Chapter 16
Alora
Chilling, dank mist engulfs our surroundings as I narrow my eyes towards Leeson and Caym’s horses. They’re not too far ahead of us, my captive and me, but they’re moving much quicker than with what Dahla can keep up.
I keep allowing the reins to slacken up, if only to give the loyal mare a chance to move more freely. But part of me begins to worry if that’s been a mistake.
The mossy scent of the forest fills my nostrils, and though I usually enjoy the fresh earthy smell, this somehow causes the hair on my arms to stand up.
It’s more aged, heavier than it should be.
Dreamlike almost like the times your brain tricks you into believing you’re somewhere else.
“Alora!” The Devourer’s voice booms over my shoulder and I jerk back on Dahla’s reins as I startle from my thoughts.
Dahla pulls up, threatening to overturn us as she raises onto her hind legs.
“Damnit, you’re okay girl.” I reassure Dahla as I squeeze my thighs together in an attempt to stay upright as she sways her hind end and begins to circle the trail, stepping on twigs in the process.
I still don’t know why he yelled my name as I blink through the tangible haze. The trail has been swallowed by the thick foggy tendrils and I can’t make out which way Leeson and Caym are heading.
“Alora!” This time my name is shouted from behind us and I spin Dahla in that direction. Caym’s voice echoes through the trees along with the shuffling sound of leaves and twigs.
“Little Warrior, they’re mimicking.” Urgency and power thread within The Devourer’s words as he squeezes my side and some of the confusion clears.
His heavy breath continues in my ear, “The spirits are testing us,” a distant cry pelts my eardrums causing him to pause, “and at this moment, believe it or not, you’re falling for their tricks.”
“Where are the others?” My voice cracks slightly, because he’s right. I should have kept my wits the moment I noticed the eerie mist forming.
“Turn Dahla back around, the phantoms would lure you away like a siren.”
This could be a trick, he could be hoping to lead me astray so he could leave me and run back to King Euron. My shoulders tense as I calculate which way to face Dahla.
“Alora,” his strained voice is low, “I would rather not end up being tormented by these damned beings and stuck in this primordial mist, so please, for the love of gods, turn her around.”
The fog is so dense that all I can make out is the chestnut head of Dahla in front of me. Thick tendrils snake around my hands, and the wispy blanket covers from my thighs downwards to the trail, hiding any clue of where we are.
My pulse begins to hammer in my chest as I look from side to side, but all I see is more of the damned white fog.
Turning in my seat, I face The Devourer and stare into his eyes. I bounce from eye to eye, noticing the black flecks in one eye, and the more hazel hue to the other. Aside from the entrancing green, he looks concerned. Like he’s witnessing a lost child plea for their parents.
“I cannot hear them as you do,” he continues as he studies me.
“You pulled on Dahla after you slowed our pace. I merely thought you were falling asleep but now I see that I was wrong.”
My brows furrow as I listen to his words.
“Caym and Leeson were just there in front of us and I was watching them as the fog began to pour in.” I explain more to myself than him.
“Little warrior, they’ve been ahead of us for nearly ten minutes, out of sight.” He raises his brow, not in condescension, but in worry that is etched into his forehead.
I recount my memory from earlier, the moment I smelled the earthy scent. Had I really lost track of time since then?
“How do you know about these woods, Devourer?” I nearly shout at him, fog and a sinister feeling creeping in on me.
He shifts and then looks away. “There are far more ancient things in this realm than you realize, Alora.”
With the fog engulfing us, I begin to search for any sign of direction.
“Turn the horse around, she’ll lead us the right way.” His words offer a cushion against the pressing mist.
“You do not trust me, but you do trust Dahla. So let her move us before we’re lost to the forest.”
It’s reasonable, his request, so I simply turn Dahla and then let her lead us on.
Her hooves eat the distance and we pop out of the encasement of fog.
I peek over my shoulder as my hair tousles about, the phantom mist seems to have stayed put as the unnatural wall of gloom pulses and swirls.
The Devourer also peers back, his inky locks bouncing with the cadence of Dahla’s gallop.
I’m not sure what’s more terrifying at the moment—the man who is the monster, the primitive, ancient fog that threatens to swallow us, or the fact that for a moment I was lost out of my senses.
I exhale a shaky breath and turn back around and look for any trace of Caym and Lees.
The trees are thick in this part of the forest, their trunks of jagged puzzlepiece bark lined with lichen and the large bushy branches of dark green needles.
