“Nasty little beasts,” Fallon said in annoyance, squeezing one between his fingernails and plucking it out. “We’d best remove them all now before moving on. We’ll be sore all over if we don’t.”
They finished their ablutions separately before continuing down the overgrown trail hardly wide enough for a cart. During the journey, they spoke sporadically, both trying to preserve their strength while keeping a relentless pace. They spoke of their childhood in Ploemeur, of shared memories, and of the antics they’d engaged in as children—all of it utterly foreign to their current circumstances.
Fallon had always resented missing out on their parents’ adventures under the despotic rule of King Severn, but he admitted that their own struggles had thoroughly altered his views on the matter.
They planned to stop and rest once they reached the next Leering, but they had not come upon it yet and the day was fading fast. They trudged on silently. Trynne found herself wondering where they were on the board. How many squares had they crossed already? She wasn’t sure how vast Dahomey was. The terrain was rugged and the constant marching up and down the hills had grown tiresome.
As dusk began to drain away the sparse light, she sensed Fountain magic ahead in the distance. She hastened her steps and touched Fallon’s arm.
“Ahead,” she warned in a low voice.
He slowed down, turning to gaze at her worriedly. “What is it? A Leering? I only hear some annoying jackdaws.”
“I sense a Leering, but also Fountain magic coming from a person,” she answered, and he nodded in understanding. Both already had their swords at the ready. As they proceeded, Trynne continued to sense the presence of several Leerings. These were active ones, radiating a form of magic in a circular area. She grew more cautious, but she didn’t let it slow her down.
A thickening, roiling mist hung over the trees ahead of them.
“Fog?” Fallon said curiously, his brow wrinkling. “Reminds me of Guilme.”
“Only this fog isn’t natural,” Trynne said, growing more alarmed.
She reached out with her magic, probing for danger, and felt a dark force hidden in the layers of the mist. Pouring out more magic, she found a cave hidden within a series of huge boulders. A creature— no, a hulking monster—waited inside. It had one weakness. Sunlight.
It was nearly nightfall.
“Fallon—” she started to say in warning, but before she could explain, she felt another Leering flare to life. The other Fountain-blessed person was just ahead, closer than the monster. This presence she felt was definitely human.
Fallon stopped, held up his hand. “I hear water running,” he whispered.
She heard it too. A water Leering, then.
The mist grew thicker. Seeing ahead through the trees became impossible.
“There is someone just ahead of us,” Trynne said. “And there is also a beast in the woods. I don’t know what it is, but it is dangerous.”
“I don’t like this,” Fallon said, shaking his head. “Could it be your father?”
Trynne nodded. “He saw me at the Leering. Maybe he came to meet me.”
“But this is your father we’re talking about,” Fallon said, wrinkling his brow. “He doesn’t know that we’re friendly. This feels an awful lot like one of his traps.”
“Yes, it does,” she agreed. “If it is him, shouldn’t we let him capture us? I have the Tay al-Ard. I can get us away quickly.”
“That’s true, and he doesn’t know that.” He looked anxious. “It’s getting darker by the moment. Let’s spring the trap and get ready to fly if something goes wrong.”
“Agreed,” Trynne said.
They walked hesitantly forward, senses alert to every sound.
The mist seemed to muffle the noise, but Trynne heard the pattering sound of water flowing from the Leering ahead of them. Its two burning red eyes penetrated the mist. They slowed their approach, trying to be as soundless as possible. Fallon gazed back and forth, his mouth in a frown.
Trynne pulled the Tay al-Ard out of her belt, holding it in her left hand. The mist was so thick, it blinded them to the rest of the road, but she noticed the trees had been cut down around the Leering.
There were dead trees everywhere, sawn down by man. The air was heavy with the pungent smell of rot. There were smaller Leerings arranged throughout the woods in a larger circle, and she sensed they were summoning the mist. But the water Leering was the most powerful one.
“I don’t like this place,” Fallon whispered. His body was as taut as a bowstring.