The Forsaken Saga Complete Box Set (Books 1-4)

by Sophia Sharp

  Yet, there was something about the way he’d turned back, the motion the elder made… It felt as if he were saying, come and get me.

  Nora fixed the spot where he disappeared in her mind, and she started for it.

  Not long after, the first line of trees appeared over the horizon. They were even bigger that Nora expected. Their trunks were not as wide as a city block, but rather the size of three or four blocks combined. Enormous, bushy branches extended down from the top, and the smallest leaf was the size of a family minivan. These trees were definitely not a natural formation – they were something possible only in dream.

  Nora ran toward them. The dark seemed to magnify itself beyond the first row of trees, becoming thicker and even more menacing. And based on the spot the elder disappeared in her mind, Nora still had quite a way to go.

  She slowed as she came before the forest. The dark trees loomed high over her, their thick branches and leaves creating a canopy above that no light could penetrate. She heard no sound, which made it all the more uncanny. There was always sound around living things like trees, the wind rustling through the branches or small animals running to and fro. But here, there was nothing.

  Nora approached the first row of trees cautiously. The space between each trunk was massive, of course, but when Nora looked deeper into the woods she saw how shrouded everything really was. Not a single stream of light penetrated the thick barrier. She felt tiny, like an ant, lost in something much bigger than herself.

  The elder was somewhere in there. Why had he chosen this precise location to go to? Nora was sure there was something less than pleasant waiting for her within, but she had no choice except to go forward. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the forest.

  The air around her shimmered momentarily and then broke with a loud pop. Instantly, the entire illusion of the trees was gone. What stood in their place were strange, twisted rocks that curved in unnatural formations. They were tall, yes, but no more so than a two- or three-story house. They were definitely not the same height as the trees.

  Nora stopped and looked around. So the trees were nothing more than some trick created by the elder to confuse her. But, why? And what was the significance of the rocks that now stood in their place?

  The rocks did match the landscape a lot more than the trees had. There were many of them, extending as far forward as Nora could see. She had never seen a formation like this before.

  She didn’t have time to gape over things like that. The elder was still inside, somewhere in front of her. She focused on the spot where he’d disappeared in her mind and started toward it. There was still a long way to go.

  She didn’t take even ten steps forward before an uncanny rumbling shook the ground. Dust and sand from the rocks around her rained down. A low, menacing groan sounded together with the rumbling. Then both noises cut off at the same time.

  Nora froze and looked around. What was that? The way the rocks were spaced, less densely than the trees had been earlier, allowed her to see pretty well in any direction. She scanned the area around her for a threat. She saw nothing except the strange, twisting rocks.

  She started forward again, in the direction of the elder. Or rather, where the elder had last been. She did not run anymore, though. There was no point rushing headfirst into danger. She knew it would find her eventually.

  She walked on slowly and kept her eyes open for anything unusual around her. She had the gifts of the Vassiz, including her augmented senses and was keen on not letting them go to waste. She strained her ears for the barest hint of noise, but found nothing. Her eyes pierced the darkness ahead and to the sides, but saw nothing. Even her sense of smell found nothing in the dry air.

  She went ahead carefully. Every step she took could be a step into some unexpected danger. She wondered what all the rocks really were and how they had formed. The trees she saw before were an illusion, and as such could only have existed here, but everything else had some basis in reality. These rocks were only here because they were a reflection of something similar in the human world.

  She was about halfway to the spot where the elder disappeared when that rumbling came again. It was stronger this time, though, and accompanied by an overwhelmingly loud groaning that echoed from all around her. The ground shook beneath her feet. Nora whipped her head from side to side, trying to find the source. She could not. The noise came from everywhere at once, surrounding her and distorting her senses. It was so loud, and so low, like a mega subwoofer. She didn’t know whether it was the sound that caused the rumbling, or the rumbling that caused the sound. But she knew it was something dangerous.

  The rumbling grew stronger, until the entire earth shook with the tremors. Nora had to fight to stay on her feet. Small fragments of stone rained down all around her, breaking free from the unstable rocks. Cracks started to run across the ground, small at first, but they quickly grew to fissures as large as her wrist. For the briefest flash of a moment, she felt the elder again. There.

  Her eyes darted in his direction. He had moved, had come closer to her, and circled around to a new spot. Did he become visible to her so he could sense where she was? That was the only explanation for the momentary lapse. The shielding, however he did it, must work both ways, and he was making sure she followed.

  An especially strong tremor caught her feet and she could no longer keep her balance. She fell to the side, catching herself on one of the rocks. Her eyes, however, did not leave the direction of the elder.

  As abruptly as it started, the rumbling stopped. The low noise cut off, and everything was still. Nora looked around with wide eyes. In the aftermath of that, her beating heart seemed to drum so loud that anybody within a ten-mile radius would hear. The small rocks and dust that had been upended in the shaking slowly settled to the ground. Everything was quiet.

  Nora pushed herself off the rock suspiciously. Something was going on. Somethi—

  The ground a hundred feet away erupted in a massive shower of rock and earth. For a second, Nora thought a bomb had gone off. But then, she saw what really caused it.

