Page 19

Chapter Nineteen

A strange sound slips under the door of my cell, the sound of metal scraping on stone. Or stone scraping on metal. Maybe someone is sharpening a weapon? I have no idea how much time has passed. The second alarm hasn’t sounded, but they may have chosen to keep all prisoners locked away to repair the damage I caused. My arms ache from being forced behind my back, so it must be hours I’ve been here.

Acorn’s little grunts reach me.

I blink and lean as far as I can to try to see under the door, but if I lie down I don’t think I’ll be able to get up.

Finally, his spiky body obscures the light and he wedges himself through the gap. He breathes hard and plops down flat on his belly like he’s just climbed the largest mountain of his life.

“I’m so relieved to see you!” I scoot to him. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you?”

“No.” He blinks. “You’ve been in here for hours and you haven’t escaped the chains yet? Muddy slugs, El!”

I scowl at him. “How do you expect me to escape?”

“You have magic, obviously.”

I sink my shoulder against the wall. “I don’t know what spell to use.”

“You don’t have an unlock spell?” he asks.

“Not memorized! I’ve never been locked out of anywhere and needed it. I don’t have my grimoire, I don’t have my mother, I don’t know how to do this!” I don’t mean to take it out on Acorn, but his pressing pessimism isn’t helping right now when I’m in pain and stuck away from everyone and everything I know.

Acorn trots over and rests his little hands on my knee. “You don’t need to be scared, El. I’m here. I can help. You know how to change an object into something else. You’ve done that before. Just make your chains worms and I can eat them!”

I can’t help but laugh a little.

He rubs his face on me in a comforting gesture.

I remember a few of the words, but as soon as I say the first word electricity shoots through the chains and I cry out.

“What happened?” Acorn asks. He spins around in a circle.

I bite my bottom lip so hard I wonder if I’ve pierced it. “They must be enchanted to stop magic users from accessing their powers.” I suck a breath and swallow hard.

“Hm. This isn’t right.” Acorn huffs. “Just know it’s hard being your hero all the time.” He turns away and scampers back through the hole he’s entered.

“Acorn, where are you going? Acorn!”

Worry grips my chest and I scoot closer to the door. There’s nothing I can do to help him. I feebly twist against the chains, but they still hold. Seconds tick by followed by agonizingly long minutes. Has it been an hour? Where is Acorn?

I lick my lips, my bottom lip now tender, and scoot my knees up to my chest. I may be able to step through the chains and get my wrists in front of me. When I struggle to step through, my shoulder explodes and I bite back another cry of pain.

Tears fill my eyes and I let my legs fall back down to the ground without any level of success.

The soft clattering of metal grinding on stone sounds softly from beneath the door. I suck in my breath, concerned it could be a soldier or something worse.

“You owe me lots of popping bugs,” Acorn grunts. He grumbles under his breath as he wedges himself back through the hole.

“Acorn, what did you do?” I whisper.

“Relax. I told them I wanted more bugs.” He breaks through, turns, and drags himself backwards, this time dragging with him a ring of keys. He drops them and beams at me. “They made it easy.”

“Acorn. You’re brilliant.” I smile.

He drags them over, trotting happily. “The tiny one is for your chains.” He finds the small key and wedges it into the manacle on my left wrist. “As much as I love adventures, as you know, I think I’m ready to go home and not move from your pillow for a month.”

I chuckle. “That sounds wonderful. I’ll bring you every bug I can find.”

The lock clicks and the manacle falls. I groan as I pull my arm forward. My shoulder aches horribly and I bite my bottom lip. I’m grateful for the darkness of my cell, because I don’t want to see what the hag’s bite has done to my shoulder.

Acorn nudges the keys to me. “Let’s get out of here and go home.”

I take the keys, but don’t immediately stand. “We don’t have a plan. I might be able to unlock their doors with these keys, but then what? We can’t just walk past the guards without drawing attention. And not only do I now have to get back to Garrett, we have to then find our way out of this prison.” My throat feels tight.

Acorn places his hands on my boot. “Elowyn, you’re too brave to be saying this. This isn’t you.”

I close my eyes. “I’m exhausted,” I admit. “I hurt. I’m terrified of what has happened with Kai, and there is so much that can go wrong.”

“All you have to do is shrink yourself and the other two, I carry you back through this hall, and we get out through the soldier room. They’re exhausted from getting the prisoners put away and are resting. Only a few are doing their rounds tonight.”

I look down at him. “You had a conversation with them?”

