Page 104 of A Soul to Guide

“I’m trying!” she whined. “Are you sure there is no other way?”

Merikh leapt and spoke at the same time. “Not one that would be this fast. The next walking point is a three-hour walk from my home, so you would be travelling on the outskirts of the Veil’s forest for that long.”

Getting eaten by Demons or splattering against the ground – those were her options?At least I’ll probably die if I hit the ground.The idea of being eaten alive was horrifying.

“C-can you go slower?” He was barely giving her a moment to adjust to the next landing before he would run off the edge!

“We’re almost there. Stop your fussing.”

Then, just like that, they were at the bottom.

Merikh never entered the forest. He took them around the border towards the red glow she’d been able to see from above. The closer they got, the more she could make out what it was, hear the crashing of water.

Before them was a half-kilometre-tall magical dome with a multi-pointed star. There were two rings, one a border ring and the other one slightly further in, with star-like symbols encompassing it. There were other, smaller circles within the border rings.

It all glittered red.

The dome didn’t appear fully formed, since it was pressing against the cliffside, but she bet it went all the way through the rock to stop Demons from clawing their way in.

“Your magic is the same colour as your orbs?” Raewyn asked, already concluding his base orb colour was red.

“Yes. It’s the same for all Duskwalkers,” he answered plainly before he walked straight through the dome’s edge. “The fact that you can see it means you won’t accidentally wander out of it.”

Raewyn expected to feel a brush of coolness or at least something to signify that she passed through his ward, but nothing happened.

Like she was a hot coal he’d been holding for far too long, Merikh placed her on her feet. He backed up enough that the heat constantly radiating off him dissipated.

The handle of her cane gently tapped against the side of her wrist, and she grabbed it.

The air here was cool and fresh, like it was filled with condensation. Even the grass beneath her feet was soft and moist, and she dug her toes into it to explore the plush carpet of life.

“Be careful where you walk. I’m sure you can hear the waterfall, but there’s a large lake at the bottom of it that makes up two-thirds of the area.”

The waterfall’s soft melody wasn’t harsh or overbearing. It was just enough to create a pleasant background noise, like moderately heavy rainfall. Raewyn’s lids lowered as she listened, pleased.

“To your left are two trees with some boulders underneath them for you to sit on, if you choose to. To the right is the entrance of my cave.”

Her heart swelled.His home sounds pretty.

“Can you show me?” she softly asked, wanting to know if what she was picturing was right.

“No,” he flatly rejected.

Raewyn’s cheeks puffed outwards as she pouted. “Oh, come on. Please show me?”

His chuckle was dark, and it, along with his words, stung. “No. I don’t trust you.”

Maybe what she was asking for was too much after she’d tried to run away with it, but she really wanted to see! He was the only person, not just in this world but in so many others, who could actually give her a brief moment of sight. The least he could do was share it with her for just a second.

“I said I was sorry.” She turned to him with her hands on her hips, a little awkwardly with the one holding her cane.

“I forgave you, but it doesn’t mean I trust you. Those are two different things.”

With an internal groan, she grabbed at his shirt and pulled on what she thought was the front of it. She shook him.

“Just do it, you big cranky pants! You don’t even have to give it to me. You can show me through your perspective while keeping it to yourself.”

She was accustomed to him giving her light growls, so she ‘grrred’ him back this time. He let out a warm chuckle, and she stopped shaking him when her ears went hot. He really seemed to like it when she did that.

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