Page 71

“Almost there,” he panted out.

Trolls continued to climb after them, some of them leaping onto the ladder and shimmying up without the rungs.

Paige scurried up the remaining rungs and crawled on her hands and knees through the hole in the tree trunk. She spun and kicked at the ladder until it splintered and fell into the trolls’ abode below. With her chest heaving, she stuck her head inside the tree and peered down the hole.

Trolls raised their fists at her as some tried to build a ladder from their bodies to reach the top. One troll climbed up the others, trying to settle on top of the highest’s shoulders. The chain of trolls wobbled before they toppled over, falling back into their compatriots below.

Paige collapsed onto her back and breathed a sigh of relief as she stared up at the cloudy gray sky.

She swiped away the sweat on her brow and blew out a long breath. “Oh my gosh. That was intense.”

“No kidding,” Dewey said, lying in a pile of leaves next to her. He lifted his head and stared over at her. “Hey, I hate to be the heavy here, but we probably should move. I really don’t want to get caught by a few resourceful trolls.”

Paige groaned and pulled herself up to sit, climbing to her feet and grabbing the sword. “You’re right. If we’re lucky, no one is guarding the bridge, and we can cross it and move on to the next ridiculous obstacle.”

Dewey grabbed his stick and flew into the air. “I’m starting to wonder if the Forest of Isolation will actually be the easier thing to deal with than the stupid troll bridge.”

“Reserving judgment for when we actually know what the Forest of Isolation is,” Paige said, patting her shoulder to signal Dewey to perch on it. “Can you get back to the bridge from here?”

Dewey settled on it, the stick clutched in his hand. “Yep.” He poked the stick at a path snaking through the forest. “Take that path right there.”

Paige set off on the dirt path leading to the troll bridge as the sky turned a shade darker. After another few steps, a crescent moon shone in the sky, and a few stars twinkled overhead.

“Guess it’s night,” she said.

“Yeah. Someone used the indigo crayon on the sky,” Dewey noted.

Paige shivered. “I really hope we don’t have to spend the night in the Forest of Isolation. It just sounds awful.”

“Maybe it’ll be day by the time we reach it. I don’t know how long nights last in books, but it never seems long. Oh, unless this is one of those endless-night books where all the bad stuff happens at night.”

“Please stop talking. You’re making it worse,” Paige said.

The trees thinned, and they spotted the bridge drenched in moonlight.

“Careful. They may have left a sentry behind.”

Paige readied her sword. “Yeah, well, if they did, he’s not getting any sympathy from me.”

Paige inched around a tree at the edge of the path and peered at the bridge.

“I don’t see anyone,” she whispered.

“Wait here. I’ll fly up there and see if he comes out.”

“Stay high enough in the air that he can’t crack you with his walking stick,” Paige warned as Dewey leapt off her shoulder and sailed toward the bridge.

As he approached, a troll climbed from underneath and approached him, speaking in Troll.

Dewey answered in the same language. The troll narrowed his eyes and shook his head, holding out a hand. Dewey’s head bobbled around angrily as he responded. After another exchange, Dewey exposed the blade on his weapon and thrust it toward the troll, rambling on in the other language again.

The troll dropped his walking stick and clapped his hands on his head before racing off into the woods.

“Come on, Paige. We’ve come to an understanding,” he called.

Paige emerged from her cover behind the tree, sword raised. “What’s the understanding?”

“He lets us pass. Period. I told him he has no backup. His buddies are all stuck in his treehouse.”