“Can you hear all of his thoughts?” I asked.
“Yes, if I allow them.”
“What else does he say?”
“That,” he said with sternness, “is not something I wish to discuss.”
“Fine,” I mumbled, rubbing my arms for an attempt at warmth, my stomach growling.
Concentrating was getting harder to do in my weakened state, and talking morality to a depraved creature of darkness was something that took energy—a resource I was short on at the moment.
“These chains,” I said, “what are they?”
“They are spellcasted with an omaji-word. They will repel any spell except for those I allow.” Abruptly, the officer stood and walked to the door. “I must go,” he said. “The others will get suspicious if I’m gone for too long.”
Without another word, he left the cabin through the front door. I watched as he went. When he opened the door, a hint of blue sky shone through the opening for a brief moment. I longed to be outside, to be free. Somehow, I would find a way to get these chains off my wrists.
Perhaps if I slept my strength would return, and hopefully, I would be able to think of a way out. It was the only hope I had left.
I awoke to the sensation of freezing water being tossed in my face. Gasping, I sat up as icy needles bored through my skin. A rough kick to my ribs brought me fully awake. Officer Gardener stood over me. His overconfident smile had been replaced with tightly drawn lips and narrowed eyes.
As I sat up, he tossed a cloak at my feet.
“Put this on,” he said.
“How?” I asked, but then I realized he’d chained each of my wrists separately, so I threaded my arms through the cloak’s sleeves. Never in my life had wearing clothing felt this good. He was right. Clothing was a comfort. A tiny part of me began to feel human again as I wrapped the thick cloth around me.
“We’re leaving,” he said.
My heart leapt. “Leaving?”
“Yes.”
He jerked me off the ground. My feet wobbled. It had been so long since I’d eaten anything, I wasn’t sure I had the strength to move forward, but as he yanked me up, I had no choice but to follow. We made it to the door, and he whispered a word. His magic swirled, its taint licking my skin, and when the ward dissipated, the door swung open.
He pushed me onto the cabin’s porch, where we were greeted by a chilly gust of October air. A patrol vehicle sat in front of us, but instead of walking toward it, Officer Gardener led me around the cabin.
A narrow footpath wound through the trees. I had no choice but to take the trail as he pushed me forward, but my bare feet were no match against the twigs and rocks that littered the path. Several times I winced when I stepped on a sharp stick, but Officer Gardener kept pushing me forward.
When we entered a clearing, I was surprised to find a perfectly round hole in the ground. It was filled with the same sort of greenish substance we’d encountered in the unicorns’ forest, although this hole looked freshly dug, as there was a pile of dirt and a shovel not far away.
Officer Gardener grabbed my shoulder and pushed me onto my knees. I almost fell over when I hit the ground but managed to hold steady.
I watched as the officer circled the pool, and as he did, his body transformed. A monster stood in his place, with a knotted mane that fell down his back. Gnarled, unnaturally long fingers lengthened and ended in tapered claws. Chains formed around his shoulders that clanked as he walked.
As he stood over the pool, I felt magic gathering around him. He whispered a word that made the green substance start swirling—slowly at first, and then faster as a dark mist formed over its surface.
Something broke free from the pool. A red gemstone—the fairies’ lost stone—rose into the air. Though it had been inside the tarry pool, its glistening facets were clean and pristine, reflecting a reddish glow that flashed around the clearing, making spots of light appear on the forest floor.
I’d finally found it. If only my magic weren’t gone and I weren’t on the brink of complete exhaustion, I would’ve grabbed the stone and run. But as it was, I was barely able to focus.
My mouth was so dry that my tongue had swollen, making it hard for me to speak. “This is where it was?”
“Your Wult companion nearly found its hiding spot. If I had not struck him down, he would have found it.”
His whispered voice was deep and primal, a sound that made my skin crawl.
The creature took the stone and held it between his hands. Carefully, he placed the stone on the ground beside him, then removed a ring from his pocket. I recognized the tiny red stone as the fairy princess’s ring. It seemed wrong for such evil hands to hold such a sacred talisman.
He lifted the ring into the air, and while chanting, the light in the forest grew dimmer. Lightning crackled around him, brushing my cheeks with its energy. The ring hissed with blue sparks of energy, and then it broke apart. Its tiny pieces hovered, reforming, and then each jewel reunited with the larger stone. The ring’s golden band fell, hitting the grass with a quiet thud.
Now, the bloodthorn had only to take my soul and open the portal.
If only I could use my magic to stop this. But how?
The starstone rose into the air as the bloodthorn backed away. Spinning slowly, its facets grew brighter, a glowing red that reminded me of the rays of the setting sun.
I had to stop him—I couldn’t
