25. Twenty-Five

Twenty-Five

The cold air stung like a thousand tiny needles. I tugged the hood over my head, the fur lining tickling the tips of my ears.

Our feet sank into the mud with each step taken, the squelching sounds drowned out by the storm around us. The darkness was almost total; light barely piercing through the black clouds above us as we were hit by a wave of rain from all directions. I raised my arm to shield myself against it.

Our already soaked clothes clung heavily to our bodies. Water dripped from our faces and hoods, and trying to keep balance while trudging through the never-ending mud was becoming increasingly difficult.

The trees in this unfamiliar forest seemed like monsters in the dim morning light, their gnarled branches reaching out as if they wanted to grab us and trap us in this murky land. All sounds were muffled by the endless roar of thunder reverberating throughout the atmosphere.

My heart pounded against my ribcage as we trudged and slipped through the pine covered mountains. The storm showed no signs of ceasing and as we walked further into the woods, a suffocating sense of dread overcame me.

Something was watching us.

I could sense it.

My ears perked up as I focused my hearing on the underlying sounds. The trees twisted and contorted themselves menacingly as if they were alive with some dark energy, groaning like tortured souls caught between life and death.

A burst of lightning illuminated everything around us for a split second—just long enough to catch sight of two ghostly eyes staring at us hungrily from within the thickets nearby. Deafening thunder rumbled across the skies like warning bells.

Fear surged through my veins like wildfire and I spun around frantically looking for Ata.

This scene was too familiar.

Hailstones began peppering down painfully onto our heads as growls emanated somewhere close-by. Gibbering speech whispered behind the snarls.

These creatures were playing with us like we were their prey.

Mud flew around me as I sprinted, twigs lashing at my skin.

“Ata!” A shuddering breath tore from my lips. I scrambled desperately, scanning the area with wild eyes. My heart thundered, and every second without Ata had panic swelling inside me. Then, a small hand clutched my shoulder.

“Cin, what’s wrong?” I looked down into Ata’s rain soaked face as tears streamed down mine and I collapsed against her. Relief melted away my fear and all I could do was hold on tight.

“I thought you were gone!” I said with a sob as I frantically clutched her against my chest.

“I’m right here,” she replied softly, pulling back to look into my eyes.

Landers and Andrues appeared behind Ata, and the hard set of their faces told me they had heard my screams.

“What’s wrong?” Andrues asked harshly, his fingers lingering on the hilt of his sword.

“I don’t know . . .” I murmured, my voice shaking. “Something is watching us from between the trees. Eyes . . . there were eyes.” Leaves rustled and branches snapped eerily close by, and I immediately stepped in front of Ata, brandishing a dagger.

Wren held up his hands. “It’s just me.”

Taft stepped forward from behind Wren, his eyes narrowing on Landers.

“What is going on?” Taft barked.

Landers didn’t respond.

His gaze was fixed on the woods behind us as the hand resting on the hilt of his sword tightened.

A wave of unease washed over me as I followed his line of sight.

And then I saw it—a figure emerging from between the trees.

It was fae in shape, but bark-like skin stretched tightly across its skeletal body. Its eyes gleamed with an otherworldly light.

A chill spilled down my spine.

Landers drew his sword from its sheath with slow deliberate movements and took a step forward.

Wren, Pri, and Taft slowly turned.

Pri’s hand shot to Wren’s and she gasped as Wren pulled her behind him. The three of them backed toward us with slow caution, pulling their weapons from their places as they stared wide eyed at the creature.

The varmint stepped into the clearing and spoke. “The fae do not belong in these woods.”

It snarled in a dark rasp that was eerily soothing.

Andrues moved with quiet quick steps to Landers side, ready to fight as Ardan rushed to Ata. She shrugged out of his grasp, stepping up beside me and nocked an arrow into place. Ata aimed it directly between its eyes and responded, “I am no fae.” Her tone was a menacing growl as she pulled the bowstring back a little tighter.

