Page 76 of Foresyth Conservatory
The Universal Truths beneath material form.I eagerly pulled out my notepad to copy down the drawing when I heard a sound. At first, I thought it was my own heart, pounding in my chest, but then I heard it again.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart froze. There was a strange, jagged sound coming from outside the room. I stayed as still as I could, but my heartbeat betrayed me, growing louder as the noiseapproached. Weighing my options, I calculated a sixty-seven percent chance I could outrun it, given the three-second intervals of its steps and the length of its stride. I didn’t like the odds, but the calculation was flawed anyway.
I made a run for it.
I jostled the stone holding the door open and dashed in the opposite direction of the noise. I spared a glance back, regretting it immediately. I didn’t pause to rationalize what I saw: a creature with the head of a bird and the body of a bear, its eyes green and wild with a rage against its own foul existence. I ran faster than my lungs could handle, ignoring the pulsing pain in my right ankle. Fear rose with the bile in my throat, and I stopped, sparing a few precious seconds to consult my map.
I looked down, cursing again. I was far from any mapped areas—in unknown territory. The creature let out a mangled screech, making the hairs on my arms stand up. I charged further down the tunnel, utterly blind to my direction. Without a map or compass, I was done for. In my haste, I tripped over something long and jagged—a tree root. I looked up and around, realizing the tunnel was tangled with viny roots.
The House . . . itisalive.
The sound grew louder. I jumped to my feet and sprinted, only to slam into a locked door at the end of the tunnel. With no escape and the creature’s screech closing in, I unhooked the dagger strapped to my ankle. If there was no way out, I’d have to fight. I took a deep breath, cursing myself again for not having a better map.
“What are you doing here?” a voice squeaked behind me, half horror, half surprise.
I spun around, ready to face a new threat. But two shining eyes stared back, and relief flooded me.
“Nina!” I gasped. “There’s something out there. We have to get out of here.”
“I know,” she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. “It’s this way.” She turned and started down the tunnel—toward the creature.
“We can’t go that way,” I protested, but she’d already disappeared into the darkness.
The only way out is through,my father’s voice echoed in my mind.
I started after her. The thumping grew so loud it overtook all my senses, the creature’s agonized wail sending tremors through my body. I could feel its pain, visceral and consuming.
Nina’s hair bobbed ahead, a beacon in the darkness. The creature was only a few yards away now, its phosphorescent green eyes hollow and soulless. As we crept closer, I realized it was blind—it couldn’t see us. We slipped by, and Nina made a sharp turn to the right. I followed, barely missing the creature’s crackling beak as it struck the tunnel wall. After a few more strides, when the monster’s footsteps faded, I turned to Nina.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded.
She rolled her eyes. “Griffract. Best to avoid them. If their beaks don’t get you, their claws will.”
“I gathered as much. I mean, where did it come from?”
“There’s a lot of . . . reject magick down here,” she said, giving me a hard look. “You shouldn’t be wandering alone, especially at night.”
“I could say the same for you,” I said, watching her closely. “What were you doing down here?”
“I could ask you the same,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. “I was looking for mugwort. It grows underground. Now your turn.” Her eyes narrowed, expectant.
“I’m . . . looking for something too. Someone sent me down here,” I admitted. I hated to concede it, but Aspen was right. It was foolish to trust anyone here, even friends.
“Were they trying to get you killed?”
“I don’t think so, but a warning would’ve been nice.”
“Well, here’s your warning: this place is crawling with failed magick. Don’t wander here alone,” she said, her tone unusually harsh.
But what was Nina doing down here, alone? Suspicion rippled through me and a sour taste coated my tongue.
“Fine, I’ll make a date out of it next time,” I lied.
We continued down the tunnel, and a familiar green door soon appeared.
“You’re lucky I was here,” Nina said, her pixie-like smile resurfacing as she flipped the latch and slipped through the doorframe, holding it open for me with a lightness that seemed almost careless after what we’d just been through.
