Page 36 of Journey to the Elderoak (Daughter of the Earth #2)

T he forest was dark, only lit by minuscule luminescent fungi on the bark and the glowing plants scattered among the roots.

Ava unsheathed her sword, preparing for any horrid beings residing within these woods.

It was light in her hand and she swung it around, getting used to its feel. Perfect. Like it was made for her.

Warmth bloomed in her chest at the connection she felt with her mother through the cold metal. Her mother’s sword. Now in Ava’s hand.

She’s here with me. And so is everyone else , she reminded herself as she pressed on.

Her eyes darted around as she picked her way through the trees when the shrubs trembled and began to move. Halting, she watched, scanning for a threat, when a small path appeared out of nowhere, giving her room to walk between the dense underbrush.

Strange , she wondered.

As she continued on the footpath, the trees changed.

No longer bright green and teeming with life, the trunks were weathered and gray, topped with glossy black leaves.

They loomed over her, an ominous warning of what she would face.

Glowing blue flowers hung from vines wrapped around their branches, providing a hint of light.

There were no creatures, no insects or other animals moving about. It was silent.

She was alone.

Truly alone for the first time since she parted ways with Remy after escaping her imprisonment.

She hadn’t realized how comforting the presence of her new friends—her new family—had been until now.

Alone most of her life, she had found her true home in Mosshaven and she ached to be back with them. To be back with Casimir.

A faint hissing whispered through the trees around her. Gripping her sword tighter, she searched for the source of the noise.

The volume increased and Ava prepared herself for a creature to come racing at her from the darkness. She kept walking, looking high and low, when tendrils of an eerie fog reached for her. Vaporous fingers emerged from the forest, blanketing the ground so thickly, she couldn’t see her feet.

Some type of mist.

There was nowhere to go to escape the haze, now swirling mid-thigh and rising still. Trapped in the twisting vapor, she froze, as if allowing it to touch her flesh would harm her.

What if it’s poison?

Within a few minutes she was enveloped, unable to see her hand in front of her face. This was worse than the mist in the bog, denser and thicker. She couldn’t see anything at all besides the thick white clouds.

“Shit,” she murmured, unsure what to do.

She had to keep going.

Ava walked with her hands in front of her, feeling for any obstacles. The toe of her boot caught on a root and she slammed into the ground, a sudden sharp pain in her forehead. The warmth of blood trickled down her face as her head throbbed in rhythm with her heart.

“Dammit.”

How was she supposed to get to the tree if she couldn’t see anything?

Trying a different tactic, she remained on her hands and knees and crawled.

It was slow going, but she made it work for a few minutes until she repeatedly tangled herself in what felt like unruly vines.

Climbing over a large root, she placed her hand on the ground and a sudden agony ripped through her palm.

She’d placed it on a razor-sharp thorn, so large and deep it had pierced all the way through the top of her hand.

“Fuck!” she shouted. “Oh god.”

Tears pricked her eyes as she tried to ignore the pain. Her whole hand was on fire, the sensation creeping up her arm. Swallowing against the nausea trying to work its way into her stomach, she braced herself for what she had to do next.

With a strangled yelp, she pulled her hand off the spike, panting through the excruciating pain.

The mist was still too thick for her to get a look at the injury, but she could feel blood running down her forearm.

Holding her tunic taut with her injured hand, she tried to ignore the throbbing as she cut a piece of fabric off using her dagger.

She sheathed her blade and wrapped her injury, whimpering through her tears.

“No more crawling,” she panted. “I have to figure something else out.”

As she rose, an idea formed. Casimir had made her complete the small obstacle course blindfolded. This was just like then. She had to use her other senses. Inhaling deeply, she nodded to herself.

She shut her eyes, removing the temptation to look around as she listened to her surroundings. After a few moments, she took a tentative step forward, feeling with the sole of her boot. A rock lay before her and she scooted around it, taking another step.

Step by step she plodded forward, now trusting herself and letting go of her nerves.

