Mutante: Chapter 7
Copyright 2023 Elizabeth Frerichs
Rosie slept fitfully for some hours before finally giving up on the whole thing as a bad job and laid there, counting glow worms, listening to Robert’s snores, and wishing that he wasn’t quite such a sound sleeper. Eventually, his snores ended, so she sat up, hoping that he would respond if he was awake. After establishing they were both awake, checking their timekeepers to determine that it really was morning, and having a quick breakfast, they decided to leave the cave sooner rather than later, despite it being earlier than either of them had ever entered the forest before.
“You know,” Robert said as soon as they re-entered the water. “I really think I should see you home instead. I don’t know what they’re paying you, but it’s definitely not worth losing your life over.”
Rosie hesitated. She refused to tell him the sad reality of her life, that even running from giant sea monsters was better than being paraded around while everyone gawked and pointed. Nor that her mother would probably imprison her for life if she didn’t get to Grandma Essie. Or at least for the next few months. It would feel like an eternity regardless . . . . which meant it was the lesser of two evils to tell him the truth, or at least part of it.
She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch the dawning coldness that would come after her announcement. “She’s my grandmother.”
“What?”
“My grandmother is the forest witch, and I can’t leave her all alone out here without supplies. Even if I could, she’s missed her regular check-ins and hasn’t replied to our messages—I have to find out what’s going on.” She risked a glance at Robert. He looked like she had just told him that water was poisonous to fish.
“Your grandmother is the forest witch?” he asked uncertainly. He tugged at one of his earlobes. “I must have heard wrong.”
Rosie shook her head. “No, you heard correctly. My grandmother is the forest witch. She’s not—well, she wasn’t always like this. When I was a child, she was one of my favorite people, and I loved her very much. Then that stupid accident, and—” Her arms hung limp at her sides, as useless as she felt in this moment. No one understood the burden of being Essie Kingfisher’s granddaughter, and she could neither escape the weight nor share it. Yesterday had been nice, just relating with Robert, not trying to live down her grandmother’s infamy nor trying to live up to her family’s reputations.
Robert shook his head. “Your grandmother is the forest witch? Really? You’re not trying to play a prank on me—a terrible one, I might add?”
“No, I’m not playing any kind of prank. Yes, she is the witch.”
His eyes widened. “That means your grandmother’s daughter is your—”
“Aunt Rina.” She nodded solemnly. “They were very different people before the curse took hold.”
“Are you magical too?”
Rosie gave a peal of laughter. “Not that I know of. I’d magic myself invisible if I could, for sure.”
He glared at her. “How was I supposed to know? I’ve never actually met anyone magical.” His lips twisted up in a smirk that she imagined was supposed to be charming. “At least, not anyone other than magical young ladies like yourself.”
Rosie sobered. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’ve lived in Vana my whole life. I may be a tad less cosmopolitan than you, City Girl.”
She suppressed a glare. Why did this—this pufferfish seem incapable of understanding that his teasing and flirtation did nothing more than annoy her?
“Fine, Country Boy. I’ll stop expecting so much out of you,” she bit off, her tone harsher than she had intended. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I am not leaving my grandmother alone in the kelp forest without supplies. Once I find the path, I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Still, I couldn’t leave you alone out there. You’re not any good to your grandmother if you get eaten alive.”
Rosie scoffed. “And who suggested we hide in that monster’s mouth?”
“All right, I’ll admit that was a misstep,” he said mildly. “I didn’t think my way through that entirely. But I’m also the same guy who saved you from a horde of hungry sea monsters and death by strangling on your other magical path. I’d say the point stands. I’ll come with you. My mother won’t worry for a few more days. I can take the time to ensure you reach your grandmother’s, Princess,” he said, sweeping her a bow.
Rosie sighed. It would be more trouble to leave him behind than it would to just bring him along. “All right, fine.”
“Great!” he said with a grin. “It’ll be fun.”
The trip was not fun. But it could have been worse. Probably. They had decided to stay in the forest rather than risking another trip above it, which in hindsight might have been a poor decision. Waterdancer nearly swam into a giant glass jellyfish (so named because of their transparency), a flock of giant stingrays swam by right in front of them, and the kelp continued to cling to them anytime they took even the smallest break. But the compass worked, and, eventually, they stumbled onto the path, exhausted but whole.
