Mutante

Chapter 8

Copyright 2023 Elizabeth Frerichs

Cross-posted on elizabethfrerichs.com and fanfiction.net

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It took a grueling hour of constant hurry with nary a moment to talk to get back to the path. They had to go around another flock of glass jellies, a deep ravine with giant rock eels poking their noses out of the hole, and another crab demon—not to mention that the killer whales followed their progress the whole way, siren-plants screamed at them from all directions, and Robert spent the whole time hacking away at kelp leaves that tried to cocoon them.

Rosie's arms had long been aching when finally the kelp parted in front of them and they could suddenly see more than two feet in front of themselves. The water stopped buffeting them, too. She blinked at the empty space. Was this the real path, or had she led them into another trap? Keeping one hand firmly on Waterdancer's saddle, she surveyed their surroundings. Kelp leaves beat against the border of the path, but came no closer; it was as though they were walking through a tunnel of safety with currents, monsters, and kelp all screaming to get at them from the outside.

"Let's rest for a minute," Rosie said. She shook out her arms, and so did Robert, though he did not re-sheathe his sword.

"I've never seen the forest so hostile!"

"Neither have I. It was as though everything conspired against us so that we wouldn't reach the path."

Robert grimaced. "It's getting more dangerous. I'm not sure we should continue."

"We should be fine as long as we stay on the path," she disagreed.

He looked away. "I—you were right. If I hadn't been so determined to keep—to prove myself heroic, we wouldn't have left the path. It's my fault." He gave her an awkward smile-grimace. "Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome." She hesitated. "I couldn't have left anyone out there either. I just—it sounded like a siren-plant to me. But I could have been wrong. If someone really had been out there, they would have been glad to be rescued."

He coughed. "Well, I think I'll be trusting your instincts from now on. You certainly found the path for us. I didn't think it was possible without that compass of yours—and I didn't know how we'd find a second to look at it, what with us being surrounded on all sides—but you got us here anyway. Thank you."

Rosie blushed. "I didn't think I could find it either, but well, it just felt like it was over here."

"You just keep listening to those instincts." He turned in a slow circle. "I guess we know it's the right path," he said, pointing towards the many creatures ramming the invisible barrier.

"I guess so," she said, the shakiness spilling down into her tail. Now that they were out of danger for the moment, she couldn't hide the tremors that tore through her.

Robert studied her. "Hey, are you ok?"

Rosie nodded tightly.

"Nothing got us," he said soothingly. "The path is safe, right?"

"R-right." This was the path, she reminded herself. Though she had been fooled before, this one felt more substantial than the other had. And there was a something that she couldn't quite explain to herself, a friendliness, to the path that had been absent on the other path.

Rosie cleared her throat. "Well, shall we continue? The sooner we deliver supplies, the sooner we can leave the forest."

Robert ran a hand down Waterdancer's neck. "You ready, Waterdancer?"