The mutant thing took a step forward at the sound of Ata’s words, a mirthless chuckle rolling out of its throat.

My stomach knotted as I took in the enormity of the bark-skinned creature. It towered over us; its long and thin arms, extending outwards from gnarled trunk like legs that pulsed with moss-green veins.

Its eyes bored into mine like twin moons—glittering orbs made of gilded fire.

“Who are you?” Landers asked, his voice even, his sword at the ready and glimmering in the storm’s light. The creature let out a low, growl and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

“I am known by many names, your kind know me as Yggdrasil.” Its voice carried an undercurrent of sinister amusement. “I know you, Son of Nethkar.”

Landers tensed at the name it called him and my eyes shot to his face, his jaw tightening and feathering at the edges.

“Let us pass, and we will not harm you or your territory.”

It chuckled, and the ground beneath us began to tremble, its vine-y branches pushing into the mud and slithering beneath us. Landers and Andrues took a step forward together on instinct as Taft and Ardan lifted their weapons higher.

The sky shuddered at the tension, thunder clapping around us.

“Let us pass,” Landers repeated. It was a demand now; a steel blade slicing through each word.

“You will not leave these woods alive.”

I moved only slightly, taking one slow step forward and grabbing Landers wrist.

I prayed he would understand what I was saying.

What I was doing.

With one long exhale I slowed my heartbeat, tilting my head toward the creature.

Landers nodded in understanding before sliding his fingers between mine and gave me a reassuring squeeze, as if he was telling me I could do this.

“You should have left when you had the chance,” Landers said as a menacing smile cracked across his face.

Landers’s eyes darkened as his grip on my hand tightened.

The Yggdrasil’s eyes flickered with anger before letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

It lunged at us.

An arrow flew from Ata’s bow as I called on my shadows. I left an inky ghost of myself standing beside Landers and sprinted to the side.

It hissed as its attack missed its mark and Ata nocked two more arrows into place and released them. They met the Yggdrasil’s thigh with a deafening crack, its bark like bone, splintering as they lodged deep into its flesh. Screeching, it swiveled around towards me and Landers sprang into action.

In two controlled movements he slashed the back of the beast’s legs with practiced ease. It howled into the air and stumbled for only a moment before regaining its footing with astounding agility.

My shadows erupted from me, entangling it in darkness as Taft hurled himself onto its back, his axe slicing into its woody flesh.

Ardan darted beneath it, his blades cutting through its mossy tendons in quick succession as Wren threw two daggers with deadly precision.

It screamed as the blades pierced its eyes.

Andrues unleashed a powerful swing of his blade, cleaving deep into the Yggdrasil’s chest.

Pri sent her spear hurtling through the air, and as it sliced all the way through its body— ripping open flesh in its wake—the beast collapsed to its knees, screeching in agony as Landers walked in front of it, his sword placed neatly back in its holster and his arms crossed against his muscular chest. His lips curved into a devilish grin as he squatted down to eye level with the being and pulled the daggers out of his eyes, holding them in both hands.

“You should have let us pass,” he drawled with a nefarious tone, and before the creature could react he plunged both daggers into its temples.

It slumped over as Landers extracted the knives again, the rain rinsing the yellow liquid from the blades.

He stood there for a moment looking at the creature like he expected it to wake, then sauntered over to Wren, handing him his daggers.

Pri stepped from behind its body, avoiding the thick yellow substance leaking out of it.

“The passing is close, we should all take a moment to regain our strength before we start.” Her voice was tight, quivering at the edges as she spoke, but she kept her hands steady.

“I am sorry,” Ata cut in with a scoff, “but do one of you want to tell us what the fuck that was?” Her eyes were wide as she looked down at the carcass at our feet, then up at Landers.

Hints of panic danced in her eyes as she waited for an explanation.

“The Yggdrasil are ancient creatures; they have roamed these woods since before The Stories were written. They keep the balance between all other things that lurk in this forest. They were once a friend to the fae, but I see time has changed that,” Andrues spoke solemnly.

