Hope writhed, tugging with surprising strength, desperate to free her hand from Toryn’s grip. ‘I won’t take another step closer.’ He let go, unwilling to risk causing harm. She sagged to her knees, sobbing into her hands. ‘I won’t. I can’t. Please don’t make me.’ Her shoulders shook. ‘I can’t go.’
Toryn slumped beside her on the grass verge. ‘It’s the quickest route to Archonholm.’ He looked to the dark trees of the Foranfae Forest just a hundred paces from them. ‘We don’t have to go any nearer. The road skirts the border. Besides, no one can enter. We’re safe if we stay on this road. I promise.’
But Hope refused to listen. She turned and crawled up the bank, muttering under her breath. Toryn sighed. What other options lay open to him? He could hardly drag Hope the remaining leagues alongside a forest she so obviously feared.
He stood on the edge of the Great Northwest Road and looked south. If they took the route, they would be in Archonholm in three days at most; the only other way was through the Menon Hills, which would easily add two, possibly three more days. Only the previous day he had felt confident about addressing the Archon with Hope by his side. She had made a full recovery from the incident on the ridge, hearing nothing more of the voice that had caused her so much pain.
And Toryn hoped, being in the presence of the powerful Archon would bring the wise and coherent Hope back to the fore. But his raised spirits took a knock as she had quickly reverted to the muddled, old woman as they had trekked farther into the ward of Holm. And, as the road drew closer to the forest, her initial anxiety had transformed to the numbing fear now wracking her body.
Toryn surveyed the gnarled trunks and twisted branches of the Foranfae. The forest had dominated the region for as long as any could remember, yet, as Hamar was fond of saying, while few scrolls in the annals spoke of its history, it did not stop people speculating on what strange beings possibly lurked beneath her dark canopy. Not that anyone needed to read of its power from a dusty parchment — all who spent the briefest of moments close to its green border could sense this was no ordinary forest.
The Archon may have forbidden entry by law, but it did not require the pain of death to deter trespassers: only the foolish, or those caring not for their sanity would dare to venture under her boughs. Of those known to have entered, the few returning to tell the tale, had no tale to tell, as none had any memory of their time inside, or for that matter, their own name or life before their intrusion. Whatever lay within would remain a mystery until Foranfae decided to give up her secrets, or an unforeseen catastrophe leveled the forest.
While Toryn was no fool, his curiosity led his feet back to the road and over the other side. He took a few paces onto the grass to take a closer look, trusting his gut would soon warn him of imminent danger. He stared into the gloom between the tree trunks, hoping the low, evening sun would allow him to see a little farther inside. His scalp tingled. He blinked, unsure if his eyes deceived him. At the edge of his vision, a tall, shadowy figure stared back. But when Toryn looked again, it had gone. He turned his head to look from the corner of his eye. There it was again. It moved among the trees, darting from one to the next with unnatural speed, making its way towards the edge, always watching but evading Toryn’s effort to fix it in his sight. Wherever the figure moved, the branches swayed despite the still evening. Toryn instinctively crouched. The trees appeared to grow taller, their branches twisting towards him, their thin twigs reaching out, groping the air, sensing someone drew near.
Hope screamed. She stood at his side staring, wide-eyed at the trees. He spun back. But the figure had gone, and the trees stood motionless, appearing oblivious to their presence as a typical forest should.
He took Hope’s hand. ‘Come on. Perhaps it’s best we take the longer route after all.’
