Page 73 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

Ryker

“I’ve seen these trees before.” A man from the back pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He was one of the new additions Farley had helped us find. “I’ve walked through them before without anything happening.”

“Are you sure?” I inquired.

“Yes. I’ve been through here many times before.” He pointed at the clump of rocks. “I recognize them, and these trees, even in the Revenant Woods, are unusual. Are you sure the poltergeist isn’t playing a joke on us? We all know how they are.”

Farley puffed up as much as a poltergeist could and zipped over to hover in front of the man. “And just how are we?”

“You’re a bunch of assholes who like to fuck with anyone who enters these woods.”

I couldn’t argue with the man’s assessment of them.

Farley waved a transparent finger at the man. “This asshole saved your life by showing them to your encampment. And I wouldn’t lie about something like this when it comes to Lery. She’s my friend.”

“Poltergeists don’t have friends.”

“That’s enough,” I interrupted. “They’ve been helping us build an army, and Farley led you to us. They may like to fuck with immortals, but they’re on our side in this, and I believe him.”

I never would have believed I’d ever side with a poltergeist or defend them over anything, but I’d learned there were many things I’d never see coming in this realm or others. Defending Farley was one of those things.

Glancing back at the trees, I pondered the man’s words. “Has anyone else walked beneath these trees without anything happening?”

“Yes,” another man confirmed. “I remember that circle of rocks too.”

“So have I,” a woman said.

I looked at Farley, who shrugged. “I know this is where it happened. Ellery’s blood is out there. I’ll show you.”

Not only had these trees taken her, but they’d also wounded her. If the dogs returned, I’d gut them, and if these trees killed her, I’d torch them into oblivion.

“Have you ever seen anything with these trees before?” I asked Farley.

“No, but I’m dead. They couldn’t do anything to me even if they wanted to.”

“Have you ever seen another amsirah or immortal wander beneath them?”

“No, but I’m sure some have over the years.”

I recalled the time they attacked me and Ellery. They didn’t start moving until after she touched one of them.

Did they sense something in her? Is there something about her they want? And if that’s true, will they take me or keep me shut out?

I looked at the lightning encircling my fingers and watched as it snapped when I wiggled them. Is this what they sought from her? Or did they somehow sense she could wield all five weathers? Is it possible for trees to do such a thing?

But I wouldn’t have believed trees could emerge from the ground or move like these did, so nothing would astonish me now. I shifted my attention from my hands to the pathway these trees created.

Unease wormed its way through my heart as I studied the serene scene. I dreaded walking out there and having nothing happen more than being dragged into the bowels of whatever lay below the trees.

“If they take me, I’ll meet you back at the encampment,” I told Tucker.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Tucker stated.

“Once they take me down, there won’t be much you can do here.”

“What if they don’t take you?”

I didn’t have an answer for that. I wanted to say I’d burn them down, but they might destroy Ellery if I tried.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Start digging. But I have to go, and you should return to the encampment. You’ll be safer there.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Ianto said. “We’re staying.”

Behind him, Tucker’s followers nodded their agreement.

“Black dogs were here earlier,” I reminded them. “They could return.”

“We’ll be ready for them if they do,” Tucker said. “How do you plan to get out of there if they do take you? If Ellery or Mouse could open a portal out, they would have by now.”

“I’ll rain down hell from the skies if I have to, but I will get her out of there.”

Tucker squeezed my arm. “You know I can’t promise we won’t come after you if you don’t return.”

I smiled at him. “You’d be a fool if you did.”

He smiled back before releasing me. “I’ve never been considered a wise man. We’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, you will.”

Ianto and Callan nodded to me before I turned and walked away.