  Bursting out of the ground was a snake of unbelievable proportions. Its head could have easily been the size of a small house. Large, dark eyes were framed by scaly skin, creating the appearance of eyebrows where there were none. A tongue slithered in and out of its enormous mouth. The rest of its body – at least, however much of it was above ground – was colored in vicious slashes of red and yellow. Nora had never seen such a beast before.

  Time seemed to slow for Nora as the snake looked around, searching the ground. Then its eyes found her, and it whipped forward.

  Nora barely had enough time to think before she found herself running for her life. Thank God she could move quickly. The snake came right after her, barreling over the ground and through the rocks as if they weren’t even there. Every single one of the odd-shaped boulders was smashed to bits, leaving only mayhem and devastation in their wake. Nora ran hard, not daring to glance back more than every few seconds. The snake was right on her, and each time she looked, seemed to be getting closer. The ground shook with the immense weight of the beast, and the air was filled with sounds of destruction. Nothing stood in the way of the snake’s enormous body.

  Nora knew even she could not fight off something like that. The snake was a monster. She tried the torrial, willing the snake to disappear, to dissipate, to light on fire, to shrivel up and die, but none of those things worked. She could feel the strain of the dream realm as it accommodated the nightmarish creature. She knew, because the torrial was not working, that the elder was controlling the snake. Much as he was in control when he held her in his cabin with those invisible bonds. The torrial did not seem to give her control over things that somebody else had created in this world.

  The snake chased after her, and Nora ran for her life. She did not want to think what would happen if the snake managed to catch up to her.

  She was fast, yes, but the snake was even faster. It was a monstros
ity, and Nora was sure it was only moving forward at a leisurely pace. She was its prey, and the beast was enjoying the hunt. Whenever it so chose, it would increase its speed and easily catch her.

  Nora glanced back again. Right when she did, the snake whipped its tongue out and flogged it side to side. The tongue darted toward her, going for her foot. Nora jumped up at the last possible moment, and the snake missed. She had an unpleasant flashback to fighting the daemon, to the way it used its own tongue to catch her. Nora landed and sped forward, with as much speed as she could muster, fleeing for dear life.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ~A Shining Cord~

  The chase continued for the better part of an hour. Nora ran and ran, unwavering in direction or speed. The snake continued just behind her, always a hair’s breadth from catching her but never close enough. That, at least, was a relief – she could not believe the snake would chase her for so long if it could have already gotten her.

  But Nora was tiring. She could feel the dull ache in her foot from the injury she sustained in the human world. She knew she couldn’t run forever. But what else was there to do? She did not have the power or the size to face the monstrosity behind her.

  The strain she felt on the dream realm also grew. The snake was not a natural formation, and the elder must be drawing enormous amounts of power to keep it present. Creatures like this could be accommodated for short bursts of time, like when they were formed in somebody’s regular nightmare, but an existence for any length of time like this was difficult for this world to sustain.

  Nora had an abrupt, dangerous thought. Could the snake be an illusion, much like the giant forest had been earlier? But that idea was quickly wiped away as the sound of yet more rocks shattering boomed from behind her. No illusion could destroy its environment that way.

  Nora dared to glance back, and to her surprise, found the snake a tiny bit farther away than she remembered. Was the beast also tiring? Was the strain of keeping it here starting to wear on the elder? For a moment, she caught the beast’s eyes in hers. They showed only one thing. Hatred.

  Nora turned and continued to run forward. If she didn’t think of something fast, she would be a goner. But what could she do?

  She had to know where the elder was. That way, instead of running in a random direction, she could at least head toward him. Perhaps that way the snake could turn on its master, if it saw that she was not the only prey here. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all she had.

  But how could she do that? The elder had camouflaged the connection, making it invisible to both him and her. Yet she knew that in the dream realm, there was always a small possibility…

  She felt the connection to him in her mind, imagining it as it should be. Then, drawing on the power of the torrial still in her hand, she willed it to appear. To her immense surprise, it did. Apparently the elder was just as shocked as she was, because she felt a flash of a astonishment along the connection. She held the connection in place, utilizing the control of the torrial, for just the few moments it took her to locate the elder. And she felt another sense of shock as she realized he was right behind her, elevated as if he were somehow riding the snake.

  She looked back. The snake had regained the distance it had lost earlier. But if the elder was back there, she should be able to see him – if she got high enough. She ran forward, angling toward a slanted rock. In two steps she bound onto it and leapt off, lifting herself into the air. She knew the move would let the snake get closer, but she had to do it. While in the air, she turned backward and looked down. Her jump had elevated her above the snake, and she could see the entire twisting body all the way to its tail. Sure enough, about halfway along the snake’s body, she found the elder. He was straddled on in an unusual harness and appeared to be, somehow, controlling the snake. Both his eyes were closed, but his hands worked before him as if handling reins. For the briefest glimmer of a moment, Nora saw three shining, iridescent cords connecting into the elder’s back. Each one of them extended far into the distance, so that Nora could not see their source. But only one of the cords continued on, through the elder, linking his chest to the snake’s head. That cord was what his hands were manipulating.

