Chapter 19

NINETEEN

COLLINS

“So, remind me again . . . why the hell would we ever go in there?”

I pointed toward a dark, dense section of forest. It wasn’t like the rest of Third Realm, where the trees were bright and colorful and their crystal leaves caught the sun and sent rainbow rays of light scattering in all directions. Hell, even the sky was a pretty lavender. This was the complete opposite. These trees were made of moldavite. There was no confusing the aura and energy of moldavite. This crystal gave the entire area a dark, green glow that held shadows like secrets in the night. The trunks were as big as red woods but were a dark, olive green that had a million different fissures in them. The leaves were made of onyx and obsidian—double trouble. Not a single ray of sunlight penetrated the dense black leaves. A creeping fog rolled over the ground, where the roots stuck up, making the terrain uneven and difficult to navigate.

“It’s part of the training. If you can make it through there, then you can make it through anything this realm has to offer.”

“Okay, Frank Sinatra, but that . . .” I pointed at the trees. “. . . that’s moldavite.”

“Yes.”

“That’s like chaos incarnate. Everything that can go wrong . . . will.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “But in the end, you’re in a much better position.”

“After going through hell. This is a whole freaking forest. You have no idea what kind of influence that kind of energy has on the world around it. Walking in there is asking for trouble.”

“Exactly, Collins.” She motioned for me to enter the forest. “Best kind of training.”

Just then a loud scream broke the silence and made me jump. It sounded like a mix between a crying baby and a woman being stabbed to death. My heart rammed up into my throat. “What the hell was that?”

“Oh, some kind of creature. We don’t really have names for it. But it’s a cross between a giant racoon, a mountain lion, and fairy.”

“That doesn’t sound terrifying at all.” I swallowed down the ball of nerves in my throat. Every step I took through this forest would bring be closer to Tallulah, Mom, and home. I just had to keep going.

“Are you ready, or are we going to stand here all day?” Jada eyed the forest, then looked to the sky. “If it was me, I would try to get through as quickly as possible before the night falls and the real issues come out to play.”

“And that screaming wasn’t a real issue?”

“Minor inconvenience.” She waved my words away.

I took the first step into the forest, lifting my foot over a huge root sticking up from the ground. When I put my foot down, it sank into a thick puddle of mud that I couldn’t see because of the fog. A chill went up my spine.

“How are we supposed to navigate carefully when I can’t even see where I’m going?”

“That’s the point.” She followed behind me, making sure not to step where I just had.

“Fine,” I grumbled. I was walking through a fae obstacle course with no map and nothing to go on.

The wind rustled through the trees, and it sounded like bones smacking together. There was no sweet tweeting of birds, nor rabbits scampering through the woods. The air wasn’t even fresh and clean. It smelled damp and pungent instead, like the back alley of an off-strip Vegas casino. When I placed my hand on a tree trunk to steady myself, the energy vibrated up my arm and went right to my knees. My legs shook and I dropped down, banging my knee on a sharp root.

My entire body shook with chaotic energy. I didn’t know if I wanted to run fifty miles or sleep for a thousand years. Jada grabbed my wrist and yanked my hand away from the tree. She shoved me away from it, knocking me to the ground. I fell back, scraping the palms of my hands over the rough crystals as my butt fell into the mud. Pain shot up my arm and into my hips.

Jada stood over me. “Did you not feel the vibration of the trees?”

“It was an accident.” I examined the shallow scrapes on my hand. Only a few drops of blood. I’d done worse.

“You can’t afford accidents here.” She offered me her hand.

I took it and she hauled me to my feet. “I know.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Do you? Or has First Realm made you soft?”

I glared at her. “I do.”

“Good. Let’s keep going.”

I didn’t say another word to her, but again I felt like the baby bird that’d been pushed from the nest way too soon. Was I about to hit the ground and die? Or was this tough love, and it was time for me to get my shit together? I ground my teeth together and marched deeper into the forest. From the corner of my eye, I saw things moving, but when I turned to look there was never anything there. I felt eyes on the back of my neck, like I was being watched. Goosebumps ran over my skin, not from the incessant cold but from the eerie feeling like I was being hunted.

