We carried on.
About a mile into the forest I stopped. The others did the same. I could distinctly hear rustling noises in the undergrowth that weren’t being made by any of us.
“Guys…” Julian unsheathed his sword, his eyes darting in the direction of the noise—but it was surrounding us, fast.
“Stand back,” Horatio demanded. He and Aisha stood in front of us, their eyes fixed on the forest floor.
The rustling stopped suddenly, and I heard a child-like giggle coming from behind a large bush. A second later, a group of about fourteen goblins had surrounded us. Their black, beady little eyes observed us with malice. One of them grinned, showing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Aisha sighed, smiling at Horatio.
He sniggered just as the goblins tore toward us, their claws reaching out, their mouths open.
Then, without warning, the goblins vanished.
“Huh? Where did they go?” I stared at the two jinn. Then I felt a sharp pain on my ankle, like a mosquito bite. Looking down, I realized that the goblins were still attacking…they were just now about the same size as my thumb.
“Ow!” I yelled, shaking the creature off me.
“Aww,” Yelena cooed, bending down to inspect the horde of angry little goblins. She straightened up pretty quickly, rubbing her finger.
“That’s cool.” I grinned at Aisha.
“Couldn’t you make them disappear?” Julian grumbled, kicking at them with his boots. “It’s like we’ve just stepped on a hornets’ nest.”
Ridan, Field, Fly and Sky shot down, landing a few feet away.
“What’s the hold-up?” Field asked.
“We were ambushed by goblins!” I said.
“Where?” growled the Hawk.
“Here,” I replied, kicking one of them in his direction that was trying to scramble up onto my boot.
“Oh.” The Hawks laughed.
Yeah. It was all hilarious when you had magic powers or wings. Try being mortal. Goblins didn’t seem so funny then.
“Let’s get moving,” I sighed, picking my walking stick back up. I hoped Aisha and Horatio could deal with the rest of the creatures in the forest so easily—I had a feeling that the goblins would be the least of our problems.
Ruby
I didn’t know how long it had taken me to get to Ghouls’ Ridge. The passing of time stopped being measured in minutes and hours, and was replaced by Ash’s labored breaths—eternities taking place between each inhale and exhale, never knowing if each would be his last.
I was dimly aware that the dawn was starting to rise as I reached the imposing cliff-face. How I’d even got to my destination was a mystery, and one that I owed to the bull-horse more than my own navigation.
The creature came to a standstill right by the entrance to the small passage which would lead to the Impartial Ministers’ home. It could go no further, and it would be up to me to carry Ash’s body through the narrow opening where the cliff met the sides of the valley.
“Ash?” I whispered, moving the hair from his brow. His skin was cold and damp. He groaned, but his eyes were closed. Before I disembarked from the bull-horse, I checked his wound. The blood had slowed down to a trickle, but he’d lost a lot of it. The GASP-issue shirt I’d pressed against the open wound was soaked through. I hated the idea of moving him, terrified of making the wound worse, but I had no choice—the immortal waters might be the only way I could save him.
Clambering down from the animal, I tied the reins to a withered tree nearby that was growing out of the rocks. Next, I gently pulled Ash down from the bull-horse. I wouldn’t be able to carry him, but I could lean him against me, half dragging him along, if he wasn’t able to walk.
“Ash, this is going to hurt. I’m sorry.”
I gritted my teeth, forcing my body to take his weight. His breathing quickened when I moved him, coming out in rasps. The blood from his wound increased, flowing freely as I shuffled us both along the passage. A line of dark crimson trailed along behind us.
“Not long now,” I promised.
I moved us both into the light of the Impartial Ministers’ strange domain. Where it had been dark outside, the sky in here was still bright blue. I wondered if it was ever night here, or if the sky even changed color at all.
It was easier to move Ash on the polished marble floor, and for a while the only sounds I could hear were the pain-filled grunts of Ash, my own huffs of effort, and the sound of Ash’s boots staggering along the floor. I felt like I was going crazy. No matter how much effort I put into heaving us forward, the basin of water seemed to remain in the distance, just out of reach.