Page 6 of The Botanist and the Beast

He ignored her and tossed the blanket off roughly. He whirled around, hoping to see the lights of civilization somewhere in the distance, but there was nothing behind them but darkness. They were flanked by thick pine trees and nothing else.

"Adora, what did you do?" he snapped, glaring at her.

"You woke up sooner than I thought," she said, gripping the reins tighter. "Try to relax. I just need to get to Beaumont sooner."

"Don't tell me to relax, you arrogant little brat. You drugged me. You don't get to tell me to do anything when you dosomething so cruel." His mind raced as he tried to think of a way out of this.Can we make it back to the city in time?

"The veil is a myth!" she protested as he snatched the reins back.

"I need you to be silent unless you're going to tell me how long we've been traveling."

"There are obviously no magical worlds out here," she said, gesturing to the endless forest. "I know your family believes and I don't want to belittle that, but it's a waste of good travel time. We are nearly there now."

"When did we pass Red Brook?"

"We passed Red Brook a few hours ago which means we're at most six hours from Beaumont," she said defiantly, crossing her arms. "We may as well finish the journey tonight. We're nearly out of the forest anyway."

"I cannot believe you! If you weren't going to listen to me, why have me escort you?"

"You escorting me was my mother's idea. My father agreed I could do it alone. I've done it multiple times every summer to see my soon-to-be fiancé. The only difference is it's spring."

"Well, thanks to your antics, we might not make it at all." He double checked that his knife was on his hip. He handed the reins to her, grabbed his bow and arrow out the cart, and strapped it to his back before snatching them back.

"The veil is coming. We can't outrun it, so we'll have to prepare. Do you have a weapon of some sort in case we run into some creatures?"

"The veil isn't real!"

The sun sunk behind the trees and left the two of them in the shadows. The only light was Theo's scar and the stars.

The night went menacingly silent. It was as if every animal, bird, and bug went still.

Something is coming.Theo’s heart banged in his chest.Veil or not, we're in trouble.

An ominous howling wind came rushing through the trees. Adora's summer hat flew off into the dark. "It's a-a wolf," she stammered. "Not great, but it's not a magical creature."

"A wolf. Right." Theo scoffed. He unfortunately knew the sound of hungry wolves well and knew that whatever they just heard wasn't them.

"It's going to be fine." A roar that came from deep in the belly of the forest made her face pale. All her confidence was whisked away in an instant.

The wind grew stronger by the second as if the two of were about to ride right into a storm. The world shook under them and leaves, sticks, dust, and small pieces of brush went racing past them. The horse shrieked, its eyes widened, and his nostrils flared as if a predator lay ahead.

"This is different," Theo said, gripping the reins. "The veil has never sounded like this before. I don’t know what...” He trailed off as the horrific sight came into view.

A thick wall of fog came rushing forward. It moved like an unleashed river of clouds. It roiled angrily and consumed all in its path as its monstrous cry rang out.

"It's real?" Adora said in a shaky voice.

The horse bolted back the other way at full speed, its hooves pounding the path but it was futile. The fog smacked into them like a solid ocean wall and sent them all flying.

Calamity came next.

The horse shrieked. The crates and luggage went crashing onto the road. Adora's bloodcurdling scream rang out as she was ripped right off the cart into the violent winds. Theo desperately reached for her, but the cart careened off the road and sent him tumbling into the dark in the opposite direction.

With a sharp smack, he hit the ground. The air was thin in the fog and his lungs constricted, locking a strangled scream in the back of his throat as it rushed over him. Finally, the roar steadily faded as the fog charged onward. He gasped the moment he could fully breathe.

Dizzy and disoriented, Theo looked up through the trees dotted in white blossoms and toxic fruits. The veil's ever present full moon hung tauntingly overhead.

Chapter Six

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