Page 34 of Fated to the Wicked King

Rushing water overlaid shuffling footsteps of people around me. I counted at least eight distinct voices—male and female.

“I couldn’t do anything for Frank.”

“His death honors us and our cause. He will be avenged.”

“Tannis and I will report back to the village.”

“We must proceed quickly with our plans before the king makes his next move.”

“I didn’t want to leave the dark castle without retaliating, and then this witch bolted out into the forest. It was like a sign.”

Witch? Was he referring to me? I coughed against my dry throat. “What’s going on?” I kept my voice from shaking. “What do you want from me?”

There was a crackle, mechanical clicks, and a persistent hum somewhere far to my right, beyond what I could tell was a burning fire. A machine of some sort? I tried to squint through the fabric to see better, to no avail.

The rogues didn’t acknowledge my questions.

The sneer in one female’s voice was blatant. “The word is that she is the reason we are being thinned out. The witch casts spells and reads minds, exposing our people, and then the king kills them all.”

I jerked in my seat. “Hey! You’ve got it all wrong. I’ve been trying to help you. I’ve been—ow!”

Someone kicked my feet.

“Shut up.”

“We don’t care what explanations you have. A witch like you doesn’t deserve to live. There are only few of us that have narrowly escaped being captured by your king.”

“Oleg, Sal, you two stay here and keep an eye on her. The rest of us will head back first and let the general know we’ve caught her. In her state, she might be too dangerous to take with us to the other side.”

“The general will know what to do.”

The machine, or whatever it was, emitted another set of clicks and hums. A bright glow seeped in from the small gap above the cloth on my face, but I couldn’t see any clearer through the blindfold.

After a few moments, the air quieted, leaving only two sets of footsteps.

Either Oleg or Sal sat to my left.

I tried not to wriggle my wrists against the rope bindings. I had to stay calm and rational. I couldn’t afford to panic and trigger any emotional outbursts in these rogues. They all seemed sufficiently provoked. “Please. There’s been a huge misunderstanding here.”

I swallowed hard, racking my brain for a way to explain that didn’t sound patronizing. If only I could make them believe I was on their side. “I was only trying to help. I truly understand the suffering the king has caused across the land.”

Tension crept up my neck at their non-response. If I couldn’t even get these rogues to talk to me, it would be impossible to get through to them. “You know it makes little logical sense to kill me. What use is another death to your cause? Wouldn’t it be worth more if I were to help you?”

A rough chuckle responded instead across the fire. “Our people have died plenty. I would rather see you hanged in the square for all your sins.”

The voice to my left responded, “I would have done it myself if the others had let me. For your information, Frank was like a father to me. And it would be truly satisfying to choke the life out of you, watch the life drain from your eyes, maybe bleed you a little first, cut you some⁠—”

A violent gust tore around us without warning, a howling force that clawed at the air and ripped across the forest with such ferocity it felt less like wind and more like something unseen and furious descending.

“Wh-what the devil is that?” one of them cried out.

“Oh, dear god—NO!”

Eyes wide, I startled in my seat at the blood-curdling scream. Panting, I tried to look around, left, right—I still couldn’t see anything through the blindfold. Tucking my feet beneath me, I edged back against the trunk of the tree in dread.

What the hell was going on now?

There was more frantic yelling, metal scraping as if weapons were unsheathed, and scrambling footsteps amongst the dry, fallen leaves.