Page 187 of Flame and Sparrow

For several moments, I was perfectly still and silent, marveling again at the sight of it, wondering how such a thing could exist in this world without my ever having seen it—or evenknownof it.

Then again, I’d been blind to the truths within my very own home, hadn’t I?

I’d closed my eyes for too long against too many things I didn’t want to see.

But I wouldn’t do that anymore.

I marched forward, determined to take in the full sight of everything before me, no matter how terrifying it was.

The scent of campfire smoke caught my attention. I cautiously followed it and, while crouching behind the first bush I came across, I scanned the distance, searching for the source.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I spotted it: A small encampment lay a few hundred yards away, bustling with noise and movement. Some of the so-calledghoststhe tavern patrons had warned me about, no doubt.

I wasn’t surprised to see them; I imagined there were plenty of elves—allies of the movement Andrel and my sister had apparently helped lead—who regularly patrolled to keep prying eyes away from the experiments going on here.

I was only surprised there weren’t more of them.

Despite the lack of bodies, there was a violent, bristling energy surrounding the small camp, and it seemed to be building by the minute. It made me think of the sea pulling back, gathering into something altogether more massive and violent before crashing destructively over the shore.

Cautiously, I moved in the opposite direction of the camp, searching for any more who might have been guarding the barrier, while simultaneously trying to study the veil itself. I tried to ignore the ache growing in the pit of my stomach as I drew nearer to that veil.

I was closer to Dravyn’s realm than I had been in days, supposedly, yet the space between us felt more impossible than ever.

What would happen if I tried to cross through right this moment?

It seemed reckless, but I couldn’t help myself; once I was well out of sight of anybody at the encampment, I paused. Took a deep, bracing breath.

And I reached tentatively toward the wall of magic.

The veil felt cold at first. My fingers came away covered in a faint, dewy, silvery substance that made my skin tingle. It absorbed quickly into my skin, a subtle warmth spreading out from the mark on my wrist as it did. Otherwise, nothing of consequence seemed to happen.

Feeling braver, I reached out again, pressing deeper this time. My hand didn’t make it far before seizing up. I reflexively jerked back before the paralysis could spread, but my hand remained numb for several moments afterward.

I hadn’t really expected to just be able to push my way through, as nice as that would have been. Still, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Moth caught up to me, chirping eagerly. He’d seen me reaching, and he wasted no time joining my efforts to cross over, diving headfirst into the veil and disappearing with a flick of his flame-tufted tail.

He was gone for nearly a full minute. The ache in my stomach deepened as I feared I’d lost the last of my companions—but then he re-emerged, rolling out from the bottom of the veil, his body covered in a shimmering silver glow that slowly disappeared. He didn’t seem paralyzed or otherwise affected as he shook out a few rumpled feathers before looking up at me expectantly.

I gave him a sad smile. “If only it were so easy for me. But I’m not divine like you, unfortunately.”

Disheartened, but not ready to give up, I continued traveling parallel to the veil, searching for more clues, trying to decide what to do next.

I’d come here to find proof that this place existed and could be accessed. To map it out and gain useful information that would help stop Andrel and all the mad plans he had.

But that information would be useless if I couldn’t get to the other side, if I couldn’t find some way to tell Dravyn and the others what they were truly up against.

As I was pondering, a strange, warbling sound—like a sheet of metal being battered by the wind—filled the air.

I dropped instinctively to a crouch, scanning my surroundings for threats.

I was still alone, out of sight of anyone.

But the veil was…changing.

The waves of grey were smoothing out in places—as though something had grabbed the edges of several sections and jerked them taut—while its color deepened to the shade of a heavy storm cloud.

Another metallic warble sounded. The veil radiated with a strange, densely cold energy, a pressure reaching out and crushing over me so rapidly, so intensely, that I had a hard time straightening back to my full height.

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