Page 23 of King of Immortal Tithe (Darkmourn Universe 2)

The closer I got to the water the more I could see beyond the haze of clouds in the distance. The mountainous outline grew clearer, allowing me to make out the white tipped peaks and harsh giant bodies of each one.

But then I saw what that compass was trying to tell me. The top of a tree, a tree far taller and monstrous than any dared to be. It towered over the tallest of the four mountains peaks but was fainter to look at. Set back at a distance I could see the luscious outline of its full branches and shadowed trunk.

It was much like the tree within Tithe, except bigger by a thousandfold.

Tithe.Home. That was my way back to Auriol. I could not explain it, this feeling, but that tugging of the compass within me was too demanding to ignore.

The lake was miles long. Only a fool would swim it. And I was many things, but a fool was not a title I cared to accept.

My boots left prints in the golden sand as I raced alongside the shore. When I turned back to look behind me, the gentle lapping of water would devour the mark I left as though I never had been here.

Perfect. If Faenir came looking, he wouldn’t know the way I took.

Maybe he chased after me now? I half expected to hear my name called out in fury but then the elf did not seem the type to voice his feelings so vocally,not that I knew anything about him, nor wished to.

Eventually I found what looked like a dock of some kind. Wooden and rotten, the panels had holes and the stilts that disappeared into the water looked gnawed and weak. A brown rope slithered within the lake as if toyed with by unseen fish… or other creatures.

This was a good sign at least. Evidence of a boat that would glide across the water far quicker than I could swim it. But if swimming the length of the azure depths was my only option, it would have to do.

The sky was darkening quickly, and with it my hopes of finding a way out. From within Haxton it had certainly felt like the lake stretched around it completely; running along its shoreline only confirmed it.

Haxton was nestled on a piece of land completely surrounded by water. There was no boat in sight, nothing I could use to get free from this place. And with night fast approaching, the lake went from a soft blue to a darkened grey that no longer looked inviting.

Now, I felt the need to turn away from it and head back to the manor. I couldn’t place my finger on why I felt a creeping chill of fear up the back of my neck. But whatever it was did a fantastic job at putting me off giving into my desperation and swimming.

It was when I was close to giving up, I saw something that had my heart leaping into my throat. A light hovered far out in the distance. The familiar curls of fire, orange and red, danced like a bud captured within a glass lantern which hardly reflected over the water it glided across. It was held upon a pole, gripped by a hand of a figure who stood tall on the prow of a small vessel.

A boat.

It was afuckingboat.

I waded into the water, waving my hands like a mad fool above my head. “Here!” I shouted, voice skipping over the still water like a stone I had thrown. With each bounce the echo grew quieter and quieter. “Please, I have been taken from my home. He stole me. Please. Quick!”

I walked out further into the frigid water, cringing at the noise my desperate cries made. I was knee-deep when I turned back towards Haxton Manor and the soft, bluish glow that emanated from the many windows. They were like dull eyes, watching my escape as though it was the greatest entertainment it had ever witnessed.

Perhaps Faenir watched in glee, smiling with his shattered nose and blood covered face as I tried to leave.Or maybe he wanted me to; after what I had done to him, he would see that I was the wrong choice and wish for me to return home.

“Hurry up!” I shouted, shivering as the cold water soaked into my trousers. I was waist-deep now.

The boat did not seem to pick up its speed, but it was hard to tell when the darkening sky made every small detail impossible to notice. The view of the mountains had retired to sleep, the tree no more than a darkened smudge across the landscape before me.

I was freezing to the bone, I knew that. My teeth chattered violently, catching the skin of my inner cheeks without prejudice. The water was now up to my chest as I fought my way out as if it would get me to the boat, and the person within it, quicker.

“Please!”

My feet fell from the muddied ground until I was forced to swim.

“Pl-please.”

Water splashed into my mouth. Salty but fresh, it made the insides of my cheeks clench and my tongue sting with the distaste of it.

I was not making progress. Turning back towards the shore, it looked so far away that I could not believe I had swum such a length so quickly, yet still the boat and that mocking light did not grow closer.

Something brushed up against me. It halted my breathing, my legs and arms turning to stone. I tried to look down into the dark pits of black that surrounded me and saw nothing.

It happened again, this time beneath me. Something pushed up against my feet and I kicked out, slipping beneath the water in a moment of panic. I scrunched my eyes closed, treading the water with my arms as I attempted to keep myself from drowning.

I managed a single breath before the unseen danger wrapped a grip around my ankle and pulled.

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