Page 117 of The Court of Secrets
It was strange. Why would the necromancer come to Magaelor’s forest? What did he want with the river, the veil between realms? He’d just escaped from the other realm. Unless… “He wants to use the energy from the spirit realm.” The truth knocked my senses out of whack. It was the only possibility that made sense. I almost toppled over on one foot, but I caught myself and pushed on, checking my boots again. I was growing breathless, whereas Adius hadn’t even broken a sweat, but he did train for hours every day. I often saw him practicing weapon training in the early hours of the morning on the grounds with a group of his men.
“What does that mean?”
My heart pounded. “It means he plans on completing a ritual to bring… whoever it is he wants to bring back, back. Whoever it is isn’t just simply dead. That’s all I know. I think they’re like broken, scattered… Their soul, I mean.”
Adius’s eyebrows pinched together. “He’s a necromancer. Can’t he bring anyone back from the dead?”
“Not this particular person. I imagine it’s someone he once loved.”
“What makes you think that?”
I cast my eyes to the ground. “Only love could push a man to this, beyond the bounds of humanity and more.”
The trees narrowed, the trunks thinning as we ventured forward. The ground wriggled less, until nothing moved. Once we crossed over, I breathed a sigh of relief. “We made it through.”
“In one piece.” He kept his sword out anyway. “We still need to be careful.” He stopped, smirking. “It’s nice to be on solid ground again.” He pressed his hands against his knees, catching his breath.
Shock rooted me to the spot. I parted my lips, frozen as I watched the beast snarl in the trees about fifteen feet behind Adius. Saliva dripped from its long canines. They couldn’t see well, but their hearing was excellent. It sniffed the vicinity. Every instinct begged me not to make a sound, but Adius didn’t know it was there, and it would have already heard us. It just couldn’t make out where we were. Its matte-black fur consumed every drop of light the moon gave it. It pawed the ground as it sniffed through its long snout. Many would mistake it for a wolf, if not for its red eyes and larger size.
Carefully, I placed my gloved hand on the hilt of the Sword. I recalled when one had chased me off the cliff on Inferis years before, putting me on the path that led me to here. I’d almost died that night and had run, but not this time.
Adius stood. “Let’s move.”
The sound snapped the beast toward us. It leapt through the path between the trees, bouncing off the bottoms of trunks as it picked up speed.
“Move!” I screamed at Adius and lunged past him and to the anumi.
I pushed forward with all my might. My next breath caught in my throat when it reached me. Its sharp teeth glistened with saliva under the moonlight seeping through, its crimson eyes aligned, focusing on me.
Swinging the Sword through the air, I screamed as I twirled to the side, before it could snap its teeth onto my arm, and brought the blade down on its neck. I lifted the sword again, pulling it from flesh and bone with a wrench. I stabbed it through the beast’s stomach for good measure. Its blood covered me, and a chunk of fur caught on the hilt, tangling against my finger.
I fell backward, and the Sword touched my bare arm. I hissed, moving myself from under it, letting out the breath I’d been holding. Tears streamed thick as my body shook violently. Streaks of cold shuddered me further.
“It’s adrenaline. Try to take slow, deep breaths,” Adius said, his wild eyes darting between me and the dead anumi. “I’m proud of you.” He ran his arm under mine and wrapped it around me, then helped me stand.
I draped mine over his shoulders, steadying myself as I blew out a long exhale.
“But I should have protected you. I am so sorry.”
My teeth chattered, and my heart raced. I looked over the blood-soaked anumi. I’d never seen so much of it in my life. The blood darkened as it pumped slower. The creature had already left this world, it’s red, unseeing eyes reflecting on the sword.
“It was hidden in darkness, Adius. It was so quiet.”
“I should have been more vigilant.”
I scowled. “Don’t beat yourself up over this.” I leaned down and grabbed the sword. “We survived. That’s what matters.”
“Thank you, Majesty.”
In the distance, I heard water running. Downstream, the river turned into something that more resembled a swamp, proving it’s unworldliness. We walked along a muddy bank, looking down into green, thick, slow currents. A putrescent smell of rotten eggs wafted from it, and we both pinched our noses.
Adius spoke semi-nasally. “This is the sacred river, the veil between the living and dead?”
“It’s a lot nicer farther up. It’s as if something dark is in the waters here.” I glared down, wondering why it looked so awful. “Upstream, the waters are so crystal clear and felt so enriching to stand in. “I wonder.” I tilted my head, watching as the river paled the more we walked. Everything needed a tether. Could it be what was keeping the spirit realm tied to ours was making the water like that?
I pressed my arm across to stop Adius, hushing him. “The necromancer,” I whispered. He stood in the middle of the beautiful part of the river. On the bank was Licia and a girl I didn’t recognize. Next to them, Neoma was caged, crying.
“We need to help her.” Adius straightened, gripping his sword.
