I was beginning to realize that the Forgotten Kingdom wasn’t the only dangerous place in the Realms. “It seems like danger is everywhere,” I said.

  Tharin glanced at me. “If that’s your only takeaway from today, then it’s a lesson well learned. We should start. We’ll want to make camp shortly before dusk. This forest is riddled with bandits and goblins and other more dangerous creatures. It’s not safe to be on the move after dark.”

  “Have you ever been through here before?” I asked, looking around. We weren’t far off the road, and we had come through a portal that stretched between two fir trees. The trail was a few yards away, threading through the tangled hell that made up the forest.

  Tharin took on a dark look. “I have. That’s how I knew about this portal. I found it when I was trying to stay alive after I escaped from Owlanvine. I took a chance and went through it. The only thing I could hope was that it didn’t lead back to the city, but instead, it led to Annwn. One of Lord Cernunnos’s guards saw me come through. I fainted from lack of food, and he took me back to the palace and that’s how I ended up where I am today. But after I regained my health, I came back here to learn the coordinates for the portals.”

  I wanted to learn how to program a portal, someday. I had the vaguest idea of how it worked, and I knew very few people had the ability to master the task, but I was determined to become one of them.

  Ayo planted her walking staff on the ground and leaned against it. She was dressed in a mottled gray and green cloak, and she blended into the trees in a way that none of the rest of us seemed to. She had a calm air about her, as though we were out for a stroll in the meadow.

  “Tell us what to expect. I know it’s been a long while since you escaped, but what should we be wary of?” She turned her gaze to Tharin.

  “Are you talking about the Poisoned Forest, or Owlanvine?”

  “Either. Both.”

  Tharin glanced at the path in front of us. “For both: never let down your guard. Long ago, the Poisoned Forest devolved from a forest much like Lunaria’s ancient grove. At that time, this area was absolutely beautiful and while it was dangerous, for other reasons, it didn’t breed the dangers it now does. It was known as the Sheflondon Forest, and it stretched far and wide. The Cazwyre Fens were part of it—marsh back then, not the dark, shadowy world they’ve become.”

  “What changed?” I asked as we gathered up our gear and began to make our way through the tangle on the forest floor, over toward the path.

  “The rule of Hefiacin. Hefiacin was a sorcerer who craved power. In his twisted mind, he grew paranoid. He also fell in love with Lord Izrak of Sheflondon’s daughter. Lord Izrak was a bear shifter, and he ruled a good share of the southern forest lands. He was kind and compassionate, but he was also a fierce leader and protected his people.”

  Tharin reached out to Ayo, helping her crawl over some of the knee-high roots that thrust their way out of the ground, twisting and shifting across the forest. It was as though the trees here were twisted into pretzels, their limbs creating stark silhouettes against the muted daylight.

  “Hefiacin fell in love with Gzecinda, Izrak’s daughter. But she refused him, and her father refused to force her into marriage. So Hefiacin retreated to the desert, where he learned ways to strengthen his magic. He became incredibly powerful over the years, and aligned himself with the bandits there, building an army of followers.”

  “I think I see where this is going,” I said, grimacing. “Let me guess, he hooked up with the lost city?”

  “Not exactly,” Tharin said. “Though it’s speculated that he spent time there. But his paranoia had increased, and he blamed Izrak of Sheflondon for anything bad that happened. Meanwhile, the goblin population was increasing to the east, and they were pressing into the borders of the forest. It was only a matter of time before they met up with Hefiacin and joined forces with him.”

  “And they all saw the forest as a place they wanted to control?” Hajeet asked.

  Tharin held up his hand and we paused as sounds echoed out from the undergrowth.

  The air was thick here, damp and filled with the powdery taste of mildew. Everywhere I looked, there were puddles on the ground, rippling as raindrops fell from tree limbs down to splash in them. One larger puddle was covered with flies, and I shuddered, watching the larva swarm the surface. I looked around to see vines creeping everywhere, and it seemed that every tree was encrusted in the thick, blackish-green moss that seemed to have swallowed the forest whole.

