“Cassava did all this.” I waved my good hand above my head.
Griffin lifted an eyebrow. “That doesn’t tell me much unless you’re trying to say she made the forest which we both know isn’t true.”
I bent at the waist, and then straightened up fast. “She brought in the lung burrowers, she knows if she waits and unleashes the cleansing fire after a certain point, my father will die. And that would leave her as sole ruler.”
Griffin nodded. “Suspected something like that. You’re going to do something about it, yeah?”
“What can I do? You may be right about me being blocked, but it doesn’t help me. I can’t face her, I can’t stop her.”
He stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated movement. “What did you think, that it was going to be easy? That she would just lay down and let you put your foot on her chest and claim a victory?”
“No, of course not.” The image though was rather satisfying. “I want you to keep Fern here, keep her safe.”
“And what are you going to do?”
I swallowed, a lump in my throat growing. “I’m going to save my father.”
“Then you might need this.”
Frowning, I watched him closely as he bent to pick up a small bag at his feet. He opened it, fished around and then threw me a bundle about the size of an apple. I caught it mid-air, but didn’t look at it.
“Go ahead, open it.” He waved at me with both hands and then sat on his log.
I rolled the package over in my hands. The bundle was covered in oiled leather and bound with the sinew of some animal, deer by the feel of it. I untied the lacing and flipped open the leather. Inside lay a necklace of carved stone beads, and in the center hung the canine of a large predator. Brilliantly white, and perfectly curved, it was four inches long from root to tip. I ran a finger over the smooth surface, feeling it warm under my skin. “What is this from?”
He grinned, all teeth. “My namesake. There is great protective power in the tooth of a griffin.”
I looked up. “Why would you give me this?”
“Wear the necklace, Princess. It will keep you safe from the worms.”
“I should give it to someone who matters. Like my father.”
Griffin’s eyes softened. “Too late, the worms will be deep in him already, you know that. Now it’s a matter of setting off the fire as fast as you can. The necklace would have helped him at the beginning, if we could have gotten it to him and kept him clear of the queen.” My heart stuttered as my hands clenched around the necklace.
“Why, then, didn’t you give this to my father? He is the one threatened, not me.”
“He will always be threatened. He will always have to be wary of his affections, of who he loves.” He pointed at the sleeping Fern. Yes, I understood all too well. To love my father, you stood to pay the highest price. You put your life on the line. Like my mom did. And now Fern would take that same path.
Griffin stood and walked to me, took the necklace and slid it over my head. “There is precious little time if you mean to save those who despise you, and the one person who cares for you.”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “When you are done, bring back my necklace. This is a loan.”
I stepped away, toward my home, pausing to look over my shoulder.
Griffin gave a giant shudder, his skin and muscle rippling as he shifted into his wolf form. His coat all silver and black, danced in the light breeze as he shook. Tipping his head back, he let out a long howl that echoed through my heart. Words without words.
Run, child of the earth, run to save those you love.
There was no real question, at least, not for me. I needed to get to where Wicker was and use the cleansing fire.
Finding him, though, that would be a problem.
The Spiral was the best chance I would have to get information. My pulse steadied as I jogged, my leg hummed with a deep ache, and I did my best to ignore it. As I ran, the fear slowly slipped away, and with its disappearance, my connection to the earth sharpened. Power, clean and pure, slid through my body, healing the wounds, and sparking my heart with hope.
I ran for all I was worth, the power driving me, giving me the strength and speed I needed. The chance I needed.
The trees blurred into a dusky red of the bark and green of the needles as my legs sped me faster than the first time I’d connected like this. Faster and faster. Need and hope driving me, my purpose not for myself, but for my family.
My father and Fern. Everyone who Cassava would cut down in order to take her place on the throne. I had to believe I could stop her, that I could bring this madness to an end.
Minutes later I stumbled to a stop in front of the Spiral, my lungs and legs straining for air. I went to my knees and sucked in huge, gulping breaths. My body had completely healed during the run; the earth’s power wiping away the last vestiges of aches and wounds.
The Ender on duty, Snap, a favorite of Cassava’s lifted his dark brown eyebrows high, eyes glittering with undisguised disgust. “Get out of here, Useless.”
“My father,” I gasped out, leaning over at the waist. “I need to speak with him.” I was hoping I could get to him first, slip the necklace on him. Maybe Griffin was wrong, maybe the necklace would protect my father if I hurried.
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?” I bit the words out, wanting to punch Snap in the balls for being such a piece of worm shit.
“Eastern front still. Not that it should matter to you. Why aren’t you with the others at the field?”