Fairy World M.D. Boxed Set One (The Olive Kennedy Fantasy Romance Series Book 1) Page 2

  That would never happen unless I got my mirror box to function—and I still had the problem of creating a reliably functioning Wult statuette. I’d put it in my jeans’ pocket, hoping to snag a bit of authentic Wult… something to craft into the pewter. I eyed the man with the red beard. How would he react if I plucked out a strand?

  “What’s it like where you come from?” the woman asked.

  “Are you sure you want to know? It’s not all that interesting.”

  “She doesn’t have to talk about herself if she doesn’t want to,” the blond man said.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to, but I’d rather not bore you. Also, I think you’ve got me at a disadvantage. I don’t know anything about any of you. I don’t even know your names.”

  “That’s an easy enough problem to solve,” the boy said. “I’m Rolf.” He sat up straighter. “The cousin of Prince Kull—that big brute there.” He pointed to the blond man. “The woman is Kull’s sister, Heidel. The old man is called Brodnik.”

  “Old man? Watch your tongue. I’m just as spry as I was when I was a youth.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me, and I’m the only who counts.”

  The boy, Rolf, smirked, but he didn’t press the matter.

  The Wults passed around a waterskin and shared their meal of nuts, dried biscuits, and leathery strips of meat. It all tasted strange to me, as I hadn’t tasted food from Faythander in a decade, but I had no complaints. What would I have done if they hadn’t shown up? Eaten the caterpillars?

  I debated on how I was supposed to leave this world. Creating another portal was the obvious answer, but without knowing where I was, getting back home to Earth seemed impossible. Portals worked best when I knew where I was going to and from, otherwise I’d get stuck out in the cosmos somewhere. My best choice was to help the Wults track the beast, and if the creature was able to communicate, learn our location, then create a portal back home.

  There was also the possibility I could be stuck here forever. That thought didn’t sit well with me.

  I had to get back home. I had no other choice.

  When the fire died down, the Wults arranged their sleeping packs on the ground. Heidel, the woman, offered me an extra blanket. Holding it, I stared at the ground littered with damp leaves, sticks, and a trail of red ants. I wasn’t sure how much sleep I would be getting.

  “It’s easier to sleep when you’re lying down,” the blond man said. He lay not far from where I stood. What was his name again?

  “I’m not used to sleeping outdoors.”

  “You get used to it after a while. Just be glad it’s not raining.”

  I knelt, spreading out the blanket, wondering if it would be better used to cover me. But I had no desire to sleep atop the sticks and insects, so I laid on top of it.

  “Here,” he said, handing me his blanket.

  “Don’t you need it?”

  “Not on a night like this. It’s too hot anyway.”

  After I took the blanket from him, I spread it out over me. It smelled of sandalwood, a strangely calming scent, and here in this forest in an alien world, I felt at peace.

  I glanced at the man across from me. The dying coals illuminated the strong line of his jaw, the light color of his hair, and the depth of his blue eyes, which were the color of a glacier. Who was he?

  “Rolf said you were a prince. Is that true?” I asked.

  “I’m the son of the Wult king, King Herrick.”

  “Ah.” Made sense. I’d heard of this guy. “You’re the Prince Kull?”

  “Yes. The one and only.” He smiled, showing his teeth—white and evenly spaced—and the expression made my heart flutter.

  “Are the rumors true?” I asked.

  “No. They’re all underexaggerated.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Underexaggerated?”

  “Greatly.”

  “He’s lying,” his sister from the other side of the fire. “The story of him defeating the wyverns was entirely made up.”

  “Was not,” he called to her. “I slayed them all.”

  “But they were common winged snakes, not wyverns. There’s a difference.”

  He shrugged. “They looked like wyverns to me.”

  I couldn’t hold back a smile. The Wult prince was certainly a character—a cocky, overconfident one, yet I got the impression there was more to him. It must’ve been the intelligence in his eyes. Wisdom beyond his years.

  He looked at me, and I had trouble holding his gaze. I was again taken aback by the feeling he had the ability to read my thoughts—not an altogether pleasant feeling.

  I turned away from him to stare at the fire instead, fascinated by its colors of amber and blue. Like my magic.

  #

  When morning came, I felt horrible. Insects had feasted on me all night, and I had itchy red bumps all over my body to prove it. My eyes felt swollen, and my neck cramped every time I turned my head to the left. Not a great way to start the day.

  Sleeping outdoors was definitely not my thing.

  I’d leave it for the Wults. They all seemed unusually cheerful as they gathered up their sleeping pallets and strapped them to their backs. I did my best to be helpful as I knelt on the ground to roll up my blankets.

  Heidel crouched beside me. She held a pair of Wult-style boots—made of some sort of reptilian hide. Dragon. Wyvern. I wasn’t sure.

  “You can have these.”

  “I can?”

  She nodded.

  “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. Just give them back when the quest is over, assuming you’re still alive after confronting the beast. If not, I’ll simply pull them off your corpse.”

  “Ah.” What was I supposed to say to that? I pulled on the boots, a tad too wide for my feet, but otherwise a good fit.