  We waited, listening. I heard a snarl in the nearby undergrowth, but then a feral pig about the size of a small dog raced out. It took one look at us and turned, darting the other way.

  “Smart pig,” Tharin said. “It knows we pose more of a threat to it than it does to us.” He waited for another moment, but the sounds had died away with the boar. Finally he let out his breath. “You can’t be too careful. There are goblins and knokburries and redcaps and nixienacks everywhere in this forest. And the latter are vicious buggers—they can strip a traveler of skin in minutes flat.”

  I wasn’t sure what a nixienack was, but whatever it was, I didn’t want to meet it. “Go on.”

  “Long story short, Hefiacin drew the goblin armies in with his own, and they made war on Lord Izrak. The magic used on the goblin side was deadly to the woodland, and twisted it. By the time they got done, Izrak and most of his family were dead and the forest was scarred beyond repair, devolving into fens and to what the Poisoned Forest is today.”

  On that note, he waved. “Come on, let’s get moving. Stick to the trail. Whatever you do, don’t follow any corpse candles into the woods—the bouncing globes of light.”

  “But the lightning flits aren’t harmful—” Ayo started to say.

  “They aren’t the same thing,” Tharin said. “Trust me on this. If you see lights flickering off trail, leave them alone. If they’re trying to summon you, get away from them and yell for help if you need to.”

  With that, he pulled out a flashlight and started along the trail with us following, plunging deeper into the Poisoned Forest as we followed.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  For a while, we kept silent, trying to pick through the tangled debris littering the forest floor, but eventually, we fell into a rhythm and actually made some headway. It wasn’t easy, though. The forest was alive in a way that I’d felt in no other forest. Even the trees seemed to watch us as we passed through, and I began to feel a bit of paranoia myself. It felt like eyes were constantly following us, and once or twice, I found myself questioning the wisdom of going after Shellsong.

  There were mudholes everywhere, meaning there were more insects than we could count. It got so bad that within an hour of coming through the portal, we were all tying bandanas around our faces to keep the mosquitos and gnat-taks and sting-buzzers away from our skin. I felt myself growing clammy under my leathers and clothes, which worried me. Hypothermia could set in all too easy if you began to sweat while hiking.

  Finally, I couldn’t handle the constant popping and buzzing of the myriad insects that swarmed around us anymore so I said, “Tell us about Owlanvine. Distract me from the sound of the insects.”

  Tharin nodded. “All right. Whether you’re in the streets or in an inn room, always be ready for danger. Thieves abound, and slavers are favorites among those who run the city. If you cheat a shopkeeper—even accidentally—he has the right to demand satisfaction, which can lead to a feud or worse.”

  “Does anarchy rule, then?” Hajeet asked.

  Tharin shook his head. “No, not anarchy. But the city is run by an oligarchy, and their leader—Sher Camaron Fasteel—is wicked smart, as well as ruthless, a deadly combination. The laws favor those who can make massive donations to the cause.”

  “In other words, those who can afford bribes?” I said.

  Tharin snorted, then immediately sobered. “That sums it up, yes. Don’t go off on your own, and if you ask for information, offer at least a crownsing or more.”

  Before we had left, Ember had given each of us a tidy sum of money in Wildemoone currency. Each shalos was worth ten dekots, which were worth one hundred crownsings. We had buried the money deep inside our clothing, where thieves couldn’t easily spot it.

  “Do you have any idea who the slaver is who bought your sister?” Tharin asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, I forced my mother to tell me. The men who took her away work for a man named Tershak. That’s all I know.”

  Tharin stopped and turned to stare at me. “Did you say Tershak?”

  “Yes, why?” I jumped as one of the vines on a tree near me moved, striking out at me, barely missing thanks to my quick reflexes. I slashed at it with my sword and it slithered up the tree trunk. “Cripes.”

