A Forest of Secrets

Chapter 26

Jo waited nervously sitting by the fire Koldo produced for her. Clay left her a small late breakfast, filled with proteins and those dreadful fruits. She was hungry, but her body wasn't cooperating: she felt nauseated. The perfectly ripened cheese she always enjoyed felt like ashes in her mouth. She could hear the commotion outside, the war cries and the rattle of swords and staffs, the hundreds of feet stomping on the pathways on their way to the edge of the forest. She couldn't shake the feeling that it was all her fault, even if she knew it wasn't at all: Volstad would've found a way in, with or without her. Whatever he wanted was important enough to sacrifice it all. The stories of lost expeditions, of men driven crazy by the experience, of mysterious deaths: they had been enough to dissuade people for the last hundreds of years.

Jo's head hurt as she tried to make sense of it all: why? What could be so important? What was he planning to do with the power of the Core Silvam? They had six hours until nightfall, with luck maybe less; winter was finally there, and with it, the shortest days of the year. What if the army of Faradians wasn't enough to stop the Nivean Knights? What if Volstad made it to the forest? If it happened, would he be able to find the tree? The Faradian Forest was enormous; she could see for kilometers around from Koldo's pod, and even so, she couldn't see the damned tree, assuming it looked different from every other.

Jo noticed the wisps around the village were going a little insane, swirling and crashing with the windows. Maybe whatever magic Koldo was doing inside that little lab of his, plus the fighting in the borders, was messing with the magic in the air-- but she wouldn't know. She wanted to get out and get Alaric, but Koldo instructed her to stay put until he finished drafting the runes he'd inscribe onto her companion's skins; she worried about Wyn, she was only a kid-- but she was tough, she'd take the pain like a champion. Maybe she'd be thrilled about getting tattoos, Jo could see the way she looked at Koldo's. By the creators, the little girl had made herself at home in the forest, she really seemed to like it there; maybe she'd rather stay in that place. Jo wouldn't stop her, if that's what she wished; she wouldn't stand between the little girl and her dreams.

She stood up from her spot by the fire, she wanted to get a better view of the hanging village. The sight of the glowing pods in the middle of the branches soothed her, albeit just a little. She examined her tattoos under the harsh morning light; they swirled and danced in front of her eyes, like quicksilver under her skin. The runes were intricate and delicate, looking almost like vines; they were still a little pink around the edges, but Koldo had slathered some gooey ointment on them to help with the healing process. She pressed both hands on the glass wall, then her forehead. Those runes wouldn't only take her out of that place: they'd make sure Alaric wasn't going to be trapped in there with her corpse if -- by Ontur's beard, if things didn't go as expected. She was putting a lot of faith in Laurentius and Wyn, but Koldo seemed to think they had good chances to make it work. Still, she was glad she wouldn't cause Alaric, or the rest, any further pain; if she died, they'd be able to go on with their lives.

She sighed.

How did she end up in that situation? If she made it out alive, she and her grandmother would have a very long talk. It seemed to her that dear old granny always intended to send her instead; that idea started to take root in her brain, slowly, since the first time she spoke to Koldo in private. Jo couldn't really pinpoint what made her feel like that, it was a gut feeling that stretched all the way up to her brain, slowly, like an oil stain. It occurred to her that grandmother never did anything without planning things thoroughly; she noticed Grandma packed things for her, but not for herself-- small details that piled up and found a place in the corners of her brain. The acorn charm. She only made one of those; she claimed she didn't intend to bring Jo with her, but the backpacks told a different tale. Jo bit her tongue without realizing.