Page 4 of The Hidden Falling
The others are silent as they wait for me, knowing this is my usual routine before I leave. I move forward, pressing a hand to the ivory bark, feeling the smooth wood beneath my palm. Closing my eyes, I send a silent thank you to them for protecting me and my family. My pack. For giving us a safe haven to just be and live and have a chance to find some sort of peace. My eyes spring open when I feel a slight tingle on my palm, a subtle acknowledgement of my feelings being conveyed. I smile, rubbing my thumb over the bark, just once, before I drop my hand and step back.
“All good?” an amused voice asks. I turn to the right, looking slightly up at the owner of the male voice.
“Of course, just giving my thanks.” I grin at Sebastian, knowing he’s the most impatient out of us all. He’s also the tallest, which makes me feel like a squirrel standing next to him. Do squirrels climb into the lilk trees? I’ve never seen one.
“Earth to Rhea.” He snaps his fingers in front of my face, and I blink up at him. “Do you have to do this every time we venture away from home?” He wiggles his dark eyebrows at me. “I can think of a better way to pass the time.”
I shrug, ignoring his last statement and my internal question about squirrels, focusing on his tawny eyes. “I don’t want Eridian to think I’m ungrateful, it’s not a big deal. Anyway, Solvier always said the land appreciates it.”
“Solvier,” Hudson mutters, and I look over at him. “I’ve not seen him once in all the years I’ve been here. He’s a goddamn ghost.”
“No, he’s not,” Colten snickers, coming to stand next to him and elbowing him in the side. “He’s just picky about who he thinks is worthy of his time.”
“You little shit,” Hudson growls, grabbing the younger man by the shoulder. No doubt ready for another round of ‘who taps out first.’
“Alright, alright,” I say, coming between them and putting my hands on their chests. “You guys can beat each other to a pulp later, after we’ve returned safe and sound.”
“Let’s get going. We don’t want to be in The Deadlands when the sun goes down,” Taylor says, walking through the lilk trees and out of the protective circle.
I follow, feeling a rush of magic flow over me as I step through the invisible barrier and into the unprotected forest. It feels like cobwebs being removed from my body in one smooth glide, pulling me at the last second before it finally releases. I freaked out the first time I felt it, but now, I embrace the feeling when I exit and enter our home.
We walk a meter apart from each other and stay alert to our surroundings. The forest of Eridian can be just as dangerous as The Deadlands. The last thing we need is a bulcar or a family of bora to come for us, or worse yet, a pack of Rogures.
Thankfully, we haven’t seen any rogures for some time now.
We walk for a while, remaining silent and communicating with our eyes and hand signals. The only person with us here that I have a blood link with is Josh, so we communicate internally anything we see, then let the others know.
Taylor stays slightly in front of the rest of us. He was out here last night to pave a quiet path to the base of the cliffs, so we let him guide us, trusting him to get us there. His steps are light and soft on the ground, missing sticks and leaves to ensure he doesn’t make a sound. We follow his lead.
We don’t usually stay this quiet when we’re in the forest, but we do not want any unexpected attacks slowing us down when we have somewhere we need to be. Especially since we don’t know what will be waiting for us when we port into The Deadlands. We can’t risk delaying our arrival.
Coming up to the forest tree line, we pause, staying hidden within the trees. Scanning the start of the barren earth before me, I look up to search the top of the cliffs that surround Eridian, encasing us in its valley. The path toward the top is steep and uneven, with many jagged surfaces that could cut you in two. With no signs of any danger, we head for the base and begin our ascent. It takes a little over an hour to climb to the top. With our wolves helping us from within, we managed to gain only superficial cuts.
Heaving myself over the top, I stand and look ahead. A shiver runs down my spine at seeing the top of the dark, dead trees that decay but never crumble. Twisted and thin, the branches intertwine around each other, always connecting to the other trees around it. The trunks of the trees are deeply rooted into the dry earth. No one knows how deep down they go, and I’ve never seen one uprooted or toppled over in all these years. Mind you, I don’t go into The Deadlands unless I have to.
Taylor takes out the port stone from his pack. Small and square, that little gray stone is powerful enough to travel all of us to the location we set. He looks over at us, checking to see if we’re ready to go. At our nods, we step forward. I put my hand on his shoulder, and the others come around us to do the same. As long as you are connected to the stone by touching it directly or touching a person connected to it, you can port with them to the same location.
A buzzing sensation fills my ears and I close my eyes as a breeze-like caress touches me, but that soon turns into the feeling of being compressed, making the air leave my lungs in a rush. It only lasts a few seconds, but it’s always extremely uncomfortable.
I open my eyes when the feeling disappears and quickly move my hand from Taylor to grab the blade at my hip. We all stand back-to-back, looking throughout The Deadlands, opening our senses to any unexpected creatures that may be lurking nearby.
The ground is dry, the darkened earth littered with broken sticks and stones that we try to avoid as we move around slowly, checking for danger. The small clearing we ported into shows no signs of any life form aside from us, and I relax my hold on the blade.
I turn and see Taylor give the port stone to Axel for safekeeping. He pockets it and takes up a defensive stance. Port stones can only port you twice before the power inside runs out, and it either needs to recharge or be thrown out.
Finn steps up beside Axel, keeping an eye on our surroundings, as the rest of us start to move forward to meet with Edward’s help and the girl. The others stay back, protecting the area to make sure we can reach them when we are ready to go home. Hudson and Colten trail behind us, keeping a reasonable distance to protect our backs, as Josh, Taylor, Seb and I keep moving forward on silent feet.
The Deadlands are eerie, dark and gloomy, with enough space between the trees for us to pass through easily. You can’t see the sky here. Even with the dark twisted branches having no leaves or flowers, they intertwine so tightly together above our heads that they leave no space for light to filter in between. The enhanced vision from our wolves and the greenish glow of the weeping liquid from the trees are the only reasons we can see in here.
A cloaked figure appears in the distance after we’ve walked a little while, holding a limp form at their side next to a large rock. We slow instinctively as we approach, the blade in my hand twitching as I clench my fingers tighter around it. The hooded figure turns our way as we get closer and bows their head subtly in recognition. They look back down to the form they are holding, shaking them slightly until I hear a small, soft groan.
“Sarah, help is here. Wake up now,” the male voice urges, standing her up as best he can.
Sarah. This is the girl we came to save. I feel the group relax, and I look at Taylor with a nod. He stays still with Sebastian as Josh and I walk the distance left between us and them.
The man is still struggling to hold the girl upright when I move forward slowly and look down at her face, eyeing the male for any sudden movements. Delicate but bruised, Sarah looks to be in her early twenties.
Sheathing my blade at my hip, I reach a hand out to grab her arm gently, helping the male steady her on her feet. She whimpers quietly before opening her eyes slightly. Bloodshot eyes meet mine, and then widen as I feel her body tense beneath my hand.