“We’re being watched.”

Jada scoffed. “Of course we are.”

I glanced at her over my shoulder. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Two choices in life. You’re either the hunter or the hunted. I know what I am. Do you know what you are?”

Was this supposed to be some kind of Yoda moment? No one wanted to be hunted. When I watched her practically dance over a downed tree, my annoyance only grew. “Yeah, I know what I am.”

“Good.” Her voice was a calm purr. “Then you have nothing to fear in these woods, do you?”

Lions, and tigers, and Jada the bitch . . . oh my. My mother had been so confident and calm about Jada’s assistance. Perhaps she was butthurt I’d gotten my mother hurt immediately upon entering Third Realm, but that hadn’t been my fault. I hadn’t known I could do that.

Chin up, tits out, Collins. Jada didn’t need to know I was freaking out. “No. Not at all.”

I took another step, and the ground gave out under me. My stomach shot up into my throat as I fell. I threw my hands up and scrambled to catch myself. My fingers finally snagged a piece of jagged moldavite crystal. I kicked my legs and tried to propel myself up, but it wasn’t working. Below was a bottomless pit of nothingness. My eyes widened. I tightened my grip. The crystal cut into my hands and blood coated my palms.

Jada stood there, peeking over the side of the hole at me.

“Pull me up.” Adrenaline pumped through my body as the sound of my heartbeat hummed in my ears.

She arched one eyebrow but didn’t move. “No.”

I gasped. What? My fingers slipped in the blood. I had to readjust my grip. “Jada. Help me.”

“You’re a hunter. You’re the Stone Keeper. You don’t need me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Help yourself.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“I kid you not.” She made no move to help. “Do. It. Yourself.”

I was going to slip into this hole and plummet to my death, and Jada would probably kick the damn dirt over my grave. Tallulah would never know what happened to me, and my mother, if she was still alive, would think it was all her fault. I really, really didn’t want to die here . . . in a hole.

“Stop panicking. You have power. I just taught you that.” Jada crouched down and looked over the sharp edges of the crystal. “Feel the world. Feel the power. Use it to your advantage.”

I sucked in a deep breath and felt my fingers slip more. “Pull me up.”

She rose to her feet. “No. If you can’t do this, we’re all screwed.”

Hot and heavy rage exploded inside of me. The world vibrated under my touch. The ground quaked and a smile broke out over Jada’s face, yet she said nothing. A huge green vine peeled away from the wall and unfurled just under my feet. My fingers slipped and I dropped down on top of it. My body tilted to the side, and I began to slide off the vine. A wall of thorns sprung up, and I caught myself on them. I lifted my hand and the vine rose from the ground like I was riding an escalator at the mall rather than saving myself from a terrifying and painful death. When I reached the top of the hole, I made the vine drift to the other side and stop where the ground was safe and stable.

I stepped down and waited for Jada to saunter around the hole toward me.

She gave a slow clap with each of her steps. “Very good.”

I gathered the end of my coat and pressed the corner to my bloody fingers. “No thanks to you.”

“If I did everything for you, how would you learn?” She snickered.

“I’ve been here for a matter of hours. I have no idea what my powers are.” I dropped the edge of my coat and put my hands on my hips.

She put her hands on her hips. “And you’re learning, aren’t you?”

“Trial by fire.” I knew my mother, and this is not the way she would have done it. She would’ve been patient and supportive. I wouldn’t have been thrown into the deep end of shark infested waters.

She opened her arms, motioning to the world around us. “Consider this your crash course. If you want to go slower, we can, but I thought you wanted to get back to your mother. I could be wrong though?”

I ground my teeth together. “No, we’ll keep going.”

“Good.” She pointed to a path between the trees that was barely visible. “After you.”

