Chapter Eight
Nerves made my fingers twitch, so I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and focused on the road ahead of me. The elves kept a close eye on the trolls, mostly to avoid contact, and Damien had told me that there was a road that went directly to their camp. Every day they got a delivery of bread, milk, and meat. So, we decided to Trojan Horse it. Get everybody into the camp via a seemingly innocent object.
The first step was hijacking the delivery van. I'd done that part on my own by getting into the town and giving the driver a sob story that had him thinking if he gave me a lift he'd get lucky. As soon as we were away from the city, however, I turned my gun on him and took him to where the elves were waiting.
Now I drove the rattling vehicle, wearing the clothes we'd taken from the driver. A ball cap was pulled low over my face, my hair tucked under it. I wore his jacket, the smell of which made me gag, and we hoped that would be enough to stop the trolls from recognizing something was up right away. Victor and the rest of the elves were in the back of the delivery van, probably having their teeth vibrated right out of their heads.
Nobody gave me a second glance as I drove into the troll camp. I was surprised by what I saw. I expected a bunch of grimy tents set up around a campfire, but instead there were camper vans and even an RV. The trolls – large, lanky creatures with green-blue skin – huddled in their doors and at their windows. I didn't see any children.
I checked my phone, heart pounding shallowly. Owen's cell phone was here. The tracking app was good up to a few dozen meters. I headed through the camp, praying nobody stopped us as we drove over the bumpy, holey path that the elves apparently thought qualified as a road.
We made it through the camp without incident. Rather than soothing my nerves, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The whole place was quiet and tense. Did they know who we were, and were they planning an attack?
I parked the van behind the single permanent building that the delivery driver had told us about and climbed out. Still, no trolls confronted us. I waited a moment, glancing around. Something strange was definitely going on.
When I went back and opened the back door to the van, the elves tumbled out. Most of their faces were green, which would have been amusing at any other time. I rolled my eyes at them and grabbed the walkie-talkies I had stolen at the town and handed them out.
"Stay discreet," I ordered. "Our best chance is to just get Charlotte and Owen and get back here without being seen. If you are seen, try to be friendly. Ask to borrow a cup of sugar."
"What?" Damien's brow creased. "Why would we want—"
"Never mind. Radio in if you find anything." I turned from them and grasped Victor's hand. This plan was somewhat desperate, and we all knew it. I wasn't sure what to say to the prince, though, so I just kissed him. "Find Charlotte."
He kissed me back. "Find Owen."
We dispersed, the elves seemingly melting among the campers. Now that I was on foot in the midst of it, it seemed much bigger. I kept my cellphone in hand, watching for Owen's little dot while moving as quickly as I could between the vehicles. I peered into the window of one to find it empty. Trolls weren't active during the day; why weren't any of them here?
I shook my head and continued. Soon I was as close to Owen as my phone could tell me. I tried the first few campers, finding them empty before I found a locked door. Pay dirt. I yanked a couple bobby pins from my hair and picked the lock. My breathing was shallow, waiting for any noise to warn me about an approaching troll. Even the air was still.
Inside, I found Owen. He was tied to the wall by his shoulders, his legs strung up towards the ceiling. His shirt had been torn away, and bloody bandages covered his chest and stomach. His face was one giant bruise. My heart stuttered at the sight of him and I rushed in.
"Owen!"
He cracked open an eye and gave me a shaky smile. "Hey. I was about to bust loose."
I pulled a knife from my pocket and sawed at the ropes hoping his feet in place. "What happened? Where's Charlotte?"
"Charlotte…" Owen closed his eyes and shook his head. "I jumped off that truck just before we got here. I saw them take her into the RV. Heard them talking about using her to get her brother. They want to sacrifice them, to summon a demoness that will help them… I don’t know. But they're going to kill Charlotte and the prince."
My heart jumped into my throat and stayed there. "Victor? They wanted Victor here?"
Owen's eye cracked open. "Don't tell me—"
I shoved the knife into his hand. "Can you free yourself?"
"Yeah. Now that I have this." He began cutting at the ropes. "Go."
"Delivery van behind the brick building. Go there after you free yourself."
"Kay. Go!"
I jumped out of the camper just as a cry rose up from somewhere deeper in the camp. The clash of metal against metal soon followed. I charged towards the sound.
