Ice cold water enveloped the small group as they stepped into the glowing circle. It started at their ankles and rose up to their heads in seconds. Their breathing remained uninterrupted though and the entire event took only a few minutes. The cold water drained away and bright sunlight swooped in to warm them.
While Percy busied himself with calming the horse, Darcy got to work unfurling the scroll to read the notes. It was anything but complicated. The song felt closer to something children would sing while skipping rope. She hummed along as she moved her finger across the page.
Power radiated from the paper, as cold as the water in the temple. Darcy could feel it begging to be released, to seek out the target she aimed it at. Soon enough, it would.
"I can see their campfire," Percy told her. In the distance a spindly line of black smoke inched upwards into the sky. It almost wasn't visible against the dusky purple sky, but Percy found it easy to track.
Percy and Darcy clambered onto the horse while Kasi and Katta sprinted off on a parallel path far enough away for him to be out of sight. A thin purple string stretched the distance, visible only to Darcy. Without trees to hide behind on the open plains they would have to rely on an attack from two fronts. Keeping the focus away from Darcy was the main goal.
Before they'd left, she had taken a few minutes to use her limited magical knowledge and Kasi's large magical ability to cast protection spells on them to negate any mind control the troupe might attempt. They couldn't afford to have any of them fall under the influence and attack the others.
They stopped at the base of a low hill to leave the horse and crawled on their stomachs to the top. In the valley below, the four of them were lounging around a fire, fresh meat roasting over the fire. The cart was nowhere in sight, though the one remaining draft horse could have pulled it with some effort.
The other horses had been left behind on Bellmare with the idea that they would be returning there before heading to Mooncross. At least they were smart enough to realize they couldn't go back there if Danny had made his way back. Their magic was strong but not enough to take on an entire waiting village. With an army from an overtaken kingdom, no one would stand a chance.
"They'll spot us the second we start down the hill," Percy whispered. One of his arms rested over Darcy's back as if he meant to keep her from running to them right then. The other kept him propped up enough to keep his chest out of the dirt. Ever since the water at the temple he'd looked more alive, more hopeful. A few times before they left on horseback for their race to the troupe he had mentioned places he wanted to show her, things she should see.
Darcy was afraid to admit she was beginning to want to see them with him.
"You go first with the horse and draw their attention, Kasi will attack after that and I'll sneak in while they chase you. I think I just need to play until... something happens?" Darcy said. There actually hadn't been any clear instructions on what she was meant to do with the music. Obviously she'd play it, but how would they know it had worked? The scroll radiated cold from where it was wrapped around her flute in her sleeve. Maybe there would be fireworks or the scroll would dissolve into a golden light, anything to give any sort of indication that she'd accomplished their goal.
A pit of cold dread settled into her stomach. Completing their goal meant returning to Azmerah to pay whatever price she had set for them.
"Stay low and out of sight. If anyone comes for you just call me, dear bard," Percy said. His warm arm left her back and he headed back down the hill for the horse. He'd taken Darcy's bow and it looked so much more deadly in his hands than it ever had in hers.
Had it really been only a week since Kasi had broken her bow and she'd been forced to buy a new one? This was not the place she'd ever thought she would be. Looking back, she wondered if she'd have even survived on her own. Between pirates, avenging gods, and cultists hunting down anyone who questioned them, she might have been dead before she even made her way past Andon Crossing.
Percy went past, the horse kicking up a cloud of dust. The dirt cloud thickened thanks to a bit of magic and Darcy moved with it. With luck it would conceal her from view until she could find somewhere concealed to hunker down.
The fighting began immediately with the troupe trying their old fallback. Even knowing they were practically evil Darcy had to admit their singing was heavenly. For the first time she didn't feel the pull to obey and judging by the sounds of arrows flying, Percy didn't either.
While there weren't many trees, there were enough to provide Darcy a sturdy limb to climb. As the dust cloud dissipated she swung herself into the spindly limbed mango tree. Sweet smelling fruit surrounded her. Below, people ran back and forth in the chaos Percy's arrival had prompted. Any of them would have spotted her if they'd taken the time to look upwards.
Flute and scroll slid from Darcy's sleeve with ease, the notes coming to her fingers even faster. Someone shouted and an arrow whizzed by Darcy. Her fingers faltered and the careful web of gold that had been forming began to unravel. It tightened as her playing steadied.
Beneath her, Katta snarled and pounced on Peyton as she ran by. The drummer screamed and toppled to the ground beneath the nouyip. She dug her claws into his chest, shredding shirt and skin. Another arrow skimmed her back and she took off in a sprint away from the danger.
"So, you've been speaking to gods," Krea spat her words as if she'd eaten a rotten pastry. Somehow she'd managed to climb up behind Darcy and was already within arm's reach. Even in her long turquoise dress she crawled forward without trouble. Gold bangles clattered on her wrist when she lunged for Darcy.
The branch creaked beneath them, prompting them both to stop their struggle. "If you stop this on your own, maybe she'll go easy on you. Azmerah spoke so fondly of you," Darcy begged her. They hadn't exactly been friends while they traveled together, but Darcy believed they could have been one day.
"Azmerah will never let me get away unscathed," Krea shouted. A bronze knife glittered in her right hand. "I'm sorry, by the way. I did like you."
"Well I don't like you," Kasi said as he swung from a higher branch and slammed into her side with both his feet. The boy landed on the branch with ease while she tumbled to the ground below. He spared a glance at Darcy before sprinting away through the tangle of branches.
Darcy didn't waste any time in returning to the song. The golden web grew with each repetition until it blanketed the entire campsite. One final note hung in the air and the web dropped. Screams filled the air and one horse could be heard galloping into the distance. Darcy hardly dared to breathe until Percy stepped below her and held out his arms in invitation.
"Did we do it?" she asked, letting Percy set her down safely.
"Krea ran off, took my horse," he grumbled. "But I think the rest are done for."
Around them lay the three remaining members of the troupe. Peyton, or who she guessed was Peyton beneath the rivers of blood, was unmoving not far from where he'd originally fallen. The other two were alive but just as still. Or they were until Cedric spotted Darcy.
"This was you! When I get my hands on you I'll tear you to pieces," he screamed. The ground around him was littered with pieces of his shattered panpipes. The former leader lunged forward, knife out. In two steps he was down with an arrow protruding from his neck.
"Do you have anything to add?" Percy asked Reyner who he'd turned the bow towards next. A fresh arrow rested against the wood.
"No, I think I've had quite enough," he muttered. "I'd just like to go home." When neither of them protested, he called to one of the nearby horses and pulled himself up. The only thing he did before leaving was to look back at Peyton and whisper a prayer.
"We should go too, before-" Percy was interrupted by the circle that spread from their feet like a ripple on a still lake. The familiar grip of cold surged up their legs. "Stay with me, Darcy. Whatever price she asks of you I will pay it. I owe you that much at least." The cold rose over their heads and the bright daylight faded away to nothing.