I shot a last, hesitant look at the human village. They’d been so kind to me and I wish I could’ve repaid their hospitality, but I was not in a position to do that, not anymore.
Pickles stirred in my pocket, her two ears popping out.
“Not now,” I hissed to her, trying to nudge her back. “Stay put.”
With Pickles nice and snug in one pocket and the little vial with berries tucked in the other, I had everything I needed. The berries were no longer fresh, but I hoped that didn’t matter. Their essence had been sealed in the bottle since I picked them, it would have to do.
I tightened my borrowed sweater and with a worried look at the grizzled sky, I made my traitorous descent down to the forest. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, but from my short stay at the Deep Mountains, I’d learned that c
