Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1)
Chapter 17: Know Thy Enemy

Our footsteps were too loud. Each snapped branch made me feel exposed.

There was no wind in the forest, not even a breeze. Everything stood still. There were no birds or bugs or other animals. Just silence and darkness.

My knuckles turned white from holding onto Danilo. My heart thudded in my chest and I was afraid to breathe. Breathing was too loud.

Torvald was up front, walking bravely and quietly through the darkness. Rixen and Nick were further behind, lingering close to each other. We moved at a steady pace for what seemed like eternity.

“Are you frightened, your Grace?” Danilo looked down at me, his blue eyes radiating concern.

I nodded, “But it’s better when you’re near.”

“I will protect you.” Danilo whispered only for me to hear and I nodded once more, not doubting his desire to protect me, but his ability to do so.

Goddess knew what roamed through these forests.

“So,” Nickeltinker chirped, “How do we know this is the right way?”

Danilo frowned, “We’re following the only path.”

“Yes, dimwit.” Nickeltinker muttered. “But it’s the only path in the backyard of the mage that does not want to be found. It could be a trap.”

“I’m tempted to leave you behind, goblin.” Danilo grunted.

“Zip it, knight.” Nick raised his finger as a warning. “I’m the only one who can walk through this forest soundlessly and you’re making too much noise. I’ll run away if someone attacks you.”

“My feet hurt.” I whined.

Rixen eyed me.

“Maybe you should have worn boots. But no,” He mocked, “I’m a princess, I can wear whatever I want.”

“Shut up!” I let go of Danilo and crossed my hands on my chest.

“Where is your sword?” Rixen asked, looking at my empty hands.

I raised my eyebrow, “In my suitcase?”

“In your-” A scattered, desperate laugh rolled off his lips, “Wonderful. That’s just wonderful.”

“What?” I demanded. “I don’t know how to use it.”

Rixen smiled smugly, “Really? One would think you’d know how to work a hard, phallic thing.”

My mouth fell open.

Danilo immediately stepped forward, “Apologize this instant, Rixen!”

The shadowman rolled his eyes and turned away from us, “Apologize to yourself when you’ll have to carry her dead body back to Irenwell, Danilo.”

Nickeltinker stomped on the ground and narrowed his eyes, “All of you, shut up. Every damn thing, dead or alive, will hear us.”

Maybe I should have brought a sword, but it slipped my mind. I wasn’t used to weapons and I truly did not know how to use it. There was nothing I could do in a fight, but hide, which was precisely my plan.

Torvald suddenly halted and raised his hand, “Ugh, small.”

“Small?” I murmured.

Rixen walked ahead, “Folks, the path is getting narrower.”

We all stopped moving.

Torvald’s eyes danced across our faces, like he was trying to communicate more, “Ugh, hmm. Small, err.”

“So?” Nick hopped towards Rixen. “We can still walk through.”

“Err.” Torvald raised his voice. “Ugh. Small, err.”

I frowned, “Smaller? Narrower?”

The brute looked at me, his bulging eyes boring into mine, “Err!”

“It’s gotten smaller?” I asked.

“Ugh, now.” The giant repeated. “Err.”

My eyes widened, “It’s gotten smaller now? As in, this instant?”

“Guys,” Nick’s voice was suddenly laced with panic, “The weeds are growing over the path, right now.”

We all hurried ahead.

Branches dragged across the ground, growing quickly. Thick, dark green weeds blocked our path. Thorns glistened in the dim light, too sharp to touch. The change in the atmosphere was instant. Sounds of hard swallowing and shallow breathing almost drowned out the quiet leaves.

“Someone check the way we came from.” Rixen commanded, his eyes glued to the growing weeds.

Nickeltinker pulled out his knife and began to cut down the branches and leaves, desperately trying to free the way.

Danilo left my side and ran back to where we came from. Without him near, I felt even more exposed. The fur robe I had on was suddenly too thin. I should have brought the damn sword.

Next to me, weeds retracted, revealing a hidden pathway. I grabbed the hem of my dress and walked over. Trees parted for me to pass. Behind them, a large, wide clearing covered with leaves and branches awaited. It was a perfect spot to rest for a moment.

