I’d trusted the dog to lead me toRyker,nothere. Even if I did do what the forest so obviously desired, it would take too much time for me to get to the stone and then to the gargoyles. By that time, whatever was happening with Ryker would be over, and he could be dead.
I gulped at the possibility as anger and distress tore at me in equal measure. The Revenant Woods must have sensed how desperate I was to find him;whywould it bring me here?
Unless it’s already too late to help Ryker.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Ellery
No!I refused to believe that. I could still do something, even if this detour had cost me precious time.
The forest knows more than you about what is happening within it.
I glanced up at the intertwined branches. Not all the trees in the forest were woven together like this.
Still, I’d witnessed enough lately to believe they didallcommunicate with each other. They did so either through their roots, the sounds of their branches, or in some entirely mystical way I’d never understand.
They knew more than I did about what was happening, and they’d led me here. That could be because they believed it was already too late for me to save Ryker or because they were determined to have the gargoyles freed and didn’t care who they had to sacrifice to do so.
And if that’s the case, do they want me to free the gargoyles so they’ll destroy us?
It was possible these trees had started thinking of us as the enemy… a plague that had taken over the realm and their woods.
Perhaps their ultimate goal was to eliminate all amsirah so they could spread out to rule Tempest. While that was a good possibility, it didn’t seem right either.
The forest was a place of balance. The strong ate the weak, and when the strong died, they fed the trees, the scavengers, and the other animals. Ghosts and poltergeists, who were unnatural everywhere else in this realm, were not only created here, but they had a home.
These woods wanted the gargoyles freed, but I didn’t think it was to destroy us. However, I’d been wrong before; I was standing here because I’d made the wrong choice.
The breaking of branches drew my attention to Scarlet as she raced around a tree. Ianto was only a few steps behind her; despite his massive size, the giant was surprisingly fast.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his brown eyes narrowed when he spotted me. “What thefuckare you doing?”
I pointed to the black dog, which remained sitting on its ass, still panting like it needed water. I was pretty sure those beasts didn’t drink; I’d always considered them creatures from hell, and fire and water didn’t mix.
Scarlet reached over her back toward her quiver, but before she could pull an arrow, I grasped her arm, halting her. I did the same to Ianto’s wrist when he went for the staff he’d slung across his back.
“It’s not a threat,” I told them. “At least not right now. It led me here.”
“What?” Scarlet gasped. “Why?”
“It led me to the trees.”
“Sure, that makes sense… to no one but you,” Ianto said.
“The forest brought me here.”
He scowled at me. “You’re not helping with the explanation.”
“These trees are interwoven with the forest far more than anything else here. Their roots spread throughout it, and even if we can’t always see the trees above or the roots in the tunnel, they’re somehowthere. I think that while they usually allow nature to take its course in the woods, they’re aware of what’s happening anddon’tlike it.”
“Are you trying to talk in riddles?”
My lips twitched toward a smile at the irritation in his voice, but it quickly faded. I was stillveryaware Ryker was in danger, and while all of this fascinated me, I was also wasting time.
“They want to take me to the gargoyles,” I stated. “So that I can set them free.”
“We all agreed that was averybad idea,” Ianto said.
