Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,85

burning around that isle since the twelfth century, and no one’s been able to cross it.”

“That’s the problem,” Zoe said dryly. “To be a hero, you need a bad guy. And when there are no bad guys available, you wind up forcing that role on something or someone people already irrationally fear. If you need a villain, sometimes all you need is a good long look in the mirror—but most people aren’t that self-aware.” She looked down at Alex’s bag. “And while I don’t think anyone’s going to freak out at the sight of a pretty firebird, I agree we shouldn’t advertise having it around, to be on the safe side. You fine with that?”

Alex’s saddlebag cooed, slightly appeased.

It was nearly noon by the time they made their final farewells and set off. The Dame, Tala was quick to notice, did not see them off.

The castle soon receded into the distance, tall trees obscuring it from her vision. They were moving at a faster rate than they had on foot, but after an hour of riding she was soon sore from being constantly bounced around her saddle. She’d never ridden a horse that wasn’t attached to a carousel before, and she wasn’t sure if she could last several more days like this.

Cole’s mount was still skittish as well, and required constant soothing from Ken before it finally relaxed. “He’s acting like he’s got a wolf or an ogre on his back,” the boy grumbled.

Tala turned to watch Cole, who was trailing a few dozen meters behind them. The scent of daisies wafted out from his direction; Ken had finally convinced him to wear the potion. “Are wolves nightwalkers too?”

“Are you familiar with the Red Hood legend?” Zoe asked.

Tala shook her head.

“Fierce warrior who lived around the same time as Avenant Charming. They called her the Red Hood for her red-gold hair and the red mantle she always wore in battle. She fell in love with the wolf king—they called him that because he was so good at communicating with wolves that they considered him a part of their pack.”

Tala started.

“What happened to him?” Loki asked.

“Apparently, his desire for power corrupted him.” Zoe shrugged. “He turned against the kingdoms and betrayed Red Hood, left her to die. It’s not a happy ending.”

“The Dame called Cole a wolf king,” Tala said without thinking.

“I don’t remember her saying that at dinner,” West remarked.

Tala winced, although Cole was out of earshot. So was Alex, riding up ahead with Loki. “I, uh, couldn’t sleep last night. I saw Cole in the hall, talking to the Dame.” That much was true.

“I don’t get it,” West said. “Does that mean Cole’s the traitor the Dame mentioned?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Ken frowned. “Now that I think about it, the plan did start going wrong almost as soon as he showed up, didn’t it? Like that ogre attack.”

“He killed one of the ogres.”

“That could be some kind of trick to gain our trust.”

“Let’s not speculate without proof, Ken,” Zoe said severely.

“You’re defending him now, Zo?”

“I have all the proof I need that he’s a jackass, but not enough for everything else. Let’s not make this worse than it already is.”

“But why would he want to harm any of us?” Tala asked, to no reply.

The cloak the count had provided took most of the cold away, but it couldn’t take away the bleak landscape. Nothing but endless snowdrifts and dead trees met them, spiraling on for miles ahead. Alex had been quiet when they started out, and his face grew angrier and more anguished with every passing minute. Tala wanted to reach out and reassure him, but he was riding a little too quickly for her to catch up on her placid but slow-plodding mare.

“You can probably tell that none of us trust Nottingham,” Ken said. “Most people tend not to trust the Nottinghams, anyway. Exhibit A: that ugly scythe he likes to lug around, forged from ogre’s blood and shades and all other buggers we probably don’t even know the names of. No other segen’s been forged that way, and some people think the taint could influence its wielders. Story goes that Gravekeeper can summon nightwalkers.”

“I’ve seen him fight many times before,” Zoe admitted grudgingly. “He didn’t summon any nightwalkers, but he’s just as good as Tristan.”

“Zoe’s fiancé,” West reminded Tala.

“He’s not my fiancé.”

Ken snorted. “They say the Nottinghams can talk to wolves almost from birth too. He’s always been a prat, and Dad says William Nottingham’s the same