Poppy and Bella were obviously close. I’d noticed them training together often, and the older girl was protective of the younger in a sisterly bond that was sweet.
“How long have you two been friends?”
Bella and Poppy exchanged glances before Poppy answered. “I was Bella’s nanny for several years—until her family…released me.”
My gaze bounced between them, coming to rest on Poppy. “Released you?”
“I was in servitude,” Poppy said. “Always was. Young kappa are often reared for servitude by the sith and then sold to other houses.”
“But she came here with me anyway,” Bella said. “When she found out they were sending me here, she came.” She put her arm around Poppy’s waist.
Poppy hugged her back. “Always, Bella. Always.”
My knowledge of kappa was vague. They were considered elemental beings with an affinity for water. But some were also blood drinkers.
“Do you think the flock can see us?” Bella asked, peering up. “It’s pretty dense up there.”
The beat of wings was still audible on and off. “They’re definitely tracking us from the canopy.”
We walked for another minute, and it was only when my nape tightened that the silence registered. Deeply unnatural and ominous.
“I smell something…odd,” Bryce said.
Bella’s light glowed brighter, rising to cast a larger circumference of illumination, and hovering in place as we stepped into the circle.
“There’s something out there,” Poppy said. “I can feel it.”
“Stay in the light,” Bella said. “Most Horrors don’t like bright light.”
An insidious rustling tracked our movement from both sides, and my stomach clenched and knotted. It sounded like something was being dragged across the forest floor. The tree trunks that had felt like a protective barrier before now felt like shadowy wooden bars, forming a cage that was keeping us trapped on the path.
“Wood weavers,” Poppy said. “It has to be.”
“But where?” Bella said. “They could be any one of these trees.”
“We need to drop the light,” Bryce said. “So our eyes can get used to the gloom.”
I didn’t like the idea, but he was right. In the light like this, we were blind to what lay beyond.
And there was another fact we needed to consider. “Wood weavers aren’t bothered by the light.”
“No, they’re not,” Poppy said. “Which means they’re playing with us.”
“Hush, what if they understand what we’re saying?” Bella’s voice trembled.
“There’s nothing in the lore that says they do,” Poppy said to reassure her.
“Nothing to say that they don’t either,” Bryce muttered.
I sifted through everything I’d learned about wood weavers. They were morphing Horrors who preferred to take the form of trees and other woodland flora. Their hearts turned to crystal upon their death. Their weakness was fire, and they didn’t like crossing water, so rivers and streams were great if you wanted to lose them. “We need a body of water. If we can get to one, then we’ll have a safe spot to build a fire.”
“We don’t want to risk spawning salamanders,” Bella pointed out.
“We can take the risk if we have water on hand,” Poppy said.
Bella’s lips formed an O. “Of course.”
“It’s just as well that I smell water. Bella, dim the lights a little and push it ahead of us.”
