A Shade of Vampire 41: A Tide of War(2)

In a matter of moments, they dropped down on the ground gracefully, knees bent and arms outstretched, before their wings folded back up and they stood upright.

“It’s not far,” Field informed us. “But the forest is massive. It could take us days, months even, to search it properly. Ridan’s waiting at the forest entrance for us.”

I was startled by his assessment. None of the sentries had told us that the forest was that big. It worried me. We just didn’t have that kind of time. We’d have to hope that luck was on our side or we’d be in major trouble.

“Don’t worry.” Horatio smiled at me. “Once we’re in the forest, Aisha and I can try to feel them out. It should be easier once we’re in their vicinity. They might have put up barriers around where they’re hiding.”

“What if it’s only one of them? Will you be able to find just one?” I asked.

Aisha and Horatio looked at one another.

“It would be harder,” Aisha conceded, “but not impossible. But it’s unlikely that it will be one jinni on their own. We are tribal creatures, and from what we’ve seen of the entity’s power, it doesn’t sound like just one jinni could accomplish locking him in the stones.”

“Okay.” I nodded, feeling reassured. “Let’s get going then.”

“Aisha, Horatio, are you okay to get there on your own?” Field asked. “There’s a tree stump directly in front of us, about three miles ahead. Let’s meet there?”

“We’ll be behind you. We’re slower when we don’t know the land,” the jinni replied.

Field faced me, arms outstretched.

“Ready, little man?” he asked.

“Ready,” I muttered. I turned around so that he wouldn’t be carrying me like a baby. Field wrapped his arms around my waist and held on tight. Fly did the same to Yelena, who looked way over-excited, and Sky picked up Julian.

A split-second later we were hurtling through the sky—the ground miles below, the trees, fences and the occasional wooden hut all looking like they were part of a kid’s model toy. Traveling by Hawk wasn’t as comfortable as using vultures like the sentries did, but I certainly felt safer.

We touched down on the dry earth, facing the forest. I straightened out my t-shirt that had ridden up on the ride. Yelena looked a little bit dazed, and Julian seemed happy to have his feet back on solid ground. Ridan approached us from a nearby tree.

“I’ve seen nothing so far, but I don’t like the feeling of the place,” he announced. “we need to be careful.”

A moment later, Horatio and Aisha appeared a few feet from the stump Field had mentioned. We all gazed at the forest.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Julian said, his voice barely audible.

“I know what you mean,” I replied.

“Ash saw goblins in here, and the blind wolf things that he and King Memenion had battled.” He pulled a face, his fingers resting on the sword tied to his waist.

“I think Queen Trina was the worst thing in there though,” I replied, trying to make myself feel better.

“We can fly ahead here too,” Sky suggested. “Check there’s nothing lying in wait. The place seems so quiet though…”

“That’s what worries me,” I muttered.

“It’s unnatural,” Aisha agreed. “The whole of this place is too quiet—not just the forest.” The jinni looked around, shaking her head in disapproval.

Yelena tugged on my sleeve.

“We should get moving,” she hissed. “Whatever’s in that forest can’t be worse than the shadow.”

She was right. I might not like the silence, and the way the trees seemed to be looking at us like they were alive, but it was better than the shadow. Anything was.

“Okay. Yeah.” I nodded to Field and Ridan. “Fly on ahead. Let us know if you see anything.”

They leapt up into the air again, and the rest of us entered the forest on foot.

“We’ll stay with you,” Horatio murmured as we thwacked thorn branches down with our feet. I was grateful that the jinn wouldn’t go on ahead—I had the feeling that we were unwelcome here. Whatever creatures had made the Dauoa forest their home certainly weren’t friendly.

I picked up a fallen branch, removing the leafy twigs at the top till it made a walking stick—and weapon. Yelena did the same.

We stuck together, none of us wanting to veer ahead or lag behind. Field dropped in alone, making me jump, but only to tell us that the coast was clear for the next mile or so. I thanked him, and he flew on again. I looked up, trying to see the Hawk boys. I could hear the faint rustle of their feathers as they flew around us, but the trees were too densely packed together for my human eyes to make them out.