“See, Princess? I said I’d get you here safely, and I did. Now, which way to your grandma’s house?”
“Oh, really, I’ll be fine getting to Grandma’s house from here. I’m on the path, so—” She shrugged, tempted to make shooing motions. “If you follow the path in the opposite direction, it should take you safely out of the kelp forest.”
Robert crossed his arms and shook his head. “Uh-uh. No way. I’m not leaving you alone in here. Not when you don’t know if this is the right path or not. Now, which way to your Grandma’s?”
His obstinacy would be endearing if it didn’t come from a lack of trust in her.
Rosie took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to feel which way the path was pushing her. It usually knew better than she did which way to go, and there was a sort of current that would push her one way or the other when she stopped. It meant she could safely take a break and not have to worry about forgetting which direction she had come from.
There. The tingle was pushing her towards her left. She opened her eyes and pointed. “That way.”
“Well, then, let’s get going. How far is your Grandma’s from here?”
“How should I know?” she asked with bewilderment.
Robert stared at her. “Don’t you recognize where we’re at?”
“What part of this being a magical path did you not understand? It doesn’t follow the same route all the time.”
“What do you mean?”
“It goes wherever is the safest way through the forest at any given moment. If something changes, then the path shifts. You just have to follow the path.”
Robert frowned. “So it’s alive? How does it know the safest way through the forest?”
“It’s magic! Who knows how it knows? The spell guides whomever is on the path to Grandma’s house.”
“But—how has no one found the path? Doesn’t your grandmother have all kinds of people showing up?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “The path only comes when it’s called. Look, don’t worry about it. Let’s just go. I have no idea how long it will take to get to Grandma’s or to get out of the forest.”
Robert eyed the kelp that strained towards them, apparently hitting transparent walls on either side as not a leaf crossed over onto the path. “All right. If the forest has been spelled by your aunt, I’d say the sooner we get out of here, the better.”
Rosie merely swam forward in answer. The kelp did seem darker here. If Aunt Rina’s magic was fighting against Grandma Essie’s, who knew what could happen? Certainly lollygagging would do no one any favors.
For the first hour on the path, the kelp stayed about the same as it had been. Before long, though, their pace slowed to a near-crawl, the glow lantern’s light penetrating only feet in front of them.
“Is this normal?” Robert whispered.
“What?” she whispered back.
He huffed. “Does the forest always get darker as you get closer to the center?”
“No,” Rosie admitted. “I’ve never seen it like this.”
“Are you certain you don’t want to turn around? I mean, I’m trained for this sort of adventure, but it might be best if you got to safety.”
She made a face. “I have already answered that question.”
“All right. I’m just looking out for your best interests.”
She made a noncommittal noise. As disparagements of her capabilities usually accompanied his suggestions, it was hard to take him seriously.
A flash of light had her peering off into the nearby kelp.
“Maybe someone needs help,” Robert said with concern. “Waterdancer—”
Rosie held up a hand. “It might just be a pair of electric eels, or something else of that nature.”
He hesitated, but waited. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to wait a minute. Hello?” he called.
Rosie rolled her eyes. The merman, who had so adamantly demanded silence, was now shouting into the woods. Well, at least they were on the path if anything unfriendly took an interest in them. Hopefully, it would be minor.
A growl sounded from further down the path, and Robert’s eyes darted in that direction. He drew his sword. “I think you’d better grab hold of Waterdancer in case we have to escape quickly.”
Rosie grasped the seahorse’s harness, but hoped fervently that she wouldn’t be dragged along. “The best thing to do is to stay on the path,” she reiterated.
“We can’t just abandon whomever is out there,” he said scathingly.
Stung, she shot back, “I would never leave someone to suffer! But we still don’t know if anyone is out there—and leaving the path without a good reason would be as absurd as swimming back into that monster’s mouth.”
“Shhh,” he said, holding up a hand.
Rosie huffed, but then complied. A scream sounded nearby.
“We have to save them!” Robert said urgently.
