Page 38 of Lake of Sorrow

“Kaylina?” Vlerion yelled, concern in his voice.

“I’m fine.” Another shriek sounded, battering her eardrums. “I think,” she muttered.

She started to stand but was lightheaded and wobbled. Was that pollen affecting her somehow? Her foot bumped against the corner of the plaque, and she fell back to her butt.

Taybarri footfalls sounded on the shoreline—Crenoch also running?

As more shrieks echoed from the ruins, Vlerion charged into view. His eyes grew round when he spotted Kaylina on the ground, and he sprinted toward her.

“No, no,” Kaylina called, lifting a hand, but the shrieks of the plants drowned her out.

Face set with determination, Vlerion leaped over a mossy stone and ran toward her as he glanced at the flowers and into dark nooks for threats.

Alert as always, he saw a vine uncoil like a snake and lash out at him. He twisted, swinging his sword as it reached for his throat. The blade sliced into the rubbery tip, but, as with the vines in the castle, it was sturdy and doubtless magical. He barely deflected it.

As he sprang away from the area, another vine detached from an upright slab behind him. It whipped toward his waist.

“Look out!” Kaylina surged to her feet, but she was still lightheaded and almost pitched over again. She caught herself on a boulder and managed to stay upright.

Vlerion had heard her warning and dove away from the grasping vine, but four others snaked out. One snagged him, wrapping around his waist.

Face remaining a calm mask, he slashed at it with his sword. But another caught his wrist as yet another slithered in from the opposite direction. It also wrapped around his waist. A new vine erupted from the ground under his feet and clasped his ankle. Two more descended from a thick tree branch and stretched for his neck.

“No!” Kaylina staggered toward him, cursing the lightheadedness that affected her balance. As soon as she moved away from the boulder she’d gripped for support, she pitched to her knees.

What in all the altered orchards was happening to her?

Vlerion twisted to avoid the vines grasping for his neck, but they slid under his armpits instead, wrapped over his shoulders, and pulled his feet off the ground. He retained his sword, but with another vine ensnaring his wrist, he couldn’t use it.

On hands and knees, Kaylina crawled toward him, determined to reach his side, but she had no idea how she could help. The way the magical vines gripped him from all directions ensured he was trapped.

10

Vestiges of the past can haunt the future.

~ Lord Professor Varhesson, Port Jirador University

Even after the vines had Vlerion ensnared, the flowers continued to shriek. Kaylina had no idea where the taybarri had gone, but they needed to return. Soon. She wasn’t strong enough to hack Vlerion free on her own. He and Targon, with their swords and powerful swings, had barely cut into the vines in Stillguard Castle.

Hanging off the ground, Vlerion pulled and twisted. His muscles bulged under his sleeves as he tried to break free, but since his wrists were restrained, he couldn’t swing his sword. He didn’t have a chance. The vines shifted only a little with his movements.

Once more, Kaylina tried to stand, but, again, the lightheadedness affected her balance. She couldn’t stay upright without grabbing a rock for support. Frustration and fear made her spit curses.

Vlerion called to her, but she couldn’t understand him over the continued shrieks.

“Will you stop that damn noise?” Kaylina screamed, so furious that she didn’t care if Kar’ruk warriors all over the preserve heard her.

No, that wasn’t true. If the Kar’ruk showed up, she and Vlerion would have even more of a problem. She clamped her mouth shut and leaned on a stone slab to help her move closer to Vlerion.

Her progress was painstakingly slow. The frustration of the situation boiled over, making her curse more, denouncing every moon god and the king on his throne. A final snarl of, “Sywretha!” came out of her mouth.

The shrieks halted so abruptly that Kaylina almost fell over again.

Sywretha? Where had that come from? She had no idea what it meant.

As soon as the noise stopped, her lightheadedness disappeared. She released the slab and took a wary step. Her balance had returned. Maybe it hadn’t been the pollen coating her nose but the shrieks affecting her ears.

After the noise, the silence was so profound that it was almost eerie. Wanting nothing more to do with the druid ruins, Kaylina rushed toward Vlerion.

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