Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

In Which a Plan is Formed

I didn't sleep much that night.

We had walked the whole day after the wolf incident, and I was exhausted by the time we decided to stop. I figured I'd pass out immediately. The firmness of the ground had long since ceased to bother me, and for the first time in a while, I wasn't worried a Whisperer would attack us in the night. But there was a deep unease rooted in my stomach that I couldn't shake. The few moments I drifted off were dreamless and brief.

When the sky began to lighten, I abandoned any hope of getting significant rest. I stood up quietly, stretched, and began to walk to wake myself up. I glanced at Amarie as I passed her sleeping form. She looked so much more comfortable than when we had first found her in the woods behind my house.

I lifted my hand and inspected the thin silver scar that ran down the length of my forearm. A wolf attack, right before we met Genevieve the diviner. Those wolves could have been monsters. Scared children, just like Amarie.

Just like Giselle.

I walked a little further from the makeshift campsite, the unease in my stomach growing stronger. My argument with Audrey echoed in my mind. Was the Boss another scared man, pressured into doing harm to protect himself? Or was he truly evil, manipulating governments and sorceresses to cause chaos in the world?

"Hey."

I jumped, spinning around so fast, my hand almost slammed into the eye of Ravi Jindal.

He ducked just in time. "Whoa, I did not expect that kind of speed from you this early in the morning."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," I yelped, pulling my arms back in to wrap around my stomach. I laughed nervously. "Guess I'm a little jumpy today."

"I don't blame you," he said, standing back up. "We're pretty close to the castle. I think today might be the day."

The unease rose in my stomach. "Yeah. It might."

"Hey," he said softly, "it's okay to be scared."

I bit my lip. "I'm not sure that I'm scared of fighting. I don't feel bad about that. I'm just...scared I'll make the wrong decision."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Um. Expand on that?"

"Uh..."

"You know what, let's walk while we talk," he suggested. "You look a little antsy."

I chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, a little."

We set off into the trees. It was nicer not having to look him in the eyes. Ravi's eyes tended to distract me. It was like they could see everything I was trying not to say.

"So, what decision are you worried about?"

I sighed. "The Boss. What are we going to do with him? What is he, even? A sorcerer? A Legend? I just feel like we don't have enough information."

"I'm with you on that one," Ravi replies. "I'm a big fan of information, and we essentially have none. But we didn't really have any information last time, and that worked out okay."

"I guess." I wrapped my arms around myself a little tighter. "But how are we supposed to defeat this guy? Make him not evil anymore? Is that possible? Maybe Audrey's right, maybe there is no good inside him, maybe we have to do something drastic, maybe we have to..." I couldn't finish my thought.

Ravi nodded slowly. "That's a lot of 'maybes'. I can see why you're stressed."

"Are you NOT stressed?!" I exclaimed.

He shrugged. "Not really."

Irritation sparked. "This might be the most important fight of our lives, and you're not at all concerned?"