He placed his palm on the top of the Yggdrasil’s head and took in a sharp breath as his hand started to glow a light shade of blue. His face twisted, his knees buckling slightly.

“Andrues,” Ata gasped, rushing over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist to steady him.

“I’m fine.” He breathed out and squared his shoulders regaining his composure. Ata loosened her grip, her eyes filled with concern as she stared up at him.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I relieved him of the life that still remained inside of him—so he wouldn’t suffer while he waited for the Gods to take him.”

My eyes tore from Andrues to Taft, his brows were furrowed as he cautiously approached me. I gave him a weary smile, stepping under the trees, and shielding my face from the rain.

“Are you okay?” He scanned my face, looking for any signs of injury.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” I rubbed my arms, glancing at the scene around us and catching Landers’s eye.

He raised an eyebrow at me, and I nodded in response, letting him know I was okay.

“What you did with your shadows . . .” He paused, his jaw tightening like the words he was trying to say pained him. “Was impressive. I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Thank you.” My lips turned up slightly at his words.

I could tell he was trying to see past the fact that I had put myself in danger, and I appreciated that. He was trying, that’s all I could hope for. I glanced up at him, only to find his face was now set in a hard scowl as he stared at Landers.

“What is it?” I asked, glancing over at Landers, who was sitting on a large rock drinking from a canteen and conversing with Ardan and Pri. Taft sighed heavily.

“What is it?” I pressed.

“He actually liked killing that . . . that thing.” His voice was thick with disgust. “No regrets, no remorse whatsoever when he put it down.”

I clenched my teeth.

I knew exactly where this conversation was going.

“Taft, it was trying to kill us,” I said, attempting to keep my rising frustration in check.

“We could have gotten away without killing it,” he countered, turning to face me. His eyes burned into mine.

“We don’t know that. We have no idea if it would have followed, or if there are more of them,” I shot back, my annoyance becoming increasingly evident.

“So after spending only weeks with him, you now think it’s okay to take lives?” He scoffed, his body coiling tight again.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” I sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to keep calm. “It’s not a simple decision, Taft.”

He nodded, adjusting the knives across his chest. “Got it.” He ducked from under the tree and walked toward Ardan and Wren before I could say anything else.

I rolled my eyes at his back.

He was infuriating.

Stepping back into the rain, I sauntered over to check on Pri and Ata. I knew we probably wouldn’t be able to stay much longer, and I had a feeling that thing was the mildest of creatures we would face today.

“Are you both okay?” My words nearly drowned out by the storm as I wrapped my arm around Pri and Ata intertwined her arm into mine. We huddled under a thick overhang of branches trying to find some warmth.

Pri nodded. “As okay as it can be, considering the circumstances.” Her usually cheery voice was cold as she cupped her hands around her mouth and blew into them.

Ata beamed up at me, her eyes glowing brightly in contrast to our gloomy surroundings.

“You did it,” she whispered, laying her head on my shoulder.

I had done it, at least a small part of it. Smiling to myself I let my cheek rest on the top of her head. Right now, I needed to take the small wins.

Wren and Landers approached us as they finished their hushed conversation. Pri pulled away from me and into Wren’s arms and Landers took her place beside me.

“Come here,” Landers said, pulling me into his arms and I flinched slightly—Taft’s words replaying back in my head. I could feel him tense in response.

“Everything alright?”

Nodding my head against his chest, I tried to push the thoughts away.

“Let’s get you warm.” Landers pulled away, bringing my chin up to look at him. His deep, emerald eyes were pools of intensity. In the midst of his strong features, those eyes stood out like precious gems, capturing my breath as I met his gaze.

He looked down at me, concern etching lines on his forehead, momentarily softening the sharp edges of his features. The intensity in his gaze softened into a gentle warmth, and my anxiety eased.

His hands intertwined with mine, and warmth coursed through my body. Closing my eyes, I leaned into his touch as I felt my clothes dry against my skin. I opened my eyes to see him smiling down at me.

