Overcome these pleas of passion and despair.
The chant grew louder, consuming my very thought, consuming every inch of space in my mind.
In the shadows of the night,
A force both dark and light.
Light. The literal light at the end of the path appeared. I tried hard to focus on it, to urge my horse to pick up its pace. But the wind picked up, getting stronger with every passing second. With it, came the voices.
Someone was yelling now. Xavier, maybe? I couldn’t think straight, and I couldn’t look away from the end of the tunnel.
Darkness becomes the chain that binds,
Love discovers the thread that unwinds.
“GO!” I dug my heels into my horse’s flanks, and it took off. Matthias’s horse was running now too.
Fates entwined in a web so thick,
A story of magic, folly, and trick.
“STOP! THAT’S ENOUGH!” I yelled.
Matthias broke though the other side, finally out of the caves. I was only a few feet behind him, three feet, two feet.
The second I broke free on the other side, sunlight washed over me.
Rummy’s horse, still tied to mine, pulled up beside me, but I kept moving, desperate to escape the damn voices.
The others followed.
It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. I replayed the words a dozen times.
But it felt pretty fucking real. If it was all in my mind, then why did the rest of the group look as stunned as I felt? Whywere their faces ashen and their eyes wide? Why was my body reacting like someone was holding a sword to my throat?
Matthias, who was several paces ahead, mumbled incoherently. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, willing the cool air to clear my mind. Then I pulled my horse up to his.
“Hey,” I said to him. “Are you all right?”
For a moment, he only blinked into the distance, like he hadn’t heard me, but eventually, he cleared his throat and shifted in his saddle. “Yeah, mate,” he answered. “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s just get the fuck away from here, okay?”
I pulled my horse around to check on Rummy and Jessiah, who lingered behind us.
“What about you two?”
Xavier shook his head and pulled his shoulders back, swearing he was fine.
But Rummy wouldn’t meet my eye. She stared off into the forest somewhere, gaze unfocused. She’d heard something, too.
Heard or seen something.
Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t fucking ask.
“Rummy?” I asked.Good job, Jessiah.
Her breathing hitched, and she straightened against Xavier, as if she only now realized where she was and what we were doing here.
“I’m fine.” Her voice was thin, reedy. Not at all like the strong, sharp tone I expected from her.