I was smart and sneaky as hell. My powers were my own and I was going to be damn sure to learn how to use them. I would find that stupid Stone and get out of this frozen hell. I turned away from her and kept walking, making sure not to touch the trees or step into another black hole. Though the realm was freezing, sweat covered my body and it made me colder.

A gust of wind ripped between two trees and blew my long hair to the side. But I was moving too fast, so the ends coiled around a branch and yanked me back. I cursed and dove for my own hair. For the first time, I questioned why I wore my hair this long. I growled and fisted the strands, then pulled it free from the branch. If I had a dagger on me, I might have chopped it off. Instead, I braided it down the side of my body, and when I couldn’t find a hair tie, I shot my magic into my hair and a vine sprouted with wild pink and purple strands to hold it all together.

I nodded at the branch, like I was daring it to try me again. Jada said nothing. She was just a silent threat behind me. I turned and marched on. A few steps later, the forest rumbled and rustled. I didn’t stop. I didn’t look. I didn’t want to know. I kept my head down and forged onward.

The trees in the distance fell towards us in a wave, like there was a huge boulder rolling in our direction ready to smash us to pieces. It crashed through the forest and sounds of crumbling stone filled my ears. Snow and dirt puffed up into a cloud from the ground. My eyes widened.

“What is that?”

“Turaraine. It’s been dormant for some time now. It hates the cold. I had no idea it would come out.” Jada took a few steps back.

“Should we run?” Because I felt the need to sprint like an Olympic track star.

“Not if you don’t want to make it angrier.” She shook her head. “You’re gonna have to kill it.”

“Kill it? Are you insane?” I froze as the massive thing crashed into the path in front of me.

My eyes widened and I stumbled back. This was a bull-moose-thing made completely of that vibrant green moldavite that the rest of the forest was. Its eyes glowed red like lava. Steam puffed from its nose as it dug its huge onyx hoof into the ground. It threw its head from side to side, knocking trees to the ground with horns made of smoky quartz and agate. Jade flowers and strands of moldavite leaves hung from those horns and swung all the way down by its feet. It reared back, kicking its front leg up into the air, and let out an ear-splitting roar.

Those giant onyx hooves crashed back into the snow and sent violent tremors through the ground. My balance faltered, but I caught myself just as it charged for us. Its lava-red eyes locked on us while it mercilessly plowed through every tree in its path. Crystal splinters fractured off the trees and rained down on us. Sharp energy raced down my spine and into my hands. I gasped as my magic burst from my palms. Aquamarine swirls shot over our heads just as those crystal shards dropped. I turned and ran toward Jada, but she didn’t move.

“We have to go!”

“Duck!” She tackled me to the snow just as the moldavite-bull-moose-thing swung its horn over our heads.

I cursed and rolled to one side while Jada rolled to the other. An onyx hoof slammed into the snow where we’d just been. My pulse skipped beats. Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell is this thing? I scrambled to my feet and ran in the opposite direction. Jada didn’t move. The beast followed behind me, but there was no way I could outrun it. No matter how hard I pumped my arms or how many breaths I took, this four-legged mountain would catch me and trample me. Its hot breath was on the back of my neck, and I couldn’t run any faster. I slid to the ground and the beast barely missed me a second time. The beast tried to pin me down, but its hoof slipped and it fell onto its side. The slick ice and snow swept its feet out from under it and sent it sliding into more trees.

It roared and twisted its body like a dog rolling in the dirt. When it moved to the side, I spotted a long spear lodged into its ribs. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. Had someone else already tried to hunt and kill this thing? Was it pissed off at me or the fact that someone else had hurt it? There was one thing for sure, the beast wasn’t made entirely of crystal. Only some of it. Maybe that would help.

Jada picked up a long, jagged piece of crystal that was shaped like a stake and threw it to my side. It clattered at the ground near my feet. “You have to kill it, or it will keep after us.”

