59. Kaiya
Ilooked up and stared as the airship retreated further into the sky for safety. They wouldn”t return until we gave the signal that we”d found the relic.
We were alone in this clearing between the Forlorn Grove and the Heartless Basin, far from any backup or safety.
But everything was fine.
It wasn”t like every fucking step of the journey had been a struggle. Between the mythical Guardian trying to burn me to death, hordes of wraiths almost eating me, a genocidal relic killing half a village because of me, and my mentor turning out to be a heartless monster … standing at the edge of a forest where hundreds of agents before me had failed and died was nothing in comparison.
Yes. Everything was totally fine.
An unhinged giggle bubbled inside my chest as I yanked at the shackles around my wrists and glared at the crowd of mechs, collared mages, and wolf shifters who were supposed to provide protection while we searched for this mysterious creature. Not that they”d provided me any when I”d asked for it atop the ship.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to halt my hysteria. Now was not the time to lose my shit.
I had to focus if Tye and I had any hope of surviving.
ThenI would find a way to kill that evil bitch … and maybe … just maybe, that would offset the hurt I”d caused, if only a little.
Turning, I glared toward the asshole leader of the group.
”Hey, a little help here,” I called out, shaking the restraints, so they clinked loudly.
Holden spat something to the ground, then turned to face me. ”Hello again, bitch,” he growled as he pulled out a set of keys. ”How lovely to see you. Now, don”t go and forget your place. Remember what Frexin said? During this hunt, I am your Alpha, and your actions determine whether your mate lives or dies.”
I instinctively touched the bond, and anxiety twisted in my gut.
I pushed it down. I couldn”t afford to think about that now. My entire focus had to be on the mission and the mission alone if I had any hope of success.
Frexin”s briefing files talked about the dangers, and Liam had echoed the same warnings.
I yelped as Holden yanked my hands up sharply. With a glare he unlocked the cuffs, then did the same for the collar around my neck.
My magic came flooding back in, and I inhaled sharply at the welcome feeling. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like years. That damn collar was a million times worse than my ring.
I glanced at the collared mages walking around and felt a small twinge of pity for them, despite their role doing Frexin”s dark works.
They had to live with that suffocating sensation every minute of every day.
Holden spat at something on the ground, then turned to walk away, arms swinging at his sides.
”Weapon?” I called at his back.
He stopped and chuckled dryly. ”There is no way in all the hells I”m giving you a weapon, bitch. If you want to live, you”d better stick close to me.”
”But Frexin said —”
”Frexin isn”t my Alpha,” he sneered.
”Now group up, you sad excuse for a pack!” he shouted at the group of mages. ”You too, metal-heads.” He gestured toward the mechs. ”Group up around me!”
Frustration bit at me, turning my skin to fire. How in the seven hells was I supposed to get through this forest without a fucking weapon?
I was a good fighter, but not that good. And there was no way these assholes would be able to protect me.
Fuck!
”Most of you are outsiders, so don”t know to fear the Heartless Basin. Here is my best warning,” Holden growled. ”This isn”t like the rest of the wraith-infested forests on the Isle. We Isle-bound know better than to go into the Heartless Basin — because it doesn”t matter if you”re Isle-bound or in a metal contraption. This place doesn”t care. If you enter, the things in the forest will try to kill you. And you”re probably not coming out, at least not alive.”
He let that hang in the air.
”Somehow, though, your boss convinced my Alpha you”ll give my pack a fighting chance.” He glared at them. ”I don”t buy it. But I do what my Alpha tells me, and so will you.”
He spat on the ground at my feet. ”Here”s the plan. We go in as quietly as we can.” He pointed to me. ”This bitch has some knack for finding things, so she will be our compass. Once we find the relic the Reaper wants, we”ll sprint to a safe place and signal the airship to pick us up.”
Holden took a deep breath and glared at everyone. ”One last thing. We shifters can sense things you can”t, so I”d suggest you do exactly what I fucking say and stick close to my pack. If you follow that plan, some of you may even make it out alive.”
Well, that was … not an encouraging speech.
I looked at the two forests around us. Behind us lay the twisted, mangled forest of the Forlorn Grove — corrupted to the point that it was barely even recognizable as a forest. Everything was wet and sticky with unnatural decay, and it reeked of putrid death. It was without a doubt the most twisted place I”d ever seen.
Before us loomed something entirely different.
Giant trees, untouched by corruption, dwarfed the twisted forest behind us, their healthy massive trunks almost forming a wall. The branches and leaves high above blocked any hint of moonlight from reaching the forest floor, and everything was unnaturally still.
Curious, I opened my senses to look at it, and froze.
In the darkness, hundreds of korras — likely small creatures hiding in the trees — were watching us.
A shiver ran down my spine. The forest already knew we were here.
I looked at Holden, but he cut me off before I could speak. ”You noticed them, too?” he grumbled. ”Unsettling little monsters, aren”t they? Well, no need to keep them waiting.”
He turned to the group. ”Move out.”
The entire group began to shuffle into the darkness in two long rows.