“What do you think took me so long?” He grins. “They fed me too. They have the most delicious beetles with purple shells and when you bite into them, they pop!”

I shudder. “Eww. Acorn, I don’t want to know.” I unlock my door and bite my bottom lip as I slowly and carefully slide the door open. The rollers grumble above, but I manage to keep it rather muted by moving slowly and methodically.

With a gap just wide enough for me to slip through, I scoop up Acorn, grasp the keys so they don’t jingle, and run down the hall.

The first cell I reach is Tem’s, and I say nothing as I begin searching the keys for the one to his cell. The ring has five large keys, two enormous keys, and seven or eight regular-sized keys. I find that the same key that unlocked my cell unlocks Tem’s. I wonder if each key is a master key for each floor of the prison? And I don’t want to know what the massive keys might be for.

“Tem!” I whisper as I approach his bed.

He instantly sits up. The light from the back wall of bars shines in and I can see him smile. “You’re brilliant.”

“It was Acorn.” I hand Tem the keys. “Go and get Garrett. I’ll make the rune to shrink us and we’ll get out of here.”

Tem climbs out of the bed, slips on his boots, and takes the keys from me.

I take a moment to scan Tem’s cell for something that will hold the enchantment long enough for all three of us to transform. An ordinary rock won’t work. It might turn all three of us, but the enchantment may only last long enough for us to get to the door. I could enchant three separate rocks and that would last longer.

But not as long as the chunk of tree branch I notice on one of Tem’s shelves. It doesn’t matter that it’s part of a tree. It was once a living, thriving thing with energy much different than cold stone. And when I touch the bark I immediately recognize the energy as that of the very tree in which we are trapped.

“Perfect!” I drop to my knees and trace the rune with two of my fingers on the ground, etching the symbol in the thin layer of dust.

Acorn wiggles from my hand and rolls up on his back to watch.

I mutter the words in my mind until I like how I’m pronouncing ezdna . Although I long for the familiarity of my mother’s grimoire so I can triple-check that my drawing is correct, I don’t have it and I’m going to have to trust in myself. I draw in a breath through my nose and slowly let it out through my lips. I repeat this as I close my eyes and center my magic inside of myself.

I hear the men’s footsteps behind me and know it’s them because I hear Tem whisper, “Don’t interrupt her.”

I feel the familiar tingle of magic from my fingertips to my tongue and toes. Slowly, I open my eyes.

“ Re hume, re ezdna, let ruendin .” As I speak the enchantment, I trace the same rune symbol in the air. My magic, in a beautiful violet hue, forms the rune in the air. It crackles softly, like the popping of a candle. I place my hands on the piece of wood directly and repeat the enchantment. “ Re hume, re ezdna, let ruendin .” I reach my right hand out, pluck the rune from the air, and press it against the rough surface. The rune etches into it, spreading across and intertwining with the ridges of the bark.

“Well?” Garrett asks carefully.

I smile. “Are you ready to go home?”

Garrett steps forward. “I’ll go first.”

Acorn laughs. “You’re going to let her experiment on you?”

He shrugs. “I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”

“I would.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re such a pessimist.”

He unrolls and gets to his feet. “Last time you tried to shrink something, you made a spruce tree the size of a weed.”

“That was a spell, not an enchantment! They are different,” I argue. “I managed to shrink that troll, didn’t I?”

Garrett steps forward and touches the piece of wood with his hand. Immediately, he shrinks from over six feet to just a couple of inches at best. Tem follows, and I am the last one to touch the wood.

Electricity shoots through me and I feel like I’ve been dragged beneath water as the air is sucked from my lungs. I stumble and nearly fall, but Garrett is right there and catches me.

“Breathe,” he says. “It’s a bit shocking isn’t it?”

I nod. “It was strange.”

“Okay, everyone! Hop on!” Acorn wiggles his belly down on the floor to make it easier for us.

“I can’t imagine this is going to be terribly comfortable for any of us,” Garrett comments.

“I get to fly,” Tem says with a smile.

With Garrett’s help, I get on Acorn’s back, and we exit the cell. I hold onto Acorn’s quills and try to hold on the best I can, but this is nothing like riding a horse or donkey.

We could have easily run the distance to the guard’s door in our full size. But being small enough to ride a hedgehog adds a significant amount of time, even if Acorn is running full speed.

Acorn gasps and skids, trying to dig his claws into the stone to make himself stop. To my right I see a rat bolting out from a hole, headed straight for us.

“Don’t stop!” Garrett commands. “And I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I ask.

Acorn yelps as Garrett drops down from his back, holding one of Acorn’s quills in his hands like a sword. “That hurt!”