“Hey, there’s a clearing.” I called for anyone and Rixen momentarily appeared by my side, scanning the territory over my shoulder.

“That’s not a clearing.” His hands trailed over my hips, and he pulled me away from the clearing. “That’s a burrow.”

My breath hitched, “Why would something need such a large burrow?”

“Look.” Rixen pointed across the clearing. That’s when I noticed translucent, slimy, shimmery skin dragging across the rocks, sticking to branches and leaves.

Irrational fear coursed through me, “It’s a snake. It’s a big snake.”

“Yes. Now, get away from that. Do not disturb it.” Rixen pulled me away.

But there was no way in three hells I’d be able to relax after witnessing this. Goosebumps spread all over my skin. Disgust washed all over me. I shivered involuntarily.

“Get me out of here.” I told Rixen, my eyes wide and petrified. “Get me out of here now.”

A chuckle fell off his lips, “No way, Princess. We deal with our fears like adults.”

“It’s a huge snake, Rixen.” I narrowed my eyes. “You brought me to a forest with large snakes. Is it bigger than me? It’s bigger than me.”

He offered an amused smile, “Wait till you see the spiders.”

Chills spread through my body and I shuddered again, “Ugh, I hate you so much.”

“Good.”

“The way back is blocked.” Danilo’s large steps echoed through the ground. “Weeds grew over it.”

“Oh, no, no, no.” Fear gripped my veins. I bumped into Rixen and he grabbed both my shoulders. “Get me out of here. I want to get out of here.”

“So, we’re stuck here.” Nickeltinker pulled at the weeds that blocked our way, but more seemed to grow each moment. His green hands were already cut, green liquid oozing out of them.

“Ugh.” Torvald grabbed his axe and hit the branches.

“Wait, wait.” Rixen stopped the brute. “We’re too loud.”

“Too loud?” Nick chuckled. “Hate to break it to you, but this forest knows we’re here. There’s no hiding now.”

I did not know what to do with myself. All the blood coursed through my muscles and my limbs begged to move, to run. But there was nowhere to run to. We were stuck here, in the middle of the forest with large snakes and spiders.

“Alright, alright.” Rixen mumbled. “Let’s think about this. Loria is not supposed to be this hostile.”

I tilted my head, “Maybe she’s on her period.”

Rixen eyed me, “Or she thinks we’re a threat.”

“So,” Nickeltinker cleared his throat, “How do we let her know we just want to pass and replace the mage?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have cut down her weeds.” I shrugged.

Rixen looked at the trees above us, “Loria? We just want to pass through. Please?”

“That’s not going to work.” Danilo shook his head. “Loria isn’t even real. This is the work of a mage. He doesn’t want us here and no matter how hard you plead, he is not going to let you pass without a fight.”

I wanted to believe we could negotiate our passing, but I was afraid Danilo was right. Nothing ever happened without a fight. Peace belonged to the naive.

“Then, what do we do?” Nickeltinker cleaned his knife.

The sound of rustling cut off anyone who wanted to speak. Air became thick and dense and difficult to breathe in. My lungs constricted as I spotted something moving behind the dark trees.

The men gathered around me, back-to-back, and each grabbed his weapon. Danilo drew out his long, steel sword, Nickeltinker had his dagger and all sorts of weird-looking weapon-like thingies, Torvald grabbed a hold of his pitch-black axe, Rixen had a small, sharp dagger.

And I had nothing, except for my charm.

Shadows moved behind the trees. My heart thudded in my chest. Weeds bended, branches snapped. A black wolf, larger than me, stepped out. Its shimmering fur reflected tiny bits of light that managed to break through the trees. The wolf bared its canines, saliva dropping off the teeth to the ground. Its eyes were yellow and hungry.

Yet, it did not move like a wolf. No, it was more than that. Its step was light, elegant, its eyes deep and radiant. Intelligence shimmered behind the hunger. All of this made it even more terrifying. I hid behind Danilo, peeking over his shoulder at the large beast.

