going to ask, we wouldn’t escape unscarred.
“The payment I request is a bloodstone known as the heart of the forest.
If you retrieve this for me, then I will cast the blocking spell.”
“What is it?” I asked, warily. “And why do you need us?”
Cavra was a being of immeasurable power. It had to be a suicide mission.
She lifted my chin with a claw. “So suspicious.”
Jaxson’s eyes dilated, but I met her gaze without flinching.
Her eyes flickered with desire. “The heart is located on a basalt pillar in
the center of the Glen of Shadows, not far from here. It is the one place in the
Vale that my magic is useless, and as such, I’ve never been able to reach it.
You, on the other hand share a certain kinship with the darkness, if I’m not
mistaken.”
I pulled the shadows around myself in answer, and she released my chin.
“Good. It’s almost like the fates sent you to me.”
Even though I didn’t trust the fates for a second, shadows were at least
one thing I could control. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad.
“A darkness inhabits the glen,” Cavra continued, “and if the shadows
catch you, they’ll drag you down into the earth, where you will slowly be
devoured.”
I was wrong. We were screwed.
Maybe we didn’t need to do this after all. Finding and killing Kahanov
would solve all our problems. We could just skip Cavra and her forest of
hungry shadows.
Jaxson was unusually quiet as he considered Cavra’s words, and then he
spoke. “What happens if the bloodstone is taken?”
“The shadows will be dispelled and no harm will befall you, if that’s what
you were wondering.”
I studied her face and scent, but her emotions were a blank slate, and I
couldn’t tell if she was lying.
We shouldn’t trust her, my wolf said.
“I’ll go,” Jaxson said, turning to me. “Stay here and keep your eyes
open.”
Irritation flashed through me at his protectiveness. “Like hell. I’m coming
with.”
“She must go with you, or you will fail,” Cavra said quietly, though her
words rang with stone-cold certainty.
For better or worse, this task fell to me.
Jaxson knotted his fists. “Together then.”
I crouched and tightened the laces on my tennies, wishing I’d worn my
magic boots today. “Any pointers you want to give us so we don’t die?”
Cavra smiled down at me and raised her arm, pointing toward the forest
to her right. A swarm of tiny lights shot from her palm and began winding
their way through the dense trees. “Follow them. You’ll know when you’ve
arrived. Move quickly. Don’t speak. And if the shadows envelop you, don’t
look at them directly.”
How did you avoid looking at a shadow if it was surrounding you?
“Got it.” Standing, I pulled my hair into a ponytail as I took a deep
breath. “Okay, let’s do this, Jaxson.”
He glared at me, and I heard the rumble in his chest. “You lead. I don’t
trust this place, and I’m not taking my eyes off you.”
Dread pooling in my belly, I took off after the lights as they disappeared
into the trees. They reminded me of the lights in Alia’s apartment, but they
seemed to be sentient, or at least under Cavra’s command.
Pretty little lights, leading us to our deaths.
We moved quickly, and my breathing became heavy. The forest was
humid, and my shirt dampened with sweat. The whole place pulsed with a
hypnotic drone that made me drowsy, despite the adrenaline pumping
through me.
Every motion I made felt a little too slow. I ducked under a sheet of
silvery moss that hung from a branch high above and tripped on a root. No—
a rock.
Jaxson wrapped his arm around my waist, catching me before I
faceplanted. “Keep your eyes on the ground.”
His deep voice dragged over my damp skin, and I couldn’t help the
tingles that spread through me. Once I’d found my footing, he released his
arm, though I could still feel the heat of his body behind me.
“Holy hell,” I whispered, taking in the sights ahead. The dilapidated ruins
of what looked like ancient stone buildings rose from the jungle, partially
covered by the dense vegetation. “What is this place?”
“Legends say that the Dreamlands have been populated by different
species of Magica for millennia. This must be the remnants of one the Great
Cities,” Jaxson said and softly pressed against my back. “Come on, let’s keep
moving. We don’t want to be left behind.”
I nodded and caught up with the lights, which had kept on winding their
way deeper into the trees. God, I hoped we could find our way back.
We circled around a giant bust of a humanoid creature with almond eyes
lying half buried on its side.
Taken by its unique features, I slowly stepped around it, but Jaxson
grabbed my arm and stopped me short. His hand cupped over my mouth as he
towed me down behind the stone bust, gesturing with his chin to the bushes
on our right.
Heart pounding, I searched the trees for any sign of what Jaxson had seen,
but all I saw were the same strange birds from earlier. I glanced around at
Jaxson, whose hand was still covering my mouth, and gave him my best what
the fuck look.
His body stiffened, and his gaze was locked on something behind me.
Slowly, I turned my head, focusing on the trees. Still, I saw nothing, but then
the slightest movement caught my eye.
