Every shadow threatened Julienne. Even his own shadow, long and stretched on the fallen leaves, made him look twice. He saw things in the darkness. Little things waiting to pounce. He picked his gaze up from the forest floor in a vain attempt to strike the shadowshapes from his mind. But even with his chin up high, the wind moved the branches and strobing light wove through the leaves, giving the impression that something had leapt from a nearby branch and was coming down to strike Julienne.

He reminded himself that he wasn't the target.

A breeze went past and Moondrop lifted its nose into the air, taken by the scent of something. Figgal whistled for the team to follow. Their scouting triangle squished, giving Julienne a glimpse at Yarrow, who dragged his feet and grabbed onto trees for support as he passed them.

Figgal tried to get Moondrop to inspect a few trees, but the dog was transfixed by something. Julienne hoped this was it. They could get the truffle, be asleep in the manor that night, and be back in Toral in just two days' time. Moondrop found his spot, started digging, and—

SNAP!

Things happened too fast for Julienne to track. Something snapped—maybe a branch, maybe a wire. A club fell from the tree. Nails stuck out of it. Moondrop didn't see it coming. Figgal did. He lurched forward. There was a yelp. It took Julienne a moment to realize it was a human yelp. Figgal pulled the club from his arm, a nail sliding out of his hand. Moondrop cowered away.

"Are you okay?!" Julienne yelled as he ran to them.

Figgal shushed him with a bloody finger. "We need to keep moving. Now. Back in formation. Keep a lookout."

Blood dripped from his arm, but he took it in stride, ripping off a piece of his shirt and wrapping it around his hand with his teeth.

They moved faster after that. When Moondrop caught the scent of something, Figgal would poke around with a walking stick before letting the dog roam farther than his ankles. Julienne's shadow flared out, growing to become a giant before being snuffed out. He stepped closer and closer to Figgal to keep an eye on him. The sun set and Julienne's paranoia deepened to match the black sky.

They made their way through the forest, nearing the center of the valley. The ground was more uneven here, big rocky hills and overgrowth making a mess of the terrain.

CRACK!

Something rumbled down the hill above Julienne, smashing through brush as it picked up speed. A boulder, small enough to push but big enough to kill, crashed into the ground a few feet away from him. He turned every which way to look, wondering if the boulder had fallen by coincidence or by intention. He quickened his pace and closed some of the gap between him and Figgal.

They pushed through to a place where the trees grew thick again, their leaves depriving Julienne of the starlight. He pressed forward. Something moved to his right. Something alive. Something big. He pulled his knife out. The other person froze and so did Julienne's breath.

"Julienne?" Yarrow asked.

"Yeah." Julienne sighed with relief. "See anything?"

"No. Just you. We should stay quiet."

Julienne nodded, pivoting to match Figgal's whistle. They marched on for an hour in the dark, Yarrow slipping in and out of Julienne's field of vision. Then Figgal's hushed celebration hit Julienne's ears like music. The truffle hunter whistled three times and waved everyone in.

He grinned and held up a white truffle that shone silver like a star. "What do you guys think about getting out of here?"

"You found it?!" Julienne put his hands through his hair. They were done. They were going home.

"Hush!" Figgal hissed. "We're not done yet. The hunt doesn't end until we get back to the manor. Mindy, here. You're carrying it."

"Me?"

"They'll think that I have it. Mindy's the last one they'd expect. And they might hesitate with her being a girl. If they hesitate, well…" Figgal adjusted the throwing knives on his belt, pulling one of them out. "We're at the part of the night where we don't ask who's approaching."

Julienne's hand shook against the sheath of his knife. Figgal noticed.

"Once you pull out that knife, that's it," he said. "So if you pull it out and then freeze…There are no rules to survival. Throw dirt. Kick them in the groin. Bite. You got it?"

"Got it," Yarrow answered for all of them. Mindy wrapped the truffle up and put it in her pocket.

"Alright, stay a little tighter. Avoid conflict if we can. Remember, they don't know we have it."

