The trees of Aeriken Forest grew closely together, as if trying to repel newcomers. The thick green canopy was suffocating, and the forest interior was dim and dank. Worse than all of that, the track was narrow, forcing the band of travellers into a strung out, winding line.
The party had been travelling for several days now, but there was still no sign of the Duke of Craven. The deeper they moved into the forest, the more dangerous it became, and they had started to see wolves. Their howls echoed through the night, inciting fear and anxiety within them all.
Occasionally, a figure would materialise out of a tree trunk and stand watching from a distance, barely visible, dark-eyed and green-skinned, before melting back into the shadows. Fahey told them that they were dryads—spirits of the trees and guardians of the forest. The horses were spooked, skittering nervously in the darkness, and everyone was jumpy, thinking they were seeing things in the murky gloom.
They decided to track the sprites in the hope of imprisoning one and making him talk, and as twilight fell, Woodsmoke finally led them to an area the sprites had lived in. They halted, looking around with weapons drawn as they pulled into the deserted camp.
Arthur swore loudly. “They’ve obviously gone! Where now?”
Woodsmoke shook his head. “I’ll try and find the trail tomorrow morning, but I haven’t hunted here for years, and much has changed.”
Brenna agreed. “It even feels different.”
Finnlugh dismounted, sending his men to form a perimeter. “Well, we may as well stay here tonight. But I think we need to rethink our plan.”
For a while they busied themselves making camp, and then when the fire was burning brightly and they all had food to eat, Beansprout sat next to Tom and said, “I think we’re being watched.”
He frowned as he chewed. “Why do you think that?”
“Can’t you feel it? It’s like there are a million eyes on us.”
“It’s just this place, the Otherworld. I feel like that all the time.”
She shook her head. “No, this forest is different. It’s brooding, wondering what we’re doing here.”
“Not surprising,” Finnlugh said, overhearing her. He and the Duchess of Cloy were sitting around their fire, rather than with his guards. “We’re blundering about like fools.”
“So what do you propose?” Woodsmoke asked, looking at him in annoyance.
He turned to Brenna. “You need to lead us to the Aerie. A direct attack will be of more use now than this—” He flung his arm wide, disdainfully.
“This was your idea,” Woodsmoke snapped.
Tom was confused. “What’s the Aerie?”
“It’s where the Queen lives, and the rest of my people,” Brenna told him, her eyes dropping to the floor. “It’s a palace built into the crags of a steep cliff, deep in the forest.” She looked back at Finnlugh, her eyes narrowed. “But it’s high up and she will have the advantage.”
“My brother will be there—he must be!”
“You think he would risk the wrath of Gavina?”
“Of course my brother will risk it. He’s desperate to use the Jewel, and he needs her to learn to wield it.” Finnlugh looked troubled. “And once he does I fear he will be unstoppable. I have to find him.”
“Why can’t he use it now?” Tom asked. He’d wanted to ask this for days, but it had seemed inappropriate before now.
Finnlugh explained, “The Starlight Jewel belongs to the head of the House of Evernight—me. It responds to my will and enhances my natural power. At the moment, it won’t work for him, but I know Queen Gavina has magic of her own. I’m worried she can manipulate its allegiance. I have to get to him as quickly as possible, and he must be with her. We have to go to the Aerie.”
“What will we do once we get there?” Arthur asked, getting straight to the point. “You have guards, but several of our party are not fighters or trained in combat in any way. Travelling to the palace on a whim is foolhardy.”
“Good question,” Woodsmoke agreed. “Steal back the Jewel? Kill the Queen? Save her subjects and restore order to the forest?”
“I don’t need sarcasm, thank you.” Finnlugh turned to Arthur. “Do you have a better idea?”
“Not really.” He shook his head thoughtfully. “I feel a little unprepared. Vivian seems to think that I shall know what to do, but frankly, I have no idea. I know nothing of this Queen, or what she is accused of. As you know, I have been in an enchanted sleep for a very long time. Perhaps someone can explain to me what it is she has done. Who is she?”
Brenna sighed a deep, bone-weary sigh that spoke of much despair and sorrow. “She walked out of the forest and into our palace hundreds of years ago. She was lost, hungry, exhausted, and needed help. I wasn’t born then, but we all know the tale. She looked fragile and seemed kind, and quickly our King fell in love. His wife had died, and he was lonely.
“She wasn’t one of us, but he didn’t care, and neither did we. They were happy, and had children and then grandchildren. But as the years went on we began to see a different side to her. She was quick-tempered, manipulative, and sly, but the King couldn’t see it because he was so in love. Then the King died and we mourned, and although his firstborn son should have become King, the Queen continued to rule.
“Slowly but surely things started to change for the worse, and when she was challenged, those who had dared to question her sovereignty started to disappear, particularly the heirs to the throne. And so I am sorry to say that her subjects left, drifting away to hidden parts of Aeriken where they could not be found. Some left the forest altogether, as I did.
“However, it seems she is now even worse. She has turned on even those whom she once trusted.”
“But how did she gain so much control?” Arthur asked.
“She tricked us with her magic, until it was too late to stop her. This had never happened to us before…we were innocent and trusting. And if we couldn’t stop her then, I’m not sure we can now. She seems to have gone mad, and power and madness are a frightening combination. And,” she added, “the forest has changed, as well. There’s no one here! It’s as if all the forest creatures are hiding. Something is very wrong.”
“Her whole court may be dead, if she has been ‘hunting her own.’” Woodsmoke frowned. “I can see what Craven can gain from the Queen, but not what she can gain from him.”
