The Wood Queen (23 page)

Witness: Navin Sharma (Commoner)

SHARMA: This is my job, dammit. To support her; to protect her. To be there for her in the same way that she always is for me.

SHARMA: Next question, please.

GAUNT: Why were you in the Ironwood?

SHARMA: I wasn’t just out for a walk, dude. I was kidnapped.

GAUNT: You will address me as Mr. Gaunt, boy.

SHARMA: Only if you address me as Mr. Sharma.

MAKER: Navin, please.

SHARMA: Fine. He can call me Navin.

GAUNT: How were you … kidnapped?

SHARMA: I’d just gotten a call from Dad to say that my grandfather was sick and had been rushed to the hospital. I was out on my bike so rode home as quickly as I
could—that meant using a few shortcuts I know. One of them is this footpath, sort of an alleyway between streets, with high fences on both sides and tree branches overhanging everything.

GAUNT: Is this relevant?

SHARMA: Look, I’m either telling this or I’m not. You asked how I got kidnapped and this is what happened.

MAKER: It’s all right, just carry on in your own way.

GAUNT: Maker, I am dealing with this witness—please wait your turn.

MAKER: He’s my witness, Simon. Stop badgering him.

SHARMA: Um … So anyway, I was riding pretty fast along the path only about five minutes from home, and that’s when I was attacked.

GAUNT: By elves?

SHARMA: Yeah, but at first I thought they were monkeys.

GAUNT: … Monkeys?

SHARMA: Right. Because they were in the trees and they were all sort of jumping down on me.

GAUNT: Because monkeys are certainly an indigenous species of Ironbridge.

SHARMA: Was that sarcasm? That wasn’t bad, coming from an old guy like you.

MAKER: Navin …

SHARMA: Sorry. I only thought they were monkeys for a second. I soon realized they were wood elves, but by then I had three of them surrounding me and I’d been knocked off my bike.

GAUNT: And how did you know what a wood elf was?

SHARMA: I’d seen one in Maker’s workshop while I was in there with Donna.

GAUNT: Ah! So you admit that you broke into Maker’s workshop?

SHARMA: The place had already been broken into. We were investigating.

GAUNT: You’re saying that Donna Underwood willingly took you to a place belonging to the alchemists?

SHARMA: Well … I wouldn’t say willingly. Not exactly.

GAUNT: Then what would you say? Exactly.

SHARMA: I sort of followed her.

MAKER: Simon, I thought you wanted to keep this witness’s testimony relevant? We were talking about how Navin Sharma was abducted. Shouldn’t we return to that point?

GAUNT: Very well. But later, I would like to revisit the matter of exactly how many of our secrets Underwood shared with a commoner.

MAKER: Noted. Navin, please continue.

SHARMA: Okay, so this
commoner
was lying on the ground with his bike on top of him. My leg was trapped and I was trying to get myself free when the elves started wrapping me up in vines.

GAUNT: Vines?

SHARMA: You know, like in Tarzan?

DONNA UNDERWOOD: [Choking sound.]

SHARMA: It was weird, man. I tried to fight them off, but they’re strong little suckers. They were so fast, too—had me covered in those vines from head-to-foot before I
knew anything—it was like being packaged up by a spider. A really big one.

GAUNT: You didn’t cry out for help?

SHARMA: Of course I did! But for one thing they’d stuffed those damn vines in my mouth, and for another I thought maybe my leg was broken and it hurt like a
Mother Fucker.

MAKER: Navin, if you could remember where we are? And Simon, please try to remember that this young man is a witness. He is not on trial.

SHARMA: I might as well be, the way everybody but Maker and Quentin have been treating me.

GAUNT: You will address Mr. Frost as “Archmaster.”

SHARMA: Why? As you’re so keen on pointing out, I’m not an alchemist. I’m not part of your freaky little club.

GAUNT: Mr. Sharma. After you had been … “wrapped up” in vines and subdued by the dark elves, what happened then?

SHARMA: One of them smacked me in the head with something and the next thing I remember was waking up in total darkness.

GAUNT: They took you to Ironwood Forest?

SHARMA: To the Elflands, yes.

GAUNT: And where were you kept?

SHARMA: In a pit. A dark, freezing cold pit with insects and all kinds of shit down there. They’d untied me, but that was only because there was no way I could go anywhere. I thought I was dead for sure.

GAUNT: Why do you think they didn’t kill you?

SHARMA: Is that a trick question? Obviously, they were using me as bait.

GAUNT: Because the Wood Queen, Aliette Winterthorn, she whom the alchemists know as the
Heinous Boooy,
wanted to force a meeting with the Underwood girl in an effort to obtain the elixir. Is that correct?

SHARMA: Right.

GAUNT: How did you survive the dark elves, Mr. Sharma? It is highly unusual that once taken into the Ironwood a mere human would escape … intact.

SHARMA: That’s because most other people don’t have Donna Underwood on their side.

Transcript Ends.

In the spirit of keeping things much shorter than last time, a big thank you to the following people who helped to make this book a reality:

To Miriam Kriss, an agent that any writer would be lucky to have. Thanks for talking me down, building me up, and everything in between.

To Brian Farrey, Sandy Sullivan, Lisa Novak, and the whole Flux gang. You made my book a hundred times better, yet again. Thank you for all your hard work.

To Jessica Clarke and everyone at Random House UK. For support above and beyond the call of duty, each and every one of you rock. Jess, you are an “Authority Figure” I am more than happy to look up to!

To my friends and fellow writers. You help me to stay sane (mostly) and inspired (always) on this crazy writing journey.

To the Deadline Dames. For everything.

To my family. You all seem so proud of me for writing these stories; thank you for the love and support.

And last, but by no means least … to Vijay Rana. Veej, without you there would be no books and no writing career. You’re my favorite person. (Blanket!)

© Vijay Rana

Karen Mahoney (United Kingdom) has published anthology stories about a kick-ass teenage vampire named Moth and is also the author of
The Iron Witch
, the first book in her trilogy. She has a highly trafficked blog where she talks about everything from writing books to her lifelong love of Wonder Woman.

Visit Karen online at
www.kazmahoney.com.

Donna Underwood’s adventures continue in Book III of The Iron Witch Saga, coming soon.