A single leaf crackled under something's weight. Julienne would have thought nothing of it if Figgal hadn't leapt up and thrown one of his knives into the darkness. Silhouettes leapt sideways across the trees to avoid it. Julienne's team scrambled to get behind trees.

"See, we know you have it, Figgy," a voice called out from the darkness.

"Grison?" Figgal asked. He almost dared to look around the tree trunk. "I thought we were friends."

Julienne placed the name. Two teams of hunters had been let out before them. The first one was led by Ravi. The second one was led by Grison.

"Hey now, you're the one throwing knives," Grison responded.

"You can understand if I'm a little jumpy this late at night."

"You'd be less nervous if you weren't holding onto the truffle."

"Finders keepers. Can't we stay honorable about that much?"

"Ain't no honor in this valley, Figgy. You know that."

"I got Julienne here. You don't want to hurt him. You don't want that family to be your enemy."

Julienne didn't appreciate being invoked as a shield, but hearing his name helped snap him out of his panic. He laid low to the ground and peeked around the tree, controlling his breath in the hopes that he could control his emotions. In. In. In. Out.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"We won't hurt the little Julienne anymore than we have to. We're here for the truffle. And you should know about making enemies, Figgy. You turned down the wrong guy. If you win again, he'll kill you. You know that. Better to give up now and keep your life."

"I don't know who I'd be if I weren't a truffle hunter. And I don't much like hunting for Gluttons, even if they are royalty."

"The world's about to change, Figgy. You can carve out your place at his side or you can live the rest of your days fearing his wrath."

"Me and Moondrop don't mind living in the wild. Hey Grison? You wouldn't hurt the dog, would you?"

"Only if I have to to get the truffle."

"So what now?"

"Well…I think it's about the time we all jump out of our bushes and try to kill each other."

"Hey Grison?"

"What?"

"Do you remember my first year here? You gave me all that advice."

"I remember that dog you had. What was her name?"

"Sunbeam. She always laid by the window."

"Heh. Sunbeam. Moondrop. One more and you got a pattern."

"I hope to live long enough to make it that way."

"Sorry, Figgy. I really am."

Figgal sighed. "It's alright, Grison. Just business."

"You realize while we've been talking, Sandor's gone around. He's got your flank."

Someone whistled from the other side of Julienne.

"Yeah, I figured you were stalling," Figgal said. "Thing is, so was I. Truffle's gone."

Julienne looked back across Figgal. Mindy was nowhere to be seen. The silhouetted men burst into motion after her, Figgal dashing to follow them with Moondrop in tow.

"Boys, back to the manor!" he yelled. "I'll slow 'em down!"

Yarrow rushed over to help Julienne up. "Come on," he said. "We have to help them."

They scrambled through the thicket, blindly running toward the sounds ahead of them. They heard a crash to the left and moved toward it, then a yell from the right made them veer that way. The sounds came from farther and farther away until Julienne couldn't be sure that they weren't running after themselves. He stopped to listen, Yarrow slowing down to a jog.

Julienne expected to hear something ahead of him. But the next sound came from behind.

He turned as a machete came down at him, glimmering in the moonlight. He raised an arm and fortified it with rindskin, but he was too slow and the blade was too big. It pierced his defenses and sliced his forearm. He grunted in pain as he stumbled backward and threw his knife. It tumbled through the air, his assailant jumping aside to avoid it. With a distance between them, Julienne recognized the immense arms and figure of Ravi.

"Julienne?!" Yarrow yelled from up ahead. Then he grunted. Julienne heard something crash into his friend and wrestle him on the ground.

"We don't have the truffle," Julienne pleaded as he backed away.

Ravi twisted his machete back and forth with each step toward Julienne. "Not here for the truffle. Here for you."

"No, no. We have the truffle. We'll give it to you."

"You don't know what's happening," Ravi laughed as he stomped forward slowly.

Someone screamed behind Julienne, a blood curdling cry that was the worst thing he had ever heard in his life. Ravi's eyes widened with horror as he looked in the distance. Julienne took the opportunity. He turned and sprinted away. Ravi chased after him. Julienne needed to escape, but he needed to find Yarrow. He couldn't leave him there.