At first, it was too subtle to make out its form, but when it moved again,
my brain finally processed what I was seeing: a squat, hunched body, no
more than five feet tall, with arms that hung to the ground. As it moved, its
skin shifted and blended with the foliage, making it virtually impossible to
see. Where there should have been hands, there were two hooked, obsidian
talons.
I jerked backward into Jaxson, stifling the squeak that tried to rip from
my throat. My claws and muscles ached as my wolf jumped in my chest, but
Jaxson pressed his magic into my back, and I relaxed slightly.
Shit, Cavra hadn’t said anything about these things. What else was
lurking out here?
Movement to our left revealed a second creature rooting around under a
rotten trunk. Something told me that that was what those hideous claws were
for.
Jaxson slowly released his hand from my mouth and motioned for me to
follow. We slipped back around the head of the ruined bust, keeping a wary
eye on those things.
Apart from the shrill squawks of the birds and the skuttling of things in
the underbrush, the jungle was quiet, which meant those creatures hadn’t seen
us. Probably.
The glowing lights that had been guiding us were long gone, and there
was no telling in which direction the bloodstone lay. Still, Jaxson pushed
forward, and I followed wordlessly.
We continued in silence searching for any sign of the lights, but they
were gone, and everything looked the same.
Panic began to fester inside me, and my skin chilled. As if sensing
something, Jaxson paused mid-step. He cocked his head to the right, scanning
the trees, and then he whispered, “Run.”
It took a second to register, but when he pushed me forward, I sprinted
into the trees. Thunderous movement crashed behind me, and I stole a glance
back, dread coiling in my stomach. Jaxson stood immobile, crouched with his
claws out, ready. I spun behind a tree and peered around the side of the
twisted trunk.
What was he doing? Why hadn’t he come with me?
Suddenly, a giant thing launched out of the trees and soared through the
air toward Jaxson. Its skin kept shifting colors, and its two hooked talons
glinted in the light that permeated from the leaves overhead.
Jaxson shot forward and ducked beneath the monster’s talons. In a flash,
he’d grabbed the creature’s arm and twisted. There was a snap, and then
Jaxson hurled the monster backward.
The beast landed nimbly and paused. As if sensing my presence, it bent
its reptilian head and looked right at me. It tilted its neck back and barked like
a goddamned velociraptor. Seconds later, a similar bark echoed through the
jungle, followed by another.
“Run, Savannah!” Jaxson roared as he leapt out of the monster’s striking
distance. “Get the damn stone. I’ll find you!”
With my gaze locked on the monster, I took a step backward and spun.
But my foot caught on a root, and I tripped, landing hard on my palms.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
With my pulse pounding in my temples, I scrambled to my feet and
sprinted away from Jaxson and that thing. More barking cut through the
jungle, and the sound of something large moving through the trees toward me
made my blood curdle. Was this a trap to lure us to our deaths?
No. I had the sense that if she had wanted to, Cavra could have killed us
right there. I was certain she believed we had a chance.
But maybe just a slim one.
I skuttled behind a crumbled wall and listened. Apart from the pulse of
the Dreamlands and my pounding heart, there was nothing nearby.
I wished that Sorsha had prepared us a little more for this. All she’d told
us was that navigating the Dreamlands was more about your intent than
geography.
Maybe that was something. Hope dwindling like sand in an hourglass, I
squeezed my eyes shut.
I need to find the heart of the woods.
Repeating the thought over and over like a mantra, I opened my eyes and
began moving forward with a pool of dread in my chest. Ducking under
branches and moss, I scanned my surroundings for any sign of that damn
basalt pillar with the bloodstone.
Nothing.
I pushed onward, scrambling around and over the ancient ruins that the
jungle had claimed. Finally, as my mind grew numb from repeating the
mantra, the lights from earlier appeared ahead.
I brushed an oversized palm leaf aside. The lights had stopped and were
clustered and hovering around a pitch-black void in the trees.
The Glen of Shadows. It had to be, judging by the way the darkness
leaked out of it like tendrils of smoke. I glanced behind me, praying that I’d
see Jaxson, but he was nowhere.
“Crap,” I muttered, forcing my feet forward. I took several gasps, trying
to get my breaths under control. I just had to go in, move quickly, and find
the stone without looking at the shadows. Piece of cake.
I stopped just short of where the darkness started, and my skin tingled.
A chorus of faint whispers filtered out of the blackness: Join us. In the
darkness, you will find your answers. Take what you want. You belong here.
You are one of us.
Shit, I didn’t want to do this.
I don’t either, so now would be a great time to figure out how to get out
of this, my wolf said.
I laughed. “I think we’re out of options.”
Well, glad you’re driving this time.
Although that wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence, warmth filled me. I
wasn’t alone.
