I sat motionlessly, as Jakob had instructed, careful not to move in case I betray my position. The young Huryl soldier had gone out to scout, and I was grateful for his attention to such details. I knew if I had been leading us, we would have died already, with our journey only beginning.
My heart was pounding with fear and I was certain that the Huryl troops that were scouring the mountains in search of us could hear it. If not my heart, then surely my breath. I was breathing far too loud. I was very uncomfortable, sitting behind a large boulder with me knees drawn up to my chest. My bottom hurt from the hard stone, my back from the chill, and my arms from holding my legs in place, but I dared not move. One loose stone was all it would take for my hiding spot to be discovered, and both Jakob and I would be killed.
My palm still tingled, although it had been hours since I had summoned the air spirits to help me in my battle. I remembered them flying about in delight, destroying everything they could. I could feel their delight crashing over me, wave after wave of the emotion until I felt as if I would drown. It had been terrifying – and exhilarating.
Jakob poked his head around the boulder, nearly scaring me out of my wits. He smiled, his brown eyes kind, and reached out his hand to me. I took it and he hauled me to my feet. I ignored the fact that both my legs were asleep and limped after the stealthily moving soldier down a winding trail. He paused when we reached the bottom.
“No patrols ahead of us,” he reported. “I wish I could say the same about behind us. Seems King Cedrik is pretty upset with you.”
I rolled my eyes bravely. Jakob grinned and squeezed my hand. Gesturing with his head to follow, he took off again, weaving between the rocks like a mountain goat. I sighed and hurried after him as best I could.
Minutes later, he slowed his pace and stretched his arms above his head. I was granted an unobstructed view of his lean, muscular body from his long strong arms to his six-pack torso. I felt a smile creep across my lips, and I forced myself to look away. When I turned my head back again, he was watching me. I blushed.
He took a step towards me. “Do you want some of this?”
“What?” I stammered, my heart pounding faster and my skin turning crimson.
“This,” he repeated, holding up a piece of bread.
The constriction in my chest eased and I almost laughed. He looked at me in a completely confused way as I took the piece of bread from his outstretched hand. Quickly, I stuffed the food into my mouth to avoid having to explain why my face had been so red. Jakob ignored my discomfort and began to look around again.
“Something’s not right,” he muttered suddenly.
As if in answer to his suspicion, a dozen armed Huryl soldiers materialized from the stones around us. They were holding crossbows and swords, and none of them looked very friendly. Jakob placed himself between me and the soldiers, pushing me back against the stones and placing one hand on my waist as he reached behind me. His eyes were firmly on the men surrounding us and I had no time to be embarrassed.
“Back off, Jakob,” one of the men called. “We’ll let you go if you give us the girl.”
Jakob didn’t move, but his hand went to his sword. I inhaled sharply and bit my lip, wondering if he was able to fight twelve men on his own.
“I know your father, boy,” another soldier cried. “You’re a good man. Give us the girl and go home. Maybe the King will be easy on you.”
“I can’t,” Jakob told them in a loud voice. “I will protect her.”
I will protect her…. How many people had said that to me already? And where were they now? I left Fynn for dead in the forest, Roric had turned me over to Mattis and the Frog King, Damaeon probably blamed himself for my assassination… How many more people would I let down?
I felt the mark on my palm burn again, and I tried to scan the area for spirits as best I could while behind squashed between Jakob and the mountain. I thought I saw a face peering down at me, but it was not one I recognized.
“Please,” I whispered softly. “If you’re there, spirits, help us!”
“We’ll give you a quick death,” the Huryl were saying to Jakob, “for your father’s sake.”
A crossbow bolt shot at close range embedded itself in the rock near my face. I screamed in surprise as the Huryl leapt forward to take both Jakob and I by force. Jakob’s sword was out in a split second, and he began to fight while keeping me firmly behind him. I saw the face again, humanoid with dark eyes and skin as grey as the stone. It stared at me for a moment before disappearing. I felt abandoned as my only ally vanished.
“Jakob,” I called. “Stop fighting. I’ll go with them, but save yourself!”
“I can’t,” he replied between sword thrusts. “We’ll both be executed. And I promised to bring you to the Wood.”
He cried out in pain as a crossbow bolt shot into the fray took him across the shoulder. His tunic ripped and a steady flow of dark blood began to pour out. Jakob ignored the wound and kept fighting, but I could hardly take my eyes off it. A sword caught him across the ribs, and another on his face, but he paid them no mind. Tears welled up in my eyes and I shook my head.
“No,” I said, softly at first but growing louder. “No! STOP IT!”
As if in answer to my call, my palm exploded in pain, stronger than I had ever felt. I clutched it with my other hand, but I was distracted by the sudden landslide of boulders that came toppling from every direction. Stony hands reached out from the mountain itself to snatch Huryl and drag them screaming into the rock. I clung on to Jakob’s bloody sleeve and pulled him out of the way as the Huryl were chased away. Tears were pouring down my face and my mind was spinning as I suddenly became aware of hundreds of spirit minds around me. They were a lot slower than the minds I had encountered before, slow and deliberate. I found my own thoughts becoming sluggish to match theirs.
“Leila!” Jakob shouted, shaking me.
I smiled lazily at him. Behind him came about twenty large rock-men. They stopped and looked at me, and I nodded to them. The leader reached out with one hand, and I reached out to take it, pushing past my protector.
“Leila, don’t!” Jakob said, trying to pull me away.
A stone hand clasped around Jakob and lifted him into the air. He gasped in pain, the first indication that he felt it, and tried in vain to keep his hold on me. I scarcely noticed, my mind was too consumed with the lethargic thoughts of the rock-men.
“Promised one,” the leader said in a slow voice, “the rock spirits rejoice in your coming. It has long been foretold that you would join us. You have been promised to us.”