The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (ebook offline reader TXT) 📕

“Yes.” Both Maeve and Flyg agreed.

“And you have the power to free them from the red dust and end this war without having to kill anyone?” Hakken gawked at her, utterly amazed.

“I guess you could say that, but it’s not so simple.” Maeve shook her head, a bit self-conscious.

Regn smiled brightly at her. “You are outstanding!”

“She’s marvelous!” Hakken growled, pushing Regn to the side.

“That’s what I said!”

“Shut up!”

They put a stop to the conversation soon after and began their journey back to meet with Kniv and the Warlocks. Maeve settled once again in Hakken’s arms while the three half-breeds ran at full speed. They traveled fast for two days, arriving on a bright morning at the Tree.

And it was right on time, since an angry mob surrounded the Warlock’s cabin, shouting at Kniv and demanding answers.

CHAPTER XXXI

VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE

Regn

After a quick glance, he reckoned at least a hundred battered, panic-stricken half breeds surrounded the Warlock’s cabin. Most of them were elders and children, with a handful of warriors keeping guard.

He even recognized some of them. Their village was the closest to the Red Moon Valley’s village. Not a good sign. They were still too far away to listen to their words, but Kniv argued with who appeared to be their leader. A female warrior with a nasty scar crossing her nose and a nastier scowl on her face.

“Oh, no,” Regn muttered, and they remained hidden behind the trees. Calmness seemed to hang by a thread, and nothing positive would come of them arriving with a mountain warrior.

“What should we do?” Flyg was the first one to ask while looking at Maeve for answers. It was endearing how a strong, capable half-breed warrior needed reassurance from gentle, frail Maeve. Both girls had become close friends in a short time.

Maeve took Flyg’s hand and turned to appraise the crowd. “We need to tell them the truth. They need to know your tribe is being held captive. Even if we can overpower them, we will kill innocents.”

Regn agreed, but it was easier said than done. His experience traveling around the villages proved convincing half-breeds of anything was difficult at best. “Flyg should stay hidden for now. We will talk to them and explain before letting them meet with her.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“You and Maeve should go. I’ll stay with Flyg until it’s safe to join you.” Hakken spoke calmly while displaying a frown. He clearly didn’t like the idea.

Regn smirked. “Are you sure you prefer to stay behind?”

“Of course I don’t! But I’m stronger than you. If we’re spotted, I’ll have better chances to keep Flyg safe.” Both men glowered at each other until Maeve pulled Regn’s arm.

“Let’s go Regn, we need to give this dust to my brother.” She turned to Flyg while walking to the crowd with him in tow. “Stay with Hakken for now, he will protect you.”

They reached the crowd and hastened to Kniv’s side, gaining many astonished looks. As soon as the old man set his eyes on Maeve, his entire body loosened up with relief. The girl jumped to his arms.

“Oh, sweet child! You have no idea how wonderful it is to have you back safe and sound.”

“I missed you, Kniv.”

Her arrival turned out to be the respite he needed. With his resolve renewed, Kniv stood tall, facing the crowd once more. “We must wait for the Warlock. This is not the time to make hasty decisions.” All eyes darted between Kniv and Maeve.  Most of them have never seen a human before, and Regn imagined they were having trouble figuring out what to think about her presence. “We can’t be careless and—”

The woman leading the group held a hand to Kniv’s face, silencing him while staring down at Maeve with disgust. “Can you please explain why this filth is still alive?”

Regn tensed at her remark, but before he jumped in her defense, Maeve moved to stand right in front of the woman. “What is your name?” she asked, staring up at her with cold eyes.

The woman blinked, somewhat stunned to have a feeble girl facing her with such a pluck. She answered with a sneer. “I am Tyst. I fail to understand why you—”

“My name is Maeve. I trust you will remember next time you need to address me, Tyst.”

The clearing fell silent. Regn held his breath, watching carefully how Tyst’s face changed colors until she was almost purple. Not giving time for the woman to explode, Maeve turned to the crowd past her and raised her voice. “We recovered a sample of the red dust affecting the mountain half-breeds. We need to take this to the Warlock, so we can free them.”

Only the sound of the wind broke the silence. Every man, woman, and child listened to Maeve’s every word. Regn’s chest filled with pride. “I know you are afraid and in pain,” she carried on, “I’m sorry we can’t give you an answer now. We need you to give us some time.”

One elder walked to stand next to Tyst. “It’s as we feared, I’m afraid. The mountain tribe... this is not their doing, correct?”

“How do you know?” Regn asked.

The elder shared a look with Tyst, who gave him a curt nod. “Our warriors... at least half of them were killed. Only a handful could lead us to safety across the lake. Those spared stand here today.”

“What happened with the rest? Did they stay to fight?” Kniv gave the man a sad look. If their warriors stayed behind, they were most likely dead.

“No. We saw them from the boats.” A fit of cough interrupted the old man. Regn didn’t need Maeve’s powers to feel the tension in the air. “Everyone who wasn’t dead, every warrior who stayed behind was taken.”

“Captured?”

“No. Taken. They march in their horde now. The red dust took them.”

Maeve

Kniv stayed behind to comfort the refugees while Regn and Maeve took the vial to the Warlocks. As soon as they reached the cabin, a worried Ystävä peeked through the door and rushed them inside.

The scene welcoming them left them speechless.

Finn