  Nora landed with a grunt and ran onward. What had she just seen? What were those cords? She didn’t know, but she would bet that they had something to do with how the elder was controlling the snake. An idea formed in her head. It was dangerous, and if she gambled and lost she would pay with her life. But if she didn’t even try, her life would be forfeit anyway. That made up her mind.

  She needed something sharp. She scanned the ground in front of her, and found it littered only with those peculiar rocks. There was nothing there that could help her.

  The torrial! Perhaps it could help her form what she needed. After all, the elder managed to form the enormous snake. A simple knife or sharp blade should not be particularly difficult. She should even be able to do it without the torrial’s help.

  Just to be safe, however, she drew on the figurine torrial to create what she needed. The first object to appear in her mind was the large knife the pickpocket had threatened her and Hunter with. Without any further thought, the knife appeared in her hand. It was larger now, however, and its blade was razor sharp.

  She looked at it for a moment. The circular figurine torrial had attached to it for some reason, forming the top of the hilt. Nora did not know why, but that gave her confidence in what she had to do. The torrial attaching itself to the blade was surely a sign of good fortune. Stranger things had happened here before.

  She kept running. She did not need to turn back to know the snake was on her tail – the terrible sounds it made as it crashed through the earth told her as much. She wished she had had the foresight to run toward the mountain when the snake first came after her. That way, at least, she could have had some sort of terrain advantage against the beast. Cursing her lack of forward thinking, she continued on.

  Even with weapon in hand, her plan was crude at best. She was hoping she could sever the shining cord that linked the elder to the snake. To cut it with the knife she held. She had to elevate herself above the level of the beast. And if she so much as stopped to turn once more, the snake would be right on her, crushing her under its immense weight.

  She worked her mind desperately. The ache in her foot was growing stronger, and she knew she couldn’t keep running forever. She didn’t have the endurance for it. Unless she did something now, the snake behind her would catch up, and the elder would have beaten her.

  Suddenly, she got an idea. The whole time the snake had been chasing her, she had run in, more or less, a straight path. But the body of the beast was long. What if she curved in a semi-circle, angling herself backward so she would meet the body of the snake? If the circle was tight enough, and the snake wound itself to follow her, she would have the opportunity to use her forward momentum to jump over its body. But she couldn’t veer off too sharply, because then the creature could just snap its head to one side and catch her in its jaws. And she only had one chance to do it. If she missed, or the blade didn’t cut the cord, or anything else went wrong, she would be a goner as soon as she landed.

  It was her one chance. Her only opportunity. It was life or death, and Nora wasn’t ready to face her end just yet. She veered left.

  She glanced over her shoulder just in time to notice the snake’s huge head snapping in her direction. She parried out of the way to avoid it. A brief sense of relief washed over her when she realized she was still alive. She had underestimated the snake’s dexterity – it was more agile than she thought. The near miss only added to the adrenaline pumping through her body. Her heart was beating so loudly she thought it might rip through her chest.

  She put her head down and picked up speed, continuing to curve the same way. The snake was right behind her, but already, she could see a part of its slithering body in her peripheral vision. She ran and ran, going as fast as her feet would take her, until she saw the eno
rmous scaly bulk of the snake directly in front of her.

  But her curve had not been tight enough. The elder was closer to the snake’s head than she’d estimated.

  In a split-second, Nora made the decision to curl in even tighter. It meant she would have absolutely no escape if she failed. But the only way to sever the cord was if she were in front of the elder. If she went for one of the three that stretched behind the elder, she would have no way of guaranteeing she got the right one. And if she missed, the snake would still be alive to take her in the aftermath.

  She went in closer. The snake snapped at her viciously, but again Nora sidestepped the attack. She picked up speed, angling herself toward the portion of the snake’s body in front of the elder. She could see him from where she was, sitting atop that saddle with both eyes closed, his hands continuing to manipulate the now-invisible cord. He was controlling the snake, and Nora would bet anything that he saw though the snake’s eyes. The hatred that shone in those eyes could belong to nobody else.

  She ran forward and jumped. Just at that moment, an enormous roar sounded from behind her, and a barrage of dirt and rocks smashed against her back. The snake had gone underground just before hitting its own body! This was it. Nora sailed over. When she was right above the snake, she reached down with one arm and slashed violently where she though the now-invisible cord would be. The blade in her hand cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. She felt no resistance. Did she miss? Panic gripped her as she fell toward the ground.

  Another great explosion erupted right before her, sending a new shower of earth and dirt in all directions. Time slowed. The snake’s great head appeared from underground right where Nora was going to land. The snake opened its jaws wide, and Nora could smell the poisonous venom contained in its mouth. Nora was going to fall right into the enormous mouth. There was no way for her to change direction. There was nothing she could do. She had missed the cord, and the snake was still alive, and now she was going to be killed by the beast.