I emerged from the maze of campers to find a battle. The elves were fighting the trolls. Dozens of them now stood in a circle, holding tight as the elves bobbed and weaved just beyond their long-armed reach. Damien had a half dozen trolls surrounding him alone. He stood like an ox, heaving his sword from one side to the other. Body bits and blood showered into the air all around him.
A scream sounded from beyond the wall of trolls; one of them darted out, grappling with an elf. Before they closed ranks again, I saw what they were guarding. Victor and Charlotte. More trolls were forcing them against a pole. Blood ran down Victor's face.
The trolls closed ranks again, shielding them from view. I didn't care. Yanking my gun out, I charged, firing rapidly at the wall of trolls. Several of them collapsed, others shouting and breaking formation as my bullets whizzed at them. The elves jumped into the break, knives flashing in the sun as they took on the trolls. I leaped over the dead, landing on the other side. A few of the guards turned to try to take me, but the elves were all over them now, and any that turned from the fight were soon dead.
"Eloise, no!" Victor shouted. "Go, save yourself."
"Don't be cliché!" I shouted back. Four trolls were tying him and Charlotte in place while a fifth dumped gasoline over them. I fired my last bullet at that one; its body jerked and fell, the gasoline pouring over its face.
"Eloise," Victor cried again.
I ignored him, going after the trolls tying him next. I chucked my gun at one of them, then dove in weaponless. My knuckles cracked as they collided with thick troll faces, but I managed to force one back. Victor threw his weight forward, making the ropes slip from the other trolls, and yanked his arm free. I jumped onto the back of the one still holding him; it was forced to release him as my arms wrapped around its neck.
Victor retrieved a knife and slashed at the remaining ropes holding him with one hand while blocking blows from the other. I growled, gripping my troll tighter. Its fingernails clawed my arms, digging through my skin. It gasped as I crushed its throat; a hand reached back towards my face. I closed my eyes, hoping that I wouldn't lose one to those long fingers.
Arms wrapped around my throat, hauling me back. I held on for another second until the troll went limp in my arms and black spots washed over my vision. I dropped it, reaching behind to find my attacker's eyes. A howl burst in my ear as my thumb found one, but the troll didn't release me. It squeezed tighter.
I kicked uselessly, then forced myself to go utterly limp. Nothing I did could loosen the grip. Black blinded me, my lungs screaming for air. My movements slowed; I couldn't remember what I could do and ended up just scratching at the arm choking me. Then there was another roar and the grip slackened. I dropped, gasping for breath. Hands grabbed me and I lashed out, but when my vision cleared, Victor stared into my eyes.
One of his arms wrapped around my waist, hauling me to my feet. The gasoline fumes radiating from him gave me an instant headache. I tried to stand on my own.
"I'm okay," I gasped.
Victor pushed my head down and swung over it. A sharp cry that abruptly cut off was followed by the prince lifting me to my feet. He grunted, spinning, and sliced across the throat of another troll. When he released me, I stumbled against the pole. Charlotte was still next to it, no longer bound. She hunched over her stomach, eyes wide as her arms wrapped around her pregnant belly.
"Eloise, I need you to get Charlotte out of here," Victor yelled. He leaped lithely between us and another troll. Once more, I was struck by how dance-like his fighting style was, but the clash of elves and trolls around us didn't leave much time to admire him. "Eloise! Please!"
I hated leaving him, but he would never forgive me if Charlotte got hurt. I seized her by the arms and pulled her upright. A troll swung at me with a knife in hand; I blocked the blow, then grabbed the troll's wrist and twisted hard. It snarled. I grabbed it by the back of its head and hurled it into the pole, taking its knife as I did so. I tossed it to Charlotte; she stabbed a troll charging her, then took its knife from it and tossed it over to me.
"Come on!" I punched through two more trolls, dragging Charlotte after me.
We broke through the fighting; the trolls were too concentrated on the elves to bother with two fleeing women. Charlotte stumbled, and I all but lifted her over my back and continued to run. She was heavier than I thought, but I wasn't about to put her down. I got to the delivery van just as Owen stumbled to it.
"Eloise," he grunted, eyes widening. "What's happening?"
"Battle," I grunted back. I pushed Charlotte into his arms. "Get her out of here."
Charlotte kept her arms around her belly as Owen lifted her into the van. "Where are you going?"
I didn't reply. Instead, I spun on my heel and ran back the way we had come; back towards Victor.