  As the sun rose, we stood in the camp and prepared to set off. The Wults shared more of the same food with me, and I was starting to get accustomed to the taste. This whole quest felt extremely surreal, and I still had trouble imagining I was actually here. I’d only crossed from Faythander to Earth a few times. I’d never gone to an alien world in some distant universe. I would’ve lost my wits if I thought about it too much.

  This is why I hate portals.

  We set off before the sun had fully risen, the sky still gray and pink, the color of pre-dawn. In this place, as the suns rose, the atmosphere remained pink, never turning to the familiar blue I was accustomed to.

  When we reached the cliff, rain clouds loomed on the horizon. A stiff wind blew at our backs.

  “Should we find somewhere else to cross?” Heidel yelled over the wind. “It’s a long way down. I don’t know if our ropes will reach the bottom.”

  “Agreed,” Kull said. “We’ll hike along the cliff until we find a shallower place.”

  We followed him along the cliff’s edge. As we walked, I surveyed the jungle. The dark trees loomed, broad leaves that cut through the sky. Across the canyon, the mountains rose in a gray, jagged block. Somewhere out there was the creature.

  Up ahead, something spanned across the gap. Was it a bridge?

  The sound of swaying ropes and wood planks hitting one another cut through the wind as we approached the narrow bridge spanning the gap.

  “What luck,” Heidel said drily. “A bridge.”

  As it swayed, a silver glow encompassed the planks and rope, though it only lasted a second before it faded.

  “Did you see that?” I asked.

  “See what?”

  “The magic.”

  The Wults’ eyed me.

  “You saw magic?” Kull asked.

  “Yes, a silver glow. It’s most likely enchanted.”

  “Which means what?” Brodnik asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Would it be dangerous to cross?” Rolf asked.

  “Possibly. It could also be a trap.”

  “You think the creature created this?” Kull asked.


  “It seems likely.” Stepping to the bridge, I reached out, but I didn’t touch it. I let the flow of its magic come to me. An odd combination of powers came from the ropes and wood. I didn’t recognize any of the enchantments. In Faythander, the magic stood out with its own colors representing different species. Green for dragons. Blue for elves. Pixies used pink magic, and goblins wielded gray. But this was something else entirely. Since I was on an alien world, it didn’t surprise me.

  “I don’t know what kind of magic it is. It’s impossible to tell its purpose.”

  “I don’t trust it,” Heidel said.

  Kull scanned the canyon from one end to the other. “It could take us more than a day to cross if we climb.”

  “Do you think we should risk it?” Brodnik asked.

  “I’m not sure. One thing I know, I don’t trust magic.”

  “None of us do,” Rolf said. “Well, except for the elf.”

  “Believe it or not, I don’t always trust it either. I can tell you the magic doesn’t feel tainted.”

  “Does that make it safe?”

  “No. It only means whoever put it here wasn’t using tainted magic.”

  The wind blustered through the canyon, making the bridge sway more violently.

  “I don’t think we have any other choice but to cross,” Kull said.

  He hefted his sword, then stepped onto the bridge. When nothing happened, he took another step, then another. As he approached the halfway mark, he glanced back at us. “I think it’s safe for you to cross.”

  “Well, I might as well get this over with,” Heidel said. She stepped onto the bridge. The two Wults continued walking carefully over the planks. Once Kull reached the other side, he stepped off. A few moments later, Heidel did the same.

  “I think it’s safe—” A creature appeared behind Kull. It had a face with a snout like an alligator. Beady golden eyes shone from its sockets. Greasy black mane hung in strands over its hunched shoulders. Its four arms ended in hands with clawed fingernails. Silvery magic wrapped its body. As it moved, its form turned transparent. A knife glinted in one of its hands.

  “Look out!” I called.

  The two remaining Wults began crossing the bridge as Kull rounded on the creature. The Wult stabbed it through the midsection, but his sword passed through its body as if it were made of smoke. The beast lashed out, thrusting its knife at Kull. The warrior deflected the blow with the sound of ringing steel.

  Heidel had her own knife at the ready. She threw it at the creature, but again, the blade passed through as if it were made of smoke.

  Rolf and Brodnik made it across the bridge, facing the monster with swords drawn. The beast opened its mouth. A ball of fiery magic blasted out with blinding power. The Wults’ screams echoed. Several fighters fell to the ground, but I couldn’t see who had been hit through the blinding white magic.

  I sprinted across the bridge, racking my brain, trying to come up with some sort of spell to trap it or to make it appear as a physical being so someone could kill it.

  The bridge wobbled dangerously. I was forced to slow down, hold to the ropes, and keep my footing as I crossed to the other side. When I stepped to the ground, only Kull remained fighting the beast. The others lay passed out on the ground.

  The beast growled. Knives appeared in each of its four hands. It launched all of them straight for Kull, who ducked and rolled to the ground, the blades whizzing through the air. Some landed with a thud in the trees. Others sailed off the cliff. More knives appeared in the beast’s hands.

  I readied a spell, my magic coming slowly, though I did my best as I created a shield to encompass Kull and me. The beast launched its knives. The shield slowed them as they passed through, the weapons landing at our feet.

  “Can you help me kill the beast?” Kull asked. Another volley of knives struck us.

