“We’ll get to them,” Magnus said.
“Can you still feel and draw on life?” Iasked River when she recapped the canteen and hung it from herwaist.
After wiping the sweat from her brow withthe back of her arm, she rested her fingers against the rock andleaned into the wall. Her eyes closed, and she bit her bottom lipas deep blue light lit her fingers and swirled up to her wrist. Shepulled her hand away, but the glow of life continued to encircleher wrist.
“Amazing,” Magnus said.
The skelleins all stared at her, her bluelight reflecting on their white skulls as they watched her. “Ourqueen,” one of them murmured.
River doused her light and turned away fromthem. I took hold of her hand, drawing her against my side when oneof the skelleins wandered closer. “Are you finally starting to findyour way?” the skellein inquired as it peered curiously up ather.
“Lix?” she asked.
The skellein grinned at her as it gave anelegant bow. “Of course, World Walker.”
“I didn’t recognize you without your tie,”River said.
Something like regret or perhaps lossradiated from him. “In here, we all must fight as one,beone. It is the only way to survive.”
“Here, here,” the other skelleins concurred,and each took a swig from their flasks.
“I see,” River murmured and lifted her headto meet my gaze before looking over at where Corson stood silentlywaiting with Bale. “I hope you kept your tie for when we are freeof here.”
“I did.” Lix grinned at her before turningaway. Swinging his sword against his bony shoulder, he hurried torejoin the others.
Stepping forward, I reclaimed River’s hand.“Come.”
***
River
A few hundred feet back, the rocks had begunto fade away to be replaced with trees twice the size of thelargest redwood. Their black branches, the size of an oak tree,draped over the road to provide a canopy on all sides. The canopywas so thick that no underbrush grew beneath the trees; onlydiscarded leaves littered the forest floor.
The leaves of the trees were three times thesize of my hands and such a deep black they were almost purple inthe light cascading over them. Where the light came from, I had noidea, but it cast a yellowish-red haze over the road and the plantssurrounding us.
Stopping, I stared into the thick canopy ofthe trees. Fruit the color of a plum and the size of a watermelondangled from the branches, pulling the gnarled limbs further downwith their weight. The sweet scent of the forest reminded me of thefood I’d smelled cooking at Magnus’s carnival. My nose wrinkled,and I couldn’t tell if I liked the scent or not, but for the firsttime, I didn’t smell the fires of Hell.
“Is this the forest?” I breathed as I gazedaround us in awe and disbelief.
“It is,” Kobal said from beside me.
“It’s beautiful and…” I couldn’t quite thinkof the word to describe it.
“Sensual,” Kobal suggested.
I couldn’t resist stepping closer againsthis side. “Yes. Is that because of the creatures who livehere?”
“The forest and trees fuel one’s desire. Thecreatures residing here help with that.”
“I spent some time with the tree nymphsrecently,” Magnus said with a smile that had my lip curling indisgust and Bale rolling her eyes.
“Nymphs,” the skelleins murmuredenthusiastically and elbowed each other. I didn’t want to know howthatwould work as there were definitely no fleshy bits tothe skelleins. There were some things I was content to remain inthe dark about, forever.
“Many a soul has never left this place ascarnality kept them enslaved to the creatures here,” Kobalsaid.
“Many a demon would come here to feed andspend time with the creatures here when the majority of the wraithsstill resided in Hell,” Magnus said.
“Are nymphs like the canaghs? Do theyenslave people?” Hawk inquired.
