Page 82 of Kingdoms of Night

An odd pressure pressed against his mind, demanding that he remain and look. As if something had called him here. His gaze dropped once more to the rocks.

He squinted. The nearest one looked like a large reptilian head covered in black slime. If it had actually been some kind of reptile, it was long dead now. Although, at that size, was it a dragon’s head? Were there dragons here?

And worse, things that could kill dragons?

He started down the hill, choosing his steps with care. If he could get a look at what the animals around here were like, they’d be easier to deal with when he encountered them alive.The water is bad over there,Buttercup said.

“The water looks bad,” he said. “What’s that in it?” He tested the marshy ground with his scuffed boot. The ground was soggy, but it held his weight, even if the mud and slime squelched along his soles.

The wolves bounded to the edge of the soft ground, whimpering and whining.

He half expected Idalno to scold him, but when he glanced back, he saw that she too had found a way down, except she wasn’t stepping into the nasty ground.

She had hung her dark shawl on an outcropping branch, exposing slim but muscled arms covered in full sleeves of vivid animal tattoos.

She climbed onto one of the large gray boulders at the very edge. Pretty smart, especially if she didn’t want to dirty her fancy clothes.

His were already stained and fraying despite his best efforts. No amount of effort kept these clothes clean for long. Besides, the muck didn’t come up above his ankles. He’d spent time in bogs and marshes before, and although they could be treacherous, he could pick a safe way through.

This ground wasn’t as bad as he’d first thought. It was more like a heavy rain had come through, except for the smell. It wasn’t fresh at all here. More stagnant and heavy, full of mold and rot.

Idalno crept to the brink of the boulder and leaned down. She dipped the edge of her blade into the water and lifted it. The water dripped off in fat droplets. “This is poison.”

He stopped at the edge of the marsh where the waters turned darker and the river’s spillover led into the pond. Those odd-looking rocks. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m an Acolyte of Venom and Poison. I know it when I see it.”

It was also fairly obvious from the sight and the smell that there was something wrong here, but the less he said, the less she’d say in reply.

Before, with the wind blowing away from them and the water moving downstream, the stench had been all but masked. Not anymore.

He grimaced but did what he’d come here to do. The reptilian head wasn’t the only carcass in the pond. What had looked like large rocks were all heads and animal corpses; he took in their sizes and features as best as he could. He poked one of the reptilian heads with a stick, raising it at the side just a little.

Up close, it did look like a dragon. Was this the Lambton Wyrm?

Don’t drink this water,Hawthorn said.

He didn’t plan to.

Don’t stay here either.Buttercup made a low whimper and then glanced back at the hill.Let’s go. We can run.

Not yet.He frowned. Even as he thought it, somehow the thought didn’t feel like his own. He searched the edge of the river to the pond to the cavern. Something was wrong here. But it was as if some odd part of him wanted to go into the cavern. Curiosity? Maybe.

He also wanted to run, but that odd part held him firmly in place.

“What’s creating this poison?” Idalno remained crouched on the boulder. She wiped the dagger on the stone and then sniffed the blade. Her nose wrinkled. “It smells... it smells a little bit like hydra poison. Except more... earthy. Slower, I guess. Thicker, too.”

What did hydra poison smell like? And why did someone need that kind of knowledge?

Against its own volition, his foot took another step closer to the cavern, although he was still within arm’s reach of Idalno’s boulder. It wouldn’t be smart to go in there, especially not when they needed to find Annette and Idalno’s cousin, so why was he moving? He needed to leave. They needed to leave.

But something rooted him in place. He tried to break free but couldn’t.

The wind changed directions again, this time blowing against his back. It dried his sweat-dampened hair and cooled his neck. The stench faded as well. Thank the gods.

“Maybe that’s close enough,” Idalno said.

The wolves barked their agreement. Buttercup let out a long whine.

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