The path is mostly obscured due to the forested giants, but leveling my gaze between two out—croppings of trees I notice a horse round a bend in the trail.
“Thank goddess.” I murmur and spur Dahla on, urging her faster.
The Devourer grips my waist tighter, his fingers unwavering in their grip. It’s as if they’re tethering me to the realm right now, and I can’t help but feel thankful for them, as perverse as the feeling is.
They’re firm, piercing, and very much real. Not imagined like the cries I’d heard moments ago.
Dahla continues onward, her steps taking us around the curved trail and leading us from the thicket of forest.
My breath returns as Caym and Leeson come into view. They’ve stopped along the trail that begins to wind between a small slope of two hills. They’re facing our direction, waiting. She’s closer to us than Caym, with a few lengths between them.
Lees’ eyes blink and her brows relax as she grabs her chest. Caym glares at us and shakes his head. His mouth falls open as if he’s shouting something.
My ears prick up, trying to decipher his words. It’s useless, his voice is too muffled.
He brings his hands up to cup around his mouth and yells again, “You worried me damnit!”
The Devourer sighs behind me before muttering, “Well that makes two of us.”
“You didn’t let on then.” My words are clipped.
The reality is that the fog was quickly becoming too much for either of us. It gnaws at me that I almost let myself get lost in it.
I pull the reins tight, halting Dahla, and twisting around to face my captive who is more of a thorn in my side than I thought he’d be.
“You’ve got some nerve, Devourer.” Anger fills my chest and I feel the flush of crimson rushing up my chest and into my face.
If it hadn’t been for him, King Euron, The Nightmare, the reality of our world…I wouldn’t have to be in this situation. Hunted by spirits and mercenaries alike, haunted by my past.
My eyes harden on his green orbs as I say, “You’re the very reason we’re in these damned woods running like hares.”
His gaze doesn’t stray, it remains unrelenting, instead he just sits there looking at me like I’m the one to blame.
“I did not ask to be brought here. I’m helpless in my actions just as I’ve always been.”
As I’ve always been. Whatever he means by that.
The wind whips strands of hair across his face, all while he continues to study me.
A bird trills in the background catching my attention. I begin to turn away from him, but his whisper stops me.
“I know that kind of anger Alora, the one that bubbles from within,” he pauses before continuing, “the kind of anger that’s bred from fear and desperation. You’re as mad at me as you are yourself.”
My face begins to sting as if it’s been slapped.
All I can do is swallow before shifting back around to face Leeson and Caym.
I nudge Dahla and she walks on. The Devourer might be at my back, but I’m grateful I don’t have to look into his face and see the same judgement that lies heavy in my heart.
Using my sleeve to wipe my eyes and brow, I sniff away the emotion that causes my nose to burn.
Leeson and Caym turn their horses and continue down the trail as soon as we’re closer and within a safe distance.
I sit there, simmering in the energy that’s turned sour between The Devourer and me. It’s unfair that a stranger, a monster really, recognizes the same ugliness in himself as he does me. Maybe I’m not any better than him in the end.
I stretch my back and legs the best I can while in the saddle, fatigue settling in my joints. I’m so damned ready to be out of these woods and away from this extra baggage behind me.
Glancing towards the sky, the sun is nearly behind the mountains, casting the forest in blue shadow.
Irritation seeps from my voice, “Great. Nightfall and moons’ rise is almost upon us. Another blasted night spent on the unforgiving bedroll.”
I shift uncomfortably in the leather saddle again and I’m met with silence from my captive.
The landscape looks the same as we continue further. The tree canopy threatens to choke out the sky as it shows off, providing its purple and pink sunset as a backdrop to our travels..
I find my mind wandering among my thoughts as I watch two squirrels chase each other around another large trunk.
A nearby caw has me turning my head to watch Kina land on a bare treelimb.
“The Hidden must offer something to gain the loyalty of such creatures.” The Devourer’s observation breaks the silence.
I sigh, “Perhaps ravens are just a good judge of character.”
He’s quick to reply, “Well that’s uncontested, they always have been. But I’m curious as to why they would follow you away from their home.”
I don’t get a chance to answer, one of the horses in front of us lets out a squeal as its body collapses beneath its feet. The other horse, the one Leeson’s on, rears and tries to break from the confusion, almost overturning.
I’m frozen in place as my mind tries to catch up to what my eyes are seeing. Caym’s horse continues to scream and thrash, though Caym isn’t anywhere to be seen.