The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 9

                                                                                       Indigo

As Katherine's group thundered down one path, I led Jason and Ashley down the other. The wind whistled past my ears. Sharp thistles snagged at my legs. The sky got darker as the Evils got closer.

Left, then right, then take two left turns, followed by two right turns, double back...even I was getting dizzy from all the different directions. Eventually I deemed that the Evils have been left far behind, and we continued traveling in a straight line, the sun in front of us.

Every once in a while we would head in another direction just to throw the pursuers off, if there were any. But everything seemed ok. The cloud dissipated a little. The feeling of danger subsided. I didn't notice at first, but all three of our horses went from galloping to a nice leisure walk, now that imminent danger was no longer a threat. This part of the forest was actually quite nice. None of us ever been this far in, and we all looked around eagerly, trying to take in all of the scenery.

Jason spotted a stag and its doe foraging for food. Ashley pointed out a species of bird that she'd always wanted to see: the blue-throated nightingale. "It's only found in a few parts of Crystallea," Ashley explained. "So few are left in the wild, people thought it went extinct. The last documented sighting was over twenty years ago. I can't believe there's a population in this very forest, and I got to see one."

I paid more attention to the flora than the fauna. Though it was autumn, the weather seemed to be stuck in the transition between summer and fall. There were flowers still in full bloom, and leaves hadn't started to turn yellow yet. The part we were passing through was full of maple trees and shrubs. I had always been an outdoors person. Riding my favorite horse Willow through the forest was simply bliss.

We paused at the river for a short break. While the horses grazed nearby, Ashley and I dug out a plate of sandwiches and some apple juice for us to share. Jason pulled out a map to look at our position. Judging from our current path, we would have to go through an area of dense evergreens and then an emptier plain dotted with a brushes. Then there's the road to Northbell, which would take at least forty-five minutes for us to get there.

"We'd better go if we want to get there by nightfall," said Ashley, brushing the crumbs from her jeans. "I don't want to navigate the forest in the dark."

"You're right," I said as I began packing up. "The Aurora Forest might be pretty, but it's going to be scary at night."

We picked up the pace after crossing the river. In the midst of tall pines and oaks, the temperature felt cooler and the lighting was darker. Crickets made their racket as occasional bird trills would pierce the air. Somehow, this area felt dangerous. I urged Willow to go faster, eager to get out of here.

"Just where do you think you're all going?" snarled a voice. An Evil leapt onto the path in front of me, scaring Willow so bad she almost took off. I pulled out my sword, its tip coated with rosewood. Pointing it at the Evil, it seemed to flinch as the rosewood aligned itself with the monster's twisted heart.

"You can't kill me," scoffed the Evil. "I am invincible!" Its boast was cut off as Ashley shot a spell at the monster. I ducked, and the gold ray of power flew over me and hit the Evil right on the chest. It began to convulse as the golden power seem to wrap itself around the Evil and slowly strangle it.

"Come on!" I shouted as Willow leapt over the dying Evil and took off as fast as she could. "There's probably more! We need to get out of here, fast!"

And I was right. More dark shadows appeared behind bushes, from the trees, in front of and behind us. Soon, the three of us were back to back and surrounded.