by Linsey Hall
“This thing won’t get us back across.” Tarron patted the side.
“I sure hope the king and queen have a plan for that.” I might have to save the amulet to use my transport power just to get us out of here.
Together, we staggered toward shore, Tarron never leaving my side.
Something dragged at my ankles, and I shrieked, gripping my sword tight. I broke away from Tarron, whirling and swinging out with my blade, adrenaline driving me.
The Sea Hag was barely visible beneath the surface, her black eyes gleaming malevolently within her green face.
I stabbed her through the shoulder, kicking out of her grip. Tarron’s magic swelled, and the water forced the hag backward.
“Come on!” he shouted.
The water pushed me toward the shore, helping me run.
We launched ourselves up onto the beach, and I looked back, spotting just the top of the Sea Hag’s head as she watched us from the water.
Panting, Tarron turned. His gaze landed on the Sea Hag. “She won’t follow us.”
“She already would have if she could.”
“You got her good underwater.”
“Yeah.” I coughed, pain wracking me. “Hopefully she didn’t get me right back.”
His gaze moved to mine, and I could see the same fear in his eyes.
Poison.
And it was a bad one.
How long did I even have?
6
We turned to face the interior of the island. It was small—enough so that it shouldn’t take us long to find the Oak Heart. Assuming we could identify it. The white sandy beach gave way to a line of trees. Tarron strode toward them, and I joined him, struggling to keep up.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and though he couldn’t touch me to support me physically, there was a slight warmth that gave me strength. I drew in a deep breath and staggered onward.
“The Oak Heart will heal you,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“If it will heal the wounds from Ankou’s minions, it will work on this.”
It was a non-answer—just his hope. I could hear it in his voice.
We had no way of knowing if it would work. But it was our only shot.
We reached the trees, entering a shadowed forest. The ground rumbled around our feet, and I stiffened, loathing my weakened state.
All around us, hands reached up from the earth. Clawed and gnarled, they were like something out of my worst nightmare.
Horror threatened to suffocate me.
The hands reached for our legs, gripping our ankles tight and slowing us.
My heart leapt into my chest and my skin chilled. I tried to yank myself free, but I was too weak. Tarron kicked the arms away from his own legs and drew a sword, slicing them away from my ankles. We kept going, but the hands rose farther out, all the way to the elbow. Several of them could grab us at once, and it took longer to kick and slice them off.
My heart thundered in my ears as the hands pulled harder. They could pull us underground.
The thought turned my blood to ice.
His gaze met mine, dark with worry. “You can use your amulet to fly. Go find the Oak Heart.”
“I’m too weak. And anyway, I’m not leaving you.” Not that I was doing much good here, either. I needed to find the strength to fight harder!
“Psst. Up here!” A voice sounded from above.
I looked up.
A pale figure stared down at me, slender and human-shaped, yet ephemeral. Almost like mist. He stood on a sturdy branch, his hand gripping another that hung over his head.
“Go.” Tarron tried to push me toward the tree, though his hands couldn’t exert any force. I staggered over, yanking my ankles away from the grasping fingers, and gripped a tree limb. It took all my strength to scramble onto the rough bark, pain singing through every muscle.
Below, Tarron hacked at the arms with his sword. It was like a scene out of a horrible zombie movie as thick red blood seeped into the ground around him, causing more arms to sprout.
“The damned arms can’t be defeated,” said the ephemeral figure. “It’s why we stay up here. Hurry!”
Finally, Tarron broke free of the clutching hands and leapt up to grab the tree limb. He pulled himself up next to us.
“Who are you?” Tarron asked.
The figure frowned. “Who are you? You are the ones trespassing upon our land.”
“I am Mordaca.” I didn't even bother to try to stand on the limb. Every part of me hurt so badly that I was pretty sure I couldn’t move. I gripped it tightly and tried to catch my breath. “We’re here to find the Oak Heart.”
“You look like you need it.” The figure’s gaze flicked to the sea. “Why would you wrestle with the Sea Hag?”
“For the heart.” I tried not to sound like his question was stupid. But why the hell else would I be here on nightmare island? This was not my idea of a vacation.
“Ah.” Understanding sounded in his voice. “So you were wounded before you encountered the hag.”
Tarron pointed to his blackened shoulder. “Ankou’s minions.”
“Yes, I should have noticed that earlier. They do not roam our island, but we have our own threats to deal with.”
“So the heart will cure her wounds?” Tarron asked. “It will get rid of the poison?”
“It will, if you can convince it to help you.”
“Where is it?” I asked. “I’m not sure I have that much time left.”
The figure knelt by me and withdrew a small bottle of potion from his diaphanous trousers. He handed it to me. “Drink this. It will heal the cuts, and while it will not get rid of the poison, it will give you enough strength that you might be able to find the Oak Heart in time.”
“Thank you.” I sucked it down. His demeanor was trustworthy enough. Especially since I could feel the cold claws of death climbing up my limbs. I didn’t have much choice.
Tarron watched with concerned eyes as the wounds on my body began to close. They stayed blackened from the poison, but they were no longer open and seeping.
