Page 38 of A Door in the Dark

Cora briefly buried her face in her hands, rubbing at her eyes, before looking back up. Ren knew this would be important. Knowing what they were facing could change everything.

“Well,” Cora began. “We know he can use magic.”

Theo frowned. “How do we know that?”

“Because of Avy. He approached Clyde as a purely physical creature. Like it was a wrestling match. You saw what happened. One of the strongest fighters in Kathor didn’t even put up a fight. Clyde incapacitated him with magic. We’ll need to figure out what kind of spell he used to do that.”

“And how to ward ourselves against it,” Ren added. “That’s smart. What else?”

Cora was drumming two fingers against her lips, deep in thought.

“Most of the knowledge is based in mythology. From what I remember, revenants get more powerful as they seek revenge. It’s possible that the next time we encounter Clyde, he will be more… whole. It’s like feeding a baby. Except… we’re the food. We can expect him to be physically sturdier. Magically stronger.” Cora shook her head. “Some myths suggest revenants are driven by the promise of returning to the living.”

That caught Theo’s attention. “Clyde can come back to life?”

“Yes, but in order to come back, he’d have to consume all of us.”

The brief spark in Theo’s expression died away. Ren saw despair settling over the group like a cloak and decided they’d reached their limit on hard truths for the day. Time to focus on a new subject. “Let’s get moving again,” she said. “Pick up the pace. We got a head start on him. If we push hard enough, it’s possible he’ll never catch up.”

Cora looked doubtful, but Timmons and Theo were glad to cling to even the smallest hope. Ren had always found hope impractical. She cared more about pressing their advantage. She wanted to focus on what was within their control. They needed to walk as far and as fast as they could while the sun hung overhead. But no matter how demanding a pace they set, she could not stop thinking about the monster that now pursued them.

Or the night to come.

22

It didn’t take long for Avy’s absence to translate into mistakes.

At least three times they found their chosen trail leading into unpassable brush. It forced them afield. Ren thought it was a product of the changing landscape around them, but it quickly became clear that Avy had been guiding them away from similar choke points during the first few days of the hike.

Their path also started to undulate. A few downhills at first, but each one was always followed by a difficult incline. No one complained. Ren thought that had to do with knowing what pursued them and the consequences of slowing down. The group considered pressing on through the night but eventually agreed that their progress in the dark would be minimal. Not to mention, they’d be making a great deal of noise that might attract nocturnal predators. It was safer to make camp and post a rotating guard.

Ren built the fire up the same way she’d seen Avy do it. Everyone helped gather firewood and kindling, doing their best not to stray too far from one another. Ren was making one last pile of smaller sticks when she spied Cora staring off into the woods. She thought there might be something out there—a predator that had forced her to stillness—but when she maneuvered to where Cora was standing, she saw the girl was simply lost in thought.

“I can’t believe he’s dead,” Cora whispered to Ren. “My grandmother was part Tusk. When I was little, one of my cousins died. Just… the kind of death that should never have happened. Not to someone that young. My grandmother tried to comfort me. She explained that the Tusk believe that God is the land, and dying simply means returning to God. It sounded nice then.…”

Ren stood in silence, unsure of what to say. The afterlife was not her best subject.

“I’m just not sure I really believe in any of that. I’ve spent a lot of time with dead bodies. They never seem to be communing with God. They just seem to be bodies. And I—I don’t know what that means for Avy. He’s not coming back. He’ll never…” Cora shook her head. “He was my only friend.”

“I don’t have any answers. Except for the last thing you mentioned. He wasn’t your only friend, Cora.”

Cora let out a pathetic snort. Ren set a firm hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“You are not alone, Cora. Not out here. Not when we get back to Balmerick.”

Cora’s expression steeled when she heard that. All they could do out here was offer each other what little strength they still possessed. Ren nodded once before returning to the fire. Everyone settled in, doing their best to take in the warmth of the flickering flames. Theo finished up with the wards.

“I adjusted the tripwire spell. Cast it out wider. Hopefully it gives us more time to react.”

Ren nodded. “Smart.”

“I’ve set a few traps,” Cora added. “If we catch something, we can cook it tomorrow. Avy had all the nuts in his bag. It might help if we can forage as we go. He mentioned trying to eat a big meal before hitting the actual mountain passes. I agree with that assessment. Food will be scarce up there.”

“That makes sense. Let’s get some rest.”

It was easier to say the words than it was to achieve the goal itself. Ren tossed and turned that night. She had always kept her mind organized and tidy. There was a place for every detail and every fact. But something had been altered. Every time she traced back for the source of that feeling, it felt like touching her tongue to a broken tooth. She’d wince at the pain, resettle her mind, and try to figure it out again. Eventually a begrudging sleep came.

And Ren found herself being dragged into dream, into memory.…

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