The Darkness That Hunts
Chapter 19

The purple haze caresses uswith heated fingers and conceals the woodlands from us, revealing only asection at a time. While it hides any potential danger, it also hides us fromsaid danger, and for that I’m grateful.

“We can barely see,” Kamironwhispers, striding beside me. “Can we risk a light?”

“I’d rather not. Everythinghere doesn’t really need light to see so it would only act as a beacon thatwe’re intruders.”

Kamiron grunts and fallsback.

We walk for what feels likehours, stopping only for me to periodically check the map. When I pressGjinna’s pendent against the vellum, tiny red shields spring up across the map,designating safe houses and supply stashes. Unfortunately, there’s noindication which is which, so I hope that the place I’m leading the guystowards has a space for us to rest.

“I don’t understand. Itshould be around here somewhere.” Frustrated, I squint at the mist, searchingfor anything that looks like a hut, or a camouflaged cave, or any kind ofhideout. All that greets me are malformed trees with thick branches that dripsilver cobwebs. Thorns and bristles line the narrow trail and are broken onlyby tufts of dead grass and weeds. The Onyx is quiet. No birds, no animals, noteven leaves that rustle in the wind.

It’s unnerving, and not thebest recipe to keep exhausted travelers awake and alert.

Behind me Kamiron stifleshis hundredth yawn. Dace taps his hilts against his shoulders and sighs. Zakk restsa consoling hand my shoulder. In the sparse light, his new tattoos seem likeinfected wounds.

“I’m guessing it’s a supplystash after all,” he muses. “Maybe we should just replace a relatively safe placeand--”

Dace inhales sharply.“What’s that?”

Fear spikes through me and Ibrandish my longbow like a club. The mist obscures everything directions and Ican barely make out the footpath ahead, but if something’s stalking us . . .

“No, look up. It seems likesome kind of . . . tree house.”

We follow Dace’s finger ashe points to something a few yards off the trail. At first I don’t noticeanything, but when the fog shifts, I spot a mammoth tree. Black vines clog itstrunk, spiraling up its branches and weaving into a strange structure that lookslike a giant bird’s nest. Moss, strips of bark and vines tangle into a hollowoval that looks big enough for a person to fit inside.

“That must be it.” I try tokeep the relief from my voice.

“Think it’ll fit all of us?”

“Only one way to replace out.”

It’s surprisingly easy toclimb the tree although the black vines leave a sticky residue on our palms.The nest turns out to be a deception. From below it looks like only a singleperson might curl up inside, but once we are up in the branches, we replace thatthe nest camouflages a broad hole that extends a few feet into the trunk of thetree and we’re able to fit inside comfortably. It’s not a four-star hotel, butit’s infinitely better than sleeping on the forest floor where we’re exposed toany of the Onyx’s dangers. We’re so exhausted that only takes us a few momentsto get situated. No one volunteers to keep watch, and no one argues about whereto sleep. We each stake out our territory and, curling up against Zakk withKamiron and Dace nearby, I fall asleep within seconds.

“Shari.”

A hand shakes me and I shrugit off. I’m not ready to get up even though my bed is hard and something digsinto my lower back. I shift to try to relieve the pressure, but it only getsworse. I’ll have to get Zakk to take a look at it. Maybe drop by Firestarterbefore breakfast? Assuming Mel doesn’t want me to wait for her.

Again a hand shakes me, thistime more urgently. “Wake up. Something’s outside.”

It’s Dace. How did he getinside Starjungle?

The pressure stabbing intomy lower back makes me gasp and I jerk upright. The tree trunk’s ebony knots swirlaround me. Broad leaves from a black vine coat the floor and I think I see somesmall insect scurry into a hole in the wood.

My heart drops as I remindmyself that I’m back in Ater.

And that Melissa’s dead.

“My bad.” Kamiron winces ashe stretches out his right leg. “Didn’t realize my knee was digging into yourback.”

I rub the sleep from my eyesand replace Dace crouched near the nest’s entrance, peering outside. The safehouseisn’t tall enough for me to stand upright so I crawl over our satchels andweapons to look out at the Onyx.

“It’s over by the trail,sniffing,” he whispers.

