The Sorceress's Murderous Companion

Chapter 7: Thorn

Thorn took the ferry into Linlea and met up with Sahara at a place called The Salted Crystal Cafe. They had good food and even better drinks, with their specialty being whiskey made on the island mixed with fresh cherries and other fruit. It was one of the more unique places to eat on the island, and Thorn remembered having trouble finding it the first time.

A tourist would have trouble finding it without a tour, as it required taking a stairway from a shop above ground called Odds and Ends and Eyeballs, and following an underground path that was at least clearly marked, until you reached the cafe's door.

The inside was an open cave with an amazing view of the ocean. One area of the cave hosted the barrels of saltwater whiskey known throughout the island. They also brewed their own coffee and beer. Most customers preferred coffee after they just woke up, but Thorn had been up hours ago, even before he needed to be.

Thorn wondered if Sahara had a way to earn money on the side when she wasn't working at the Guide and Guard.

Linlea and Sylvan Hollow were unique among the towns in the country for allowing the trade of goods and services, even rumors, stories, recipes, almost anything for anything you needed. Food service places and hostels would take money in addition to trade. If you had a good story, you'd have a full meal and a bed just as well for the night.

It was a sign of good faith if an outsider was invited to a communal event. The locals all pitched in with their different foods. Fish and vegetable dishes, liquors, dairy from the locally raised oxen, among other things.

A tingling sensation crawled up Thorn's arm and he knew Trev was in the area.

They finished up their drinks and made their way back outside the shop.

From Odds and Ends and Eyeballs, Sahara and Thorn made their way to the edge of town. From their vantage point, they could see the signs that designated the edge of the Haunted Forest. It was aptly named because anyone who went in never came back out. There were rumors, and they were all wrong because only a few living people knew for sure what had happened.

Thorn knew. His father experimented on trees with magic and they'd been blessed and cursed with souls. And a penchant for stealing souls. The forest was now a grove of soul-eating trees and nothing anyone had tried worked to get rid of them. Linlea had given up a decade ago and had since created a tour to talk about the local rumors and legends, none of which were entirely accurate.

Trev stopped a good ten-plus feet away from them, because of course he'd heard the rumor that a tree could reach out and grab him from six feet away. So, despite Sahara and Thorn standing beside the sign that–only two feet from the treeline–read 'DANGER, KEEP OUT', he had to be sure he was out of reach just in case.

Thorn was tempted to grab him with his own vine and drag him to the tree line, but they didn't have time to mess around. "I don't feel her yet, which means she's not in town quite yet," Thorn said.

"She might not even come to town," Trev remarked. "What if she has a feeling you'll be waiting for her here and doesn't show up?"

"Then we'll have waited around here for nothing," Thorn growled, "Is that what you want me to say?" He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and shoved it in Trev's face. "She thinks Catherine needs her help here. She'll come here whether or not she thinks I'm here because she believes her sister can protect her."

Trev took the paper and rolled his eyes. "And she believes this?"

Thorn glanced at Sahara, then back at Trev. "Are you sure you're Trev?" he asked with mild amusement and slight annoyance. "The same Trev who begged me, not too long ago, not to eat him."

Trev's face turned bright red, but he didn't respond.

"If you're going to question everything we're doing now, you can leave. I won't stop you." But as soon as you're out of sight I'll hunt you down, he thought.

"Stop this nonsense," Sahara snapped. "Trev, quit whining, you're drunk. And Thorn..." She paused, her face flushed. "What are we supposed to do next? We're just standing here, staring at trees while she could be on the next ferry. We should be ready when she gets here."

For a moment, Thorn could hear Sahara's heartbeat run a mile a minute. Regardless of how calm she appeared, it made her nervous to scold him. He put his hands on her shoulders, "You're right. We should get ready." He could hear her heartbeat quicken, if that were possible. "You always do keep me grounded."

"We're here because this forest has a history connected to my father." Thorn continued. "He experimented on the trees here, gave them souls, and they became hungry. These trees now suck the life, magic, soul, all of it from any living beings that come near enough." Thorn wished he could bring Catherine to the forest and let the trees do the work for him. But she was too smart to fall for a trick like that.

The notes his father wrote regarding the haunted forest weren't the only ones Thorn had read when he left home to find work. There was mention of a tower outside of Alden Town, a mountain range with a secret lab, and a lot of talk about their birth parent, a dryad named Aster.

"So," Trev said much louder than he needed to, "We're here for a history lesson?"

Merv's Grave, when did he get so catty? Thorn wondered if Sahara changed the way he acted. He would have to ask her if Trev was always this way around her.

"We're here because these trees could make a potential trap," Sahara replied, glaring at Trev. "What we don't know is if the trees will keep her alive or not. We don't want her dead yet." She got next to Trev, grabbed his arm, and whispered angrily in his ear.

Thorn wished he could overhear their argument.

It was over quickly, and Trev didn't speak for a while after that.

Thorn decided the trees were too risky after throwing a roaming citizen into the trees and trying to get them out alive. The body came out as a dried up corpse and Thorn had to scrap the idea. It might be just as easy waiting by the docks until she showed up.

Thorn decided to station himself somewhere out of sight until he felt her nearby. Sahara could stay by the dock, wait for the ferry, and follow her if she got off board. He did his best to describe Kali to her, just to be sure she found the right person. Trev insisted on being a part of that, but Thorn thankfully didn't have to say a word. Sahara refused his help, insisting she could handle it herself.

So, Thorn picked out a place to spend the night and waited.