Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I froze and tilted my head to one side. Will noticed my sudden stiffness and came up to my side. “What is it?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I thought I heard something-” There it was again. “Did you hear that?”

Will listened for a moment before he frowned. “I hear nothing.”

My ears perked up at the noise. This time it was louder and my heart skipped a beat before I whipped my head up to Will. “It sounds like someone crying!”

The others now listened to our conversation and Raines and Allard joined us. “In what direction do you hear the noise?” the lord asked me.

I swept my eyes over the area and shook my head. “I-I don’t know. It’s not very clear.” I stopped my study and looked at each of the faces of my companions. “Don’t you hear it?”

Will pursed his lips. “Not at all.”

The strange sound came to my ears again. My blood ran cold when I realized what it was. The sound was the wail of a frightened child.

“They’re over there!” I shouted as I rushed off the path and dove into the brush.

“Rose!” Will shouted and a moment later I heard him crash through the bushes behind me. “Wait!” The others made the same noise as they hurried to help.

I pushed my way through the brambles and bushes and soon emerged from the brush. My ears had led me to a tiny round grove some ten feet around. Dead leaves littered the ground and the tree branches hung so low I had to stoop to avoid them. A large tree with a wide trunk stood opposite where I had entered, and at its base was curled a tiny figure. The girl child was maybe six with short brown hair and a pale figure. They wore a simple ensemble of leather pants, a tan blouse shirt, and leather sandals wrapped around their tiny feet. The knee of one of her pants was scuffed with dirt and a small patch of freshly dug earth sunk into the ground not more than two feet from her.

The girl had tucked her legs against her chest and hid her face behind her knees. Her arms were curled around her legs and her whole body quivered. The soft sounds of sniffling I had heard through the brush were now loud and clear.

Will crashed through the brush and grabbed my arms. His face was a picture of fury and fright. “Don’t run off like that-”

“Her!” I interrupted him as I pointed at the little girl. “I heard her!”

Will followed my finger and frowned. He narrowed his eyes and drew me slightly behind him. “Have you tried speaking with her yet?”

At the sound of his voice, the little girl lifted her head. Her face was the typical cherub of a child and her dark eyes revealed her terror. She shrank back and her eyes darted over us. “W-who are you?” she whispered.

I smiled and drew myself out of Will’s grip so I could kneel on the ground. “It’s alright. We’re friends.”

The little girl’s eyes darted behind us as Allard and Raines made their appearance, and what an appearance. They hadn’t had as much luck pushing through the brambles and their clothes were littered with stickers. Their faces were grimy and Raines looked like he’d rather swallow cyanide than go back through the mess.

Our new little friend shrank away from the two bedraggled men. I scooted closer and held out my hand. “Are you hungry? We could get you some food.”

The child’s expression perked up at the offer of food and her tiny voice came out of her parched lips. “C-could I have some sweets?”

I grinned and nodded. “Of course. Anything you want. And there’ll be a warm fire, too.”

The little girl studied us for a moment before she pulled herself out of her shell and crawled over to me. She made an effort to stand but her legs wobbled and she fell onto her knees. Tears sprang into her eyes and she glared down at her legs. “Walk! Walk!”

“Easy there,” I consoled her as I moved closer.

The child whipped her head up and stared into my eyes. A strange emotion flickered through them before a smile spread across her face. “Mine!” She flung herself into my arms with such strength that we both toppled backward. The girl popped her head up and grinned at me. “Mine!

I couldn’t help but smile back even as I was filled with confusion. “Well, I’ll definitely be your-”

At that moment, our two other dragon lord visitors took the chance to shamble through the brush. The girl’s head shot up and she shrank back from their bumbling entrance.

“Blast these thorns!” Ware snapped as he sliced through them with his claws. “This whole place needs to be burned!”

“And the ground sown with salt!” Vargas added as she, too, cut the brush out of her way.

My new acquaintance scuttled back away from the newcomers. I tried to grab her hand but she was just out of reach. “It’s alright. They won’t hurt you.”

She froze and studied them with big, dark eyes. Vargas paused just behind Raines and Allard, and her eyebrows crashed down when she beheld the child. “Who in the world is this?”

The little girl crawled back a little farther. I glared at the old dragon lady. “That’s not the best way to introduce yourself to someone.”

Vargas lifted her nose. “She is nothing more than a trespasser, is she not? A-”

The little girl shot up and her eyes were as wide as saucers. She whipped around to face the dark shadows of the forest. The color drained from her face before she climbed to her feet and darted across the small clearing to a low rabbit tunnel. She dropped to her hands and knees and crawled into the hole.

“Wait!” I shouted as I scrambled after her. I reached the tunnel and peeked inside. Her small butt was disappearing into the shadows. “It’s alright!”

“No, it isn’t.” The cool words came from Will and sent a chill down my spine.

I pulled my head out and twisted around to face him. His glowing red eyes were focused on where the little girl had stared and they didn’t look happy. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I climbed to my feet.

Or tried to.

A dark thread shot out from the brush to my left and wrapped around my ankle. I yelped and threw myself backward but all I did was end up losing my balance. I fell back onto the ground and flipped around to sit on my butt and face my attacker.

It was the same as the worm from my dream, but much, much bigger.

In fact, the thing was so big that I couldn’t even see its end. That was hidden in the brush and only the last two feet of its fat tip was shown. The creature was not only longer but much thicker than the tiny worm that had slunk into my room. This thing was now as fat as hemp rope and one pull from me told me it wasn’t some flimsy thing ready to burst into flames at a mere glare from my power.

Will’s power, on the other hand, had a much brighter glare from his flame as his hands exploded with flames. The heat was so intense even I shrank back a little. He leaped forward and slammed his hands down on the two feet of the creature between the brush and me. The monster writhed beneath the extreme heat and putrid air escaped out of the pores of its black leathery flesh shriveled before it combusted. I flung my arms up in front of me as its body exploded in all directions, covering the grove in a sickly odor of rot.