The Story of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book One

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Everyone lapsed into silence again as the surrounding scenery grew blurry. The vaadin galloped faster and faster. Within minutes, we were traveling through a snowy field towards a tall, glimmering castle that seemed to be made completely out of crystal... or maybe it was ice. Panic filled me as the beast sped up. Without thinking about the bag of acorns I had clutched in my fist, I went to grab onto the bark of the animal's back desperately. The movement caused the bag to fly.

"Crap!" I yelled as I tried to grab for it before it fell, but I was too slow.

It crashed to the ground and spilled out the acorns, all twenty of them. The vaadin stopped abruptly. And if it weren't for Ciaran's firm grip on me, I probably would have gone flying over the stupid thing's head.

"Oof!" he groaned from a snowdrift.

The vaadin devoured the acorns, bag and all,  leaving us stranded. No amount of coaxing would make it move. We had no choice but to dismount.

"Stupid!" I shouted, half at myself, half at the vaadin.

"It's fine," Luke said, adjusting his pack. "We're close. Let's move before something finds us out here."

We marched through the snow, the cold biting at my skin. My feet felt like ice blocks, and the castle seemed farther away with every step. The blackthorn bushes around us were jagged against the white landscape, and the sky, gray and ominous, did nothing to lighten my mood.

Movement caught my eye. Small furry creatures burrowed in the snow. At first, I thought they were harmless, but they edged closer, and Mike's sudden urgency made me nervous.

"They're hiisi," he said through gritted teeth. "Run."

I could barely move in the snow, each step slower than the last. "What? Th-those little guys?"

"They're mean, and they're coming," Mike growled.

We all hopped and struggled in the deep snow to move forward, but it was nigh impossible for me to do it. My feet were frozen.

"Hop on my back," Luke said.

"What? Y-you're just as c-cold as me - I'll make you sink deeper in the s-snow."

"You know that I'm not," Luke said.

The argument didn't finish because six furry creatures came burrowing out of the snow in front of us. I felt really sorry about wanting to see them up close, as the little dudes were ugly.

They had long noses and wide, rubbery lips that hid wide-spaced, squared-off teeth that were covered in dirt. I don't think they liked my look of disgust as I studied them because they squealed with rage as they waved tiny daggers in their oversized hands. The hands themselves sported long, dirt-and-ice-caked claws on each finger. The largest of the group stepped forward and began yammering in a language that sounded like a bunch of chirps and guttural snarls.

"They want us to throw down our packs, or they'll kill us all. Everyone, throw them down slowly. Nothing's worth our life," Mike explained.

They didn't look like much of a threat to me, even with the knives, but Luke seemed pretty worried about them since he immediately stepped in front of me to protect me. With a growl of defeat, I leaned over and tossed my pack onto the snow. The movement of my body caused my necklace to swing forward, exposing my mother's earrings to their greedy little eyes.

The boss creature pointed at my necklace with his dirty finger and chittered again. Mike looked over his shoulder at me sorrowfully. "The necklace too, Matt."

"No way," I said while shaking my head emphatically. With everything that Mike had done to me, I knew this must be a set-up.

Mike turned his body carefully to the side, keeping one eye on the hiisi and one on me. "Come on, Matty."