  Tharin glanced overhead. “We need to watch out for snakes above us, as well. I have a feeling the tree canopy is rife with them. As for Tershak, I know of him. He’s a rakshasa. And he’s the one who ordered the raid on my village.”

  Ayo blanched as Hajeet shuddered. It was obvious this wasn’t good news.

  I frowned. “What’s a rakshasa?”

  Tharin motioned to a nurse log that was blocking the path. “Check it first and if it’s clear we’ll have a brief rest.”

  The log had dozens of ants on it, but they weren’t the biting kind, so we knocked them off and sat.

  “So, what’s Tershak?” I asked.

  Tharin swatted away a swarm of mosquitos who decided we were fair game once we stopped moving. “Rakshasas are shifters—tiger shifters. But they’re not ordinary shifters. They’re evil spirits incarnate in shifter form, and they happen to be meat eaters. They have no compunction on eating their victims.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It isn’t,” he said. “Not only that, but they have magical powers as well, including the ability to charm and to command the dead—specifically, they can raise the dead to fight for them. They also happen to be master illusionists. Tershak’s well known to be a rakshasa, but only because he rose to prominence through his ability to intimidate and frighten others. He’s also made a massive amount of money. In his case, revealing his nature serves him better than hiding it.”

  My stomach plummeted. “How does that bode for my sister?”

  “Since he knows she’s a hedge dragon, both good and bad. He’s known for auctioning off prize property. So he’s probably been drumming up interest, given how rare your kind are. Which means there’s a good chance she’s still alive. Tershak has patience when he really wants something.” His eyes glittered sharply.

  “How do you know so much about him?” Hajeet asked.

  Tharin turned to him. “He was the slaver who auctioned off the captives from my village. I was grateful when someone else bought me. He goes through a high turnover rate with servants in his own home because he tends to eat the ones who displease him.” He stood, swatting at the swarms of insects that surrounded us. “Let’s move. We want out of this forest as soon as possible. As bad as Owlanvine is, the Poisoned Forest is worse.”

  As we turned toward the south—with the sun on our right to the west—I inhaled a sharp breath. We swung into formation. Tharin and I took the lead, with Hajeet and Ayo behind us. The deciduous trees had lost their leaves already, but as the day wore on, the sun grew brighter and the moisture in the air began to heat up and become muggy. I wanted to take off my cape, but the sheer number of insects diminished the appeal of doing so.

  As the day stretched out, the sun broke through the canopy. The sounds of the forest grew louder, and the undergrowth was rife with the scuffling of small animals. We could hear them on all sides, creeping through the thick foliage. The birdsong became so loud it overpowered the insects, until one moment when there was a loud squawking and then a final shriek.

  I looked up to see a massive snake opening its jaws to swallow a large colorful bird and cringed as the snake managed to fit the entire bird in its mouth. The environment, a fecund ecosystem, was thriving. But with small mammals came large ones, and with snakes that size, I wondered what else the Poisoned Forest was hiding.

  By midday, the sun was high overhead, but with clouds moving in from the east. I was already looking forward to getting out of it.

  “Let’s stop for lunch,” Tharin said. He found another fallen log to the side, but there was a small clearing beyond it. “Let’s set up a tent and eat in there so we don’t have to constantly ward off the bugs.” As he shrugged off his pack and searched in it for the tent, we dropped to the stones and logs surrounding the area. “Rest while you can. We’ll be walking till after dusk.”

  “I wish I could fly ahead and see what we might be facing,” I said. “I wonder if it’s too dangerous to reveal myself around here.”

  “I’d say now would be better than when we reach the open plain that leads toward Owlanvine and the dunes of Eldemere. If you want to, go ahead, but be discreet,” Tharin said.

  I glanced around. There was no one here to see me change except Ayo, Hajeet, and Tharin. And they already knew about me. This might be the best time, at that. I could get an idea of how far we were from the end of the forest, too.

  I stood. “I’ll need to shed my clothing. Please keep it dry for me.”