“You were brilliant, you know.” He pushed a curl behind my ear. “Thank you, for what you did for us,” he said, as I pulled my eyes from his and looked over at the creature, still unmoving beside us.

“Do you think you have the energy to use them again to cross the passage?” My body tensed as I looked at Taft and Ardan pushing their bags back over their shoulders. “If you don’t that is okay, you have already done enough to protect—”

“I can still do it,” I interrupted as I focused back on him. He chuckled slightly at my enthusiasm and nodded.

“Hey,” Ata interjected, holding her hands out to Landers, “it’s my turn.”

I laughed and I stepped out of her way, gesturing toward her hands. Landers looked at me, almost as if he was asking my permission before touching her.

“I am freezing here.” Ata tapped her foot impatiently and raised her eyebrows at Landers. He let out a small laugh then placed his fingers between hers. She shuddered as the heat spread over her, a slight steam leaving the shoulders of her jacket. Landers dropped her hands as soon as he finished and turned toward the rest of the group.

“We have to go now, don’t we?” I asked as Landers slid his fingers through mine and took a step closer to me, hiding our entangled hands behind his back away from prying eyes.

I looked up at him, his lips were pursed tight and creases of concern were carved into his forehead. He nodded and turned to face me, his lips twitched like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

“What is it?”

“I just want . . .” He paused and I waited anxiously as his eyes searched mine for something. “I just want you to know I’m proud of you,” he finally whispered.

“Oh.” Disappointment crept into my tone as Ardan’s hand came down on Landers’s shoulder. Landers cleared his throat, dropping my hand from his.

“I really have to stop finding the two of you like this.” He raised a brow, grinning down at me. “If you two are done, we should get going.” I took a step back, blushing.

I could feel anxiety saturating the air as we gathered together in a small circle. Andrues spoke first.

“The Yggdrasil was child’s play in comparison to what we are about to face.” Ata and I exchanged glances as I swallowed the stone sitting in my throat. “If you have defensive magic, use it. Take your weapons out and keep your head on a swivel, most importantly, stay close to Hyacinth.”

I nodded, taking out my blades and clutching them tight as Andrues turned to me.

“You are not alone in this,” Andrues said softly, his sapphire eyes piercing mine. “We will not let you carry the weight of this alone. If you feel your shadows faltering—if your energy drains—we will protect you.” His voice held a note of quiet power that I hadn’t heard before as his words vibrated between us and I lifted the corners of my lips in a nervous smile.

I could feel the pulse of my magic flowing through me as we started our walk deeper into the unknown.

As we drew near to the entrance of the passage, the air seemed to thicken with a heaviness that threatened to suffocate us. The rain had slowed to a light mist, and the trees surrounding us seemed to be leaning away from the path in fear, as if they were trying to escape whatever malevolent power lurked just beyond our sight.

We stopped and stared in awe at the entrance before us. Cut into the side of the mountain, it was an imposing archway of black granite and jagged stones, a doorway to a hidden world none of us wanted to venture.

It felt as if I had been standing there for eternity, unable to move past the threshold, paralyzed by a fear I could not name.

I took one step, then another, and like a pulse through my veins, I could feel that we were no longer in the Iron Forest.

I let my shadows flow from me, surrounding every one of us as I silently begged them to hold fast—to protect us from whatever was coming our way. We pushed forward for miles, none of us daring to speak as scrapes and slithers sounded against the hollowed passage.

With every step we took, walls that looked like they had been carved by giants rose up on either side, closing us tighter into this dank space.

Something moved ahead of us.

Something fast enough to create an auditory echo then disappeared from sight.

“Stay alert!” Andrues hissed, urgency lacing his tone.

I pulled my daggers to my chest readying for any attack. For a moment, there was complete silence. Then, with screeching clarity, the sound filled the passage.

It was coming from all around us now.

We were surrounded.

