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The shiftof the car’s speed woke me, the bumps in the road beneath the SUV’s sturdy wheels rousing me from my slumber.
The moon had begun to sink over the night sky, but it was the only illumination out here in the middle of the country roads where streetlights had fallen off.
The high beams shone directly in front to avoid hitting bold, nocturnal creatures, but also to cast light on the towering silhouettes of ancient trees up ahead.
“Are you awake?”
Zen’s voice sounded odd, muffled, like he, too, had been asleep. I turned my chin slightly to look at him and saw the awe on his face, the magic of the forest overwhelming him as much as it did me.
“Uh-huh.”
“This is it, huh?”
I nodded again. “I think so…”
His eyes narrowed in the dim interior lights. “Haven’t you been here before?”
“Once… but during the day. It looks really different at night,” I admitted, a prickle of fear washing over me. Suddenly, I wished we had heeded Endora’s warning and come during the day.
“We’ll be all right from here with our magic and flashlights,” Zen reminded me, like he was reading my mind. “Landon, pull over. We’ll walk from here.”
The driver glanced over his shoulder warily. “Are you sure, Alpha? I mean, I’m sure I can get closer—”
“It’s fine. It will give us an opportunity to know what we’re getting into.”
Sweat quilled along my underarms as the vehicle pulled to a bumpy stop. Zen opened his door as I hesitated.
“Come on, Mirielle. I need your help with this. I don’t know what I’m looking for or where.”
“I-I’m coming,” I stuttered, also opening my door to let myself out.
Zen was at my side immediately, the glow of a flashlight sparking the path in front of us. It wasn’t the fear of the dark or the creatures that lay ahead that troubled me so much, I realized, but the fear of what we might not find.
“Let’s go.”
With his characteristic confidence, he led the way, and I tried to ignore the incessant thudding in my chest as I followed, my senses on high alert.
I knew secrets about this forest, whispers about the magic that hid in the bark of the trees.
But how? How did I know these secrets?
“Hey! Are you going to be able to do this?” Zen called out to me.
I’d fallen behind again, and I rushed to keep up, afraid that I’d be left back. The forest was enchanted. But what did that mean? Magic lived in everything, everywhere. It wasn’t uncommon for forests to be harbingers of excess magic, the leaves alive and communicating always.
But what was different about this forest?
I was paranoid because I was tired, it was nighttime, and the last time I was here, I was here with Agnan. There was nothing special about the Locaza, nothing at all…
But even I didn’t believe that. Magic buzzed through this place, and I needed to be fully alert.
Through the first batch of pines, we entered, and a wave of energy surged over my face. I gasped aloud and stopped, but Zen didn’t seem to notice it at all. Again, he was ahead of me, almost lost in the darkness.
“Did you feel that?” I hissed, my voice barely audible.
“Feel what?” he asked in a normal voice. “Why are you whispering?”
