I stretched my magic farther, searching for more creatures, and as soon as my magic located them, I grabbed them too.
Within minutes, I hadhundredsof Silventine Wood’s dangerous and fearsome animals at our disposal.
“That’s not something you see every day.” Kole pointed to a pair of larpanoons. The huge magic-shredding predators snarled quietly to his right, and he shifted his sword in their direction.
“Don’t worry. I have complete control of them.”
He stayed on the balls of his feet, but he lowered his sword. “Now what?”
I shrugged. “Um, I guess we wait? Last time when I did this, Diredan grew angry and appeared suddenly.”
“That sounds . . . ominous.”
Kole’s statement had tension filling my shoulders. He was right. What we were doing was incredibly stupid, but without a god’s help, I didn’t know how we could stop the infection that was rapidly spreading through Kole.
As we waited, more creatures drew near, likely curious about what was going on, and I latched onto them too. Catatonic, none of the wildlings and animals under my control made a sound, and the Wood grew deathly quiet.
“What’s taking so long?” Kole asked. “You said he made himself known quickly last time.”
I chewed on my lip as power vibrated out of me. “He did, but the situation was also different. I was using his animals to protect myself.”
“Does that mean you should command some of them to attack us?”
I grimaced. “I don’t know. It would still be staged. Maybe that’s why he’s not responding. Maybe he’s already aware of us, but he’s not interested. Let me try a different tactic.”
To each of the creatures around us, I asked them mentally,Where’s Diredan? Do you know how we can find him?
They all turned at once and began walking, hopping, or scampering in the same direction.
“What did you do?” Kole peered down at me, his blue eyes looking like midnight in the dark forest.
“I told them to lead us to Diredan, and considering they all immediately began moving, it seems he doesn’t hide from his creatures where he slumbers.”
Kole and I took off behind the hundreds of silent sentries. We steadily moved deeper and deeper into the Wood. Tangled vines and roots tried to snare my ankles around every turn and dip in the landscape, and I didn’t know if I was imagining things, but it felt as though the Wood got darker the farther we went.
“No sign of him,” Kole murmured. He’d stayed quiet and alert at my side, the potion working to suppress his fever, but I knew sooner or later he would have to take another dose.
Ahead of us, the army of creatures under my command continued in their rustling movements.
“I don’t feel him either,” I replied, “but I suppose we keep following them.”
We walked, scrambling up hills and sliding down embankments. It felt like forever as we traversed the forest.
If not for my vampire strength and endurance and Kole’s warrior affinity, we would have grown tired.
Throughout it all, additional creatures we encountered joined us, falling under my control. Strangely, as had happenedthe other times I’d unleashed my forbidden magic, I didn’t grow tired. Instead, I felt amazingly energized.
It wasn’t until hours had passed that the animals finally stopped. They crowded around a bare crater in the Wood, about twenty feet wide and six feet deep. Black soil filled the hole. It was the only patch of land we’d encountered devoid of plant life.
Is this it?I asked all of them.
Yes.The collective reply from those that could form language floated back to me.
“He’s here.” Tentatively, I slid down the side of the crater to its pit. Kole called a warning, but desperation made me throw caution to the wind. At the bottom, I walked to the crater’s center and peered down. “I know you’re here, Diredan.”
I didn’t raise my voice. There was no need to since he was a god. Even if he’d lost the ability to leave our realm, Diredan’s power was still magnificent, which meant he was aware of everything happening in this Wood.
“Prim?” Kole called from the top. “Shall I join you?”