“Run!” Garrett shouts.

Acorn launches forward, dodging the rat’s long teeth that snap at—and barely miss—my arm. Garrett swats the rat’s nose with the quill, leaving a gash.

The rat shrieks. “You dare attack me?” It wheels on Garrett.

“We can’t leave him behind!” I argue with Acorn.

“He told me to run, so I did!”

“Well, stop!” I order.

“No!”

Instead of continuing to argue with my terrified friend, I drop down from his back too. Only, I’m far less graceful, and when I land, my momentum carries me into a tumble. I manage to get to my feet and see Garrett now pointing the quill at three large rats, all snapping at him.

Tem lands on the ground at his side and blows a handful of dust in their faces.

The rats sneeze and one of them launches forward blindly, managing to swat Garrett’s arm. I don’t think he anticipated the force of the blow, because he hits the stone with a grunt.

“I don’t know how well this is going to work.” Tem loops his arms under Garrett’s, lifting him up as his wings beat frantically to lift them both.

“I can run faster than this!” Garrett objects.

“Running isn’t the aim right now,” Tem states.

A rat jumps at them, missing Garrett’s legs only because he swings them out of the way, but in doing so he causes Tem to tilt sharply and nearly crash them both into a wall.

I know the rune for wind. I know the words and how to draw the symbol. I don’t have time to find something to enchant and then throw it at the rats. I’m going to have to use the spell.

Holding both hands straight out with palms open, I say, “ Etch en wundar !” Is it wundar or wundur ? But I’ve already spoken the words of the spell and it’s too late to be second-guessing. I clutch my hands into fists and lean forward, blowing the air out in a spiraling force from my lungs in the direction of the rats.

I’m sure the spell would have been far more catastrophic if I were full-sized, because wind rushes from my lungs and slams into the rats hard enough to blow them off their feet. They fly into the air and hit the ground several feet from where they were. This gives Tem enough time to reach me with Garrett, who is bleeding from four claw marks.

I reach out to fuss over him, but Garrett pushes my hand away. “Get back on Acorn. We still have to beat them to the door.”

“Are you going to be all right, though?”

“It’s a scratch.” He climbs up behind me again. “Sorry about the quill, Acorn.”

“You can make it up to me by bringing me more caterpillars when we get home.” He takes off running again.

I glance over my shoulder and see that Garrett is also keeping an eye on the rats recovering and heading after us once again.

“We’re almost to the door,” Tem states from above.

“When we get there, you jump off and get under the door first,” Garrett says. His tone is firm, and it’s clear he’s giving me a soldier’s order. “I’ll stand guard behind with the quill.”

I want to object, but this is Garrett’s element. This is what he was trained to do.

Acorn slows and stops much more gracefully when we reach the door. Garrett is instantly on his feet again and I drop down after him.

My heart pounds so loudly I’m grateful we are small and no one else can hear, unless they have some sort of supernatural ability to hear tiny heartbeats. Tem lies on his belly, opens his wings to make them flat, and scoots under. I follow his lead, lying down and pulling myself forward with my arms.

“Our dinner is getting away!” It’s got to be one of the rats. Its voice is high and rattles.

Acorn tries to squeeze under next. Only, he gets stuck. “Oof!” he exclaims as he scratches his little nails against the stone, unable to get any sort of grip to help.

I grab one of Acorn’s paws. “Come on, Acorn! Clearly I need to stop feeding you so much.”

Acorn pouts. “I’m not fat.”

“I’ll push from behind!” Garrett says.

Acorn immediately starts to move, and I tug with all of my strength, pain etching through my shoulder.

When Tem grabs onto Acorn’s other arm, he finally pops free and lets out a loud squeak when he does so.

“Did you hear that?” someone up the stairs asks.

I exchange a worried glance with Tem, who ushers me quickly to the far edge of the step, into the shadows. Garrett is immediately with us, and I can hear the rats scraping at the bottom of the door. We aren’t completely hidden—the torches don’t allow for complete darkness—but we might be lucky that they see the rats.

Luckily, Acorn is brilliant and hops up the first few steps on the side opposite where we stand.

“Ah. Of course you got out.” The fairy descends the stairs.

I hold my breath.

The man crouches. His wings are blue, as is his hair, and he extends a hand to Acorn. “I warned you that it’s dangerous being loose in the prison. Were the rats chasing you?”

“I was exploring,” he answers, rather honestly, I might add. “And yes, the rats started chasing me!”