I bit my lip. I hope Jaxson is okay.
He’s fine. I’d know if he was hurt, my wolf said in my mind.
Would she? Why? There was so much I didn’t understand about
werewolves.
I pushed the nagging thoughts out of my mind and steeled my courage.
Then I stepped into the glen.
37
Savannah
I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the dimmed light. Despite what it had
looked like from the outside, it wasn’t pitch black, but rather like the tail end
of dusk.
Unfortunately, the shadows I’d seen snaking out were also inside, moving
across the ground like liquid mercury. They must have sensed me because
they began pooling and drifting in my direction.
Cavra’s words rang in my mind. If the shadows catch you, they’ll drag
you down into the earth, where you will slowly be devoured.
I picked up a broken branch and tossed it into the shadows. It disappeared
when they shifted away.
That was creepy.
A least I was good at seeing in the dark now—a byproduct of my own
shadow magic. It was very easy to differentiate between shadows, and the
shadows.
I moved as quickly as I could, while keeping my eyes peeled. The glen
had the same flora as the outside but none of the animals, which hopefully
meant there wouldn’t be any of those monsters.
The shadows probably had eaten them all.
My sense of direction was shot, and the deeper I moved into the glen, the
darker it got.
“Where the hell are you?” I hissed in frustration.
All around you, just take a look.
I jumped at the whispers. Was that the darkness answering?
“I’m looking for a bloodstone. Where is it?” It didn’t hurt to ask.
The air cracked around me, and the whispers turned into growls. You
can’t have it. It’s ours. OURS… like you are ours, little sister.
Oh, hell, no.
I kept moving, even though the fear that had taken root in my heart urged
me to curl up in a ball. I kept my mouth shut and focused my intention on the
heart of the woods.
Ahead, the crumbling wall of an ancient building blocked my path.
Want some claws? my wolf asked.
I’ve got this, I answered, feeling her challenge.
Grabbing hold of the vines snaking along its side, I hauled myself up,
praying that I’d be able to see the pillar from the top.
Chest heaving, I finally reached the top of the wall, and my heart leapt. In
a small clearing ahead was a black pillar of stone with a ruby-red gemstone
sitting atop it.
I moved to climb down the other side when something beneath me
shifted. Stones skidded, and then the face of the wall caved in beneath me. I
landed hard as the limestone and rubble showered down around me.
I struggled to get up, but my body jerked. My foot was stuck.
Grunting, I shifted my weight backward and saw that my leg was trapped
beneath a huge limestone block that had tumbled over. Fuck.
Panic surged through me, and though I gripped the stone and pushed, it
was too heavy and wouldn’t budge. I twisted my foot and tried to angle it out
of t
he hole between the blocks, but it wouldn’t fit. Sighing, I took a breath
and closed my eyes, attempting to calm my nerves. It would do me no good
to panic, I needed to stay calm and figure out a solution.
When I opened my eyes, my heart froze. Shadows were snaking around
me as dark tendrils moved down the ruined wall and across the jungle floor,
shrouding everything they covered.
My chest ached, and my fingertips itched.
Let me take over! the wolf inside me shouted.
But I didn’t trust her. What if she was still stuck after we shifted? And
would she have enough sense to grab the bloodstone?
Shift, or we’re dead, she urged.
No. I could handle this.
Magic coursed through me, and a wave of cool spread across my flushed
skin. My darkness pulsed inside before pushing out and enveloping me in a
shadow of my own creation. It strained against the darkness of the glen,
pushing it back.
My teeth chattered as I fought to hold my focus. Every muscle in my
body burned, and yet, I was barely holding back the shadows. I kept my gaze
down, heeding Cavra’s warning and avoiding any direct eye contact with the
monsters.
My hands trembled with the strain, but slowly, with each agonizing
second, the shadows inched backward.
I was stronger, but how long could I hold this?
I looked past my shaking arms at my trapped foot. “A little help, here?” I
said to myself, hoping to God that the beast inside me was listening. She was
stronger than me—physically, at least—and maybe she could give me a little
of her strength.
Now you want my help? she answered.
“Can you help me move this block or not?”
Probably, but you’ll owe me a bacon cheeseburger when we get home.
And a run.
“Fine,” I croaked, feeling my strength waning.
Okay, give it a shove.
I said a silent prayer and released my magic, dropping my hands to the
stone at my foot. Taking a breath, I shoved it with everything I had. That we
had.
My muscles strained with a power I had never felt before, and the block
lifted and tumbled over to the side.
“Holy shit!” With my foot now free, I leapt up, shocked by my sudden
strength.
My strength, my wolf chided.
“Our strength,” I corrected, as I tested my ankle. It was scratched but
Untamed Fate (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 2) Page 26
