Page 5 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
When viewing through the magical smoke, Cully and Quin had only seen two guards at the fortress, but like Rose, Bristol couldn’t imagine even one person living here. How Cael had survived, she wasn’t sure.
At Kasta’s silent signal, they dismounted and the team moved forward in precise formation single file, eight feet apart, weapons drawn, each shedding their veil of invisibility once they entered the forest. Here, they would need every power available to them. The wind hissed through the twisted pines, masking their footsteps. It was hard to gauge their progress because all they could see around them were the thick trunks of trees, and the forest undergrowth of ferns and ruffled fungus, and the occasional holly bush with thorns so long they could run a person through as sure as a knife.
There wasn’t even the sound of creatures or birds in the trees, just the whine of the wind, but when they took a turn a low, menacing rumble vibrated through the air. Kasta raised her hand, and they all froze. An animal? A storm? Dalagorn’s ogre stomach?
There was a loud rustling, the sharp snap of a twig, and the trees to Sashka’s right shook violently. Before the knights could react, the earth cleaved in two, and a churning sandpit opened up near Sashka’s feet. It reached out, grabbing one foot and then the other, slamming her to the ground and pulling her under. Sashka didn’t even have time to scream.
Avery reacted just as fast. “Grab my legs!” she yelled to the others, and dropped to the side of the pit, reaching in, her head, shoulders, and chest disappearing. Tyghan, Bristol, and Julia pounced onto her legs, gripping them as they lengthened, twisting into long, sturdy vines. Avery disappeared deeper into the pit, her trunk thrashing back and forth like she was waging a great battle beneath the sandy surface. Olivia saw the commotion and ran back down the trail toward them and pulled a vial from her bag. She poured it into the sand as she chanted a sleep incantation. Almost immediately, the sand stopped churning and the tug-of-war eased. Avery’s legs rapidly shortened again, and she emerged from the pit, Sashka firm in her grip, both of them gasping for air. Quin, with his arms of steel, yanked them both clear. The two lay side by side on the forest floor, their chests heaving.
“Fuck,” Sashka said, still gasping for breath. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
A nervous laugh shook Avery’s chest. “I didn’t either.”
Olivia knelt beside them, rubbing balm on the bloody nicks on their faces and hands. Tyghan knelt beside them too. “Well done, Avery. You two need to go back? Or can you go on?”
They both pulled themselves to their feet in reply, looking like bad-ass weathered soldiers in their torn clothing. “Onward,” they said.
“I never thought I’d be so thankful for those drills,” Rose whispered.
Silently, Bristol agreed.
They continued without incident, though all of them were hyperalert. When they reached the last twisting climb that led to the fortress, the forest thinned. There was no more cover. From here, only Kasta, Cully, Hollis, and Olivia would proceed under a veil of invisibility, but Hollis would venture the deepest, because, as a mouse, she could slip up the last narrow path and beneath the door of the cells to determine exactly which one Cael was in and who, if anyone, was guarding him. And once in her mouse form, even an unexpected ward couldn’t reveal who she actually was. Kasta carried the sleeping hare in a bag on her shoulder, ready to switch their proxy for Cael. If necessary, Quin, Julia, and Dalagorn would provide distraction to draw away the guards, and lastly, Tyghan, Avery, Sashka, and Bristol would keep the exit route clear and help whisk Cael back to the horses waiting on the plateau. Rose was their eyes in the air, already circling in her hawk form to report anything suspicious. But first, everything hinged on what Hollis found.
Kasta, Cully, Olivia, and Hollis disappeared up the steep rocky trail, while the rest of them maintained their positions, waiting for word. Minutes passed. Then more long minutes. Tyghan shook his head. Bristol searched the sky. Rose still circled, nothing apparently amiss. Tyghan finally waved Rose down and motioned to Quin to move forward, to check on Kasta and the others. The trail swallowed him as he climbed out of sight.
Rose landed near them and transformed.
“What’s taking them so long?” Tyghan asked. “Did you see anything?”
“I saw Hollis go in, and, a few minutes later, Kasta, Cully, and Olivia followed.”
“Guards?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Maybe Olivia is having trouble with the proxy,” Bristol suggested.
“Or Cael,” Tyghan said. “We’ll wait a little longer—”
And then Quin came stumbling down the trail, and everyone ran to meet him.
“They have them,” he whispered in breathless starts. “A troop of warriors. Kasta, Cully, Olivia,” he gasped. “They’re all pinned to the ground, crossbows at their backs. Cully’s bleeding with a bolt in his shoulder, and Olivia’s out cold—or dead.”
Dead? The only thing that knocked Bristol out of her shocked state was Quin’s next words. “And one of the warriors is dangling Hollis by her tail, ready to feed her to their hounds.” Quin wrenched Tyghan away from the group and whispered even lower. The only words Bristol heard were “She’s there with them! It’s time! You have to use Keats! They’re about to die!”
The sound of Quin’s desperate voice saying her name, curdled beneath Bristol’s skin, but it was even more frightening to see Tyghan’s face when he turned to look back at her, his eyes cold steel. He drew his knife and came toward her. His steps were methodical, determined. He pulled her close with his free hand, the knife still clutched in the other, and whispered just as desperately as Quin. “You know I love you. I would never hurt you. But I need you to be afraid right now. Very afraid. Fight me. Hate me. But trust me, please, or Hollis will die. They all will.”
And with that, he spun her around, holding the knife to her throat, and dragged her up the trail. “You’re going to be our hostage.”
CHAPTER 5
Tyghan—” Bristol cried, trying to pull away.
“Quiet!” he ordered, still dragging her up the trail, her feet barely touching the stony path. Blood pounded so fiercely in her head, she couldn’t make sense of anything.Be afraid. She was! This was nowhere in the plans—at least none that she knew of. But Quin’s words pounded in her head too.It’s time. It’s time. Quin had known about this plan.
The world blurred around her, her hair whipping in front of her eyes, and the salty taste of blood swelled in her mouth. She didn’t remember biting her lip, but it throbbed. They emerged at the top of a small plateau, and Tyghan jerked her roughly, his arm pinning Bristol to his chest, his knife still poised at her throat. Serious. Intent.
“Maire!” he yelled. “I have someone you want to remain alive!”