Strangely, the path revealed itself in her mind and she could see the trees around her, faint outlines of what was truly there.

Each rock, root and obstacle appeared, though her eyes were still closed, and she avoided them with ease.

Trust.

All she had to do was trust herself and the way became apparent. A curious trick of The Elderoak.

After half an hour, something changed in the forest. Stopping, she opened her eyes to the mist receding. She was in a small clearing, surrounded by the black trees, blocking her way forward.

Sword in her un-injured hand, she walked the perimeter of the clearing twice. The path that led her here had disappeared, trees now in its place. As if they had moved.

“What the hell?”

She was trapped.

Something rustled behind her, pulling her from her thoughts. Leaves crunched and boughs creaked as the trees parted, inviting in her next test. A snarl reverberated and terror sank its claws deep within her gut. She recognized the monster that appeared from the gloom.

One of the flying abominations from the attack on the ship.

Black skin hung off its skeletal frame as it stalked toward her on unnaturally long legs.

Its arms hung to its knees, ending in razor-sharp claws.

It assessed her with red eyes and opened its mouth, revealing fangs dripping with pale green poison.

Poison? She didn’t remember them having poison.

And had they been this tall before? It was easily ten feet.

As it crept closer, bat-like wings flared out and it leaped into the air, hovering above her .

Was this real? How was one of Deidamia’s creatures in the Elderoak forest? Maybe it was an illusion, a manifestation of her fears to prove her worth. But before she could think on it any further, the being swooped for her and she ducked in time to avoid its claws.

She swung her sword and readied herself as the creature dove once more, and this time her blade met its target.

It screamed with fury as one of its wings was ripped open, and the monster fell to the ground.

Ava took a step forward, ignoring her fear, and prepared to lunge again when more wing beats sounded behind her.

She whirled as another beast aimed for her. Unable to dodge it, she screamed as claws impaled her shoulder. She’d been lucky her injured hand was not the one she favored for her sword, but now her right shoulder was injured. Useless.

Ignore the pain, Ava. You have to use your arm, she pleaded with herself.

One creature hovered above her as the other pursued her on the ground, unable to fly but just as deadly.

The one in the air dove again and she rolled out of the way, shoulder throbbing as blood poured down her arm.

The pain was almost unbearable, but she shoved it away.

There was no time to succumb to the agony.

On her feet again, she backed away to assess her foes. There was no escape. She must defeat them, or she wouldn’t succeed. She needed a plan. Perhaps she could keep the trees close to her back, and they wouldn’t be able to come around behind her. It was worth a shot.

She backed into the tree line, keeping the monsters in her line of sight, and waited for the one in the air to make its move.

It wouldn’t take the bait and hovered as the other lunged.

She tried to dodge it, but her plan worked against her; the trees were too close and she had no room to maneuver.

The sting of fangs burned as the monster’s teeth sank into her thigh and her sword fell from her hand.

She screamed in pain, kicking its face and trying to pull from its strong jaws.

Retrieving her dagger, she jammed the blade through its eye and it released her with a snarl of rage, backing away.

Ava dropped her dagger and snatched her sword in time for it to charge her again.

She spun to the side, avoiding the attack, and raised her blade, severing its head.

One down, one to go. Her leg was on fire, spreading as the poison entered her bloodstream. How long did she have before she’d succumb to its effects?

Sheathing her sword, she grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow, gritting her teeth against the pain in her hand and shoulder.

The creature hovered, waiting. Probably for her to weaken so it could enjoy its meal.

She had to kill it before her strength waned.

She stomped her leg, causing more blood to run down her thigh to entice the monster as she whimpered in pain.

The monster’s eyes zoned in on her wound, an apparent hunger on its face.

As it flew for her, she released her arrow into its eye.

A crunch sounded as it punctured its skull and crashed to the ground, almost on top of Ava.

She turned and stabbed its chest with her sword and fell to the ground, panting.

Once both creatures were dead, they dissolved as if they had never been there in the first place.