Adrenaline stung through my veins as I eyed the shifting shapes in front of me. Landers had his hands outstretched, palms glowing with magic readying to be released. He would be our main line of defense against whatever enemy lay ahead if my shadows failed.

There was movement to my right.

I spun to face it just in time to see a creature lunging towards me out of the darkness.

Instinctively, I brought up both blades, but tendrils of shadows shot from my body, blocking its attack while twisting me away from the creature’s razor sharp claws.

My heart pounded in my chest as I searched for where it had gone. My shadows grew thicker.

I could feel it; a tingling sensation in my fingertips that made me grip my daggers tighter.

And then they came.

Scores of them.

Pouring out from every corner and crevice of the walls. They were the creatures whispered about in dark legends—the Mezzen. Their skin broken and torn; their eyes glowing red with malice.

I didn’t have time to process what was happening before the Mezzen accelerated toward us. They moved faster than anything I had ever seen, bounding toward us on four skeletal limbs as their spiked tails slashed through the air and slammed into my shadows. My instincts kicked into overdrive as I rolled to the side.

“Keep moving!” Andrues yelled above the sounds of our skirmish.

My shadows were holding.

Not one Mezzen had been able to get through, but I could feel panic bubbling just under my skin.

I was getting tired. The longer I used my shadows, the more energy they drained from me. If we weren’t out of here before exhaustion hit me . . .

Stop it. You can’t think like that. Just breathe. Focus.

I shook my head as I blocked another attack from the Mezzen, feeling my muscles strain with the effort.

I couldn’t hold out much longer.

Blow after blow, my shadows held like a wall as these beasts clawed against it.

I was starting to feel it, with each scratch against the shadows—I could feel it.

As if talons were penetrating my skin.

I collapsed to my knees as two Mezzen dug their claws so deep I could see them pierce into the safe bubble that I had kept us in so far.

A high-pitched scream rang from my throat. It was like they had dug into my bones, scratching through the marrow.

Frantically I looked up, my eyes meeting Ata’s as she knocked three arrows into place and downed two Mezzen as they lunged through the air toward us.

“I can’t.” My voice quivered, trying to suppress the pain. “I can’t hold them any longer.”

As the words left my mouth, my shield of shadows disappeared around us.

Chaos broke out.

The Mezzen came at us with a renewed ferocity as soon as the shadows dissipated.

I scrambled to my feet and swung wildly with my daggers, cutting through tough skin and rancid flesh. Andrues was fighting beside me, his sword shining in the dim light of the caverns. Screams and screeches of pain filled the corridor, ringing through my skull as Pri’s spear cut through the heart of a Mezzen, pinning it to the cavern wall. She slid across the floor, ducking beneath the claws that swiped at her and pulled her spear from the Mezzen’s chest, ripping through flesh as it fell to the passage floor.

Taft and Ardan fought beside each other like a dance they had been rehearsing—slicing and stabbing in unison—but no matter how many they put down, more rushed in over the corpses of their deceased comrades.

Magic was flying out of Landers in every direction, dissipating everything in its wake as his sword slid through the air, severing heads from bodies.

Another Mezzen lunged for me, and this time, I wasn’t fast enough.

Its claws tore through fabric and flesh alike just below my ribcage. The shock momentarily knocked me back as pain bloomed across my abdomen like fire igniting beneath my skin.

Landers watched as I fell to the floor—horror and fear exploding onto his face. He slid across the ground toward me, slicing the legs of the creatures nearby, as he pulled me to my feet.

“I’m okay,” I panted as I ducked out of reach of another blow.

It hit me then, seeing the corpses on the ground twitching back to life as they started to regrow limbs.

These things couldn’t be killed.

Except . . . the ones that had been hit by Landers’s magic weren’t reanimating.

Magic.

They could only be killed by magic.

It hit me then.

We weren’t going to make it.

None of us were as powerful as him.

None of us could wield magic like him.

We were going to die.

I sliced my daggers into the creatures frantically as I heard Pri cry out behind me.