Though the canopy blots outmost the sky, it doesn’t seem as dark as before we slept--more like a lateevening murkiness instead of the pitch dark of just past midnight, but I thinkthat’s just our eyes growing accustomed to the ambient gloom of Ater. The fogfrom earlier has retreated and cleared visibility. I spot it instantly. Heavymuscles shift beneath taut purple-black skin. It lifts its head from a tangleof moss and sniffs the air, turning briefly towards our tree. Blue-white eyesglare across the Onyx and I replace The Darkness-That-Hunts’ brand gleaming likesilver across the creature’s bald head. It straightens and I notice that it hasno legs. An opaque mist undulates at its waist, writhing like worms. The dry clusterof grey grass beneath it does not indicate anything stands there.

“What do you think it is?”Dace whispers.

I shake my head. “I’ve neverseen anything like it before.”

Zakk squats next to me whileKamiron peers over his shoulder. We duck our heads as two other creatures, bothfemale with bare breasts and hair crawling with scorpions, float out of thesurrounding trees. They converse with the bald creature for a moment and thethree continue along the path, drifting east.

“Those are Unseelie,” Zwhispers. “By the looks of them, relatively low ranking members of the Winter Court.”

I cut my eyes at him. “Howdo you know that?”

Zakk taps his temple.“Divine’s memories are a part of mine now. I know what he knows of the DarkCourt, and of Ater. I know many of the spells that he has committed to memory.”

“And the tats?” Kamironventures.

Zakk examines the runes andCeltic symbols that crisscross his body. “They embody a concept, an arcane facet.”He lifts up his aketon and I replace a large, ugly rune marring his ribs. “Thisrepresents ‘Stealth.’ It allows me to cast spells of concealment. This otherhere,” his fingers trace what looks like three parallel wavy lines, “Is arepresentation of Malleability. It grants me the power to alter the shape ofmatter.” His palm cups a nasty tattoo that flares across his neck like aninfection. “This means Death. With it, I can animate inanimate objects.”

We stare at him in disbeliefand awe. A blush taints his cheeks and he lowers his aketon. “They burn into amage, branding the knowledge to flesh. It is why Divine’s method of transitionwas so . . . painful.”

“Will it hurt when you useit?”

“It will not be a pleasantexperience, but I’m sure I can grow accustomed to the discomfort.” He stares atthe spot where Dace spotted the first Unseelie. “The good news is that I don’tthink they were looking for us. I think they were just passing through.”

Kamiron squirms. “Thenwhat’s the bad news?”

“We’re close to Unseelieterritory. There will be more like them, and those particular kinds of Unseelieare magic users. Even if we knew how to use our weapons, they would be able to killus in seconds with just a word.”

I take a deep breath tosettle my queasy stomach. I don’t know much about the Unseelie, but we cannotcross their lands.

Dace retreats to the back ofthe nest and starts rifling through his sack. He pulls out what looks to bedried meat of some sort. “Well, let’s hope they aren’t sitting on a tether.”

We eat a brief meal, a fewstrips of jerky followed by a couple swallows of water before I unfurl Divine’smap and balance it across my knees. The territories and zones of Ater flarebefore me, each new region marked by a meticulous hand. I’ve seen Divine’shandwriting, and this does not match. Where did he get this map? It must havebeen someone from the Blood Shield, of course, but who would bother to map thisplace? It would have taken thorough exploration, and considering the dangers .. .

“So, Golden Compass, whereare we heading?” Dace crosses his legs and starts rolling the hilts of his weaponbetween his palms.

“Well, we know where twoare. The white and black crystal.”

“The dark one is around hisneck,” Kam whispers, “You can’t possibly mean to--”

I give a sharp shake of myhead. “Not yet. The white crystal is nearby but . . .”

“As soon as we take it--”

“Assuming we can,” Daceinterrupts.

“It will alert him,” Zakk continues.“We’ll have to save those two for last. Can you tell where the others are?”

I stare at the map and tryto ignore the three sets of eyes that scrutinize my every move. I nervously tugat Gjinna’s pendant.

