AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 20
Fin cocked his head as if he’d heard a noise. “Halt,” he ordered, pulling his stallion to a stop.
My stomach contracted. Who was out there? Wolves? Bears? Hunters? I knew we shouldn’t have gone searching for Gill’s sister based on a tip from Blade. We should have saved my father first, then returned to the tea plantations in Wildfire armed with more men.
Gill’s horse sidled up beside Fin’s. I hugged Gill tighter from my position behind him, inhaling his stormy ocean scent.
“Do you hear that?” Fin asked us all.
Mermaids didn’t exactly have the best hearing. We didn’t really need it underwater because we used different senses. But I caught the mumble of words.
“It’s coming from over there.” I pointed east.
“Stay here with the others,” Fin instructed, reaching over to take my hand and leave a kiss on my palm. “I’ll scout it out.”
With a longing glance, he reluctantly nudged his horse into action and they took off at a trot, disappearing into the foliage in the distance. Normally, my eyes would be glued to his bouncing ass, but my gut sank like wet sand, and I wished I’d done something to convince him to stay.
My belly was on fire with nerves as we waited. Was Fin in danger? Was he hurt? I wanted to go with him, but I wasn’t in control of the horse. I hated us being this vulnerable, out in the open no less. Back in the sea my instincts served me well. But they didn’t work the same way on land. The Darkwoods were foreign. Beautiful and breathtaking. Yet frightening as well. They left me feeling terribly out of my comfort zone and yearning to return to the sea.
Clouds passed overhead, shrouding the forest in a blanket of gray gloom. A vicious wind whipped my hair and skirt. The horses whinnied as something made them nervous, and they shifted uncomfortably. A thickness enveloped the air, and I felt like a fish strangled by a jellyfish’s tentacle.
“Anyone else sense that?” Gill’s words sent shivers trailing down my spine.
“This place makes me nervous,” I answered.
“What the hell is that?” Nemo pointed to a tree thirty feet away.
A bubbling, black ooze crawled all over it, turning the bark black and the leaves gray. It had spread along the ground, consuming the moss and undergrowth. All the area around it on the ground was gray, as if it had been frozen.
“It’s killing the trees,” I said, hugging Gill tighter.
“I don’t like this,” Gill said, moving the horses away from the strange black mass. Nemo followed suit.
The wind picked up, scattering leaves and thrashing branches. All of a sudden it felt like all the air had been stripped from our very spot. It reminded me of being at the sea witch’s cave. I glanced around, expecting her to enter the clearing, but she didn’t.
“Where is he?” I said, every muscle in my body tense with anxiety.
“Relax,” Nero reminded me. “He’ll be back soon.”
Always calm. Always positive. My beautiful Nemo. We fastened gazes, and I held onto that, trying to remain steady like him.
At last Fin returned, and my locked stomach released.
“There’s a camp of creatures not too far from here,” said Fin, brushing his golden air from his eyes. “Bloody and bruised. Escaped prisoners perhaps. “There’re a few merfolk there.”
“What?” said Gill.
Before any of us could find out any more information, his horse raced down the track. I clung to Gill so I wouldn’t fall off. We hadn’t rode this fast two abreast, and I wasn’t used to it.
“Gill, wait!” shouted Fin.
I heard the other horses chasing Gill’s.
Gill was wild, reckless, and headstrong. Not good qualities when it came to preparing an attack.
We both ducked under a low-hanging branch as our horse galloped. Wind tore at my eyes and hair. A storm was coming. An electrical charge tickled my skin—a warning sign all merfolk possessed to warn them to dive deep and not return until the coast was clear. Our horse burst into a clearing.
A bunch of creatures rested against trees or sat on logs, tree stumps, or the forest floor. A lady and seven small men fed them food and water. The seven little men were all wearing tights, vests, and hats. The woman, a long skirt like mine and a corset.
