Using another particularly loud pop of the fire, Ena whispered to the air next.
{Aeris}
The wind began to blow—not too harshly, not enough to attract attention, but enough that it pushed the scent of the horse that had fled directly toward where Ena had heard the wolf howl. The breeze was cold, whirling and swirling around their campfire, stoking the flames higher. The trees that stood around them began swaying and dancing in the wind Ena had made, and she saw Steig wrap his coat tighter around his body.
Not so far in the distance, the wolf howled again. Its call was eerie and lonesome; the sound of it made the hair stand up on the back of Ena’s neck. But then, another joined its chorus, and then another. There wasn’t just one wolf; there were three.
Steig’s attention whipped to the sound. He clearly realized that the howls were coming from the same direction Turner and the horse had gone. Listening intently and staring into the darkness of the woods, Steig waited.
Out of the darkness, Ena heard the horse whinny in terror. She no longer feigned sleep as she sat up to listen to the commotion.
Snarls echoed through the darkness, and then came Turner’s yell.
“Steig!”
Sounds of a struggle erupted through the quiet woods. It was somewhat deafened by the sound of wind whipping around theircampsite, but it was clearly not very far away. Ty was awake now, too, and he made eye contact with Steig as they both stood.
“I’ll go,” Steig said, answering his unspoken question, then darted into the woods towards the cry for help.
Shouts and rustling leaves, snarls, and frantic hoofbeats made it clear there was a desperate struggle in the dark. Ena stood up now, too, as the horse whinnied again, only this time, it sounded pained.
She started to feel afraid. Maybe she hadn’t thought this plan through. The wolves were close—closer than she’d intended them to be. She’d just wanted the escaped horse and the sounds of wolves to be a distraction. Even though she didn’t like these daemons, didn’t trust them, she didn’t necessarily want them or the horses to be eaten alive by wolves.
Her heart started pounding in her chest, but she was committed now. This was her chance, and whatever happened, she had to deal with it.
Ty stood next to her, his body vibrating with unspent energy. He was staring daggers into the woods, towards the commotion, trying to make out what was happening just beyond the sightline of the fire. He looked ready to bolt at any second.
Then Steig’s cry of pain echoed through the woods.
Turning to Ena, Ty seemed to suddenly come to a decision. “Stay by the fire,” he said, fear flickering across his face. “You’ll be safest here.”
For a split second, Ena couldn’t tell whether his fear was for his friends, or for her, or both. But either way, she responded with as much calm conviction as she could muster.
“I will. I promise.”
His brow furrowed ever so slightly at that word,promise, as if something about the way she said that concerned him, but then another strained grunt came from the woods, and he reluctantly turned away from her, running off into the dark.
Seizing her chance, Ena used her spellword again to break the tethers of the other two horses. The more distraction and confusion she could create, the more it would benefit her escape. Instantly, they, too, were darting off into the woods, luckily away from the commotion of the struggle.
Then, leaving no trace, Ena disappeared into the woods, trying to ignore the chaos she’d left in her wake.
Chapter Thirteen
Enaransilentlythroughthe woods, her heart pounding in her ears.
Years of tracking animals using her Knowing had taught her how to move delicately. The key was to understand where the leaves were and what they would signal if she stepped on them. If she stepped on them the right way, it sounded like the wind, and not like a footstep. And if she avoided branches that would snap, she could pass herself off as a deer, or a different creature of the night. She couldn’t mask her scent, but daemons, while known for their strength and speed, did not have heightened senses, so she figured that was okay. And, Gaia granted her, because her dress was black and her cloak dark blue, making her nearly invisible in the dark forest.
The sounds of the struggle got quieter and quieter the further she moved away from the campsite. Still, she didn’t look back or slow down until she was several miles away.
Eventually, silence settled over the forest. The unnatural wind she’d made had died down, and the natural breeze through the trees was once again the only sound. Inside, however, herhead was loud with thoughts. She had to actively stop herself from thinking about the potential destruction she’d left behind. There’d be time for that guilt later. Now, she had to focus on putting as much distance between her and the daemons as possible.
Another hour went by before she was fairly confident she wasn’t being followed. She stopped running and hurriedly assessed the trees around her. Choosing a tall, sturdy pine with a sufficient number of low branches, she scrambled up the rough trunk and climbed higher and higher until she could see the night sky.
Gaia had granted her again.
It was a relatively clear night—only a few wisps of clouds covered the stars—and the moon was nearly full. Far to her left in the distance, she saw the darkened mass that was the Chasm Mountains. She oriented herself using the Southern Star and was pleasantly surprised to see that she had already been heading the direction she needed to go.
Yesterday, she’d been able to catch some glimpses of the sun’s position through the canopy of trees. She was able to figure out that they’d been traveling northwest, which meant that the village they’d visited was roughly southeast of here. She briefly considered traveling back to that village and asking for a horse so she could ride home quicker, but she remembered Ty’s warning.
