“Could that be another reason she’s pulling out of Zabin? Clearing the way for the Skeleton King to come after us? Then with the sneak attack from the north, you’ll be caught between them.”

Ryne cursed. “Another reason why I need you, Kerrick. To find out how many troops the Skeleton King has. My scout learned nothing of value.”

“I said I’d think about it.”

Kerrick wrote a message to Noak and left soon after, heading south to Zabin. Traveling through the night, he avoided the various patrols, but he kept track of animals in the forest, seeking a loose horse. In the morning, Kerrick skirted small towns and farms, hoping to find someone willing to sell or rent him a mount.

By midafternoon he finally spotted two horses grazing in a large pasture near the woods. Summoning all his magical strength, Kerrick turned his skin and clothes to normal before leaving the forest. Each step forward required a concentrated effort. By pure determination, he reached the farmhouse.

He found the horses’ owner and, if the man thought Kerrick’s strained demeanor odd, he didn’t seem to care once the two gold coins hit his palm.

“No saddle,” Kerrick whispered to the farmer. “Just a bridle. Please bring him to the forest. I’ll be waiting there.”

Kerrick’s legs shook as he hurried to return to the living green. As soon as he entered its domain, he collapsed.

Two seconds later, or so it felt, the man arrived with the horse in tow. “Hello?” he called, almost stepping on Kerrick. “Harper’s all ready.” He walked farther in.

Drawing on his final reserve of energy, Kerrick stood, changed to normal and caught up to the man, who jumped about a foot when Kerrick approached from behind.

“Thank you,” Kerrick said, taking the reins.

The man nodded and then bolted back to his farm.

He’ll have an interesting story to tell his family. When the man disappeared from sight, Kerrick mounted Harper. The dark brown horse instantly turned green, brown, orange, red, and yellow, exactly matching Kerrick and the rest of the forest. Handy.

Kerrick had a day and a half to reach the rendezvous spot. He spurred Harper into a gallop.

Chapter Eight

CHAPTER 8

“You can’t,” Flea said after I explained what I needed to do to save Yuri’s life.

I placed the syringe carefully on my pack to free my hands. “It makes the most sense.”

“What if the serum doesn’t work?” Flea dropped Yuri’s hand and moved around to my side of the cot. “You can’t die. We need you.”

“We can travel to the Peace Lily before the third stage so you won’t have to inject the serum in me.”

“That is if the Peace Lily takes you. A big if.” He crossed his arms. “No.”