Chapter 10

Lilitha woke in Clara’s arms to the bright haze of morning. A breeze rustled the treetops. Light rain chattered on the saturated earth. A lone frog croaked.

They had escaped—for now. But what else lurked amid the trees?

Lilitha shivered as she peered down at her sleeping friend.

“Clara,” she whispered. She stirred and opened her drowsy blue eyes. “We have to go now.”

Lilitha eased to her feet with a groan, her whole body aching. A wet patch had iced over the right side of her cloak where she had lain, and she wrung it out as best she could.

Then she sat on the big root behind her and removed her boots, tipping out a cupful of water. Next, she shook out her hair.

It was matted and caked in mud and she grimaced and yelped as she tried to untangle it.

“We have to get out of here,” Clara said.

“I know.” Lilitha shivered as she thought of the monster in the woods last night. That growl. The way her hair had stood up on her arms.

“What do you think it was?”

Lilitha snapped her head around. “Did you hear it too?”

“What?”

“The growling.”

“Growling?” She shook her head. “Something spooked the horses badly—then everyone. That’s all I know. It was a bad storm.”

“Yeah…it was.”

Clara narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by growling?”

“Nothing.” Lilitha stood. “Come on, we need to get moving.”

Trees towered overhead. Their boots sank into a thick carpet of wet leaves and soggy debris. Birds sang; creatures called to each other; something snickered then scampered away.

Roots and rocks tripped them up, strangling vines pulled off their hoods and tangled in their hair, and sharp bristles caught on their cloaks. The forest was so thick away from the path.

They stopped frequently to drink from the puddles collecting along sprawling roots or in pools between scattered rocks.

Food was plentiful: berries and fruit and bushes wreathed with nuts. They grabbed handfuls, eating along the way.

“How did you do it?” Clara suddenly asked.

“Do what?”

“Get the key.”

“Oh…” She waved her hand. “It’s not important.”

“Lilitha…”

“It’s not important,” she snapped. She would not tell her about Mandalay.

Clara pressed her lips together.

“Sorry,” Lilitha rounded her shoulders. “Just upset and tired.”

“It’s no problem. Do you think they’re following us?”

“Who?”

“The Champions.”

Lilitha frowned. She hadn’t even thought of it. “I don’t see why they would. They got us here, didn’t they? Isn’t that what they were supposed to do?”

“But they’re supposed to leave us chained. So that…so that the monsters can get us. I heard it stops them from attacking the villages.”

Lilitha turned to her. “Where’d you hear that?”

“From some of the prisoners.”

Lilitha waved her hand in dismissal. “What would they know?”

“Still…”

“…We should be careful,” Lilitha agreed.

“Do you think we’ll get out of here before nighttime?”

“I hope so.”

“I don’t believe in monsters,” Clara said resolutely. “Do you?”

“No.” Lilitha chewed her lip.

“But I believe in wild animals,” Clara continued, clearly relieved by Lilitha’s response. “Do you think there are bears out here?”

“Maybe.”

“There’s got to be wolves. Snakes.”

They walked quietly for some time. Other than bird calls and the occasional rustling of bushes, it was strangely quiet.

Lilitha began to wonder if the growl really had been just a wild animal—as bad as that was. Bears. Wolves. Or had she merely imagined it?

Everything seemed so much more ordinary and mundane in the light of day. Even in the middle of the dark forest. It wasn’t what she’d imagined.

At least she was away from Mandalay. That was the main thing.

She also began to wonder if the Champions themselves had erected those heads, just to scare their prisoners. Maybe Clara was right.

Maybe she should worry more about the Champions than any mythical monsters.

Lilitha seized Clara’s wrist at the snap of a breaking stick. Eyes wide, they stared at each other. Then there came a voice. “Quick! They’re catching up,” it hissed.

Other prisoners? Lilitha’s stomach swooped excitedly. She was wondering if she should call out to them when she heard the sharp cracks of breaking branches.

It was as if someone was running, as if many someones were running—or ~trying~ to run—through the thick brush.

Lilitha seized Clara’s sleeve, and they ducked into some bushes. Several large men rushed by through the trees to the left, making so much noise in the quiet.

She glimpsed the red and gold of the Champions’ uniforms. Thankfully, they were well away, but Lilitha’s heart was pounding in her chest.

“We are close,” came Mandalay’s growling voice. “Only kill as a last resort. And should you encounter the witch, leave her to me.”

Unmoving, barely breathing, they listened as the noise muffled into the distance. Lilitha released a shaky breath.

“Perhaps we should go back the other way?” Clara said.

Lilitha stayed rooted to the spot, unsure what to do. Then she jumped, and Clara cried out, slapping a hand to her mouth at the sound of distant shouting.

There followed a gurgling scream. Without a word to each other, they raced back the way they’d come.

They didn’t get far before Clara skidded to a halt. Lilitha crashed into her with a yell, toppling them both to the ground. Figures ahead. Champions! Lilitha grabbed onto Clara to pull her up.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

No. Not Champions. Prisoners. ~Three~ of them. ~More~ prisoners. The two girls froze. Two of the men had their hoods pulled over their faces. The third was balding and bearded.