I glanced down at the long piece of crystal and instantly knew I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it. Even now the beast was favoring its injured side. Blood trickled from that one wound. A crazy idea came to mind. Either it would work, or I would die. But if it meant not killing this magical creature, then I damn well would try. It wasn’t up to me to kill an animal. It hadn’t actually done anything wrong. We were in its territory. Please let this work. I crept towards the beast. Its eyes glowed a bright red. More steam came from its mouth. It stood at least twenty feet tall, and I was five foot flat . . . yet there I was about to pet the fluffy.

“What are you doing?” Jada bellowed. “Pick up the stake!”

It was too late. I’d already made up my mind. There was no turning back. I held my hands out at my sides and let my magic flow from me in a cloud of glittering aquamarine. When it smacked into the beast, I felt all that moldavite moving toward me and my only thought was . . . stop.

The beast grinded to a halt. It strained against my power. I knew it wouldn’t last. I had to do this fast. I held my hands up in surrender and walked up to it. Another blast of steam from its nose sent my braid flying back from my face. Okay, Collins, it’s just a big crystal puppy.

“ Hey. Hey there. It’s okay .” I placed my hand on its snout and gave it a rub. The crystal was surprisingly warm and soft, like running my hand over warm velvet. The beast stilled and grunted. “Easy, friend.”

“What are you doing? This is madness,” Jada yelled from a few yards away. “Kill the beast.”

I ignored her. It wasn’t a beast. A beast wouldn’t let me touch it. My gut told me I was doing the right thing. I ran my hand over its side because I’d seen people do this with horses. I figured the same principle would apply. I patted it and murmured to him as I made my way to the spear jutting from his side. When I got there, the beast flinched but held still. I saw where it was wedged into its crystal exterior. Blood dripped from the wound, sliding over the spear and onto the ground. No wonder it was grouchy and upset.

“It’s okay. I got you,” I whispered. “Just hold on. I’ll get it out.”

I wrapped both hands around the spear and let my magic flow over it the way Jada had taught me to. I still had no idea what I was doing, but I copied what I’d done before. I pictured myself sucking the energy out of the crystal tip like I was a vacuum cleaner. My arms warmed and tingled, then there was a pop. The crystal tip popped out from its body and then shattered into dusty pieces. The beast let out a sigh of relief, and I felt it in my soul. I ran my hand over the wound and pushed my magic into it. The hard crystal exterior mended together, and the beast cooed at me.

A deep and rumbling purr sound came from its chest.

“Yeah, that hurt, didn’t it?” I smiled and reached my arms over my head to give him a pat. “I will name you, Bartholomew. Bart for short.”

Bart snorted and rolled his shoulders.

I took a few steps back and then I dropped my hold on Bart. “Go. Be free now.”

He grunted and blew steam from his nose but didn’t turn to charge me. He spun on his heels and took off in the opposite direction—running away . I dusted my hands off and smiled.

“Well, that was royally stupid.” Jada strolled up next to me. “Next time, do as I say.”

“It’ll be easier to do as you say if what you say isn’t stupid.” I arched my eyebrow at her.

A low growl rumbled in the back of her throat. “You’re insolent.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“When you tell me to murder an innocent creature without cause or reason, then yes, I take insolent as a compliment.” I smirked. “I know we just met, but I don’t blindly follow. I’ll take advice, but you have to answer my questions.”

“Listen here . . .” She pointed her finger at my chest and then froze. She tilted her head to the side like she was listening for something. Her eyes widened, then she turned to eye the forest.

The trees began to fall in the chaotic way they had before when Bart first arrived.

“He probably got a splinter in his foot or something and wants my help.” I chuckled and cupped my hands around my mouth. “Ba?—”

“— Shut up . That’s not your stupid beast. It’s?—"

The last row of trees parted, and a massive pirate ship crashed through the snow. I half-expected to find Captain Jack Sparrow behind the wheel, but a woman with bright-orange hair stood on top of the mast of the ship and pointed a sword directly at me. Her face split into a crazy smile.

I backed away. Oh, no. This can’t be good.

“Princess Aryk!” Jada spun and grabbed my arm, dragging me away with her. “RUN!”