The mechs and collared mages lead the way with lanterns, while I walked in the middle with Holden and two angry-looking shifters.
A mech operator nearby looked back at us. ”This doesn”t seem all that bad,” he said. ”Are you sure we weren”t supposed to go into that corrupted area back there?”
Holden laughed bitterly. ”Shows what you know. The real dangers on this Isle are not corrupted, kid. Now shut up and focus on your job and staying alive.”
The mech operator grunted, then looked out into the darkness between the massive tree trunks as wide as a house.
”Sense anything yet?” Holden asked, voice tight as he glared at the surrounding forest.
I reached out again with my korra — but the only things out of place were those strange creatures watching us from above. They didn”t move, but now that I knew they were there, I could feel their eyes following us … watching.
”Not yet,” I hissed. ”We need to move further in.”
He grunted without taking his eyes off the darkness ahead.
We walked in silence. The sounds of the mech”s hydraulic steps and the crunch of leaves and sticks beneath our feet.
Holden held up a hand, and the entire group halted. The shifters turned to face something to our right, and I followed suit, searching the darkness for whatever had them on edge.
There, just at the edge of a mech”s lantern light, an unnaturally tall gremlyn stood frozen, staring back at us. The tufts atop its ears were the size of my hand, and it was nearly as tall as a man.
Its ears twitched, turning one way, then the next, and my heart lurched.
But no one moved, and after a moment, the beast darted off into the night.
Sighing, I shook out my arms and rubbed at the scar on my brow. The little ones had dangerously sharp claws. I couldn”t imagine the havoc a big one could cause!
The mech operators and mages seemed to have the same reaction … but not Holden and the shifters. They remained tense, sharing glances as they searched the forest for something I couldn”t see.
And then I felt it.
A faint rumbling beneath my feet.
It was growing louder …
”Where”s it coming from?” yelled the mech operator from earlier.
”All around us,” ground out Holden as he and the other shifters adjusted their stances.
Fuck! I needed a weapon!
Panic twisted in my stomach as the sound grew and grew until a massive shape rumbled by us, just outside the lantern light. I could see glimpses of a thousand chittering feet carrying the massive creature, and it sent a shiver down my spine.
Another one passed us from the other side. And another chattered along further out.
Holy hells! We were surrounded by dozens of the things.
Holden grabbed my wrist so hard it hurt. ”Which fucking way?” he hissed.
”I — I don”t know!” I tried yanking my wrist free, but his grip was hard as stone.
Something slithered across my foot, and I jumped back, barely suppressing a scream.
”Look out!” called a shifter. ”There are vi —”
A scream filled the air as a nearby shifter was violently yanked off his feet and pulled out into the darkness. Then a collared mage screamed and disappeared … and then another shifter.
”Group the fuck up!”
”They”re everywhere!”
”It”s got me. HELLLP —”
I reached out and searched in the Korra Realm, but that was almost worse. Dozens of massive korras moved around us, taller than a horse and longer than the airship. Small, thin korras snaked and slithered across the ground, searching and reaching for us. Even the korras of the trees seemed to be leaning in, reaching for us.
I pushed that sight away and searched for refuge.
There!
Just ahead was a small copse of bushes.
Before I could step closer, three long pale skulls emerged from it, each with intricate horns. The body of the beast, disguised as a bush, rose up, its many large red eyes screaming danger.
”Gods,” I gasped as I stumbled backward and fell to the ground.
Screams of men and women surrounded me, and I searched desperately for a way out.
Something slithered up my ankle, twining itself around my calf, and I screamed, tearing at it with my fingers in panic.
Fuck!!
A snarling brown wolf bit the cords before I could do anything, ripping them from my legs then violently tearing the green strands to pieces.
Shifting back to his human form, Holden grabbed me again, sharp fingers biting into my bicep as he tugged me to my feet.
A sharp slap burned across my cheek.
”WAKE UP AND DO YOUR FUCKING JOB!” he spat as he threw me forward.
The dozen remaining wolves had formed a tight group and were barely managing to keep each other from getting pulled away.
Holden threw me into the center of the group and gestured toward the forest. ”WHERE?!”
My cheek burned and my heart raced, but I pushed all that away. I needed to survive!
Frantically, I searched the forest. Far beyond us, I could sense … something different from the strange, primal korras around us.
A man screamed to my left, and an entire mech cartwheeled through the air, crashing with a sickening crunch.
”There”s something that way,” I yelled, pointing deeper into the forest.
Holden returned to his wolf form, and the others snarled and howled as we ran in that direction.
Even running at an all-out sprint, I was barely able to stay with the pack and on my feet.
Another scream pierced the darkness, and I cast a single glance behind me.
My heart sank at the sight. The group of fifty had been whittled down to just me, a single mech, two collared mages, and Holden — with his pack.
I looked forward and felt again for that strange korra in the distance, praying it hadn”t been my imagination.
It”d felt similar to the many korras around us, but brighter and pulsing and …
Oh, gods. My stomach sank.
Just what did Frexin have us chasing?