There was a scar down his cheek. His eyes were glittering as he studied them. Then he looked up at the sound of shouting.

He spat. “Champions.”

“We’d better go,” spoke the man to his left.

“Wait. Take us with you,” Clara said, stepping toward them.

“Clara!” Lilitha seized her wrist.

“We’ll die out here, Lilitha.”

The man laughed. “Not a chance.” He waved his hand as he turned to leave. “If you’re lucky, the monsters will get you before the Champions do.”

The third man laughed.

Clara pulled away Lilitha’s hood. “What about a witch?”

“Clara!” Lilitha hissed.

The three men turned back. The bearded man’s eyes narrowed curiously as they darted over Lilitha’s face. “The witch, of course, I almost forgot.”

He cocked his head with a smile. “How exactly did you take his eye?”

The sound of screaming made them all look up.

“Leave them. We’ve got to go, Laymond.” The two men turned and began hurrying away.

Laymond pulled on his hood. “Keep up if you can.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Lilitha whispered to Clara as they hurried along after. “They’re criminals.”

“So are we.”

She had a point.

Quickly, the commotion behind them muffled into the distance. A heavy drizzle danced on the earth around them, making their way ahead slippery. Two of the men had already slipped at least once.

There was mud all the way up Lilitha’s cloak. The air was cold in her chest, making her lungs ache—but they were keeping up.

Their small figures meant they could duck under branches and slip between the trees more easily compared with their larger companions.

Still, their passage was slow and difficult. Lilitha flung aside a branch, rocking the slim ash and sending a bird into the sky with a squawk.

“Where are you going, anyway?” Lilitha said, following Laymond’s broad back.

“Mainstry,” he answered.

Lilitha’s heart leapt. “You know where to go?”

“Any good fisherman knows the way.” He turned to look at her. “Tell me, why ~does~ Sir Mandalay think you a witch?”

“How do you know I’m ~not~ a witch?”

He laughed. “There are as many witches as there are monsters.”

“You don’t think there are monsters?” Clara said hopefully.

“Only children believe in monsters.”

“The Champions believe so.”

“Like I said: ~children~. They leave us for the wild animals because they don’t have the guts to do away with us themselves.”

He rolled his eyes. “Saving their souls or some such. ~God~—as unlikely as the monsters.”

“You don’t believe in God?” Clara said in dismay. Laymond gave her a devilish grin. Clara bunched up close to Lilitha as she hissed in her ear, “Who doesn’t believe in God?”

He turned his dark eyes to Lilitha. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I don’t know why he thinks I’m a witch,” Lilitha lied.

“Mmm-hmmm,” he grunted in disbelief. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. Any enemy of Mandalay is a friend of mine. Then again, he doesn’t really think you his enemy, does he?”

His eyes glittered as he looked her up and down.

“Maybe you really are a witch—the way he looks at you. Tell me, do you think he’s so hell-bent on catching us for the monsters, or catching you for himself?”

Laymond smirked at her when she didn’t answer.

The constant drizzle made Lilitha’s brain feel soggy, but at least she was warm with the constant walking. The ground litter crunched beneath their footsteps.

Lilitha’s boots were so filled with water it felt like she was walking in a continuous puddle. They could no longer hear the Champions and Lilitha could only hope that they’d left them far behind.

“So you don’t think there are monsters?” Clara said.

“Haven’t you learned yet, girl? The only monsters in this world are us humans,” Laymond spat.

“We’re not monsters,” she said.

Laymond gave a dark laugh. “Really? What terrible crime did you commit that got you stuck out here?”

Clara didn’t respond.

Lilitha kept quiet. After all she’d been through with Sir Mandalay—not to mention her own father—Lilitha couldn’t disagree.

“How long will it take to get to Mainstry, do you think?” Lilitha asked.

“Have no idea.”

The grey haze of midday sank into an afternoon gloom. The forest remained thick, confusing their location and inviting wrong turns.

If it wasn’t for Laymond, they could well have been wandering around in circles. Lilitha pressed a hand to her stomach as it growled.

She was starting to limp, the pain in her backside getting worse and worse. Beside her, Clara was panting so hard she was wheezing. Lilitha wrapped her arm around her waist as she began to stagger.

“Could we slow down a bit?” Lilitha asked.

“No way.” Laymond gave her a meaningful look. The scar on his cheek looked white against the cold. “If your friend can’t keep up—leave her.”

“No way,” Lilitha retorted.

The men ahead came to a halt.

“Did you hear that?” one of them hissed.

“What?”

“I think there’s something moving up ahead.”

“So?” Laymond said. “It’s a forest. There are animals everywhere.”

“I don’t…I don’t think this is an animal.”

They all stood frozen as they listened. Lilitha kept a firm hold of Clara. The hair was standing up on her arms again. The back of her neck prickled. Whatever it was, she felt it was close.

They all jerked at the sound of a stick breaking. They all whipped around at the sound of heavy, pounding footsteps.

“The Champions!” Laymond hissed. “They’ve found us!”