How am I supposed to knowwhere the other two tethers are hiding? Divine says to trust my intuition, butthat’s not saying much. I can’t have us navigating the dangers of Ater on justa hunch. I trace the curled edge of the vellum, marveling at the soft textureof the cream-colored page. The ink stands out in deep shades of jet, pepperedevery now and again by jasper and peridot. The pad of my index finger tracesthe border of the Onyx, which dominates the south and southeastern curve of therealm, and skims through the Unseelie territory that straddles the southeast.The great savannah called the Hallow Wastes hovers in the center, bordered bythe Necropolis to the west and the marshlands of the Sepulcher to thenortheast. Andhakar’s residence sits just above the Necropolis and is capped bya mountain range with a jagged red line ripping them in half.

No idea what that serratedline means, but . . .

I stop, my fingers tingling.An odd sensation like nails plucking at my mind makes me frown. The boys moveto speak, but I stop them with a raised hand. I shut my eyes, feeling as if . .. something is trying to get my attention. Again my fingers roam the softsurface of the map, tracing over the ridges of ink. The sensation fades or getsstronger, cresting against my wrist like ethereal waves.

Until it doesn’t go away. Anelectric buzz vibrates up my arm.

“That’s it.” My eyes flyopen and I replace my finger stabbing at the marshlands of the Sepulcher. “One ofthe tethers is somewhere over there.”

I expect the guys toquestion me, but their expressions are oddly accepting.

“You look like you expect usto argue with you.” A smile quirks the corner of Kam’s mouth.

“I thought at least you’dquestion my reasoning.”

Dace motions to the bizarreforest just outside our nest. “Considering this is outside our purview, we’lldefer to your wisdom, O Golden Compass.”

“And so far yourclaircognizance has been spot on,” Zakk adds.

“Claircognizance?” It soundsfamiliar though I can’t recall what it means; from the way they eye me--as ifI’ve just bitten the head off a rat--I get the feeling I should know. “What?”

“You can’t not realize you’re a claircognizant,Shari. Not after all we’ve been through.”

“I’ve never really . . . Idon’t . . . what is it?”

“That gut feeling--a hunch,”Kamiron explains, “But stronger. It can be a dream or emotion or sensation. Itpersists and even though you don’t know why you know, you just--”

“Know,” I whisper, sittingback. An odd sense of relief and delight blooms inside me and I marvel at mynewfound belonging. I’ve found my place, my own ability, and I’m glad I havefriends who are like me and can understand. It’s then I realize the depth ofhope that Camp Genki inspires in people with ESP. What it meant to Mel andHamilton to replace acceptance and to explore their abilities.

The images of Mel’s spunkygrin and Hamilton bent over his guitar act like a splash of cold water and Isober instantly.

As if reading my thoughts,their expressions turn glum. “He’s with Hamilton right now, isn’t he?”

“The Darkness-That-Huntswill keep him alive because he knows we’ll come for him, but . . .” I blinkaway sudden tears and focus on the map. There’s no telling how broken Hamiltonwill be by the time we save him. “So a tether is somewhere in the Sepulcher.”

“Then let’s not waste anymore time.”

We climb down the stickyvines and return to the Onyx floor. Skirting the spot where we saw theUnseelie, we return to the path and head north. For the most part, we walk insilence and watch the Onyx unfold around us in steep embankments filled withthistles or giant trees with mossy branches that drag along the ground likefuneral veils. The silence isn’t as disturbing as before we slept, but we darenot interrupt it with our voices. Eventually the trail we follow starts toangle more westward and I hesitate.

“We’re getting too close,”Zakk cautions at my left shoulder. I pull out my map and squint at itsinformation. Zakk glances further down the trail, and then into the treesaround us before risking a small, wispy ball of light. Deep green floods thevellum and I shoot him a grateful glace.

“We lost?” Kam whispers.

I shake my head. “We’ve nochoice,” I tap the trail that we follow and Zakk sighs. “We won’t need to passinto their territory, but we’ll have to get close to the outskirts. It’s betterto stick to the edge of the Onyx than risk crossing the middle of the HallowWastes.”

Dace shifts at my side.“What’s in the Hallow Wastes?”

