Shadows in the Trees: Book 1

Chapter 48

"Well," Malik said. "We made it. Are you sure you want to do this?"            

After nearly a week of trekking through the grass, they were standing at the edge of the White Forest once more. The air seemed colder around the skeletal trees, their ashen bark gleaming in the harsh sunlight. 

Freya stared into the shadows, half expecting to see something terrible peering back at her. But she saw nothing. Only trees.

She had the same uneasy feeling she always did when looking at the forest. Her mother had usually avoided it on their travels, but sometimes they had to pass by it to get where they were going. Her mother had always told her to never go in, for any reason. She told her she would meet her doom there. 

The wind gusted by, bringing the scent of leaves and wet earth to her nose. She couldn't explain why, but ever since they had left, all she wanted to do was go back. It was almost like she had forgotten something, something she needed to retrieve. 

If only she knew what that something was. 

"I'm sure," she replied. "This is your last chance to back out and go home." 

"There's nothing for me in Ludovic. Or Thrael. Or anywhere where you're not," he said. She flushed. "Lead the way." 

 She looked over at him. He looked tired, haggard, and dirty. She was sure she did too, after spending weeks sleeping on the ground. But his eyes were clear and steady, his mouth settled into his trademark smirk. 

"Fine." she said. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, marching into the pale arms of the trees.

After walking aimlessly for what seemed like hours, they decided to rest in a small clearing they had found.

"What are we even looking for?" Malik asked, shoveling a handful of nuts into his mouth. He wrinkled his nose. "Gah, I don't know how the Sylph can live off of this stuff." 

"I don't know," she said, picking at her own pile of nuts. "I was hoping I would know when I saw it." 

"Excellent plan," Malik said. "Let's just hope nothing kills us and eats us before that." 

Freya rolled her eyes. "There's nothing in here that would do that. Well, except Sylph, I suppose, but hopefully they would recognize us and not kill us." 

Malik shrugged. "I don't know. Julian and I heard and saw some strange stuff the last time we were in here." 

"Probably just the Sylph following us, trying to figure out who we were."

"Maybe." Malik stood, dusting the dirt off of his tattered trousers. "Shall we continue?" 

Freya sighed and packed up the rest of her nuts. "It looks like that could be a trail over there. Let's follow it and see where it leads." 

They continued on their way, following a path that seemed to be worn down. Freya looked for animal prints, but she didn't find any. She supposed it was a trail the Sylph had made. She wasn't sure where it would go, but she figured it would be somewhere important if this path was used so much. 

Like before, the forest was quiet except for the occasional gust of wind rattling the leaves. She didn't notice any animals scurrying through the trees or underbrush like she did when she had traveled through the northern forests with her mother. She didn't even hear the songs of birds or the chattering of insects. It made her uneasy. 

"Yaya said you needed to go here to discover your past, right?" Malik asked, pushing a branch aside. 

"Something like that."