Page 82 of What Lies Beyond the Realms

“Fine,” I say, looking over at Chepi, who yips at me. I’m sure he wants me to hide too. Suddenly I feel a soft rumble underneath me, and my eyes shoot up to Nyx then to the trees up ahead. It sounds like something big is moving in the forest, causing the ground to tremble. I tense up, ready to run when I see the trees moving in the distance. The ground shifts. Suddenly, the group of trees that used to be in front of us disappear and are replaced by new trees that look the same, but I can tell they are different. I never thought this place was called the Shifting Forest because it actually shifts. I have a whole newfound sense of terror. Where did the trees go that were originally here? And how do we keep from disappearing next time the ground starts to rumble?

“What the hell was that?” I ask, loosening my grip on Nyx.

“I thought you knew why this place was called the Shifting Forest.” Nyx laughs.

“It’s not funny. It’s kind of terrifying. I heard the plants here can have minds of their own, but I never really understood what that meant. What if we get caught in a shift?”

“It’s okay. The shift wouldn’t hurt us. It’d feel similar to channeling. It’d be annoying not knowing where the forest drops us, but it wouldn’t be painful or anything. Just stay close to me.”

He rubs his hand up and down on my shoulder, and the touch calms my nerves a bit. We keep trudging through the mud. The air smells crisp, and blankets of fog keep rolling in, dampening the air. I keep getting the feeling we’re being watched. I can feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“What should I be looking for? Do you know what Athalda’s house looks like?” I ask.

“I wouldn’t call it a house. Aidan says she lives in a giant cave that’s been made into a house. We’re heading toward Crater Mountain. It’s hard to see it now in the dark with the fog, but we should start noticing the terrain become more mountainous and less swamp-like as we get closer. The cave she resides in can be found at the base of the mountain,” Nyx says.

“I’m so anxious to talk to her. If she truly was friends with my father, and she’s the one who orchestrated the Lycan Ceremony to take place with me, then she has to—” I suck in a sharp breath as my head starts pounding.

“What’s wrong?” Nyx moves to stand in front of me.

“It’s nothing. Let’s keep going.”

“It’s not nothing. What’s wrong, Lyra?” Nyx kneels down, looking into my face and examining me closely.

“It’s just my head. I have a headache. I’ll be fine.” He scrunches his eyebrows.

“Really. I’m fine. It was a sharp pain for a moment, but it’s not as bad now.” I never get headaches, and the pain is worrisome, but I wasn’t lying when I said it was starting to get better. The pain is slightly less now. Nyx seems unsatisfied by my answer, but we start walking again. I wonder if the headache has anything to do with being in the Lycan Realm like Rhett mentioned. I can’t remember what he said exactly, but I don’t think he said anything about headaches specifically. With my luck, it’s probably this key inside me starting to eat away at my insides or something horrific like that.

“How long until the blood moon exactly?” I ask.

“Seven days.”

“That’s not very much time, especially if you can’t channel us there.”

“It’s three days ride to the edge of the Sorcerer Realm, then we’d need to travel by boat or fly the rest of the way. There’s supposed to be a portal in the Dark Lunar Reach past the Black Forest, but I don’t know if we can trust it.” Nyx sounds calm, and I’m glad one of us is because I’m already feeling anxious that we’re not going to have enough time.

“That means it could take us up to four days to get to the Lamia Realm from here, and that’s assuming we don’t run into trouble along the way. Gods, I am going to die. I don’t know how we are going to figure this out and make it in time.”

“Lyra, I am not going to let you die. I told you I don’t even know if I believe all of that. We’ll speak to Athalda soon, and if we need to open a bridge to Zomea, then I’ll get you to the Lamia Realm. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

I know Nyx cares about me, and I don’t think he’d let anything bad happen to me, but I can’t deny the unease that’s made its home in my chest. I just want all of this to be resolved. I want to put an end to Samael and all of his madness, and I want to get whatever this key is out of me. I want to open the bridge to Zomea and be done with all of it. The ground starts to tremble again, and I clutch Nyx’s hand and grab Chepi out of the air, holding him close to me.

“Lyra, that’s not the forest shifting. Take Chepi and hide now.”

“What could be causing the ground to shake if it's not a shift happening?”

Nyx squeezes my hand, forcing me to run with him behind several thick bushes.

“Stay here. Stay out of sight no matter what, Lyra. Whatever comes, I’m going to have to fight it without magic if we want any chance at finding Athalda before Samael finds us. If anything gets close to you, then you make her invisible, Chepi.” Nyx looks to Chepi then looks back at me. I want to protest, but he releases my hand, dropping a dagger into it, and steps back out into the clearing before I can say anything else.

I know Nyx can handle himself. I mean I saw him with Aidan earlier, but he was using his magic then. I’m sure if he had to, he’d use his magic now too. I grasp the dagger in my hand and keep Chepi tight to my chest with my other arm. I stay crouched down but move over slightly until I can see Nyx through a hole in the branches. Small leaves start to tremble, and I freeze when a spider wraith appears out of the trees only a handful of feet in front of Nyx.

It’s a monster spider that stands much taller than Nyx. It’s translucent and ghost-like with huge furry legs that fade in and out with the fog. My eyes trail up its legs, taking in its horrifying body. When I reach its face, I hold Chepi tighter as spikes of terror squeeze my chest and extend throughout my body. The head is that of a person, only it’s translucent. It appears to be an older male with five huge eyes that glow white. When I meet its giant eyes, I can almost see Nyx’s reflection in them from here, then I realize this creature has two giant fangs, each one the size of my leg.

There’s no way Nyx can outrun this beast with eight legs. I don’t have much time to think, then it lunges at him with its fangs. I manage to stifle the scream that tries to fight its way up my throat. Nyx has his sword out, and he lunges for the monster’s legs, but he passes right through it and falls into the mud. I drop the dagger, throwing a hand over my mouth as panic starts to set in. He crawls backward, barely missing its fangs as it lunges for him again. He rolls onto his side then jumps to his feet and slowly circles the beast. I notice at the last second that when it attacks it briefly takes on solid form. Nyx just needs to strike it at the right moment when he can hit solid flesh. I’m sure he realizes this, but I still have to fight the urge to scream it across the forest at him. Chepi starts to paw at me and wrestles free of my grip. I reach for him, but he flies over the bushes and toward the battle before I can grab him.

I get to my feet and run after him when he starts barking and growling, flying around the spider wraith’s head. He’s distracting it and helping Nyx. He gives Nyx the seconds he needs to gain the upper hand. The spider wraith lunges for Chepi, but Chepi’s fast and just flies higher out of its reach. The wraith lunges for Chepi, and its body fully materializes. Nyx swings his sword and cuts two of the legs clean off. I place my hand over my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. I grip my bloodstone. They are okay. They can handle this.

I kneel again but keep my eyes plastered to Chepi. The ground starts to tremble beneath my knees, and I hold my breath, waiting for another spider wraith to appear out of the trees.