Page 66 of The Shadowed Oracle
“A few things to remember!” Raidinn yelled so loudly from behind her that she jumped a good three inches in the air.
“Fuck, Raidinn.” Any semblance of calm she was easing into vanished. “It’s way too early to be screaming like that.”
In a mocking whisper, the brutish man said, “Sorry. Can’t help it.” He took in a deep breath. “The fresh Ealis air, the promise of blood, the tingle in my bollocks. It’s all so brilliant.”
Ingrid shook her head. “Didn’t need to know the bollocks bit. But go on. What should I remember?”
“Huh?” He was fastening a few more blades to his leather vest, looking uninterested in the conversation he himself had started.
“The things to remember?” Ingrid said impatiently. “You said?—”
“Oh, right.” Reaching for his quiver, pulling an arrow from it and using it as a pointer, Raidinn directed Ingrid’s attention to a small bush full of pink flowers. “First rule of the forest is, nothing is what it seems. If you see something pretty…”
Creak. Phoosh.
“Best to assume it looks like that for a reason.”
Ingrid was too busy staring at the bush to notice Raidinn had knocked that same arrow and fired it. It zipped by too fast for her to track, landing in the ovule of one of the flowers.
Ingrid whirled to ask, “What did you do that for?”
But Raidinn only sucked his teeth, nodding back to the colorful shrub.
She complied, turning to watch the arrow slowly disappear. It was swarmed by the other flower buds, thorns and stemsacting like tiny daggers, desperately trying to protect the whole of the plant.
“Don’t go picking daisies,” Raidinn said. “You don’t bother them, they won’t bother you. Just remember, nothing is as it seems.”
Ingrid was grateful for any tips, though she couldn’t help wonder at one thing. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Raidinn, but I thought you’d never been here?”
“I haven’t. Doesn’t mean I haven’t been learning everything I could about it.” He seemed satisfied with himself as he went on. “I bet you didn’t get any nuggets of wisdom like this from Tyla, huh? She never took as much interest in this as I did. Probably taught you nothing but parries and… I don’t even know what to call them, those little ducking moves she does. Didn’t she?”
“Didn’t she what?” a voice from behind them called out.
Dean was a few feet away, climbing the last step of the hidden path down to the cabin.
“We’re talking about Tyla’s woo-woo hippy-zen swordsmanship,” Raidinn said, crossing his arms. “And how it will do fuck all for Ingrid in this forest.”
“I see.” Dean looked to Ingrid, slyly rolling his eyes. “Very interesting stuff. Do continue.”
“With pleasure!” Raidinn seamlessly shifted into a fighting pose, pulling his sword and demonstrating some of the kills he’d accrued during his Wrane-hunting expedition back on Earth. Ingrid and Dean did a considerably good job of hiding their laughter.
“Are you watching?” Raidinn asked, winded.
“Oh yeah. It’s mesmerizing.”
“Good.” Raidinn halted, catching his breath. “Cause that brings me to my second lesson of the forest. We walk silently, careful with every step. Even a broken tree branch could alert some asshole a mile away. Especially when we cross theborder into Banebrook. We might be cloaked, but we’re not soundproof.”
“How will I know when we’re in Banebrook?” Ingrid asked.
“Easy,” Dean said. “We’ll try to tell you.”
“Tell her what?”
Tyla had approached from the west, far from the path leading from the cabin up to the hill where they now stood. She’d been scouting other routes early that morning, spry as ever when Ingrid was still struggling to keep her eyes open, guzzling her coffee. The crafty mentor had woken early to make sure there wasn’t an easier, less decayed route they could take.
“You find anything?” her brother asked jokingly. “Did therhythmof the wind guide you?”
A small crease appeared between Tyla’s eyes. “What are you on about now?” She looked to Ingrid. “Has he been making fun of me again?”
