Page 167 of The Spider Queen
“No, I mean literally rotten. Whatever was inside the belly of that creature was being digested, and now it’s all over you.”
“Then hold your nose,” I snapped.
I’d retrieved the satchel, but it came at a smelly price. The both of us were covered in blood and guts. My magic suit needed a good rinse—and I wanted a scrubbing from head to toe.
“There’s a lagoon close to the shelter,” Thane said. “We should be there soon.”
We’d had to take it easy. Thane might’ve been immortal, but a gutting to the side was painful and slowed him down. We couldn’t travel nearly as quickly while he healed.
I was hungry and tired. The adrenaline had worn off. Not only did I reek of dead beast, but I also smelled the sour odor of fear clinging to my skin.
Purgatory had three moons—a fact that Thane hadn’t gotten around to sharing with me. At the moment, the fullest and brightest was the Cerulean moon. Everything seemed to have a murky indigo glow to it. The other two moons—Ebony and Plum—were crescents and looked farther away in the sky.
The prophecy made sense now. When the Ebony moon was full and at its highest point in the sky, the barren tree would appear. Did that mean everything would be painted in an ebony tint?
I stayed close to Thane, despite the putrid smells wafting from both of us. I had a healthy dose of self-preservation—and Thane had quickly proven his word to be true: he would keep me safe.
“Why did you make me run?” I asked.
His hand pushed aside a thicker part of the brush as he answered. “I knew the beast couldn’t kill me. No matter what it did, I would heal. I’m not sure about what you can do yet, Poppy. Since you’re still changing, I don’t know if you’re more human or immortal.”
“Oh. That makes sense,” I said. “What sort of things can I expect when I become fully immortal, then?”
“You’ll be able to take either of your forms in any realm.”
I swallowed.
“Your eyes will change. You’ll be able to see things that your human eyes never could.”
“Like what?”
“Every being, immortal or otherwise, has a soul. You’ll be able to see them. The souls.”
“Weird,” I murmured.
“You already know about the spiders. And your silk.”
“Also freakin’ weird.”
He chuckled. “Here we are.” We stepped out of the thick grass and my mouth gaped. We were on the edge of the forest—only these trees were nothing like anything I’d ever seen before.
Shocker. It was the new theme of my life.
“They look like giant asparagus,” I marveled, tilting my head back to peer up. And up. They were thick at the trunks, and thinner as they ascended. Reedy limbs devoid of leaves sprang out of the sides and gently swayed in the night air. The bark was dark green and bumpy.
All of sudden, the air grew stagnant, and my lungs filled with trepidation.
Thane placed a hand on my arm and then took a step forward. He walked to the nearest tree and pressed his forehead against the bark, chanting in an eerie language, both familiar yet foreign.
The twigs and branches began to dance in the indigo light. The chanting grew louder as the other asparagus trees began to join in the rhythmic movements. There was a crack, like the sound of a whip lashing through the air, and the tree Thane was touching bent over. It looked like it was going to split in half. Thane’s arms were now around the trunk. There was a snap, followed by another, and then another. The trees were lifting their roots, twisting and turning, and still Thane didn’t stop chanting. The air swirled, alive with magic and song.
Finally, the trees stopped moving, and Thane fell silent. His arms dropped from around the trunk, and he took a step back. He brushed his hand against the bark, and the tree shuddered.
“Come,” Thane said to me, his voice soft but full of command.
I walked toward him, stunned. The trees had moved and shifted to create a pathway. Their branches bent to form a protective canopy.
“What did you do?” I asked in wonder.
