26. Ash
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ash
T he forest was alive with magic. Something was wrong.
I was in my tree, having just surfaced from a deep sleep. I hadn’t slept this deeply for a long time.
I became aware of magic. Lots of it. It was dark and swirling and promised menace.
I jerked awake completely and stepped out of my tree, taking on my human form again. Despite being in human form, I looked through my tree’s eyes and took in the forest around me.
There was darkness everywhere. It moved through the trees, a being that consumed light. This darkness wasn’t only the absence of light; it was alive and looking for something.
What was it looking for?
Lorraine.
How the hell were they here again? The power I felt wasn’t magic; it was intent. It was the malice, the hatred, the need to destroy that I felt. And it was powerful—more powerful than it had been since that night Lorraine had run through my forest.
The vale was deathly quiet. No birds chirped in the trees. The other druses were quiet, staying in their trees, trembling. They knew something was here, but it was after Lorraine and it wasn’t their problem.
Why couldn’t they care for once?!
I turned around and ran to the cabin. I had to get to her before they did. I had to make sure she was okay. If they found her, only the gods knew what they would do to her. I wasn’t going to let them touch her.
When I got my hands on those assholes, I was going to rip them limb from limb. No more holding back, no more hurting to warn them. I’d made my point with the one that came back. Now, I would kill. I would do to them what they’d done to her, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
They were going to quickly learn that being on the receiving end was a special kind of hell.
When I reached the entrance to the area I’d blocked off, the magic wasn’t as it used to be. The barrier was gone. Broken, as if someone had crashed right through a large wall.
My body filled with dread. They had to have had some kind of magical help to be able to do this. To find her in this magic, too.
But who?
I would figure that out later. Right now, I needed to save her.
I crept toward the cabin, alert, ears strained for any sound. It was eerily quiet. No one seemed to be around. The cabin lay quiet in the morning sun, but darkness clung to its walls.
Everything looked normal, but it couldn’t be. Something felt wrong.
When I stepped onto the porch, it creaked under my feet. The door was slightly ajar.
I threw it open, breathing hard.
The cabin looked like a hurricane had been through it. The warped windows were broken, curtains were off their rails, half-hanging to the floor, ripped. The furniture was upside down, like there had been a struggle.
I ran to the room, expecting the worst. Blood everywhere, death. Lorraine’s body, mangled and hurt.
The bedroom was a mess, too. The quilt had been ripped off the bed, the curtains were on the floor, and the closet door had been broken off.
There was no sign of Lorraine.
“Lorraine?” I called out.
The cabin was quiet.
“Lorraine?” I bellowed.
I breathed hard, my mind spinning. Panic threatened to choke me. My blood rushed in my ears, and I tasted my heart in my throat. What if they’d killed her? What if I’d been too late?
“Oh, gods, what happened here?”
A woman’s voice sounded, and when I rushed to the front room, Philotes stood in the doorway, staring at the destruction.
She looked up at me. “Ash, where is she?”
“They took her,” I said, my voice cracking. “I don’t know if they killed her.”
“How did they find her?”
I shook my head. It was too much to process. “What if they killed her?”
“Ash, calm down,” Philotes said, coming to me. “You need to breathe. You can find her.”
“How?”
“Through the bond you have with her.”
I shook my head. I’d never done something like that. I hadn’t known it was possible.
“Take deep breaths,” Philotes commanded. “Slow your pulse and try to focus on your bond.”
Panic was still a live thing, pushing against my skin like a giant hand.
“You can’t let the panic take over,” Philotes said firmly. “You’ll never find her that way.”
I nodded and tried again. It was hard to calm myself.
“Deep breaths through your nose.” She breathed in, encouraging me to copy her. “And out through your mouth.”
I did as she said, and slowly, I got control over my panic. My heart slowed.
“Okay, now focus on your bond,” Philotes said.
I closed my eyes and tried to find it. Until now, I’d done my best to ignore this stupid bond. It had been the start of all my troubles.
“Can you find it?” Philotes asked.
I found it. I was connected to Lorraine as if a golden thread was spun between us. I nodded.
“Good,” Philotes said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“How is that good?” I demanded. “They have her, Philotes! They took her, and gods know what they’ll do to her!”
“I know,” Philotes said. “But if you can feel her, it’s a good thing. It means she’s alive.”