The wolf wasn’t alone. Another one stepped into the light. This one was white, with fur almost see-through and eyes deep, indigo-blue. Something was off about them. Three more wolves stepped out; their furs of different shades of grey and eyes deep red, green and silver. Their canines were large and long and sharp.

I knew they could kill me with one bite.

Yet, despite the terror they caused, I couldn’t help the awe. They were magnificent. Huge, sure, frightening, sure, but also mesmerizing. Their fur was smooth and clean and shimmering, almost ethereal. My breaths turned shallow as I stared at the beasts circling us like we were nothing but prey.

Rixen tilted his head back and looked at me with urgency, “Hide. Now.”

Panic surged through my body, “Where? Where? There’s nothing-”

Rixen’s eyes snapped away from the group, to the trees, “There. You can fit there.”

I followed his gaze until I spotted a hollow tree next to the path. It was half hidden behind the bushes that grew around it, but he was right. I could fit there.

Fearing everything at once, I shook my head, “I can’t. I can’t move.”

“You can stay near me.” Danilo said gently.

“Irina.” The command in Rixen’s voice made me connect the dots. “Get inside the damn tree.”

I understood.

Of course. I would keep pulling him inside my mind if I remained this petrified and he wouldn’t be able to fight.

Calming my breathing and my raging heart, I nodded, “Yes. Alright.”

It all happened too fast to make sense of. The black wolf leaped forward. Shouts of surprise flew through the air. I ran for the tree as fast as I could, finally giving my legs reason to move.

With my hands shaking, I pushed the bushes away and crawled inside the hollow trunk. Moist and dense air welcomed me.

Sounds of swords swooshing through the air, grunting and shouting were left behind. My heart jumped up and down in my chest, sending blood through every piece of my body. I couldn’t calm down as I tried to turn around to see what was happening outside.

As hard as it was, I stifled my emotions, for Rixen’s sake.

This curse was definitely becoming a burden.

I peeked through the hole and watched the men fight the large beasts. Danilo was on the ground, his jaw clenched, his gaze determined. His sword cut through the air, hitting a wolf each time he swung. But those damn beasts were agile and no matter how quickly he moved, he could never make a critical hit.

Torvald was next to him, back-to-back. The brute waved with his pitch-black axe almost too elegantly, like it was a part of his arm, like he viscerally felt every movement the axe made. His eyes seemed somehow even darker and emptier than before, devoid of thought, of emotion.

Rixen was hard to see. He kept disappearing and reappearing from the shadows, confusing the canine creatures.

And Nickeltinker was nowhere to be found, until a couple of round objects fell down on the wolves and exploded in front of their eyes. He was up in the trees, throwing daggers and darts down, laughing each time he hit a wolf.

But the wolves did not tire, they did not back down.

If something hurt them, they brushed it off.

Something was off about them. There was no way four of my companions wouldn’t be able to handle a couple of wolves. No matter what they did to them, the wolves kept coming, their strength unwavering.

Nickeltinker’s high-pitched voice pierced the air, “They’re spirits!”

Spirits?

“What?!” Danilo shouted in between fighting. “What does that mean?”

A wolf leaped towards him, taking him down. My heart skipped a beat.

My vision was limited, I couldn’t even see everything. But I heard Danilo’s grunts and roars, almost animalistic, unrecognisable.

“They’re spirits!” Nick shouted again.

Everything around me blurred and I was suddenly pulled to Rixen’s mind. Oh, crap.

Rixen moved quickly, his dagger slicing the air, almost at random. Everything burned. Limbs, cuts, heart. But pain filled him with energy and anger.

Wolves attacked from all sides. Black and white and grey danced before his eyes.

Sensations were overwhelming. I had to get out of his mind.

Torvald grunted suddenly, “Kill?”

I felt myself, or Rixen, shake his head, “No. No use.”

His words were a mere whisper, but the brute understood. Blood trickled down my, or Rixen’s, face, ending up in his mouth, in his nose.

I had to get out.

Out!

I returned to my mind in an instant, breathing heavily. My body slumped against the back of the hollow tree trunk, moist air filling up my lungs.

How did one fight spirits?

The question remained hanging in the air, because right in that moment-

Something tapped on my shoulder.