“It’s dangerous in here, little one.” He carries Acorn back up the stairs. “And not only because of the rats.”

“I know. I like looking at the different creatures, though. And I wanted to see my friend again.”

The fairy laughs and his voice fades away.

“Acorn is the best little creature,” Garrett whispers.

Tem flies to the top of the stairs and leans around the corner, then motions us to go to the other side.

“How is your shoulder?” Garrett asks, clearly having noticed the grimace I tried to hide.

“There’s something wrong. It hurts in a way that makes me fear it’s not only an infection.”

Worry pinches Garrett’s brows. “I was afraid of that.” He helps me up the last step.

The room is circular in shape, like the main entrance we were taken in through, but this place seems cozier. A glowing fireplace warms the room to the far left, a ladder is posted on the wall next to it, and tables and chairs fill the space. A bookshelf stands against the wall directly to our right that we easily slip behind. I peek around the shelves to see the fairy holding Acorn standing near the exit door. Most of the black-winged guards are eating their dinner. One is climbing the ladder.

“If we time this right, can we get out when he opens the door?” Garrett whispers.

It’s not a short distance.

“If we use the table legs as shields, we can make it to the door. It’s still dangerous. Be on your guard.” Tem darts out to the nearest table.

I don’t wait to be told to follow and press my back against the chair leg. I peer up at the guard at the next table. Hiding beneath the table is easier than the chair, so I hurry under the nearby table just as Garrett has reached the first one.

“I was thinking you could let me out to eat,” Acorn says. “All Elowyn had for me was a dead worm left over from the rainstorm yesterday. She tried to share her slop, but yuck.”

The fairy guard chuckles. “I can let you outside.” He opens the exterior door and steps outside.

“Behind him. Quick,” Tem commands, pointing to the barrel beside the door.

I obey, sprinting across the open space and sliding behind the barrel. I’m breathing hard, my nerves starting to get the better of me. I know I have to wait for all of us to be in place to slip out together, or we risk one of us being seen.

Garrett takes his place at my side.

“Are there any wild animals nearby I need to know about?” Acorn asks. “Or can I just go hunt under any of the bushes?”

“I would avoid the pine tree at the far side of the road.” The fairy points down the road. “There’s a hawk there that enjoys rodents. Stay near this door.”

My heart jumps. The opportunity couldn’t be better.

Without a word being said to one another, we escape through the open door and take refuge in the nearest bush.

“Oh, thank you. I’ll return in an hour,” Acorn says.

The fairy guard steps back inside and closes the door behind him.

Acorn sniffs his way to us and proudly sits.

Garrett steps forward and rubs his nose. “You are brilliant.”

I wrap my arms around his head. “I am so grateful you came on this adventure. Even if you’re tired of it.”

“Why, thank you. You would have all been in big trouble without me.”

“You definitely saved the day,” I agree.

Tem stretches. “Now all we have to do is make it to the main road and then through one of the portals.”

“How long is this supposed to last?” Garrett asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t know, to be honest. It could take us a couple of hours to return to our normal size.”

Acorn heaves a heavy sigh. “Oh, great. We should make it to the main road by then, unless I carry you again.”

“Riding you is very unpleasant,” Garrett mutters. “I’d rather walk.”

“And it would be good to stay alert and as quiet as possible,” Tem says. “We don’t want to draw the attention of predators.”

“Like those?” Acorn points out.

I turn to see a set of green eyes disappear into the shadows. It appears escaping the prison hasn’t provided much relief. Not only do we have to find a portal back to our realm, we have to do it while very small and unable to cover much ground. Oh, and with predators stalking us through the underbrush.

A rustle in the branches overhead steals my breath, but I can’t see what it could be. My heart races—only for a nut to hit the ground and bounce.

“Ooh, a snack!” Acorn grabs it and makes quick work of the shell before devouring the nut.

“You’re pretty loud for a creature of the night,” Garrett mutters.

“Predators aren’t so bad when you can spike them.”

“Can you spike them and keep us safe at the same time?”

Acorn pauses, glances between us. “I’ll keep Elowyn safe. You’ll have to fend for yourself. Sorry, Whiskers.”

I laugh. “It’s good to know your priorities are straight.” I lean forward and rub Acorn’s head.

“He might switch alliances when I bring him a big jar of fat caterpillars,” Garrett says.

“Ooh, that’s tempting,” Acorn replies.

A rabbit sprints across the trail in front of us, followed moments later by a larger shape I believe might be a fox, and my breath hitches. Right. Predators. No talking. We fall into tense silence as Acorn continues onward.