"I reckon that's her, don't you, Vansa?" asked the soldier with the sword. He swung it through the air as he spoke, as if picturing cutting me down.

"I know that's her, Phyno," the other confirmed. "Do you mind if I take this kill?" He waved his fingers and the flames perched there grew taller, the tips of it turning a scorching white to match the surroundings of the Ivory Forest.

They were the same Vahan soldiers we had encountered the other day, the ones that were meant to be tied up in Oryal's vines and suffocated as soon as we were far enough away. The soldiers I had feared escaping to find us, ambushing us to stop me making a poisoned cake for their king.

This couldn't be happening.

I was stuck in a dark forest with no way to defend myself, my only weapon as lost in the trees as I was.

"Of course," Phyno answered. "But only if I can toy with her first." He tilted his head, watching and waiting for me to move so he could pounce.

"Go right ahead." Vansa extended his hand toward the other soldier and snapped his fingers together. A flame licked up the side of his sword, stretching up the blade before it reached the cuff of his uniform sleeve — something that shouldn't have been possible as there wasn't any fuel for the fire to consume. The dancing inferno faded to a deep red, a shade which matched my hair.

"How do you want this to go?" Phyno questioned, taking a step toward me. His gaze raked me up and down, adjusting his movements so I wouldn't flee. "Either, you can fetch your friend so we can deal with the nuisance before finishing with you. Or, you can surrender now and we can hunt that fucker later."

"I recommend choosing the first option," the other soldier chimed. "I really want to kill that man for those vines he trapped us in. They took away my power as soon as they touched me and I want to know how. A small interrogation before death doesn't sound like the worst way to go."

I swallowed my fear, secretly securing the straps of my bag to prepare to make an escape. "Neither. The next time you see that man will be on your death beds." Picking the direction that appeared the easiest to traverse, I sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me.

What was I going to do? I didn't know how to fight, especially against flames and a sword-wielder. I had nothing but enchanted jars and half-eaten tins of Sicrecan pasta.

A torrent of blistering fire streamed past me, missing me by a mere hair's breadth. The embers spat at me, aiming to do what its creator could not, but it only urged me to run faster. Around me, the flames caught on trees and branches, greedily devouring everything in its path. It made logs and branches crash to the ground behind me, blocking the path of the Vahan soldiers.

I had to lose them somehow and find my way back to Oryal. That was the only way I was going to survive. I could have attempted to keep running in one direction with the hope of making it out of the forest, but death waited for me on the other end too. Only, this time it would be to the hands of a royal guard expecting his baked request.

I kept racing through the Ivory Forest, trying to put as much distance between us as I could, almost falling over when I leapt over bushes and fallen trees. Never in my life had I run so fast. I wasn't a good runner and I never had the need to be, but I was surprised at the pace I was keeping. When my life was on the line, I had to be as quick as I could handle.

As I passed through a thicker section of foliage, struggling to climb over brambles in my path that an axe would have been perfect to clear, a faint pink glow appeared in the corner of my eye. I almost cried out in relief, assuming it was the butterflies that the bounty hunter reluctantly summoned. When I turned around to search for him, I only found a pink flower growing atop a tree trunk.

Pale blue vines grew underneath the flowers, twisting their way into the leaves of the tree. Was that what I thought it was? I was going so fast that I couldn't get a long enough look to tell and stopping wasn't an option either.

I saw another patch up ahead and ducked behind the tree, praying to the gods that the soldiers weren't close enough behind me to see. Holding my hand over my mouth, I muted the sound of my heavy breathing, making the burning in my lungs several times worse. This was a risky chance to take, but I needed to do something now or I knew this chase would end with my demise. I couldn't keep running forever.

A plan forged in my mind as I looked up to inspect the plant I noticed, a weak smile finding its way to my face. I had recognised the thin vines after all. It was Nightmare Spine.

Deathly Delights had plenty of stock of the lethal poison and it was commonly asked for in orders. When it was mixed together with other ingredients, its strength was dulled, making it less effective in its killing prowess. However, in its raw form it was frighteningly deadly. The flowers were a mere, harmless decoration, but the vines were so potent that a single piece in your mouth would have an effect in seconds.

I quickly turned around to check if I was leaning on the poison and discovered I thankfully wasn't. No antidote would work for Nightmare Spine when it brought someone's life to an end so suddenly.

