Witch Song (Witch Song #1)

Chapter 22

22. JUNGLE OF DARKNESS

 The memory of Senna's last encounter with the soldiers still heavy on her mind, she parted the dense foliage. Fingers of dread lifting the hairs on the back of her neck, she searched the road for signs of soldier red. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of a magnificent, white city working up the mountain like a vine growing up a lattice. Kaen pressed his fingers to his lips. She already knew they must be silent.

 Kaen dropped his pack. "This is Shiok. I've a well connected contact inside. But I need to check for soldiers first. If they are here, we'll move on to the next city. Wait here." He inched forward and then waited for a lull in foot traffic before walking out.

Senna and Joshen hid behind a large fern. Her back against a tree, she rubbed a knot in her neck.

"You alright?" Joshen asked.

Her eyes closed, she nodded. "Just a kink from carrying the pack. You?"

He squatted behind her and began rubbing her neck. "We're alive, so I'm not complaining."

Senna's fatigue vanished. She felt warm and tingly all over. "How did the soldiers know we were coming?"

Joshen grunted. "Probably the same way Garg and Wardof always manage to escape. They've got to be communicating with Espen somehow."

Senna hunched over as her muscles finally began to unkink. "Across the ocean? Is that even possible?"

Shaking out his hands, Joshen slumped next to her. "There's no way the sailors from the Gallant Green reached Tarten's shore before us. Yet the soldiers seemed to know where we would come ashore. That can't be a coincidence."

Refusing to worry, Senna laid her head on his shoulder.

She woke when Joshen shook her. Kaen squatted beside them. "Come on. No soldiers this morning."

Senna paused at the edge of the jungle. The last time she'd left the safety of the shadows for the unknown had been on the road to Perchance. This was a different city on a different continent, but it felt the same—foreign and overwhelming.

Joshen looked back at her, his gaze taking in things she'd rather he didn't know. He held out his hand. "I'm here."

With a steadying breath, she took it and stepped forward.

Kaen said under his breath, "No matter what happens, neither one of you says a word. Understand?"

Senna and Joshen nodded. Kaen lowered his head like a bull about to charge and strode forward.

Senna had to trot to keep up with the with two men's long strides. The foot traffic increased the closer they came to the city. As she had done for most of her life, she kept her head down and concentrated on being invisible. If anyone appeared in her path, she ducked out of their way.

Joshen glanced at her with disapproval. "They should be getting out of your way."

Senna didn't respond and she was grateful he did not press it.

Woven into the jungle that surrounded the city were reed houses with palm leaves for roofs. People trudged through their mundane tasks with hollow eyes and sagging clothes. At the base of the mountain, Senna's steps shortened considerably as they wound up the steep, curving road. It wasn't long before she realized that Shiok was also by the sea.

Eventually, reed walls and palm roofs were replaced with white plaster and tile. About two-thirds of the way up the mountain, the road turned into steps and the plaster walls were replaced with white stone mansions encased by high walls—the inside of which could have swallowed a dozen reed huts with room to spare. Despite her efforts not to, Senna found herself staring in awe.