Julienne stepped on a rock that slid away from the pressure of his foot, his ankle twisting as he stumbled to the ground. He twisted and lifted both of his arms in defense, but couldn't summon rindskin on his cut arm. Ravi bore down on him like a beast ready to make the killing blow on its injured prey.

A massive blob of liquid flew over Julienne, little drops breaking away from it and burning his forearm through his rindskin. The rest crashed into Ravi, who replicated the horrible screams from earlier. He cast his machete aside and clutched his melting face, his clothes falling away from his body as they disintegrated. He screamed again and again as he turned and ran away. Yarrow stomped past Julienne in pursuit, acid dripping from his fingers and sizzling on the ground.

"Yar—wai—" Julienne hyperventilated. He started to rub his forearm, but the acid burned his fingertips. He rolled over and rubbed his forearm across the dirt, clenching his teeth through the pain.

While Yarrow chased Ravi one way, someone's pitiful whimpering came from the other direction. Julienne crept up on the sound. Hunters worked in pairs. Ravi hadn't been alone.

But he was now. The other hunter lay flat on his back—Julienne could hardly tell that the body wasn't face-down. His torso was burned beyond recognition, the cloth of his shirt having melted away to reveal skin like a bruised tomato. His breath rattled and the stench of him filled the air.

The atrocity of the sight flushed the adrenaline from Julienne's body. He approached the hunter, wondering if anything could save the man. But there was nothing to be done. Even if Julienne was a Veratore, he wouldn't be able to stop this man's death.

But he had no time to soak in the gravity of watching a man die. He had to go help Yarrow. He needed a weapon. He dug into the man's pockets, finding only an empty glass vial that had the brown stain of whatever liquid had once occupied it. He cursed and got up to run after Yarrow.

It was easy enough to find him. He had left a trail in the form of dead, sizzled grass and holes in the ground where the acid had burned straight through. And he didn't need help. By the time Julienne got there, Yarrow had one foot on the fallen Ravi's chest and a hand dripping acid on the man's arm.

Julienne stopped as he approached. He couldn't get any closer to what was happening. He couldn't find his voice to protest. He could only watch in horror.

"Why are you trying to kill Julienne?" Yarrow growled, a fresh sprinkling of acid dropping onto the man's arm and making him scream and squirm.

"I was hired!" Ravi screamed. Half of his face had shriveled up, snot and bone touching on his cheek.

"Who?!"

"I can't say!"

Yarrow let the acid drip, drip, drip onto Ravi's elbow.

"They'll kill me!" Ravi cried.

"I'll kill you!"

More acid. More screaming. Julienne's stomach turned.

"I—I—I…"

Yarrow relented to let his victim speak.

"I…" Ravi didn't scream anymore. He couldn't. "I'm already…"

"Hey! Tell me who!"

But Ravi did not respond. He did not squirm. He did not move when Yarrow unleashed more acid on his chest.

"You killed him…" Julienne stared in slack-jawed horror at his friend.

"He was going to kill you," Yarrow said without looking away from Ravi's body. He dug through the man's pockets, tossing aside glass vials and a pocket knife. "Maybe he has some kind of note or something…"

Julienne looked at the vial. It was the same one he had seen on the other hunter. And the same one as…

He stepped forward and picked it up. A little bit of black-brown liquid remained. He felt the essence through the glass. Vanilla. And there was another essence to it. A familiar one.

"I'm standing over a dead body in Charmant Valley…" he muttered.

"What?"

"Neccio."

"Your uncle?"

Julienne looked away from the body. Neccio? That couldn't be right. There had to be another…There was another.

"Or Orzo."

"What?"

"One of them…or both of them…hired these hunters to kill me."

"There's no way."

Julienne wanted to agree with the sentiment, but he knew there was a way. Neccio's restaurant made more money than any other one in Labrusca. Combined with Orzo's resources…

"We need to get back to the manor," Yarrow said.

Julienne looked back at Yarrow's path of destruction. The acid had nearly burned a trench into the ground.

"Yarrow, your essence…the valley…"

"They were going to kill you." Yarrow stared at the damage and shook his head of any regrets that might have lingered. "Let's go."

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