Footsteps of the Vahan soldiers grew louder, the forest lighting up with the fire they left in their wake.

"Come out, little baker," one taunted. "You know that your plans are morally wrong. Let us end your misery here."

"Is there nobody to defend you this time?" teased the other. "That's such an awful shame."

Silently, I unfastened the buckle on my bag and pulled out my gloves, putting them on without making any sudden movements. I hid my bag in a bush and hoped it wouldn't burn with my belongings inside, catching fire from the foliage set alight around me.

Smoke curled around me as I picked at the Nightmare Spine, forcing its way into my lungs and making it difficult to breathe. I still managed to grab a fistful of the vines and move myself into position on one side of the tree to attack. My hands shook so much that I didn't know if the plan that panic had shoved into my head, my one saviour, would even work.

"Do you think she ran further ahead?" Vansa asked, adding an extra burst of fire to the surroundings to help the spread of its destruction.

Phyno shook his head. "No. I can't hear her footsteps anymore, so she has to be close by. Our little poisoner has decided to hide." He walked closer to where I hid, brandishing his sword to clear what the fire hadn't touched yet.

As soon as he wandered near enough, I wasted no time. Leaping up, I wrapped one arm around the soldier's neck, pulled him down to my level and pushed a handful of Nightmare Spine into his mouth. I pulled away, dodging the failed attempt of a swing of his sword, and tore more poison from the tree.

The Vahan soldier dropped to his knees, grasping his throat and spluttering as he tried to remove the poison. He fell face first to the ground, the vines falling out of his mouth and accompanied with splatters of blood. His body convulsed as it fought the effects of the poison, but it stilled when it lost the battle.

"Phyno!" Vansa cried, rushing over to his side. In a burst of rage, his features contorting with fury and his teeth grinding together, he sent out another wave of flames. This one was pure white, a wide blanket of blazing heat. Unlike his previous balls of fire, this one covered the surrounding area, encasing me and giving me nowhere to run.

This was it. This was my end. My plan had successfully taken down one soldier, but I hadn't thought far enough to plan for the other.

As I shielded my face, raising my arms to brace for the scorching impact, I realised no blaze ever arrived. When the smoke cleared from the air, allowing me to breathe easily once more, I lowered my guard and scanned my surroundings.

The Vahan soldiers had frozen in place, as if a deity watching from above had halted the forces of time. Their eyes glazed over with a thick coat of white magic before their bodies began to crumble, turning into dust just like the faux Noxol had when I pulled it away from its home.

What in the gods' names was going on? Was this the Ivory Forest?

The fire that had devoured its way through the trees, leaving nothing behind its wake but ashes and smoke, was snuffed out. Everything it had destroyed regrew in an instant, as if it had never been burnt in the first place. Not even embers floated in the air. All that remained was a small arrow of fire etched into the grass pointing deeper into the forest.

Had any of it even been real? Were the soldiers hunting me down or had Oryal ended their lives back when we had first encountered them? It must have been an illusion, just like the one the bounty hunter had been led astray by.

I glanced at the arrow, willing my heart to calm. After everything the forest had put me through, did I dare follow it? Would it lead me back to Oryal? Or, would it send me to another horror that awaited me in the darkness? I didn't have much else to go off of now that I was well and truly lost.

Taking off my gloves, I found my bag untouched by the flames and returned them to the rest of my belongings. I started in the direction the arrow pointed, assessing every inch of my surroundings as I walked through the trees. As I turned around to make sure nothing was stalking me from behind, I noticed the arrow had been snuffed out too. However, this one had left a dark patch of scorched grass, unlike the other flames which had left not even a scratch.

I kept on the direction for as long as I could, until I came across a fiery glow up ahead which stopped me in my tracks. I waited, listening in case I could hear the distant crackle of fire, but I couldn't. Nor could I hear the sound of voices or footsteps headed my way. I approached the clearing where the light was coming from and found a small glade of Noxol flowers.

Several patches of the flower grew around the shaded space, each and every one fully bloomed to reveal the petals that I desired. There weren't any traps this time, no decoys or enticing lures tempting me to my death.

I had finally found the poison I was after.

Chapter Word Count: 1,908
Total Word Count: 18,380