Page 85 of Broken Veil
“Lachlan, on your left!” Duncan roared.
He brought his blade up just in time to block the strike from the stone sword, which broke in half with a great crack.
The Green Man’s weapon in pieces, Lachlan tucked his shoulder, rolled to the right, and landed on his feet with his blade poised at the neck of the ancient forest god.
“I win,” Lachlan panted. “Yield.”
The Green Man’s eyes narrowed on Lachlan, and then he angled his shoulders and sliced through his own neck while Lachlan stood frozen.
The moss-covered head thunked to the muddy ground and rolled across the sunlit clearing while the Green Man’s massive body collapsed into a pile of leaves, bark, and vines.
Naida woke with a gasp.
“Fuck!” Duncan yelled, his hands going up as if warding off whatever disaster Lachlan had just unleashed. “What just happened?”
“No.” Shock stole Carys’s breath. “No. He can’t…”
“Oh my god.” Laura kept repeating it. “Oh my god. Oh… Oh my god.”
Lachlan’s eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at the pile of scattered vines that had made up the body of his opponent. His entire body was frozen.
“I asked him to yield,” he whispered. “I only asked him to yield.”
Angus leaned on his staff, his face screwed up in annoyance. Then he walked over and poked the mossy green head with the tip of his walking stick.
Carys winced. “Angus, maybe don’t?—”
Her voice was cut off by a burst of low, hearty laughter from the head on the ground. “The looks on your faces!”
Laura sat directly on the ground, and Carys watched with fascination as the sticks, the logs, the vines and the leaves slowly knit themselves together again.
A fresh green hand reached out, grabbed the head from the place where it lay at Angus’s feet, and lifted it, plopping it back on the shoulders made of bark and twisted vines.
Lachlan looked like he might faint.
“That was seriously fucked up,” Duncan muttered.
“As fine a duel as I’ve had in many years!” The Green Man landed a great slap on Lachlan’s shoulder, which seemed to knock the prince out of his stupor. “Come then and let us share a meal, friends.”
Lachlan lifted a trembling finger. “I gave you a touch. That was all. You’re the one?—”
“Who sliced off my own head?” The Green Man grinned, and his teeth were sharp white stones that resembled his sword. “But what a fine laugh it was, eh?”
Lachlan didn’t seem quite as amused as his opponent.
“I’m Jack of the Woods, and I’d be honored to make the acquaintance of a such a fine group of travelers.” Jack swept an arm out, motioning toward a break in the trees. “Come with me. You look hungry.”
Laura leanedover toward Carys and spoke in a low voice. “Is this forest god making a giant pot of ramen in his cauldron?”
“Pretty sure that’s a yes,” Carys whispered.
They were sitting in a cozy house that was apparently still located in the pocket world because Laura’s tattoos were still visible, Carys’s fingers were still blue, and Cadell looked feral but still couldn’t shift.
“I do not like this.” He stood by the door, glaring at Jack, who whistled as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
Which, honestly, was probably true.
Jack’s cottage was a mishmash of ancient and modern. It was round, made of wattle and daub with a thatch roof and wooden beams crisscrossing overhead. There were bright open windows letting in light from all angles.
