This place made the Witch Woods seem like an ordinary wood. The plant life carried a beauty all its own, with its lush foliage and vivid colors. The greens were vibrant and different shades all blended into one. The yellows, reds, and oranges popped with a splendid light. It was like stepping into one of the richest paintings that Nighthelm had to offer, and she couldn’t help but reach out and touch a leaf here or a flower petal there. She found herself curious of the land and drawn to it all at once. The magic that surrounded her hummed a lullaby, and she wanted to heed its call.

A mixture of light and color hung in the sky above them as well. Crystals glowed from the sides of the mountain and from the areas where they were scattered across the land, poking up from the ground ever so often, almost like a reminder to their presence. They seemed even brighter when the rays of the setting sun caught them. It was like a whole other world here, and yet she was not too far from Nighthelm.

Creatures, which Sophia could only make a guess at and caught quick glimpses of, quickly faded in and out of sight. The birds made merry chirping sounds but somehow dark at the same time. This place truly fascinated her.

But she couldn’t allow herself to be too entranced by the beauty of Ripthorn. She had a job to do, and the last fight still rattled her nerves a bit.

She peeked at her men. Edric still held himself tall and was ever the focused commander, but there was a slight limp to his steps that he tried to hide. And he seemed paler than normal. She knew he wouldn’t complain, but he didn’t have to. She knew by just looking at him that he was growing weary.

Ezekiel hunched over a bit too much at the shoulders, the color having faded from his cheeks. His eyes seemed a bit sunken in with a dark, purplish shading under them.

Andreas had yet to show any effects. He even seemed a bit stronger.

But of course, none of them would voice their discomfort. It wasn’t in them to do so. Two were trained soldiers, and the sorcerer was used to physical drains from magic, she was sure. Still, part of her wondered if they were pushing down their discomforts for her sake.

She frowned. They would need to figure a way out of the mountain sooner rather than later. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if any of them succumbed to the effects of the mountain. Still, she had yet to feel anything from it. If anything, she felt more powerful and even more in control of her magic.

Odd.

Glancing at her bare hands, she wondered if the gloves had the quality of suppressing her magic. Maybe the stunt she had pulled to take out that creature had overwhelmed them and that’s what destroyed them. She thought they had a hand in helping her control her magic, but perhaps it was Ripthorn’s magic that was responsible? Maybe it made her stronger and gave her more control?

She would have to see herself in action now that the gloves were gone, before she could make an ultimate decision.

“What’s on your mind?” Andreas asked, walking alongside her.

“I was thinking about how my magic works here. And what that creature said.”

Andreas nodded and seemed to think to himself for a moment. “Those gloves, were they meant to dampen your magic?”

She shrugged. “It’s possible, but it’s not the first time it was mentioned to me. Back before I met you, I fought off grimms and one had told me I used mountain magic against mountain people.”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. The light in them had darkened a bit, which made her frown. He said, “The mystery that surrounds you grows, my love. We’ll get to the bottom of just who you are, I’m sure of it.”

She nodded. Though it didn’t make sense to her. She was a human. At least, that’s what she thought. But maybe that’s why the oracles spoke to her.

A high-pitched, blood-curdling scream pierced the air. Sophia jumped into action, running toward the direction of the cries as some poor woman continued to scream out.

“Sophia, wait!” Edric called.

But whoever screamed needed help now, not later. She glanced behind her and noted that they ran to keep up with her, albeit a few paces behind.

She broke through the tree line and into a small clearing. A house, sitting inside a lit cavern was where the screams were coming from. Sophia narrowed her eyes on a few thugs raiding the home. They tormented the woman as one held her with a knife to her belly and the others tossed what they could to the ground, scattering clothing, household goods, and anything else as they searched for whatever it was they wanted.

Sophia’s magic pulsed just beneath the surface of her skin, and she wanted to summon it when she needed to… not constantly having to restrain it.

“Hey!” she shouted as she rushed toward the bandits. “Let her go and leave!”

Pounding of boots halted just behind her, and she didn’t need to look to know who it was. She felt their presence, and that gave her a little more strength.

The bandits turned their attention to her and stopped what they were doing, but they didn’t let the woman go. Six more of the thugs come out of the house, holding an older man, as well as another girl and a boy a few years younger than Sophia.

“I said, let them go and leave. Now!” Sophia’s voice echoed toward them and the bandits exchanged glances. Some seemed to have muttered things to each other as they gestured toward her and her men and nodded.

They released the people they held captive and turned their attention toward her. One by one, they pulled on their weapons and charged forward.

Sophia was ready. Andreas had shifted to his wraith form and seemed to move much easier. He floated forward and attacked two of the eight thugs. Sophia took on one, disarming him of his sword and taking it as her own before slicing the blade across his neck.

Edric went hand-to-hand with another. Ezekiel tossed a bolt of light into the fifth. A sixth attacked Sophia and lost a hand before falling to his knees, crying in pain. She quickly ended him as the seventh dodged Andreas’s wraith. The eighth…

Where did he go?

Sophia searched the clearing and shadows near the house, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Shit. He got away. Probably to get more of his companions to finish the job.