“I think she wants to steal the Starlight Jewel,” Finnlugh said thoughtfully. “It could greatly increase her power.”
“A double-cross?” Brenna sighed. “That would be her style.”
“Well, in that case,” Arthur said quietly, “we’ve wasted time. We must head to the palace at daybreak.”
Tom stood at the base of a steep cliff gazing up at the summit, which was hidden by clouds and mist. His stomach lurched. It was insanely high up. But despite its height, it had been impossible to see on their approach, as the trees were so dense and the canopy so thick.
Their progress had been slow. Mosses covered the forest floor, disguising fallen trees, and the undergrowth was thick and tangled. It didn’t help that the paths to the Aerie were hidden from outsiders, and Brenna had difficulty finding them again after so long.
The collective feeling of gloom had grown ever stronger, until they were barely sleeping, their dreams filled with strange images. They had taken their mind off things by practising their sword fighting skills with each other in the evenings. Beansprout and Tom were given swords suitable for learning with, and Arthur taught them, assisted by Finnlugh. Arthur and Finnlugh had sparred together, and they were frighteningly good. Both had pretended to be practising, but it was clear they each had a huge ego and couldn’t wait to outplay the other.
For the past few days, wolves had stalked them, surrounding the camp at night. It had taken several volleys of arrows to make them retreat, their teeth flashing in the firelight, eyes glinting a frightening yellow. And then a group of dryads had appeared out of the shadows, silent and solemn, and those sitting around the fire had leapt to their feet, wondering how the dryads could have passed the guards. One stepped forward, asking the group, “What do you want here?”
Finnlugh answered, “The Queen and my brother. Nothing else.”
“She will kill you. We hide from her now—everyone hides from her now. Beware your fire.” And then they all vanished.
Finnlugh had put out the fire, and they had fallen silent in the dark.
A shout broke Tom’s concentration, bringing him back to the present.
“Here! I’ve found the path!”
They had been looking for the narrow, stony path to the top for hours, and it seemed one of the guards had finally found it. His cry was faint, and Tom and Beansprout, who had been searching together, headed in his direction.
“At least we’ve found it,” Beansprout said, as they fought their way through some tangled branches. “Are we going to go with them?”
“To the top?” he asked, frowning. “If they let us! I don’t want to be left behind. Do you?”
“No!” She lowered her voice as she sidled closer, trying to keep her words from carrying to their granddad, who was close behind. “But what if they try to stop us?”
He slapped a branch out of the way. “We kick up a fuss!”
When they reached the guard’s side, another argument was already in full swing.
Prince Finnlugh was glaring at the Duchess of Cloy, who was glaring right back. “You should stay here and help protect the horses,” he told her. “I can feel strong, strange magic. Something is very wrong here.”
“I did not journey all this way to look after horses,” she hissed in reply.
“If and when we escape from the palace, we’ll need the horses to leave quickly. And I don’t want anyone following us up that hill, either. I have no wish to be trapped.” He smiled, widening his midnight blue eyes. “You are the only one I trust.”
She rolled her eyes at him in a very un-Duchess like way. Tom found her difficult to read. She had said very little on their journey, preferring to watch and listen, and her silence was unnerving.
Jack joined in. “Actually, there’s no way I can get up there without a horse. And there’s certainly no way a horse can go up there! I’ll stay, and so should you,” he said to Tom and Beansprout.
“Not a chance,” they answered at the same time.
“You have no idea how dangerous it may be!” argued Jack.
“And that’s why I’m going,” answered Tom. “I woke Arthur for this moment!”
“And don’t think you’ll change my mind, either!” Beansprout told him belligerently.
Fahey looked at Jack. “I’ll stay. My knees will never manage that climb, unfortunately. And they’re right. They should go. I feel they’re part of this.”
Jack looked as if he was going to protest, but then sighed and fell silent.
“See?” Finnlugh said to the Duchess. “You need to protect them, too.”
She simmered with silent rage.
“You know I’m right, dear Duchess. You can feel it, too.”
The eye in her pendant blinked slowly, and she stroked the necklace absentmindedly, as if listening to something. “All right. But if you’re not back in three days, I shall leave you here.”
“A deal, then. We start at first light.”
They set their camp up under the trees, a short distance from the base of the crag, and the Prince and the Duchess magically built a tall fence of thick, thorny wood to protect them. The horses were secured inside, and the remaining guards positioned themselves around the edge.
The atmosphere was tense, with many of them continually glancing up at the rocky height they would have to scale the next day. Woodsmoke and Brenna conferred softly, while Arthur and Finnlugh had a robust discussion about how to proceed before settling their tension in a sword fight that became a little too aggressive. The Duchess, however, had settled in front of the small, bright fire. Rummaging in her bags, she brought out a variety of herbs that she cast into the flames, muttering quietly. With a sizzle, the flames changed colour to smoky blues and greens, and she sat for some time in a trance, gazing into their changing shapes. Eventually, she roused herself. “We shall manage without a fire again tonight.”
“But the wolves—we need to keep them away!” Fahey said.
She turned her intense stare on him. “We must rely on the boundary. There are worse things than wolves out there. We must become invisible to all others, and we must appear dead if they come upon us.”
“What? What’s out there? And how can we appear dead?”
“We will smell dead, which will attract the wolves but keep away other things. Trust me on this, Fahey. You heard the dryads. We do not want the Queen finding us.”
She started to prepare her magic, and Tom wondered yet again what he’d got himself into.