Shades of Grey

CHEMIN DU JEUNESSE— MARCH 1843

“SHUT UP, HUNTER!” Forma shouted, shoving me as we walked out of the cloth room and into the bright sunlight. Rodag and I were tied very tightly with thick rope and Forma perfectly emulated a brutish Trenstor, kicking and jostling us with each step.

“A bit power hungry, is she not?” Rodag quipped quietly

“A bit, but she knows what she’s doing. Play along,” I urged.

We walked for a bit longer before being stopped by one of the guardian Trees on the edge of the forest. Rodag and I collectively held our breath, hoping she was clever enough to get us through this unexpected obstacle.

“Where are you going with the prisoners?” asked the guard.

“Clanak gave me permission to dispose of them. He said the odour of Maisling was too strong.”

“Where are you disposing of them?” the guard pressed.

“Cronamia.”

The guard raised his eyebrows in surprise and he granted Forma passage, lifting the gate.

“That was brilliant!” I praised. “When did you get to be such a skilled liar?”

“I’ve always been a skilled liar,” she replied nonchalantly. “You’ve just always been the unknowing victim.”

Before I could reprimand her, footsteps suddenly began thundering behind us and a scabrous muted voice bellowed through the air.

“HALT! IMPOSTER!”

Someone had seen the deception and before I could warn Forma, the Tree Monsters tackled her to the ground, missing Rodag and me by inches.

“You are under arrest, Fairy!” sneered one of the guards.

Forma looked up at me as the tree began binding her arms with large, thick rope. I nodded and drew my Flamesword, ripping clean through my bindings and reaching for Forma’s hand, just as she changed into a giant, towering easily over the Trenstors.

Forma swung me onto her shoulder and I slid down her arm towards the tree monsters, slicing their branches and setting their leaves afire, leaving them to howl in pain as they frantically tried to douse the flames.

“Go!” I called to Forma, who knew exactly what I was thinking.

Forma ran straight for the Trees while Rodag and I began running into the forest of stationary trees around the camp, diving straight for a nearby arroyo. I quickly turned and anxiously watched the battle unfold.

Forma was engaged in heavy combat against the Trenstors and she put up a brilliant fight, but appeared to be losing by way of her only disadvantage: she was greatly outnumbered. The Trenstors easily attacked from multiple angles, forcing Forma to fight in a circular fashion without allotting her any time to at all to rest.

Go, Forma, I thought to myself, frustrated beyond belief that I did not have the physical strength or ability to assist her.

However, just as that miserable thought became coherent, she found an opportunity to smoothly change into a Redlight Dragon and exhale, further adding to the flames that I had created with my Flamesword thereby ensuring her victory. In seconds, the trees were nothing but burning piles of wood.

“Fantastic! Will you retrieve a tooth for me?” I asked, emerging from my hiding place as the smoke cleared.

“Good Lord; that really is a disgusting tradition Grey. I don’t understand why you would want to—”

“Just pick up a tooth,” I replied, laughing.

She rolled her eyes and I heard several huge snaps as she ripped a tooth out of each Tree’s mouth.

“That’s disgusting. Why do you do that?” Rodag asked. Forma and I looked at each other and immediately broke up in laughter. Rodag waited in confusion as we both calmed ourselves: his timing could not have been more perfect.

“It’s a sign of telling how old and how strong the Hunter is, a way to sort of show off our accomplishments and to intimidate other creatures,” I answered, slinking the three teeth onto my necklace.

“Even though Forma was the one to really defeat them?” Rodag said through a crooked grin. I glared at him through narrow eyes and Forma laughed as she changed back.

“He’s right, you know. I should get my own necklace!” she cried.

“We’re a team. Anything you defeat, I defeat and vice versa,” I stated, decisively ending the conversation. “Now change into something useful please.”

Forma gave me a sarcastic simper and smoothly changed into a stallion. I quickly mounted her and then Rodag behind me before she began galloping rapidly down the dirt road.

“How much further to Cronamia?” I asked Rodag with a sarcastic pout.

“Well, if you continue to speak to me like that, then I will intentionally lead you in the wrong direction,” he shot back with a grin.

“But that eliminates the possibility that you could lead us in the wrong direction un-intentionally,” I quipped with a laugh.

“Just ride,” Rodag replied with an amused grin.

I smiled and leaned into Forma’s mane as she galloped over the dirt hills toward Cronamia.