A Forest of Secrets

Chapter 26

Koldo opened the door to his lab. She overheard him instructing Clay to bring Alaric, Wyn, and Laurentius to the pod. He had the runes ready, it seemed. She wondered how they'd react to the news. The man went back into his lab, without even glancing in Jo's direction. Maybe he wasn't ready after all, she figured.

Jo tried to distract herself as she waited for them by idly inspecting all the plants Koldo had around his pod; she couldn't reach the highest ones, of course, that mountain of a man was the only one capable of getting up there without using a ladder. Some of the plants moved and recoiled at her touch-- one of them even tried to bite her finger.

The pod's door opened, finally. Wyn and Laurentius went straight to Koldo's room, no doubt to discuss the details of the alloy, they didn't even look at her. They looked serious, all business. Alaric was another story.

"Jo!" Alaric ran to her arms. "I was worried, did you hear the rattle outside? They wouldn't let us out of the pod," he cupped her face with his hands. "You're fine, you're... fine." he sighed "I honestly didn't know what to think about the mess out there. But I'm so glad to see you're safe," He held her hands; his eyes then lingered on her tattooed arm. "Oh no. Don't tell me he branded you with one of those secrecy things? Why would he do such a thing? It's not like you'll be able to get out of here and talk about this place, right? What is it with that man and his secrets?" Alaric looked outraged. Jo put a finger to his lips.

"These markings," she held her forearm high. "Are our way out of here, actually. They're transportation runes," she smirked as she saw Alaric's expression slowly change into an incredulous grin.

"As in -- oh, wait. Did you know about this the whole time?" by the creators: he looked offended.

"Believe me, I was as surprised as you are," Jo snorted. "Koldo forgot to tell me, believe it or not. I wanted to kill him."

"I believe that," Alaric chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't try to, though," he took her hand, then squeezed it softly. "He's quite tall, and have you seen his arms? Thick as tree trunks: you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Hey! Have you forgotten who killed the monster in the cave after you were knocked down? With a broken leg, I might add. We would've been monster food if it weren't for me. Show some faith, sir," she teased.

"I take it back," he gave her an amused smile. "You could definitely take Koldo down in a fight."

"Much better," Jo stood on her tiptoes and kissed him briefly on the lips. He grinned in the goofiest way; he was just adorable.

"So," he cleared his throat, "what's going on outside? Does it have something to do with the ritual? Is there a party we're missing? I'm not even wearing my party robe, this one's not nearly flowery enough," he teased; Jo pressed her lips, twisting her mouth.

"The Niveans caught up with us," she muttered.

"Creators' mercy, I was right? I'm never right, about anything and the one time I'm right --" he shook his head. "Ontur's sandals. They're mobilizing the whole city, how...? I don't even dare to ask. How many are they?" his voice had a slight tremble to it.

"The woman who told Koldo about it said they had been about five hundred. And they weren't the first ones to get here," she told him about the night before, how the weather wards had failed. He, too, wondered how in the world they managed to remain undetected. They were probably traveling with powerful mages. Maybe dark mages. The Nivean Knights resorted to all kinds of measures to get things done.

"I feel bad, not being able to help at least. We led them here, we weren't careful enough. I should be there, lending my arm. It's our fault," he sat on a cushion, clutching another.