“That’s just a siren-plant scream!” she hissed. “It’s trying to lure you into a trap! And you won’t be able to avoid the pollen if you get too close.”
He squared his shoulders, apparently refusing to listen, and then flung himself at the seaweed, shoving aside the plants that ignored him and slicing at the stalks that reached out for him (which was most of them). Waterdancer followed. “No, Waterdancer,” Rosie said. If they left the path . . . .
The encroaching kelp swallowed up Robert the moment he left the path, but then a shout came from the direction he’d gone. “Waterdancer!” he trumpeted.
The seahorse careened forward, pulling Rosie along with him. With a resigned sigh, Rosie allowed herself to be carried along. She couldn’t really abandon Robert, even if he was behaving like a clownfish. Hopefully, he had had the sense to close his gills so the plant couldn’t enthrall him.
The siren-plant loomed above Robert, nearly four times as tall as him, magenta tendrils twining around Robert’s tail and dragging him towards the siren-plant’s gaping maw with its rows of razor-sharp teeth. Below him, his sword gleamed from the ocean floor among a consortium of crabs, all scuttling about, excitedly waiting for the leftovers from the plant’s macabre feast. How had he lost it?
Rosie froze, her gills snapping shut. Hand outstretched, Robert gestured wildly for her to bring him his sword, but then another siren-plant tendril tightened around his arms, pinning them against his sides. Time seemed to slow, and tremors swept through Rosie’s whole body. With shaking fingers, she urged Waterdancer down towards the sword. The seahorse threw himself downwards, and she snatched up the sword, barely hanging onto it with numb hands. With a scream of defiance, Waterdancer sped over to where Robert was feebly struggling against the tentacles. Feeling as though she were swimming against a strong current, Rosie plunged the sword at the nearby siren-tendril, wincing as the plant screamed.
With another slice, Robert wriggled free and grabbed hold of Waterdancer’s saddle. The seahorse shot forward. Rosie just managed to catch hold of his harness with the tips of her fingers. Robert pulled her in close and they hurried away from the siren-plant back in the direction they had come.
Rosie’s gills fluttered, and the tremors grew. She had been in plenty of tight spots, but never had she been forced to injure a creature in order to escape. Nor had anyone else been in life-threatening danger during those events.
For a moment, she couldn’t even think. As Waterdancer pulled away from the still screaming siren-plant, she reminded herself that she couldn’t fall apart yet though. “Where’s the path?”
“It’s gone!” Robert explained. “Use the compass? Or shall I go up?”
Rosie glanced up. A pod of killer whales appeared to be converging above them. “No. We’ll never make it!” she yelled back, the water streaming across them and carrying her words away. Panic filled her chest. How could they find the path?
Her grandmother had always told her to get quiet and listen whenever she was in trouble. Rosie slowed her gills and forced herself to close her eyes, despite the danger all around. Once her shaking had lessened, she turned her attention back to the problem at hand. How could they find the path? The answer felt there, just out of reach, like a word on the tip of her tongue. When she needed to figure out which way the path was taking her, she just listened for it. Suddenly, she realized that the same tugging sensation was in her gut. She could still feel the path!
“The path is over there!” she yelled, pointing toward her right.
“Over where?” Robert demanded. “I can’t see a thing that way—it’s even darker than it is over here; are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said firmly, trying not to think about what they would do if she was wrong. But she knew. The path was just to their right and behind them a bit, or at least it had been. “I can’t pay attention to where it’s at with my eyes open, so I’ll point in the correct direction and you go that way.”
“If you’re sure you know what you’re doing,” Robert said skeptically.
Rosie gritted her teeth. “Yes.” She pointed in the direction the tugging was coming from. A blast of cold water twirled them around and around, and she clutched Waterdancer’s saddle, desperately hoping she’d still be able to find the path. The moment the waterspout released them, Rosie closed her eyes again, paying close attention to the steady tugging in her middle. It was like having a sense she’d never known existed. No matter which way they moved, the new sense told her where the path was.
Robert either believed her or was willing to try it anyway, and he shifted Waterdancer’s bearing to match her gestures.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the story 🙂 If you notice something that can be strengthened, please let me know. And I’m still looking for a beta, so if that’s you, PM me!
See you on Thursday!