Her scream was like the song of death, echoing through the halls.

At that moment, a Wraith appeared at the end of the corridor.

It stood on two legs, dark as night in front of us. Its skin seemed to be made entirely out of shadowy tendrils that writhed around like snakes caught in a dance. Its two, deep black eyes bore down menacingly upon me.

“Oh Gods,” I breathed, as a shutter ran down my spine.

My shadows cowered in its presence.

It let out a blaring snarl, and before I could blink, it had its inky limbs wrapped around Wren and Ata’s throats, lifting them slowly from the ground.

I could hear them gasping for air as Landers sent his power surging towards it, but it stepped to the side unfazed.

Mezzen jumped and nipped at my friend’s feet as they flailed in the air, trying to escape its grasp. Swords still clanked around me as they fought off the Mezzen still attacking us at every angle.

They were dying.

They were suffocating.

There had to be something I could do.

Anything.

Mezzen closed in on us and a strange energy began to stir deep in my stomach, walking its way up my spine. It was like nothing I had ever felt before, a primal force that demanded to be released as this shadowy Wraith smiled back at me with four gnarled teeth.

I raised my hands toward our attackers and let out an ear-piercing scream. An explosion of dark energy erupted from my palms, obliterating every Mezzen in its path.

The Wraith flew back by the sheer force of it, dropping Wren and Ata to the ground as its screams filled the air.

I watched with bated breath as it slowly rose up, this time it seemed hesitant, almost afraid.

“What are you, girl?” it trilled with a smooth, sharp voice.

Silence fell in the corridor.

It was just us now.

It was the only thing standing between my friends and safety.

With renewed confidence coursing through every fiber of my being, an undeniable power surged inside me, blooming in the center of my chest beneath the necklace that lay there.

That’s when I noticed it: my shadows flowing with newfound strength, encapsulating each one of my friends in their own personal fortress.

I squared my shoulders, taking two steps forward and opening my palms again. Letting that dark energy crackle just above my hands, I looked directly into its eyes and answered.

“A woman to fear.” My entire body erupted with power that flowed around me. “Run,” I yelled, as I let my shadows surge toward the Wraith.

Ata grabbed my arm, trying to pull me with her, but I stood firm as I looked into her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks in response to the look in my eyes.

She knew I would not move.

Taft grabbed me, pulling as hard as he could, and I let the shadows flowing around me push him away.

“Cin, I am not going to leave you here. You are not strong enough!” He panted through fear-stained breath. “You won’t survive!” His eyes pleaded with me as he reached for me again.

I looked at him with a stare so piercing he stopped in his tracks. “Take Ata and leave.” My voice was steady, my breath strong. Ata pulled on his arm as he stared at me.

“Taft we need to leave!” Ata yelled through sobs. “Please!” Her voice cracked as she pleaded with him and he slowly backed away from me.

Fear, anger and sadness flashed across his face as he turned his back to me and ran.

I caught Landers’s eye as my friends disappeared around the corner. I slowly tilted my chin down, my eyes pleading for him to leave—to run.

But he did not leave me.

Landers positioned himself beside me, his palms opening as his magic filled them.

“If death is coming, you will not go to the Gods alone.” Something inside me latched into place at his words, like a piece of my heart I didn’t know had splintered off.

He nodded with a wicked smile as I turned back to face the Wraith.

It was a being filled with darkness that seemed unmatched by any other creature I could have dreamed of. Its black eyes blazed with fury as its stygian limbs reached out greedily in our direction.

As it inched toward us a strange calmness flowed through my veins, and grey light radiated out of every inch of my body.

Landers’s eyes flickered to me as I let it creep closer.

Closer.

And just as it touched the shields of my shadows streams of black and green flames ruptured from my pores. Burning the carcases on the ground around us.

Burning through the granite walls.

And as it reached the Wraith, its brittle bones shattered to ashes.

I stood there, staring at the soot where that thing had stood as the world began to swirl around me and my vision went black.