Definitely an improvement.
I staggered to my feet, gripping the tree limb.
“I am Foress.” The figure waved his hand in greeting.
“Tarron. And thank you for the help.”
Foress nodded. “It is rare we see someone visit the island for the Oak Heart.” He tilted his head. “Never in my lifetime, in fact. And I am three hundred and fifty.”
“What are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” I searched his body for any clues, but there was no way I’d be able to guess what he was.
“Forest sprite.”
He didn't look like any forest sprite I’d ever seen, but I wasn’t about to correct him.
He gestured for us to follow him. “Come, I will show you the path to the Oak Heart. If you stick to the trees, you will be safe.” He hesitated. “Safer. One is never truly safe on the Isle of Forgotten Souls.”
I wondered if he were somehow a Forgotten Soul and not a forest sprite as he seemed to think. If you were a Forgotten Soul, surely you would rather take on another identity. It sounded like literally the worst thing in the world.
I glanced at Tarron, and he nodded at me. I imagined he was thinking the same thing I was.
Foress led the way across the tree branches. They’d all grown or been modified in such a way that they formed an easy pathway above the forest floor. There were handholds on higher branches and always one ready for my next step. Despite my weakness, I moved steadily through the trees behind Foress, determination driving me.
In the distance, I caught sight of other sprites watching us. They were just as ephemeral as Foress, with a distinct energy around them.
Definitely souls.
They had to be.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked.
“Me?” Foress asked. “All of my three hundred and fifty years. But some are far older than I.”
“And yo
u live in the trees.”
“We have a very nice settlement. Just ahead.”
We reached it a moment later. Houses were built amongst the branches—simple buildings with wood for the walls and bark for the roofs. They were as white as everything else there and had a ghostly quality about them. Walkways connected all the houses, and faces peered out of the windows.
I waved at one. The figure seemed to frown, then tentatively waved back.
Foress led us onto one of the walkways and into the middle of the settlement. Houses surrounded us, but no one came out to join us. I could feel their eyes burning into me, but they stayed hidden.
“I don’t suggest that you tarry long,” Foress said. “You are welcome to our hospitality, but as soon as the tonic wears off, you will be weak as a babe once more. I suggest you seek the Oak Heart immediately.”
“How will we know it?” I asked.
“Oh, it will be obvious. There is a great oak tree in the middle of the island. The biggest that there is. Within the trunk glows the heart. You may take it to heal yourself, but do not be distracted by the lights as you travel.” He started toward the edge of the settlement.
“What lights?” Tarron asked.
“The faerie lights. Ignore them and head upward. It will be obvious.” He gestured for us to follow, and we did.
He led us to the far edge of the town and pointed into the distance. “It’s not far. Go that direction and follow the slight slope of the ground. You will reach the Oak Heart if you do not stray off the path.”
“Thank you, Foress.”
Tarron nodded in thanks.
“Go now.” Foress disappeared back through the trees, silently and swiftly.
Tarron and I set off, moving quickly through the trees. The earth below shifted and moved, dirt tumbling in small piles as the arms underneath the ground moved.
I shivered. I hated zombies. “This place is horrible.”
“The stuff of nightmares.”
I kept my eyes off the ground and on my feet and hands, flicking between the two to make sure that every handhold was solid. I tried to avoid looking into the forest, but it was impossible not to catch sight of the faerie lights at the corner of my vision.
They pulled at me, fiercely strong. Desire surged within me, a desperate need to follow the lights.
They would lead me to the Oak Heart. And then to the key to leaving this place.
They will give me whatever I want.
Why wasn’t I following them?
It was stupid not to follow them.
I lifted my foot, intending to turn and let the faerie lights lead me to my deepest desire.
No.
Something screamed inside me.
No.
“Can you feel them?” I asked Tarron.
“Yes.” The word sounded like a growl. He was clearly fighting their pull.
“What do they drag you toward?”
“You.”
“What?”
“You. And the Oak Heart.”
“Oh.” Wow. I could feel it so intensely inside me. The faerie lights dragged me toward my deepest desire. They must be doing the same for Tarron.
And his deepest desire was…me.
I swallowed hard and kept moving, stashing that away for later. The lights tugged me toward him as well.
It took everything I had to resist the faerie lights, even biting my tongue until it bled. They pulled at me until my muscles and bones hurt and my mind screamed. But finally, we reached the edge of the branches.
Ahead of us, a massive oak tree sat in the middle of a clearing on top of a small hill. It was gnarled and ancient, beautiful in its own way. The base of the trunk glowed golden and bright, with a red light at the center.
“The heart,” I said.
Tarron grunted. “The ground is still moving around the tree.”
I looked down, spotting a flash of fingers beneath the loose dirt. “There have to be hundreds of arms.”
“We won’t make it to the Oak Heart,” Tarron said.
“Not if we walk.” I reached up and gripped the amulet around my throat. “I’ll use the amulet to access my wings. If I can fly to it, I can bring it back.”
Tarron looked torn by the idea. “I don’t like you going alone.”
