked there and she wanted to be rid of it.

  If she were only honest with herself, she’d admit that irritation had spread through her like butter on bread, and it had no intention of stopping anytime soon. Her fingernails took the bulk of it, but plenty still funneled inside her, more and more every second.

  Meical had left his warriors behind. To protect her.

  She scoffed. He left them to watch me. He doesn’t trust me.

  Not that she’d ever given him any reason to.

  But as far as they knew, she had pure intentions. They had no clue she had her own mission here. They also had no way to know the cure recipe she’d given them wouldn’t cure a thing. In fact, it would do nothing.

  She snickered to herself.

  The warriors joined her as she sat on the steps in front of the cabin. She met their eyes. “Gideon. Simone. What can I do for you?”

  Gideon leaned
against the banister with one arm draped over it. “We have some meat from the Beastly Forest. Would you like to join us while we cook it?”

  She shrugged. “Why not? Thank you for the invitation.”

  She couldn’t stand The Mammoth Riders. She clenched her teeth every time she looked at them. They acted like they were better than everyone because they could fight, but that didn’t make them better than anyone. Especially her. She had magic within her. Magic trumped being able to thrust a sword any day.

  Gideon already had a fire going back within the woods behind the cabin, so she pulled over a long log and sat beside it. The heat warmed her body, but did nothing for her cold soul.

  She knew of her issues. They were many and she wished she could throw them away, discard them like old trash, as she moved on from the past.

  Alas, she couldn’t. Revenge had planted itself in her mind and couldn’t be shook. So many people had wronged her and her family.

  Her father…gone for twenty years now.

  It wasn’t a coincidence that a Frost Mage killed the newborn babe of King Ryan that day. She knew what had happened. Hunger had driven the Frost Mage mad and made him do things he would never normally have done.

  King Ryan didn’t kill him, but the Frost Mages did.

  Her father…

  Now, the Mages would die, just as he did.

  First, perhaps she could do with a little practice. She glanced up from her lap and found Gideon and Simone both staring at her with wide eyes.

  They should fear her, everyone should.

  “Boo,” she said and she chuckled when they both jumped.

  The meat on the fire smelled like wood and smoke with a hint of something spiced. She didn’t want it. Not a single bite of it.

  She also didn’t want to sit here with these imposters while they gawked at her. It made her squirm, as if she was the one who needed their approval.

  Her mission might be to fool the Frost Mages, but it only started there. She had a lot more up her sleeve.