As soon as a semblance of normalcy returned to my hands, I dug out my inhaler, relieved to find it in my pocket. I patted around for my weapons and found Fezzik right away. It had tipped out of my lap when I’d fallen asleep—when I’d been drugged. But Chopper was nowhere around.
Even though I knew I wouldn’t find it, I couldn’t keep from patting all around on hands and knees, as if I might get lucky. Maybe she’d dropped it as she fled.
“Yeah, right,” I muttered, the words slurred.
Even my lips were numb. What had been in that bar, and how had she gotten it in there? I’d checked the wrapper so carefully.
“Thieves,” I grumbled, the word a curse.
Maybe I hadn’t been out for that long. Maybe it was still possible to catch her. Sindari could help.
If she hadn’t taken my charms. Fresh fear lurched through me at the thought, but when I reached up, I found the reassuring feline shape of his charm. The others were all there too. Strange mercies from a thief.
“Sindari,” I whispered to summon him. “I need your help.”
I am always prepared to go into battle, he said as soon as he formed at my side.
“It’s your nose that I need right now, though if we catch her, I’ll let you kick her ass again.”
Sindari gazed around, nostrils already sniffing, as I explained what had happened.
He padded over to the tree where Li had been sitting. I can tell that she was here, but I believe it has been several hours since she left.
I slumped against my own tree and rubbed my temple, a fledgling headache creeping into my skull. “I was hoping whatever she gave me hadn’t knocked me out for that long.”
After sniffing around the area, Sindari headed to the road and stood with his snout in the direction we’d been walking. Toward that damn mountain.
She went this way.
“Of course she did.” I holstered Fezzik, looked around as if I might have other gear along to grab, but I had nothing, not even a bottle of water. “She could have left me a Gatorade.”
Disgusted, I hobbled to the road, waving for Sindari to lead. A blister that had developed during the day’s walk had proven impervious to my usually fast healing. Maybe that drug had affected my regenerative abilities. Lovely.
Would you have consumed a beverage given to you by the person who poisoned your meal?
“Depends how thirsty I was.”
His green eyes gazed judgingly at me.
“She’s already got my sword. It’s not like she has another reason to drug me.”
Your pace is slow. Are you still under the effects of the drug?
“Yeah.” That sounded less wussy than admitting to a blister. I sucked up the discomfort and picked up my pace.
If I were not tethered to your charm by magic, I could race ahead and perhaps catch her.
“I really wish the magic worked that way, because I do not want to go where she’s going.” I summed up what she’d told me about the lich, since he hadn’t been there for that discussion.
Sindari looked at me, this time with concern instead of judgment. I do not want to go there either. Even a dwarven or elven lich would be difficult to battle. I cannot imagine how powerful a dragon lich is.
“Powerful enough to make those skeletal minions that tried to kick our asses.” I remembered Sindari flying over the trees after our winged nemesis flung him off. I also remembered the ghoulish gouges that would have killed him if not for the dragon healer.
The master is always significantly more powerful than the minions.
“Fact of life.” I would have sighed, but I was too busy forcing my legs into a jog—and regretting that I’d let my cardio workouts slide of late. Willard would be ashamed of me. Sadly, my jog was barely a trot for Sindari.
I will run to the edge of my range and see if I can catch her. He sped off down the road.
Just come back to help me if minions show up.
Naturally.
The forest thinned, and the black mountain loomed larger and more ominously on the horizon. The only good thing was that I didn’t see any volcanic smoke wafting from its peak. I had no desire to crawl through magma tubes or breathe any more toxic air this year.
Some of the winged creatures are leaving the mountain, Sindari told me from farther up the road.
I’m really starting to hate those guys. I activated my cloaking charm. Hide yourself with your magic, and let’s hope they don’t notice us.
As much as Sindari loved battle, I doubted he wanted to fight the undead creatures again. Especially when Zav wasn’t here to transport him to a healer afterward.
I am, Sindari replied. I thought I glimpsed someone climbing up the lower levels of the mountain a couple of miles ahead, but then the person glanced back and darted out of my view. The thief also has a cloaking charm, does she not?
Actually, I think you broke it or ripped it off back at Mom’s place. I grimaced, realizing Li would have a harder time hiding now. Unless she knew better than I how to use Chopper and could summon some magical camouflage from it.
Sindari did not respond. Eight creatures flew into view over the mountain, dark winged shapes against the starry night sky.
“Why can’t this lich ever just send out one or two?” With my charm active, I remained on the road longer than I otherwise would have. I wanted to see which direction they flew.
I am making my way back to you in case we need to do battle, Sindari said.
Thank you.
The creatures swept down the front of the mountain, their dark bodies blending into the dark terrain and growing difficult to see. But I sensed them now. They were flying around the foothills in a search pattern.
Is that where you saw Li? I spotted Sindari heading toward me, trotting through the trees alongside the road, our link making him visible to my eyes.
It is the approximate area where I saw someone, yes.
My first thought was that it would be better if they found Li than me, but what if they succeeded in killing her and took Chopper home as a gift for their master? Would a dragon lich care about a magical sword? Maybe not in general, but he might care about a magical sword that could harm dragons. He might prefer it be buried in a mountain where nobody could ever find it. Or was it possible that he would destroy it?
Maybe it was silly to feel so distraught at the idea of losing a possession, but fresh frustration bubbled up inside of me. Chopper made my job a lot more doable than it would be without it. Even now, I was keenly aware that I had nothing that would harm those creatures if they came after me. Sindari might do some damage, but I’d already seen that Fezzik was useless against them.
The winged creatures appeared again in the sky over the mountain, confusing me because my senses told me they were still searching the foothills. Then I realized it was another batch of them. That brought the total to sixteen.
I really hope they can’t see us with our camouflage magic activated. I placed a hand on Sindari’s back as he joined me.
He turned to watch them. As do I.
The second batch of creatures did not join the first. My gut knotted as they flew away from the mountain—and toward us.
Off the road, I urged, slipping silently into the trees.
Sindari selected a nearby hiding spot. With the branches overhead now, I could no longer see the creatures, but their auras grew stronger as they flew closer.
I willed my magic to further hide us, if possible, and resolved to spend more time learning from Freysha if I survived this week. Not having Chopper made me keenly aware of how nice it would be to have more powerful—and versatile—skills to draw upon.