Page 58 of Prince of the Northwest Forest
“So long as it’s in the general direction of Icedonia, I’m fine with that.”
We both get to our feet. I make an “after you” wave to the deer, who starts trotting down a path along the river.
Chapter Sixteen
JUSTICE
The baby deer leads us through the forest. She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, about the size of a fox with the same reddish pelt but with white spots on her back. She looks kind of like a girl I knew in art class.
“Should we keep following her?” I ask Kalle, as the deer heads slightly uphill from the river.
“She seems to know where she’s going.” He has that lost look on his face that he gets when he misses being able to talk to animals and know exactly what they are thinking.
But even I can tell this deer wants to show us something. The underbrush is pretty dry here, because the forest canopy of ponderosa pines keeps the rain from hitting the soil. Despite their needles that smell strongly of resin, if you get close to their jigsaw puzzle–like bark, it has a vanilla or butterscotch scent.
As we keep up with the deer, who is steadily hopping through the forest, we pass by trees that have blaze marks on them, used to mark old trails. The scars are overgrown, with bark curling over them, which tells me that they were marked maybe a hundred years ago. Or more. Who put them there? Did they know about the Fae Realm? Icedonia? The Fire Realm? The Underworld? Or did they just want to mark their way throughthe forest, and that was that? We are still in Kalle’s realm, I think, although we are surely getting close to Icedonia.
We reach a small clearing, and I see pieces of metal on the ground. I stop and look, noting that the baby deer stops and waits for us. “Is this …”
“The remains of a crashed plane? Yes, I think so. This looks like something from the 1940s, maybe. Getting close to a century ago.”
“That’s odd. I wonder if people know it’s here.”
“I’m sure someone does, but it’s too far out to haul away the pieces.”
There’s nothing left but some fuselage and the metal of the wings, but still. It feels weird to be passing it. Something about it feels familiar. I want to stop and study the wreck, but the deer is moving again. “Let’s keep up with Megan.”
“Who is Megan?” Kalle asks.
“I think that’s the deer’s name. Don’t you?”
He wrinkles his brow. “We can see if she likes it.”
Megan is picking up the pace now. When we reach another copse, the little deer takes off.
“Bye, Megan!” I call.
I swear she wiggles her tail.
Then I look up and see a ranger cabin.
I almost sigh in relief. I’m good with roughing it, but if the owner doesn’t mind, maybe we can dry ourselves off inside. My clothes are pretty wet from the constant rain today.
We walk up to the porch and see a note on the door. “Hello, friend. Feel free to use anything you need. There’s a shower on the back porch. Canned food is locked up (bears), but the key is in the silverware drawer. Thanks, Seya.”
“Do you know who Seya is?” I ask.
Kalle shakes his head. “I’m not sure. Perhaps they’re related to our village doctor, though. They must be forest folk, becausethis is a regular part of our traditions: allowing strangers in your home. Someone who you think is a stranger might be an angel in disguise.”
“Or fae,” I mutter. But in this instance, I’m grateful for the custom.
We open the wooden door, which has a string to pull a latch, rather than a regular doorknob. Inside, it’s a small, dark log cabin with mud or plaster shoved in the spaces between the logs to keep out the weather. There’s a tiny potbellied stove off to the side with a few pieces of wood stacked up and what looks like plumbing rigged to the outside for hot water. A small sink and dishes in stacks. Some towels. And a bed. A few pieces of wooden furniture with leather covers seem way more comfortable than the rocks we’ve been using as chairs for the past couple of days.
“Well, this is amazing,” I say, looking at the leather curtains covering the cutout windows. I open them.
Kalle nods. “I’ll take note of its location and be sure to send a supply mule here to replace whatever we use.”
We put our packs down and hang up my damp jacket and Kalle’s cloak on the back of the door. He strolls around opening cabinets and looking out the back door.
