Chapter 17 #2
“This morning when Winnie and Tibby bid me goodbye. I hugged Tibby—” She shook her head slightly. “The vision struck hard and without warning.”
Kaelan shifted closer to her, resting his shoulder against hers and his hand on her thigh. “Did it harm you in any way?”
The question caught her by surprise. He didn’t ask her what she saw or why she had not told him sooner. His immediate concern was for her alone.
The strength of his love continued to astonish her no matter how many times she felt it. She had never imagined one person could care so deeply for another, and yet he proved it true.
“Nay,” she answered softly. “It only frightened me.”
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer as though assuring himself she truly was unharmed before he finally asked, “What did you see?”
Bria explained about the two men arguing fiercely somewhere deep within the forest. One demanded answers while the other grew increasingly anxious, his hand drifting repeatedly toward his weapon as though he expected violence to erupt between them at any moment.
“The one man warned the other that if he failed again, there would be consequences,” Bria said quietly. “And they spoke of finding her.” She hesitated briefly. “The healer who can snatch the dying away from death. But what troubles me more is that the one mentioned that he grows anxious to strike.”
“Tharne Ruler of Drogath,” Kaelan said with distaste.
“I believe so. You know him?”
“Only by reputation.”
Something dark settled briefly in his expression before fading once more.
“Drogath has long desired greater power, power that is greater than Scotara’s,” he continued.
“And men willing to threaten and kill in search of it are common enough there. I heard rumors upon my arrival here. The king searches for a spy Tharne sent here, though I would imagine it was more than one. No doubt the king has spies in Drogath.”
Bria felt unease tighten inside her. “But why go after the healer?”
“To resurrect their dead from the battlefield and have a never-ending army of warriors.”
Bria stared at him, shaking her head. “That makes no sense. Such a healer would need tremendous power to accomplish such a—” Her breath caught as if it had been stolen from her.
“What’s wrong, Bria?” Kaelan asked, worried by how she paled so fast.
“Such power can only come from one place.” She lowered her voice. “Dark magic.”
That said enough to turn both silent.
Though Kaelan called it a path, Bria saw little sign of one as they continued walking.
The deeper they traveled into the forest, the more the land appeared untouched by regular passage.
Moss covered fallen trees thick as blankets, roots twisted across the ground like coiled serpents, and towering ancient trees rose so high overhead that their upper branches vanished into shadows.
The farther they traveled, the more oppressive the forest became.
The air itself seemed heavier somehow beneath the dense canopy overhead.
Light struggled to reach the ground, leaving much of the forest cloaked in cool shadows despite the daylight hour.
And now and again strange noises echoed distantly through the trees that Bria could neither name nor place.
Unease crawled steadily higher inside her.
Kaelan must have sensed it because he glanced toward her and said, “Kilham warned me about this part of the forest.”
Bria looked around warily. “Warned you how?”
“That this place lives more in darkness than light.” His gaze swept briefly through the thick woods surrounding them before returning to her once more. “But it is the only way to reach where we must go.”
Bria wished that answer comforted her, but it only added to her unease.
A short distance ahead the forest narrowed further between enormous rock outcroppings thick with moss and tangled vines. What little sunlight remained struggled weakly through the dense canopy above.
Kaelan slowed and stretched his hand out toward her.
Bria took hold of it instantly as though she had no intention whatsoever of letting go until they safely escaped this area.
Hours passed slowly and the forest appeared to keep changing around them.
The thick vines hanging from branches overhead resembled great twisted serpents sleeping amongst the trees, and the heavy silence surrounding them pressed so deeply upon her nerves that she found herself stepping closer and closer to Kaelan without realizing it.
He tightened his hold gently around her hand as he asked, “Did you need to stop and rest?”
Bria shook her head immediately. “Nay. The sooner we get out of this forest the better.”
“It should not be long now,” he said, though a sudden unease stirred inside him that he had no wish to pass along to her.
She went to tell him she hoped so but gasped instead as she watched a large man step silently from behind a tree, too silently for someone his size. Then five more men emerged from behind massive tree trunks until six surrounded them completely.
Kaelan reacted instantly, shoving Bria quickly behind him while drawing his sword in one swift motion.
To Bria’s surprise, the men laughed with amusement.
Kaelan swore softly beneath his breath and that more than anything sent fear tightening sharply through her.
She cautiously peered around him and immediately understood why.
None of the men carried a single weapon. Yet they faced Kaelan’s drawn blade with complete confidence. That could mean only one thing… magic.
Bria heard movement before she saw it. The vines suddenly came alive and she cried out when thick lengths twisted violently off nearby trees and whipped at her, wrapping tightly around her ankles and wrists before she fully understood what was happening.
More shot toward Kaelan, binding his sword arm and legs so quickly that his weapon slipped from his grasp and landed heavily upon the forest floor.
Kaelan fought, muscles straining violently against the vines tightening around him, but the more he struggled the tighter they wrapped themselves around his arms and chest.
The men laughed harder.
One of them stepped forward and lifted Bria easily over his shoulder despite her furious struggling, while another did the same to Kaelan, vines still binding him tightly as he fought to break free.
“Put me down!” Bria shouted, pounding against the man’s broad back.
The large warrior only laughed again.
Kaelan twisted violently, fury blazing across his face as he fought with all his strength to get to her.
She did the same, though knew it was futile, and yet she had to try. She had to fight, touch him, and feel his love for her as if somehow that would make a difference.
The large men continued to laugh at their useless efforts. They carried both Bria and Kaelan deeper into the dark forest.