Page 28 of The Spark that Ignites
“You’ll be cold,” she protested but he slid it from his shoulders and wrapped it tightly around her. She resembled a swaddled infant but his body heat clinging to the fabric penetrated her chilled bones. Emmery bunched the ridiculously long garment around her neck to keep from dragging along the ground, murmuring her gratitude though Vesper gave it no mind.
As they continued through the woods, she lost all sense of direction along with her concept of time. Vesper assured he knew the way, but her chest wound tighter at each hesitation.
“When you crossed before, did you come this way?” she asked, glancing at the maze of trees behind them. If something happened, there was no way she could find her way back alone.
He stepped one way, pivoted, and went the opposite, nearly bowling her over. Vesper shifted her aside and motioned for her to follow. “It’s the only one I know.”
Emmery wasn’t convinced.
As they meandered through the forest, Vesper didn’t whistle or hum and despite her earlier protests, Emmery really wished he would.
She startled as the ominous silence shattered from singing.
But it wasn’t Vesper.
The melody pawed at her, caressing her mind with dainty fingers. Where was it coming from? She searched her surroundings but there were only trees and shadows.
The singing was faint at first, so faint she blamed her imagination, but as it rose Emmery unravelled like a spool of thread. The voice stroked her ears, and the familiar song tugged at her chest. Her flesh prickled, coming alive like never before, and she longed to dance to the enchanting rhythm as she drifted away, her consciousness slipping, soul a fluid thing seeping from her body.
“Do you hear that?” she whispered, her own voice foreign in her ears. The melody trickled down every vein and tendril of hair, her body swaying with it. Surrendering to the call, her eyes fluttered closed, and her steps drifted toward the music.
Vesper’s sharp tug on her arm snapped her out of the trance. “What are you doing?” he asked, a stupid smirk curling his lips.
“Oh. I—” Emmery dragged a hand down her face, blinking the haze away. “You heard that, right? That song? It sounded ... familiar.”
He snickered. “You mean the sirens?”
Red stained her cheeks, and she yanked her arm away. Her control had fled with the music like a flock of sheep running from a wolf. If Vesper wasn’t there, she would have happily skipped her way right into the siren’s waiting arms. “Why didn't it affect you?”
“I’ve heard a few siren songs in my time. I’ve always been immune.” He shrugged. “Also, they were singing to you, not me.”
So, they knew she was in the forest when they were nowhere in sight? That couldn’t be good. Her spine stiffened. “How do you resist it?”
“Think of something foul like an unpleasant memory. I’m sure, like me, you have an abundance of those. Pain helps too.” His bizarre casualness as he spoke of these creatures like they were an everyday vermin or pest, caught her off guard. Maybe Karynthia was more dangerous than she wanted to believe. The thought filled her with dread.
Emmery shivered as she pondered what might have happened if she followed the siren’s song. From what she recalled of fairytales, the beautiful but wicked creatures had jagged teeth and sharp claws. Maybe they fell into the flesh-eating category.
Vesper whistled an off-key tune, drowning out any remaining melody leaking through the trees, clearly for her benefit though he didn’t acknowledge it. “The good news is we’re almost at the gate. The sirens are a last resort to catch anyone who shouldn’t come through.”
The song came to an abrupt halt as the Iron Gate emerged.
It rose well past the treetops, seemingly touching the sky and stretched just as wide, disappearing into the mist. The closely packed bars, resembling razor blades, glimmered with ferocity. No gold or rainbows. No splendour or overwhelming sense of relief. The sinister presence emitted a bone rattling pulse of magic and sent a cold sweat sliding down Emmery’s back.
Guarding the gate was a lanky creature, easily twice Vesper’s height. Dressed in moss covered robes that may have once been white, it stood unnervingly on two feet, its body bowing. Its front talons, spears of bone in the form of hands, dusted the forest floor. Thick, grotesque antlers the colour of aged parchment punctured through its hood and skeletal bones peaked from the exposed bits of its face. The creature's snout twitched as they approached. If it was a mask, Emmery couldn’t tell but whatever it was incited a visceral fear.
What was thatthing? It emitted raw power like the gate.
“Follow my lead,” Vesper ordered, his voice low. “Don’t speak unless spoken to. The Guardian is particular about manners.”
They stepped into the yellowed light emitting from the lantern at the Guardian’s feet. Blood splattered the ground and gate, as if something collided with it and shredded to ribbons. Had people tried to outrun the guardian or was it a desperateattempt to escape the forest creatures? Either way, the blood appeared fresh.
Its unseeing milky white eyes slid in their direction. “Children of the Fallen and Hollow.It is a pleasure to see you again, Vesper Merikh and Emmery Hawthorne,” the monster snarled.
The Guardian’s voice rattled against the walls of Emmery’s brain, and she gritted her teeth against the discomfort though Vesper appeared unfazed.
Emmery narrowed her gaze on its cloudy eyes. How did the Guardian know her name? Was it some sort of seer? It looked too vicious to be anything but a predator. Gods, it could mince her with one swipe of its claw.
Vesper bowed at the waist, an arm crossing his chest to rest two fingers over hiscavae. “Guardian Kaah. The pleasure is ours.”
