The Path of Giants, B.T. Narro [the speed reading book .TXT] 📗

now. It makes Gourfist less likely to sense her. Everyone take cover,” she announced.

“The elf’s right,” Leon said. “Spread out. Hide. And keep quiet.”

Everyone took themselves over to tree trunks, except Hadley, who seemed busy trying to wipe off Valinox’s spilled blood by running a white cloth down a dagger she’d picked up off the ground.

I rushed over. “Hadley, come on.”

“I’ll need his blood if Gourfist is to descend on us. It’s the only thing powerful enough to curse the beast. I’m almost done. Hold the vial.”

I held her vial under the cloth as she wrung it out. A couple drops of blood fell in.

“Don’t you have any of Valinox’s blood left from when you bit his neck?” I asked.

“No. I needed it all to blind Gourfist the last time.”

I felt a huge presence suddenly in the air above the forest. Hadley must’ve felt the same as she gasped. A shadow whooshed across the ground as I heard Gourfist fly over us.

He roared so loudly that it seemed to shake the earth, but there was a shriek of anger mixed in. It was not only painful but terrifying to listen to the two different sounds. It was like he was two beasts in one.

I pulled Hadley over to a fallen tree hollowed out by time. We jumped over and then curled up against the underside, pressing our bodies against it and ducking down our heads.

A few tense moments passed as I could feel Gourfist circling. I saw his shadow zoom across the forest floor once more. I wondered if he sensed us below him and was preparing to descend.

I noticed Hadley staring at me.

“What is it?” I whispered.

“How did you learn to fight so well?”

“From my father.”

“Is he employed by the king?”

“No, he passed away.” I didn’t really want to talk about my father, so I was glad she didn’t ask more.

We watched the sky for a while longer, but I didn’t hear or feel Gourfist. It seemed premature to come out already, though.

“What curse did you use during that battle?” I asked Hadley. “I felt a surge of energy soon after you arrived.”

“It’s called mana drain. I saw you stab a man without killing him, so I used his blood to target him for the curse.”

“You only needed some blood for a spell that powerful?”

“No.” She checked the sky again before looking at me. “Most curses don’t work with just one ingredient. Hair or blood is required for the curse to target someone. The other ingredients tell the curse what it should do. One of the ingredients of mana drain is rendew. Have you heard of it?”

“No.”

“I don’t know if it grows here. I collected much of it during my trip from Rohaer. I used some to make a tea for you to help with your concussion.”

“I see.” I looked her over with a grin and let my thoughts come out unfiltered. “There’s so much I still don’t know about you. I had no idea you could shoot a bow.”

“I didn’t just forage during my trip. I hunted.”

She’d been just sixteen when she’d left Rohaer. I was two years older when I made the trip from Bhode, and my journey had been much shorter than hers. With all the food I’d packed, I hadn’t needed to hunt or forage. I imagined her trip was very different.

“Did you go through the forest to get here?” I asked.

“I had to. A girl traveling alone on the roads…”

“Ah, right.”

We froze as Gourfist let out a roar in the distance. I scooted out from our hiding place and peeked out for a glimpse of the rest of our allies. They stayed pressed against the trees. I noticed Michael and Eden chatting at their own tree, smiles on their faces. Leon gestured for me to put my head back down.

I had no idea what was going to happen with Eden now. Even if the decision was up to me, I wouldn’t know what to do.

“Did you see what happened with the demigods?” I asked Hadley. She had gone off with the others as soon as the battle was over, in case a curse might be needed.

“Yes, I saw everything from where I was standing, but I couldn’t hear any of the conversation between Eden and the demigods. Souriff and Eslenda were disabled. Eden drew her dagger and held it with dteria. I can only assume Valinox was telling her to kill Souriff. Instead she flung the dagger into what appeared to be his chest. I believe he collapsed. Valinox remained invisible except for his blood leaving his body. Even the dagger faded from sight after a moment. I was close enough by then to hear him swear at Eden. He tossed her into a tree with great force. We all heard Gourfist soon after because Valinox probably intended to kill Eden. Michael ran back for you. I thought Eden might’ve died on impact, but she still had a pulse. I believe she would’ve succumbed to her wounds in a few more moments if you hadn’t arrived. There was some discussion about letting her die, but no one was really pushing for it.”

It was no wonder Michael looked as if he had already accepted Eden back into our group. He, along with everyone else here, had seen her attempt to kill Valinox. I still didn’t feel comfortable pretending that she had never been a traitor to us, but witnessing anyone attempt to kill Valinox seemed like a good enough reason to accept them as an ally. At least for now.

I supposed a lot of the decision would fall on what Remi wanted. She was the one who had almost died because of Eden.

Hadley knew Remi before she’d arrived at the castle. Maybe she had an idea. “What do you think Remi will decide about Eden?”

“Remi was vengeful and had a lot of anger because of unresolved issues, but I can’t say what that will mean in regard to Eden.” Hadley looked into my eyes. “There