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I tossed the branch to him, and as soon as his fingers curled around the wood, he turned to face the creature head on, just as I had. What was once invisible to me I could now see clearly with the flame. The same type of black leathery creature that had just chased me was wailing in pain from the fire. The screaming stopped and the monster turned to dust, its ashes floating away on the wind.
I gasped as I noticed the branch that I gave Bennett was now completely engulfed in fire, covering his wrist in flames. “Bennett, drop the branch!” I screamed.
He watched the dust float away, his grip still tight around the burning wood. He looked at me with wide eyes and shook his head, snapping back to reality and dropping the branch. He kicked his boot, covering the flame with the sand until it was just sizzling embers.
I jogged over to him and grabbed his wrist, closing my eyes and immediately calling on my craft.
Bennett winced. “I’m fine, Rhia,” he said through gritted teeth.
“No, you’re not,” I stated simply.
His hand was a deep red, his skin leathery and distorted. Blisters already began to form, filled with a type of yellow pus that made me want to gag. I’m sure the pain had to be unbearable as I watched his hand slightly shake. Why the hell didn’t he just drop it? I held the back of his hand gingerly in my palm, placing my other hand over the top and pressing my craft into him. I watched as the blisters quickly faded away and the seared skin became soft.
He didn’t pull his hand away as he said, “Thank you.”
I gave him a soft smile in return, dropping his hand. “How come I couldn’t see yours? The creature that was attacking you, it looked invisible.”
We walked back over to the horses, both having the same idea of getting out of here. Equis was whining and I quickly realized that he had been cut by the creature. I pressed my hands into his fur and the hum of my Golden blood stitched the skin back together.
I gave him a quick pat before looking up to find Bennett watching me, admiration in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “The reason you couldn’t see them is because an Inferus only uses their magic on the ones they’re trying to lure. They take the shape of someone you love, but can only do it one at a time, therefore looking invisible to anyone else. The only time you can see its true form is when it’s lit by a flame.”
He put his foot in the stirrups, lifting himself up and over Equis. “So, although you could see Amica, or who you thought was Amica, I saw nothing chasing you. It simply looked like you were running away from your own shadow.”
I cringed at the thought of Bennett watching me run for my life from what just looked like air. “How did you know I saw Amica?”
He smiled softly. “I didn’t, but now I do.”
He whipped the reins on Equis and took off, and I followed suit, Jasmine and I catching up quickly.
“Well, who did you see?” I asked curiously.
He avoided my eyes. “Someone you don’t know.”
I wondered if it was someone he met in Vicinus. The thought made me a little jealous and I scolded myself for even allowing that feeling to slip in.
The two of us spent the rest of the journey riding side by side in silence, staying alert in case we ran into any other unexpected visitors.
The trees in the Silver Forest were starting to turn shades of brown and green, and the ground now carried a thin blanket of snow. There was really no specific entrance that I remembered into the kingdom of Vicinus, besides the changing of the forest. Hunting was popular here, so people were always riding through the woods, leaving us a great cover if we were spotted.
There were many things I didn’t remember about Vicinus, but one thing I could never forget was the cold. My toes were starting to numb in my boots and my breath was fogging in front of me. I learned how to warm up and cool down body temperatures a few years ago from Sana, but of course I couldn’t use my craft on myself. I would never be able to understand or be at peace with that drawback on Golden blood. I knew I should be grateful for my Artis blood, but it was still annoying, and it wasn’t like I was going to use it on Bennett. If I had to suffer through the cold, he did, too. However, when I looked over at him, he looked completely fine, as if he was riding through a spring afternoon, but I guess you got used to it after living here for so many years.
We continued to ride for a few more hours until the sandy texture gave way to frosted grass. “All right, we’re almost here,” Bennett said. “Try to keep your head low and your cloak up.”
Like I needed him to tell me that; my ears were freezing even underneath the hood.
We rode up one last mountain edge and I held in a gasp at the view below. The kingdom of Vicinus was breathtaking. Hills upon hills of sparkling white diamonds and emerald green trees. The ocean sprawled to the right of the kingdom where the port was held, but it was frozen until a hundred feet out. There were couples skating on the ice and children building forts out of the white powder to hide behind as their friends threw balls of snow at each other. As we made our way down the cobblestone roads, I couldn’t help but admire the buildings and the people that lived here. The homes were intricate wooden cabins, with candles lighting the windows and snow covering the roofs. Lanterns hung high on posts placed on both sides of the street, and with the candles lit in everyone’s home, it practically looked like the sun was still setting with all of the warm light. Bennett and I passed bakeries, barbershops, pubs, and coat shops. There were so many antique stores and taverns I could hardly keep track. There were also so many unique craft shops here that would never be found in Veladis, like a cuckoo clock store and one where you could buy custom wood carvings.
“Hold on, I need to stop in this store really quickly,” I said, leading Jasmine over to the wood carving station.
“I wouldn’t call that laying low,” Bennett grumbled, but led Equis to follow after me.
“I’m just picking up some souvenirs, plus we have a little time to kill.” He smiled at that response and didn’t protest again.