She turned to check on Ezekiel and Edric. Ezekiel wrapped an arm around his side, hunched over like he was injured. Sophia rushed to him and he shook his head before righting himself.

“I’m fine, Sophia,” he said and smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. The dark circles under his eyes deepened and his cheekbones were more pronounced than before.

She knew he was not okay, and only told her he was fine to keep her from worrying.

It didn’t work.

She turned and looked at Edric who stood tall but took in exaggerated breaths. She had seen him do so much more in training and barely break a sweat. Though his appearance seemed the same, she knew the fight took a lot more out of him. He nodded at her and she accepted his gesture, just as she had to accept Ezekiel’s word that he was fine.

She shifted her gaze to Andreas. He seemed even stronger than before, which made her suspect the magic affected the both of them in an opposite way than it did Ezekiel and Edric. She smiled at him and cast a second glance to both Edric and Ezekiel before approaching the family the bandits tried to raid. Those thugs failed because of them.

The woman stood with fear alight in her eyes, and her mouth parted as though she was ready to scream again. She had tanned skin, slanted eyes, and skin the color of earth. She took a step back upon Sophia’s approach. She sheathed her sword into a belt on her waist and held up her hands to show that she wasn’t a threat to them. “It’s okay. I only want to know if you can help.”

“M-mountainer,” she said, voice thick with an accent from a language Sophia didn’t know.

It unnerved her that people connected her to the mountain, a place with such dark magic and so much danger. Still, she put that thought to the side and asked, “Can you help us get out of the mountain?”

She looked to the other three as they also backed up. The older male gripped the children at their shoulders and held them close. The boy and girl both kept their eyes on her, widened with fear.

She sighed. These people were afraid of her and her men. She needed to find a way to soothe them. Being closer, the girl looked even younger than she thought before. Her tear stained face still held the innocence of youth. A youth Sophia never got a chance to experience. She looked like the younger version of her mother.

She smiled at the girl and nodded. The girl smiled weakly and gave a nod as well. The boy and man held the same appearance as well. Though with their short hair, she could tell they also had sharp, pointed ears.

She had heard of an earthly race of humanoids that lived down in the mountain. But she never knew what they were called.

“You… fighter from mountain?” the woman asked. Her common tongue was broken, which led Sophia to believe she didn’t know much of the language. Just enough to get by, for cases like this one.

Sophia shook her head.

The woman sighed and all the tension that seemed to hold her up left her, and she sank into a bale of hay.

Ezekiel went to the woman’s side and laid his hands on her. Light burst from his palms and her eyes widened, but then they returned to normal and she smiled. “Shankoo,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” Ezekiel bowed at the waist then went to tend to the others.

“Can anyone guide us out of the mountain?” Sophia asked.

The woman shook her head. “No. Not know way. All guide gone.”

Edric stepped forward. “Where did they go?”

“Lady Naomi,” she said with disdain and a nod of her head. As if that wasn’t enough, she turned her head and spat at the ground.

“Who is Lady Naomi?” Sophia asked.

“Rules in queen stead. Thug take everything wanted. Leave nothing. Came for daughter.” She pointed at the girl.

“Why would they come for your daughter?” Andreas asked. “She can’t be more than ten.”

The woman nodded. “Slave. All guide locked up in castle. All girl locked up too. They come for son soon.” She sighed as her eyes filled with tears. “Be back. They come. Always come.”

“Can’t you leave?” Sophia asked. “Find a new place to live outside of their control?”

She shook her head. “No. No. Lady Naomi thug everywhere.” She gestured with her arms and her eyes grew wide.

Sophia sighed and looked to the family again and did a double take. Ezekiel sat on the stairs to their farmhouse, writing frantically in his book. She shook her head. Even being drained of the very life he had couldn’t keep him from writing about new discoveries.

“Blood Queen worse. All war. No sleep.”

Sophia shook her head. It wasn’t just anarchy in the mountain, but cruel authoritarianism. She may have to visit the castle before everything was said and over with. And it seemed like she had no choice but to find a guide elsewhere. She hated the thought of leaving the family to another group of bandits though. They seemed like good people, just wanting to live their lives as peacefully as possible.

But she didn’t want to leave. At least, didn’t think they could.

A thought occurred to her. Perhaps they knew of the heirs. It couldn’t hurt to ask. They seemed forthcoming with other information. If they didn’t know of the heirs themselves, they may have known who to ask.

“Do you know of anyone else from outside of the mountain coming here, when she was a baby?” Sophia asked, pointing to the girl.

The woman looked at her daughter then back to Sophia. Her eyebrows met and she shook her head. “No.”

Dead end.

Regardless, she would find out what happened to them. One way or another.

“Thank you for your time,” Sophia said and gave a warm smile. “Hopefully, you will have quite some time before the thugs come back. I pray you find a way to seek refuge elsewhere.”

The woman smiled and nodded and took Sophia’s hand. “Shankoo. Shankoo.”

She gave the woman a hug and then turned to face her men. “Let’s keep moving.”

“No. Stay. Rest,” the woman said and nodded to them with a smile as Sophia faced her again. She beckoned for them to follow, and they did, to a small area behind the house, big enough for them to set up camp.

Sophia turned to the woman and smiled. “Thank you.”

The woman nodded and returned to the house.