  “Possibly. It’s using some sort of power to make your blades useless.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  Another volley. With each attack, my magic drained. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold up the shield. If I use all my magic, I won’t be able to create a spell to keep it in a physical body.”

  “Then we’ll think of another way. I have an idea of what to do.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. It’s head.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It has been leaving a trail of heads behind. It wore different heads in Faythander and on Earth. It’s wearing another head now—most likely from a creature it slaughtered here. What if that’s the one thing on its body that can be harmed?”

  “I don’t know. Try it, though.” Another volley hit. My magic waned until the shield was barely visible. “Try it now.”

  Kull leapt at the creature, swinging his sword in an arc. Golden eyes grew wide right before Kull lopped off the head. The body stood for a moment, then crumbled to the ground. The head landed a few feet away.

  The others got to their feet, slowly approaching the corpse.

  “Is it dead?” Heidel asked.

  Kull nudged the body with the toe of his boot. I turned to the injured Wults who stood behind me, hoping to heal them with some sort of spell, wondering how I would manage it with so little magic.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked.

  “A wicked headache,” Rolf said. “That’s all.”

  “Same here,” Brodnik added.

  “Bad headache? He used a nasty spell. Are you sure that’s all?” I approached them, but stopped when their eyes widened as they stared behind me. I rounded, following their line of sight, to see the creature rising from the ground, wearing a different head.

  It was a human’s head. Though the skin was dead and gray, the blond hair tangled with leaves, its eyes shone gold.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Heidel said.

  “How many heads does it have?”

  “Too many,” Kull answered.

  Knives appeared in its four hands. “More knives, too?” Heidel asked.

  “Duck,” Kull yelled.

  I hit the ground as the knives whizzed over my head. The others fell beside me.

  “How’re supposed to kill that bloody beast?” Brodnik asked.

  “We can’t pierce its body, and if we lop off its head, it grows another,” Rolf said.

  I glanced at the first head that had fallen near me. The reptilian, alligator-like face stared up. The golden glow in its eyes had been replaced with oddly shaped pupils. Fan-like with five points.

  The golden glow. That was the one thing it still had.

  “Go for its eyes,” I shouted.

  “What?” Kull asked, swinging his sword, steel ringing as he deflected another blade.

  “Its eyes!”

  A knife landed inches from me. I grabbed it. I was lousy with weapons, but what if I used magic to help?

  I called my magic to the surface. A weak blue glow surrounded my hands. It wasn’t much, but maybe it would be enough.

  Another torrent of blades zipped through the air. I dodged, but one grazed my ear. Warmth seeped from the cut, streaming down my neck. I didn’t have time to do anything about it.

  With a burst of magic, I flung the blade at the beast, allowing my magic to guide true, straight into one of its eyes.

  The beast screamed, a deafening howl that echoed through the canyon. It fell back, its form becoming less translucent. Knives burst from its hands, one of them sailing straight for Heidel. Kull grabbed her waist, pulling her out of the way.

  Rage fueled his movements as he leapt for the monster. He lunged with his sword, swinging in a wide arc. He cleaved the beast in two. Blood sprayed the air. Two halves of its body fell to the ground with a sickening thump.

  Kull stood over it, breathing heavily, his sword dripping with its blood.

  We got to our feet, then cautiously approached.

  “Is it dead this time?” Rolf asked.

  “Let’s hope so.”

  I made it to the beast’s corpse. The head
looked up in a soundless scream, the same frozen expression we’d found on the head in the forest.

  Its magic came to me in a wave of mixed powers, so potent the enchantment clouded my mind. Buzzing magical energy swirled so strongly, my knees buckled. I sank to the ground. Pressing the palms of my hands to my eyes, I willed the magic to stop.

  “There’s something wrong with the waif.” Brodnik’s voice cut through my thoughts.

  Kull knelt beside me. “Are you well?”

  “No. The magic.” The power swirled more strongly, its intensity mingling with my own. What was happening?

  Bright lights spun in my vision.

  “Can’t we do anything to help?” Heidel asked.

  “I-I don’t know. I think it was trying to create a portal and escape before it died. The spell is still working.”

  “A portal?” Rolf asked. “Can you use it to get us out of here?”

  I managed to open my eyes for a moment. Whorls of magic swept through the air. Could they see it?

  “I’ll try. Gather around me.”

  The Wults knelt around me. I steadied my breathing, trying to think through the magic. Its intensity was like nothing I’d felt before. At least I knew I’d have enough power to open a portal. Hopefully two.

  “When you’re ready,” I said, “think of a place in Faythander. Concentrate on it as hard as you can, and you’ll return to your own world. I’m going to return to mine.”

  “But… will we see you again?” Kull asked.

  “Most likely not, but you never know, the universe has ways of putting us in one another’s paths.”

  The magic increased, so strong I thought I would be sick. “Hold on,” I said.

  Breathe. You can do this.

  Concentrate.

  The magic was easy to hold onto. It seemed to want to leave the creature’s body and attach to someone else.

  Without another thought, I opened a portal to Faythander, and another to Earth. The ground fell away from me. I floated weightlessly through the void.