Finally, the lake grew too deep to wade. They had to swim.
Eva's movements were awkward as she stroked toward the other side. A flash in the water drew her attention down.
Recognition shot through her at the sight of the massive skeleton resting on the lakebed. This was the lake she'd flown over with Sebastian on their way to the herd lands.
Noticing her distraction, Phillip looked back at her. "I see it too. Whatever that creature was, it's long dead."
Eva nodded, choosing not to point out that while the creature was dead whatever had killed it might not be. To say nothing of any descendants it might have had.
The journey passed excruciatingly slowly until finally Eva's feet touched the lakebed again.
They waded forward, the shore only a few dozen feet away when Phillip stopped.
Eva lifted her head to see what had caused the halt and felt a sense of dread swamp her as several horses bearing riders stepped out of the tree line.
"They were herding us the entire time," Phillip snarled.
Neil's horse carried him to the edge of the lake, the waves lapping at his horse’s hooves. There were no threats or recriminations as he stared at them with an enigmatic expression that was somehow terrifying.
Emotion was a defining characteristic of humans. It fueled every action, both good and bad.
Yet Eva saw no sign of anything in the other man. He was a blank canvas the Whisperer used for his own purposes.
"What is that?" Phillip whispered as a dark cloud rose from the trees.
Buzzing pierced Eva's defenses, making her flinch and raise her hands in a futile effort to block out the noise.
It wasn't a sound she was hearing but rather the voices of a thousand minds.
Pain split her temples even as she struggled to raise her barriers the way Polaris had taught her. The onslaught abated just a little.
"It's the swarm," she said, her eyes on the thousands of cicadas.
Bright red fur moving through the trees captured Eva's attention. She forgot about the swarm and the enemies in front of her as the fire fox trotted to the edge of the shoreline not far from the enemy horses.
The fire fox took a seat. There was a playful look on his face as he tilted his head, as if asking what she was waiting for.
Eva didn't know why she was able to understand what he wanted. Only that she did. It was as if the knowledge had always been there. Floating just out of reach, simply waiting for her to acknowledge it.
The fire fox's gaze was patient as he shot a meaningful look at her hand. The action made Eva conscious of the smooth metal clutched in her palm.
Its shape was familiar. The ring sphere from the Kyren's cave. The same ring she thought she felt when on the mountain top.
This moment took on an air of inevitability. As if everything that had been before was building to this time and place. Every step she'd taken. Every decision she'd made.
All so that she could stand in this spot.
Eva opened her palm; the gold seemed to wink at her.
There was a snick as the ring unfurled into a sphere, the metal almost liquid as the runes danced across its surface.
Eva lifted her head, somehow knowing what the fire fox expected.
The spot where he sat was empty, as if he'd never been there.
Still feeling as if the world was moving slowly around her, she glanced at Phillip's face, noting the tension. The calculation as he totaled their odds of escape. The anger as he realized there was none.
He shoved her back and stepped in front of her.