“I don’t see how there is much choice.”
He grunted, clearly unhappy.
“You can try to get to me if I fail.” I glanced at his sword. “You’re pretty fast with that thing.”
He smiled, a cocky twist of his lips. “Fast? I’m the fastest.”
“Not as fast as me.” I shot him a grin that was just as cocky.
“We’ll live through this, then we’ll have a competition.”
I quite liked the sound of that. “All right. And I’ll kick your ass.”
“Get that Oak Heart first. Get well. Then I’ll kick your ass.”
“It’s a deal.” I gripped the amulet tight, feeling my magic surge to life deep inside me. It was weaker than normal.
Wings.
I imagined my wings working, magic flowing through me so they could help me fly.
My wings flared to life, and I looked back, grateful to see them fluttering behind me, looking like sparkling silver water.
“Be careful,” Tarron said.
“I will be.” I launched myself into the air, joy surging through me as my wings carried me high. I hadn’t been flying for long, but damn, did I love it. It temporarily masked the pain of missing my magic.
Quickly, I flew over the fields of grasping hands. Somehow, they seemed to sense me. They shot out of the earth, waving blindly and reaching for me. I shuddered. Fortunately, they couldn’t reach any higher than a couple feet off the ground.
I reached the oak in record time, dipping down to hover in front of the glowing red bark.
The heart was trapped inside.
Shit.
I couldn't just hack my way in there with my sword. That would definitely not work. Foress had said I was supposed to convince it to help me.
“How the hell do I do that?” I muttered. “I can’t speak tree.”
But maybe it could understand me. My intentions, or something. I needed to convince it that helping me was worthwhile.
I pressed my palm against the bark, feeling the warmth of the Oak Heart within. A warm healing light flowed up my arm.
I drew in a deep breath and tried to picture what I would do if I were healed. I would escape this place and return home. I’d save the Seelie and Unseelie alike.
The oak thrummed with energy, vibrations running up my arm.
“I don’t mean any harm,” I said, feeling crazy for talking to a tree. But hell, I’d do a lot crazier to achieve my goals. “I want to live to help people. My mother will kill thousands if I can’t escape here. I need your help. Please.”
The tree seemed to shudder, the air around me vibrating. Warmth flowed up my arm, and the bark in front of the glowing golden gem disappeared. There, sitting within a tiny cavern in the trunk, glowed a red gem.
“Thank you.” I reached for it, grasping the heart.
With the heart clutched in my hand, I turned around and flew back over the field of waving arms. They were grotesque in the most horrible way, like zombies clawing their way out of the ground.
Tarron waited for me on the same branch where I’d left him, his gaze keen on me.
I landed next to him on the branch.
“Are you better?” he asked.
I shook my head. “My arm is warm from holding the heart, but no. It hasn’t worked yet.” I stared at it. “I have no idea how to make it work.”
He held out his hand, and I passed the gem over to him. He drew in a breath, clearly surprised by the warmth, then studied it.
“Try asking it to heal you,” I said. “That worked for recovering it from the tree.”
He nodded and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them. “Nothing. You try.”
I took the heart fro
m him and gave it a go, repeating the things that I’d said to get the tree to give me the heart in the first place.
Nothing happened.
“Shit.” I frowned. “There are no instructions inscribed on it or anything.”
“Foress seemed to know a bit about it.”
“Let’s go back there.” Worry tugged at me as we began the journey back to the Forgotten Soul’s settlement. They called themselves forest sprites, but I was pretty sure they were actually the Forgotten Souls that gave this place its name.
It didn’t take long to reach the settlement, and Foress was waiting for us at the edge. I couldn’t make out the features of his face since he was basically a misty ghost, but concern radiated from him.
“You retrieved it.” A bit of the concern lessened, almost like the air around him grew less heavy.
“We can’t figure out how to use it, though.” I joined him on the edge of the walkway that surrounded the buildings.
He nodded. “I thought that might be the case. We’ve never had anyone successfully retrieve it in my lifetime, but there are stories about how it is used.”
“What stories?” Tarron asked.
“Come.” Foress gestured us forward.
We followed him, entering the settlement once more. This time, many of the souls had come out to watch us. They stood outside of their doors, each one looking almost identical to Foress. Their differences lay in how each felt. It was almost like a magical signature or an aura that was their main distinguishing feature.
This time, instead of being vaguely suspicious and curious, they seemed trusting. And still curious. Definitely a bit curious. But then, no one had visited in at least three hundred years, so I couldn’t blame them.
“I think retrieving the heart made them like us,” I murmured to Tarron.
“Or at least convinced them that we aren’t murderers.”
I chuckled. “Or that.”
Foress led us into one of the larger round houses. The interior was primarily empty, save for a cold fire pit in the middle. It was surrounded by fat white cushions.
Foress gestured to them. “Sit, please.”
We did as he instructed, and he waved his hand again at the hearth. Within seconds, it burst to life, and Foress left us alone. Unlike the rest of this white place, the fire was actually yellow and orange. I moaned and leaned toward it, absorbing the warmth.