“Lobisomem,” Zakk responds.His green ball of light winks out as I roll up the map. “Cursed creatures thatwere once human, though they’ve likely forgotten it.”

“Think of them as werewolves.”I translate for Dace and Kam. “But they don’t shapeshift. They look like wolvesthat can walk upright. Human intelligence but with the ferocity, power, and staminatypical of wolves.”

“Fantastic,” Dace mutters. “Gotany silver?”

“Silver wouldn’t harm them.”

Again we walk but I motionfor Zakk to take the lead. Kam brings up the rear and Dace trots at my right.We each grip the shafts of our weapons as if they will save us should we beattacked. We follow the dirt trail around a bog that encases a small pool offetid water. Strange wispy lights the color of fresh snow dart along the bankand I hesitate. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I heard music. Hamilton’s,to be exact. I cock my ear, listening. There it is, more distinct now. The echoof an acoustic guitar, the haunting song Hamilton played near Shizuka Lake.

Pain rips up my arm. It’sDace's nails digging into my forearm as he hauls me back. I hadn’t realized I’dstepped off the trail and into the bog. Zakk waves his hands in front of myface, his expression fearful.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Thank God.” He steps infront of me, his tall body blocking my view of the bog and the water. “Will o’the wisps. You must not look at them or let them fool you. They use illusion tolure you to your death.”

“Or to that thing.” Dacepoints at the water where a dark figure hovers in the middle of the pool.

My breath catches as feraleyes replace mine. The figure drifts closer to the edge, its sleek and powerfulbody beautiful in the bleary glow of the wisps. A mane the color of dusk driftsdown its long neck. Lustrous black scales line its hindquarters and its thicktail drips with water. It steps out of the lake. The wisps retreat from it,floating into the deeper recesses of the bog.

Kamiron frowns and takes afew steps forward. “I think that’s a horse.”

“Run,” Zakk barks, dragginghis friend back to the path and shoving him forward. “Now.”

We break out into a mad sprint,fear and adrenaline giving our feet extra speed. The Onyx blurs around me andmy breathing sounds overly loud. A stitch stabs at my ribs forcing me to slow.

“I can’t . . . any further .. . wait.” I manage in short bursts. We stop. Dace drops to his knees andstarts swearing. Zakk leans against his polearm, his eyes closed and chestheaving. Only Kamiron seems fine, his body evidencing no exertion aside from athin sheen of sweat along his forehead.

“What the hell was thatthing?” Dace hisses.

“A kelpie,” Zakk gasps, notbothering to open his eyes. “Another of the Winter Court. Shari, we should justbrave the Hallow Wastes.”

“I’m inclined to agree,”Kamiron whispers. He points to our right.

Ice coats every surface of theforest, glimmering like snow and lending the woodlands a soft, mysticalambience. The air is sharp and cold like a December night. Black, crimson, andmidnight blue flowers grant the Onyx a sweet aroma that makes me think of cozywinter evenings with a cup of hot chocolate and a fire crackling in thefireplace. Glossy vines curl at the giant roots of majestic willow trees withsilver trunks and . . .

All blood drains from myface and my knees give out. Dace scrambles back, his expression twisted with horror.When Zakk opens his eyes, he does not speak but his lips form a grim line.Buried in the trees are people. Hundreds of them. Their faces are torn in agonyand shift beneath the silver bark as if they are burning in a private hell. Ahand, broken fingers jutting out at all the wrong angles, runs up the swirlingknot of a willow. A head, barely more than a skull with loose flesh, protrudesfrom a tree root. Articles of clothing--ripped jackets, stained jeans, frayeddresses, ripple just beneath the surface of a thick branch. I make out theoutline of a long leg fused with the elbow of another person.

Dace helps me up. “I’m notgoing in there.”

For a moment my voice won’twork. When it does it is defeated and hollow. “We’re not. We’re just suppose tofollow along the border of the Unseelie territory for another thirty minutes--”

“Shari, look at them.They’re still alive and fused into trees,”Kamiron protests. “I don’t want to meet whatever Unseelie that has that kind ofpower.”

Good point.

I turn my back on thegruesome border and motion for them to follow.