Dark Forest (Watty's 2017)

Part 9

Ronan watched Zara with cautious eyes as she pulled the red cloak out of her bag and positioned it over her shoulders once more.

"You're really going to wear that thing? Even after what that siren said?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

Zara rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to let the warning of an angry sea cow stop me from doing what I want." She didn't add that the cloak made her feel safe somehow, that it reminded her of a time when her life had been purposeful. Before she had met a certain Huntsman and agreed to lead him aimlessly around the dark forest. "Anyways, you should be more worried about how we're going to cross the Crimson Rill."

The corners of his mouth turned down. "I'm not even sure it's possible. I've never heard of anyone doing it."

"Because no one is as stupid as we are," she muttered, pulling out the map and finding Wintercliff. The Crimson Rill slithered through the forest like a poisonous snake. While she had never come far enough to see it with her own eyes, she knew it was as red as its name suggested. Legend said that the water had turned the color of blood after the first war, when there were so many bodies that no one had a choice but to dump them in the river and send them out to the sea.

"I've heard that just one touch will riddle your brains and turn you into a raving lunatic." Ronan added, peering over her shoulder at the map.

She could hardly concentrate with his looming presence behind her. He was much too close and radiating far too much heat. She folded the map and let out an impatient sigh before turning to face him. "Well I guess it won't have any effect on you then, will it?"

He looked momentarily surprised before giving her a taunting smile. "Your hostility doesn't work on me."

"That's unfortunate then," she mumbled. "Come on, while we still have some light."

They walked on for the rest of the day, stopping only once to refill their canteen from a small creek surrounded by moss covered rocks. Zara convinced herself it was safe due to the fact that nothing would choose to grow so close to anything tainted by dark magic. Even after the sun had set and the forest had grown cool, they kept on for a little while longer, using the thieves' wick to light the way.

This deep into the forest, Zara's hair was constantly standing on end and a feeling of foreboding was forever creeping down her spine. She imagined them being the first humans to wander so far from the boundary in decades. Whether that would make other creatures apprehensive of them or curious, she wasn't sure. She hoped, though, they would stay away. Unfortunately, magic was harder to hide from. She could feel it all around them, humming and buzzing.

Zara dropped her pack to the ground at the base of a towering tree with twisted, low hanging branches. "We'll camp here." If anything were to show up unannounced, they might be able to climb into the branches.

Ronan didn't disagree, nodding and dropping his own bag before setting about making a camp. They chose to start a small fire, in order to cook, and Zara felt as if they were sending a signal to anyone close by on where to find them. Like a lighthouse, only instead of warning ships of danger they were drawing the danger in. She stamped it out with her boot, much to Ronan's amusement, as soon as they were finished.

"Do you know anything else of the Crimson Rill?" he asked, as she sat down on her sleeping pad next to him.

She shrugged. "Only what's been told to me, and what's been passed down from legend. I remember one of my commanders saying that just a drop could release the darkest parts of you. You'd turn on everyone around you, convinced they were enemies. Even the most docile become bloodthirsty under its spell."