  Ayo followed me behind a bush. I wasn’t shy, but most humans and their ilk seemed to have reservations about being nude in public. Ayo held out her arms for my clothing.

  “Be careful, Storm,” she said. “Even a lone hunter might spy a dragon and take it into his head to shoot.”

  I slipped out of my leathers. “We haven’t had much of a chance to talk. Why did you volunteer to come with me?” I glanced through the bushes. “Has it something to do with Tharin?”

  She laughed, her voice sounding like a rippling creek. “You mean, am I fond of him? Yes, but not in the way you think. Tharin prefers the company of men more than women—in terms of romance. But I do care about him. I was the healer who took care of him when the guards found him in the forests of Annwn. He was broken and bruised, both mentally and physically. I helped bring him out of a very dark place. If you ever see his back, you’ll see the story of his punishments when he was held captive.”

  I grimaced. “My mother was forced into sexual slavery by one of the Lords of Lightning. She was punished for her capture by the Dragonni. And yet, she sold her own daughter into slavery and possible death. My heart holds a special hell for those who enslave others.” I was ready, and I was being attacked by swarms of stinging bugs. “Move back. I’m shifting now.”

  She moved away and I gauged the space I had available. There should be just enough for me to shift. Closing my eyes, I focused on the process. It had been awhile since I had shifted, but it was as innate as breathing. It was as though there was a switch inside, and when I reached out and flipped it, everything began to change. I wasn’t sure whether it hurt for other shifter types, but for me, it was smooth—like dancing. I always felt more graceful in my dragon shape, and as my muscles and bones began to transform, I felt like I was coming back to myself. I opened my eyes.

  The world began to change around me as well—growing smaller as I grew larger. My hearing sharpened, my eyesight took on a different lens as everything around me scaled down. My wings—trapped in my body too long—unfurled with a relieved sigh. As I waved my long neck around, I could see Ayo below, watching with her eyes wide.

  “You’re absolutely incredible,” she shouted up.

  I curled my neck, folding it so that I was down staring at her. Her entire height was the size of my head. Very gently, I opened my mouth. The words that came out echoed in the clearing—if nobody knew we were here before, they would now—and I laughed. Being in dragon form was purely joyful, in a way nothing else had ever been.

  “Thank you,” I said, longing to stretch my wings. “I’ll fly now.”

  She backed away even farther to give me as much room as she could and I took to the sky. As I rose over the forest, I spied the others. They were staring up at me, their expressions speaking louder than any words could.

  I circled them, then headed higher into the sky, stretching my wings wide, feeling the relief of being free from my human shape. While I enjoyed that form, my hedge dragon form was the true one—the core of my being. I circled upward, dizzy with the heady feeling of flying. I did a barrel roll, heading down to swoop past them, then climbed up again and started the serious pursuit of checking to see how far we had to go.

  But as I rose higher, the forest stretched on and on. We had at least three days more of travel from what I could see, but I also saw that the woodland ended abruptly. From up here, I could see a ways into the distance, and I spied the edge of the forest, and beyond that, the stark golden dunes of the desert.

  I circled around the forest canopy a few times, then I realized it was time to return to the others. We had to get moving. At least I’d have some information to give them. Disappointed—I just wanted to keep on flying—I spiraled down again to the clearing where Ayo was waiting. Settling in, I landed in the small clearing. Another moment and I began to transform back. Another few minutes, and Ayo was handing me my clothes, and I felt like I had once more lost something incredible. Every time I returned to human form, I felt like I had to leave a piece of myself behind.

  I had just pulled on my boots and laced them up—after dressing fully—when I noticed my ring. I paused, staring at my hand. The crystal ring flared with a pale yellow light. “What the hell?” I withdrew my sword from its scabbard. It, too, was glowing. “There’s something dangerous nearby.”

  Ayo threw my backpack at my feet. “Hurry,” she said, nocking her bow with an arrow. I threw my pack over my shoulders and unsheathed my sword as we returned to the tree where Tharin and Hajeet were waiting.