“They laughed! One of them said he is going to take me to his rooms later tonight and hurt me, Olaf!” I say, my voice reaching a high pitch of feigned hysteria. Olaf’s eyes turn red, steam is shooting out of his ears and I can see the gromlins closer to him start to shake, as well.
“Olaf! Dunk your head, quick!” Smudge yells from across the room, but I cannot let this trainwreck stop now so I spin around with my wrist in the air so the whole room can see.
“They keep gromlins as slaves too! Imagine the horrors they do to your brethren!” I yell, feeling like the brave leader of a rebellion riling everyone up for a revolt, but in truth I am just an agent of chaos. “Will you just stand-by and do nothing?”
I am unsure what a room full of flipped gromlins will involve and realize I should probably get out of there so I don’t find out. Before I can even step towards the back door I hear a roar come from behind me and turn to see Olaf, in his fully flipped form.
He is twice his regular size, now taller than me, with bulked arms, sharp protruding teeth and red, piercing eyes. His erratic breathing and darting eyes show me that this is no longer the Olaf I know and have come to care for. I duck down, crawling under the work table and can see the feet of the surrounding gromlins transform one by one as the whole room flips.
The chaos is more than I could have wished for. Anything they can get their hands on is thrown, smashed or ripped apart. Sauces are being painted on the walls, ceramic plates and bowls are crushed into dust and they have all ripped their aprons off and set them on fire, waving them around like the flags of rebellion that they are. When the kitchen is left in tatters they start running up the steps of the servant’s entrance and spilling out into the house, hooting and roaring in their frenzy as they go.
“Well, that bloody worked,” I laugh, unbelieving at the sight of demolition, as I poke my head up from under the table to make sure they are all gone. I allow myself only the briefest moment to take in the destruction before running out the back door.
I cannot see any of the vargs patrolling outside so I creep my way along the back of the house, stopping before each illuminated window to peer inside to make sure no one is looking but all I see is ruination. The vargs are running around the house, throwing buckets of water at the flailing gromlins and the lords and ladies are cowering in various corners, begging the gromlins not to hurt them.
I hope the gromlins will be all right…I worry about what their punishment might be but hope that since this is in their nature that Pyralis will see it as his own risk for employing them. I take one last look through the window then I stay true to my course and make my way to the stables, where I hope Lillian managed to enact her part of the original plan.
Arriving at the stables, I see there is a horse already saddled and ready to go with a sword strapped to its side.You good man, Jacob!I look around but neither Jacob nor Lillian is in sight.I hope they aren’t in the house!I pause, looking back at the house full of pandemonium but know that this is my only chance, I cannot go back.
I turn to the horse and pat its nose while looking in its eye.I am Nuria, I need your help. Please will you help me?The horse snorts, blasting warm air on my face, and nods its head but does not verbally reply to my request. It seems to have understood but perhaps this is not a Metamorph as Durga was and is just a regular horse. I’m entirely not sure how my powers work. Perhaps I cannot communicate with regular animals.
I step up into the saddle, feeling brave and ready for what lies ahead as I give the horse a little kick and we shoot out of the stable at a full gallop. I don’t look back but for a moment I swear I can hear Embrys’ voice in my head.Nuria, where are you? What have you done?!
Chapter Thirteen
We make our escape at a full gallop. I don’t dare let go of the reins to wipe away the tears streaking my cheeks from the rushing wind in my face. Whipping tendrils of my uncoiled hair flow behind me like a cape in the wind and my howl of freedom rings through the night like a wolf’s lonesome ode to the moon.
The strong muscles of my steed tighten and ripple with each leaping step as he gallantly carries me onwards on my rescue-turned-escape mission. We are a shadow in the waning moon light and I trust his senses to carry us safely on.
Only weeks ago I would have been terrified of being on the back of a horse this size, but now, after all I have experienced, I feel my courage taking shape and overpowering all fear in the name of rescuing my little sister.
I’m a badass!
I imagine myself swooping into the forest to save Marissa, and her stunned look at me riding in as her shining knight, like how we used to play make-believe with our father as children.
The outline of a forest starts taking shape in the distance and I urge my steed to slow his pace so we can scope out the place before busting in. My fantasy of charging in to play herois probably not the best idea when wanting to confront a most likely lethally-trained rebel group.
Upon entering the tree line, I slide off the horse and unbuckle the sword from the saddle to strap it around my waist but notice the belt is massive. Lillian must not have told Jacob who this horse was for but it makes no difference to me what tale she told, so I sling it across my chest instead and unsheathe the large sword.
It’s got some heft to it but I have practiced with heavy swords in the past to strengthen my arm enough so that the fencing epees would feel like air. I feel ready to use it if necessary but take note that precision will be of the utmost importance so I don't tire too quickly. I give it a few practice swipes and upon doing so, I notice the pommel has an intricate flame design and the letter P inlaid in gold.
Well if Pyralis’ brand doesn’t give away where I have come from then this sure will.
I grip the sword and crouch down, creeping my way into the forest, scanning for any signs of the rebels. So far I am met with complete silence, not even a whisper of wind or creak of a cricket. These woods don’t feel malicious like the Tanglewoods but they do have an ancientness about them, almost a sadness even.
I have the same feeling of being watched by the trees but don’t feel that they want to harm me. I imagine they have observed hundreds of years of passing fae and creatures and would have some grand stories to tell as I marvel at their massive trunks and high reaching branches. The ferns here are so huge that the unfurling fiddle heads are bigger than my fist and the moss is so squishy that in some patches my feet are swallowed whole. I stop for a moment at the trunk of a colossal cedar to listen for any movement and look back through the trees towards where I had left my steed and can see anotherhorse, identical to him, riding in from the direction of Pyralis’ estate.
Shit, that was too fast! How could they have known where I went?I wait to see if more have followed this figure but it appears to be alone, thankfully no vargs in sight. While they might be dumb, I still wouldn’t want to be caught having to fight off a pack of them.
I duck behind the tree, crouching down lower as I watch the cloaked figure dismount his horse. My steed whinnies in response and walks over to him and starts nuzzling his neck.Pfft traitor…The low rumble of a laugh echoes through the silent woods,wait a second…
I grab my sword and turn the pommel over to see a big letter E inlaid in gold on the other side,Embrys. I look back up at the cloaked figure and now recognize his build and gait. This is Embrys’ sword, and that must be Embrys’ horse.
Did Jacob not set that horse up for me? What happened to him and Lillian? Did he refuse to help her?I wonder at the luck of Embrys’ horse still being saddled and ready to go, thinking perhaps he had had plans to leave that night anyway. He is scanning the woods, so I duck back behind the tree to hide, peeking just my head out to see.
“Nuria!” Embrys calls out, cupping his hands around his mouth. “I have to bring you back, please just come with me and he will never know you have left. The house is in chaos and they won’t realize you are gone for a while but we have to go now!” He takes a few steps towards the trees. “My father means well, believe me, we are protecting you. Do not make this harder than it needs to be. I swear your conditions at the estate will improve, please!” he calls out into the dark, scanning side to side, showing me that he hasn’t pinpointed my location yet.
He pushes his hood back and turns his head to the side, as if he is intently listening, I hold my breath and try not to move.I can feel a familiar fogginess in my head and scrunch my eyes closed trying to clear it but when I open my eyes I am seeing from Embrys’ perspective, looking into the dark forest, scanning the trees for my whereabouts.
