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“I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING as pathetic as that display in my entire three hundred years of life,” Ruen said in disgust when my fear refused to abate. He was standing a few feet away with his hands on his bony hips.
Aurora stopped crooning and looked up at him. “I didn’t say anything about this before, because I wasn’t sure if we’d need to cross over any more water. Now that her ordeal is over, I can tell you something I learned about trolls when I was a prisoner.”
“This should be good,” he said derisively.
“Trolls don’t just dislike water, they’re deathly afraid of it. They only drink from shallow ponds and creeks.”
“Why are they so afraid of water?” he asked skeptically.
“They can’t swim,” she reminded him. “They sink straight to the bottom and drown.” I’d stopped shivering and was listening to her story, since it gave me something to concentrate on.
“She knew I wouldn’t let her drown,” Ruen said sullenly. “She should trust me by now.”
“Saige isn’t exactly her normal self when she changes into her monster forms,” the demon said. “Her instincts take over sometimes. I can’t swim either and I know what it feels like to think I’m going to drown.” She shuddered at the memory of our visit to the second realm. “My former owner got hold of a troll once,” she said in a haunted tone. “He tortured the poor thing by getting his lackeys to dunk him in a tub filled with water. I’ll never forget that poor creature’s screams of torment.”
“What happened to him?” he asked in a slightly disturbed tone.
“He panicked and drowned,” she said. “He should have been able to overpower his captors and escape, but fear rendered him incapable of thought.”
“Perhaps I’ve been harsh in my criticism,” Ruen said stiffly, refusing to look at me.
“It took incredible bravery for Saige to cross the river,” Aurora said, obviously proud of me. “I doubt a normal troll would have managed it.”
I gave her a trembly, grateful smile, gladder than ever that Fate had put her in our path. Our missions to the underworld would have been unbearable without her to guide us and to keep our team together. Like the logs, Ruen and I would have crumbled and fallen apart long ago without her as our vine to hold us together. At least we’d made it to the fifth realm before our alliance had failed completely.
After a rest and a meal, I felt steady enough to keep going. We were only two weeks away from the portal now. Ruen’s scornful jabs became less frequent the closer we got to home. This time, we made it over the low mountain range that curved around a large town without encountering any zombies. The necromancer who’d lived in the shack was dead and no one had moved into her tiny abode.
When we finally reached shifter territory, I was careful not to encroach on anyone’s turf. We were only two days away from the gate when my luck ran out.
“I can hear shifters ahead,” Ruen whispered from his perch on my back.
I’d sensed them and skidded to a stop when I realized I couldn’t evade them. Twenty wolves were in our way. They were strewn in a line, blocking our path. I couldn’t make them out through the trees, but I could feel them waiting for us.
“It’s the werewolves we met shortly after we arrived here,” Aurora said when she picked up on their scents.
One of the werewolves morphed into his humanoid form and strode forward. It was the alpha and he was buck naked. “We heard a rumor that a strange trio of beings were headed this way and assumed it was you three,” he said in greeting. “I take it you accomplished your task?” His tone was friendly enough, but his eyes were watchful and slightly suspicious.
“We did,” Ruen confirmed as he dropped to the ground. “Our master will be anxious for us to return,” he added when Aurora climbed down as well.
“I’m sure he won’t mind if you take a short rest,” the alpha said with a charming grin. His pack members weren’t acting in a threatening manner, but Aurora gave me a worried look.
Ruen hadn’t had a chance to murder any intelligent beings for far too long now. He wasn’t about to give up on a possible chance to wipe them all out if they turned on us. “We can spare a few minutes,” he said in acceptance of the invitation.
We followed the alpha as he loped through the trees, leading us to a group of huts. The buildings were well crafted and had been made out of the black and gray trees in their territory. Their young were in one of the huts, being guarded by two adults.
I had to squeeze my bulk through the doorway the alpha stepped through. His second was already inside, fully clothed. He handed the alpha some pants and he pulled them on.
Aurora and Ruen followed me inside and we took a seat on the floor around a small fire. Tea was brewing in a pot on the fire. The alpha poured some of the liquid into a cup for Aurora and she took it politely. He ignored me, then offered a cup to Ruen. The vampire took the cup and sipped the brew, keeping his face blank so he didn’t offend our host. Tea wasn’t his preferred form of liquid to drink.
“We’ve seen an increase in soldiers patrolling the roads,” the alpha said after he’d poured a drink for himself and sank down to the floor. Several animal skin beds were arrayed around the room. He shared the hut with several of his pack members.
“That’s why we’ve avoided the trails,” Aurora said.
“One of my scouts overheard some of the soldiers talking,” he went on. “Apparently, there was some kind of battle to the east of here. The overlord himself was present, or so the guards said. What do you know about the battle?” He watched my companions closely as he waited for one of them to answer. “Clearly, you were involved in it,” he said when the silence stretched on for too long. “I want to know exactly what happened,” he said, tone hardening. “You’re not leaving here until you’ve answered my questions.”
I growled at his veiled threat and the wolves tensed. I shifted my grip on my hammer and his gaze dropped to it before his eyes rose to my face.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?” he asked incredulously. I nodded in response. “Were you and your friends involved in the fight with the overlord?” I shook my head in denial, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on my blatant lie. Technically, the guardian had killed the overlord. We’d just instigated the fight that had resulted in his death.
“We witnessed the fight,” Aurora said in an effort to defuse the situation. “A necromancer had created an army of zombies. He ordered them to attack the overlord and his soldiers.”
“There were hundreds of zombies,” Ruen added. “They swarmed over the guards, killing them all without mercy.”
“We ran before the necromancer could spot us and send his army after us as well,” Aurora finished up. “We didn’t see the end of the battle, so we don’t know who won. It wasn’t looking good for the overlord, though.”
The alpha studied us in turn with a disturbed look on his face. “I sense you’re telling me the partial truth, which isn’t good enough. You can either tell me what really happened, or I’ll make you tell me the truth.”
I roared in anger and shot to my feet, brandishing my hammer. His second shifted into his werewolf form, shredding his clothes in the process. He leaped at me and I caught him in midair, then tossed him at the shifters crowding into the doorway.
The alpha began to shift next, but I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground until our faces were level. I snarled loudly and squeezed his throat threateningly.
“Tell your pack to stand down, or she’ll tear your head off!” Ruen warned the alpha.
I eased up on my grip just enough for him to speak. “Don’t attack them!” he ordered. “Let them leave in peace!”
“Wise decision,” Aurora said, putting her cup down and rising to her feet. “Don’t follow us, or the troll and vampire will wipe out your entire pack.”
To make very sure they would obey her, I carried the alpha to the edge of their territory before finally releasing him. He staggered back a step, rubbing his bruised throat. He knew how close he’d come to death and so did his pack. They growled and snarled, but they didn’t come after us as we walked away.
“I didn’t even get to kill any of them,” Ruen complained when we were out of earshot.
“We might run into someone you have to kill before we reach the portal tomorrow night,” Aurora said in sarcastic commiseration.
“I hope so,” he muttered sourly, then they both clambered onto my back and I took off running again.
