Page 28 of The Stone Secret
The woods were filled with the sounds of nature, the atmosphere peaceful and tranquil, but Bax radiated anxiety like a furnace.
Ten minutes passed in silence, and nothing eventful happened. I checked the compass, the map, and the terrain. We were headed in the right direction, and there hadn’t been any obstacles so far.
Was this deliberate? Had Willowman given us an easy path? Did Serath have something to do with this? No. He wouldn’t do that. He wanted me to pass the elite trial, knew that I needed the training. He wouldn’t interfere in the process.
The sound of running water washed over the chirp and chitter of the woodland wildlife.
Bax slowed his pace, but I picked mine up, walking around him to take the lead to the wide river, the water moving fast as if in a hurry to get to its destination. Beyond was more woodland, and beyond that were blue and gray mountains, their tops tinged orange by a late afternoon sun.
The mountains were our destination. We’d find our extraction point there.
Bax walked off along the riverbank, searching for a way across.
He wouldn’t find one. “The only way across is to swim, Bax.”
His shoulders bunched and then drooped. “I can’t,” he growled finally. “I can’t go in there.”
I knew it. “You can’t swim.”
He turned to face me, and the pallor of his skin told a different story. This wasn’t about not having the skill. This was about fear. He wasafraidof the water.
His lip curled. “If you say a word, I’ll hurt you bad.”
I arched my brow and crossed my arms. “You’ll have to getoutof this place to do that, Bax.”
He looked at the water, his eyes darkening, breath coming faster. “I’ll wait for sunset.”
“It’ll be too late. Extraction is fifteen minutes before sunset.”
He dropped his chin to his chest. “I’ll wait. Just go.”
I knew enough about fear to know it couldn’t be conquered in a few minutes and enough about goyles to know he’d probably fought with this weakness for as long as he’d been afflicted. There was no point trying to talk him into getting into the river, but I couldn’t leave without him either.
There had to be something we could do. Some other way across. My gaze fell on the trees on the edge of the woods. These trees had slender trunks.
I held out my hand. “Let me see the pack.”
Bax looked confused but handed it to me.
There was a bottle of water, some energy bars, a penknife. and some rope. Not thick rope but the slender, strong kind you could use for rappelling.
“You think you can pull up that tree?” I pointed at the smallest one.
Bax’s frown deepened. “What? Why?”
“Can you do it or not?”
“Yes, but—”
“Get to it. You’ll need two at least.”
“What are you going to do?”
“We’regoing to make you a raft.”
CHAPTER12
It didn’t take long to use the rope to tie the two tree trunks together. It was large enough for Bax to kneel on. But I wouldn’t be riding the thing. I’d be pulling it across the river using what was left of the rope. I kicked off my shoes and handed them to Bax.
