Rainbow Magic (Dragon Rider #1) {EDITING}

Chapter Thirteen: The Many Hazards of Forests and Suspicious Barriers

Raelynn smiled, tilting her head as she looked Silver up and down. "Nah, I think that's just her way of showing she cares."

Beatrice stared at her. "What the hell are you smoking?" she asked, ignoring the way Callum was trying to escape her grasp – evidently, Sora realised, the redhead had been squeezing him a bit too hard. "And where can I get some?" she added as an afterthought. "You are the most obnoxiously cheerful person I've ever met, and I've... met... a lot of people."

"Thanks!" Raelynn grinned.

Sora blinked. "I'm not sure that was a compliment."

"Would one of you imbeciles please climb a tree and tell me what they can see?" Silver spoke up, peering intently down at the map. "There might be a few abandoned buildings or other landmarks near where we are, well, if we've gone that far in."

Callum took that as his opportunity, slipping out of the tight grasp holding him in place, all but sprinting up the nearest tree. He was strangely proficient when it came to tree climbing, his footsteps silent as he climbed higher and higher into the canopy of dark leaves, his green and black clothing melding into his surroundings.

"Just so you know, Callum isn't an imbecile," Beatrice said, eyes fixed on something Sora was fairly sure to be a certain someone's backside. "He's just far too nice to ignore someone like you."

"See anything yet?" Sora called up, eager to distract herself from the brewing argument. They were tired, muddy, and moderately wet from their trek, so it was no surprise tensions were running high. Especially with the threat of Oz hanging over them like a knife to the back.

"Well, there's... well..." he stuttered, head poking through the layers of murky leaves, his voice trailing off as he looked out across the horizon.

"Any time today would be nice," Silver muttered.

"Be nice," Raelynn scolded, hands on hips as she looked at the silverette. "Cal-bear is just double checking to make sure he's right. Wouldn't wanna end up with wrong information."

Beatrice stared at her back, mouthing, "Cal-bear?"

Sora smiled, resting a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. She didn't particularly want Beatrice to start a war over her crush. "Callum?"

"There's a glowing barrier to our left," he called, peering intently in that direction. "But... um... aside from that... well, all I can see are... trees."

"Tch." Silver scowled. "If that's the only thing he can see, then we might as well head towards it."

"Let's go then," Raelynn sang, tackling her into a hug. "We can try and cheer you up on the way."

"Twin," Eisa nudged her sister as she stared at their newly flustered navigator. "What's the bet that the Granny snaps and tries to strangle our favourite blondie by the end of the day?"

"More like within the next few hours, I'd say," Eir said, folding her arms, a large gold coin appearing in her hand.

A matching coin appeared in Eisa's own grasp, the duo flicking them between each other with a practiced ease as they followed after Silver and the blonde leech attached to her. "You're on."

Sora brought up the rear of their group, sighing in relief as the worry building in her gut disappeared. Maybe they'd still have a chance to avoid the hell Oz had planned for them. Rustling in the bushes snapped her back to reality, eyes darting over to where the noise was coming from.

The bushes were tall, leaves so dark they were practically black, and they were thick enough that anything could be hiding in there.

Branches snapped, voices sounding in the silence which had fallen over their own team. Who was it? More importantly, did these people know where the hell they were on the map? They couldn't be too far off course if there were others nearby.