We passed the ravens, and left the edge of the lawn for the swamps. They seemed just as eerie as they did at night—the moss hung still and silent, looking like hangman’s nooses, the waters murky and dark. Despite the sunshine that blazed above us, the swamps felt dead and dank, unwelcoming, as if the very air warned us away.
“I bet there are midge flies here,” Aida grumbled, dragging her foot from a muddy slop of land.
Field stopped us, looking up at the trees. He seemed to be the only one of our group who shared at least some of my discomfort. His eyes frequently darted around, his steps more cautious.
“I’m going to fly up,” he said. “Check that we’re not running into anything. I’ll let you know what I see.”
He crouched, then jumped up, his wings expanding as he did so, and he flew up and out of sight. I felt the absence of him, wishing that he’d remained with us below, though it obviously made sense for him to keep a lookout.
We carried on our journey. I kept a close eye on my brother and the girls, checking for signs that they might feel faint or weak. As far as I knew, Phoenix hadn’t syphoned off anyone since he’d woken up, which would be a problem if we needed to fight.
I moved toward him, matching his pace.
“Are you okay? Did you syphon yet?” I asked quietly.
He shook his head as we continued to walk side by side.
“I actually feel fine… I ate, so that probably helps. I promise I’ll say something if I need to,” he replied. “What about you, are you okay? Syphon off me if you need it.”
“I’m fine. I’m not the one who had the weird Oracle experience,” I replied.
He smirked, cocky as ever. “I think that’s a load of bull. I think he must have put us under some kind of spell or something. I don’t know what he wants with us, but I’m absolutely positive we’re not Oracles.”
I sighed, nodding. I wasn’t as convinced as he was. It seemed like a lot of effort to go to, such an elaborate story to set up, if all he wanted to do was kidnap us for his own purposes. And what could those purposes even be?
As we continued our journey, Field flew down occasionally, letting us know that he couldn’t see anything up ahead. The swamp was starting to turn into jungle, the air becoming increasingly humid, making it difficult to breathe. I felt perspiration covering the entirety of my body, running down my back in rivulets. It wasn’t really helping my mood, and I noticed Aida struggling with it as much as I was.
“I keep daydreaming of water,” she commented wistfully. “An entire bucket of it, filled with ice cubes, being dunked over my head…or a swimming pool, jumping in, submerging my entire body in cold, cold water.”
“Oh, stop it,” Vita moaned, hitting Aida on the arm. “Once we get further in there will be water—there’s got to be a stream somewhere with this much jungle.”
I hoped there was. We hadn’t brought any water with us… or any food. Still, I wasn’t overly concerned—in a lush place like this, water and food was unlikely to be scarce. We just had to make sure we didn’t poison ourselves in the process.
We started to pick up the pace—thanks to Aida and her daydreams, we were now all in search of a water source.
“Stop, please—stop a sec,” Vita called out. She had fallen to the back of the group, and I hurried to her. She bent double, leaning against a rock.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing her visibly pale right before my eyes. She clutched at her stomach with an agonized groan. We crowded around her, all of us deeply worried. She had started sweating profusely, more than was normal. I saw that the hand clutching her stomach was trembling violently.
“Vita, breathe,” I commanded her gently, “just breathe.”
She nodded, inhaling deeply, but in the next moment her body jerked backward, her spine curving backward with her face thrown up to the sky. He eyes rolled back into her skull.
“Vita!” I cried, grabbing her before she fell.
She jerked in my arms, and Phoenix moved me aside, holding onto her tightly as she shook. It lasted no more than ten seconds, and then her body went limp.
“Vita, Vita?” Phoenix called her name, rubbing her arms to bring her awake. I heard Field land behind us, giving a sharp inhale of breath as he saw Vita in Phoenix’s arms.
Slowly she opened her eyes, looking around at us all, dazed, but registering our presence.
“We need to get out of here,” she whispered, her voice dry and reedy. “We need to leave… Now. We will become the hunted. His creatures never sleep.”
“What creatures?” I gasped. “Who will hunt us? Vita?”