Page 38 of The Shadowed Oracle (The Bonded Worlds #1)

Before it took full effect, Dean called out to her, “I’m taking your shoulder now, don’t be startled.”

She couldn’t get a word out before she felt the strength of his grip on her. Then she followed suit, reaching out and finding Tyla’s rugged armor.

Standing at the front now, Raidinn sounded off a warning. “Alright boys and gals. Let’s march.”

Within the first few hours of their trek, there had been disturbances. A small group of soldiers on horseback riding at full speed in the opposite direction, and a pack of Ungii on the hunt had sped by a few times, either scenting them, or some other poor creature in the area.

Ingrid managed to keep moving silently, and she hadn’t sensed any unease from Dean ahead of her. He only gripped her shoulder gently, comforting her when the moment called for it.

They walked on, passing plants that glowed in the dark with neon brilliance, small huts constructed from loose bark and vines, more sentient, limb-like flowers, birds the size of dogs perched on high branches, squirrel-sized creatures with flowing white fur and ears so tall and thin she mistook them for antennae at first glance.

Nothing in the forest is as it seems.

She kept Raidinn’s warning at the forefront of her mind.

As they approached a clearing, the trees finally thinning, she wondered if they were in Banebrook, and smiled at the thought of Dean alerting her, at the prospect of hearing his voice.

The silence was getting to her. He promised he’d tell her when they’d reached the far more Viator-populated, and therefore much more dangerous leg of their day’s trek. Though nothing was said.

There was only the persistently strong grip of his hand on her shoulder.

Deathly silent, they stepped carefully past a line of trees that constituted the end of the heavy brush.

Ingrid hadn’t a clue how many hours had passed.

The only indication was when the Spectis Weed started to wear off and Dean warned her with a set of three squeezes on her shoulder, instead of the usual one.

They all stopped in unison after Ingrid passed the message along, and they took another dose of the magic plant.

Trudging along, walking until their feet pulsed.

On and on and on.

And on.

Her body became an instrument. One foot after the other, robotically moving in unison with the others.

Her perched arm had lost feeling, blood draining as it held its position atop Tyla’s shoulder, and she no longer processed the images in front of her, darkness and exhaustion dimming her sight and her interest. There would be no sleep, not that night.

Ingrid knew this before the journey began and she made no argument.

One foot after the other.

Left, right.

Left, right.

Then—another squeeze of Dean’s hand, communicating something.

Her first impulse was to snap her head around, searching for some small battalion that had somehow tracked them. It was all she could think of since they’d made it out of the forest. War . The vast Hydorian army was stationed all over the west, and the four of them were right in the middle of it.

She peered around, keeping stride until something bumped into her.

Or, she thought, maybe she’d bumped into something.

Ingrid froze, realizing for the first time all day she was no longer moving.

Her hand was no longer on Tyla’s shoulder.

Instead, the crook of her elbow was dangling over it.

No one was speaking. No one moved. The thump of her heart was the only thing filling Ingrid’s ears for a long moment. Thump, thump, thump.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP .

It grew louder and louder until the noise was unmistakable.

It wasn’t just her heartbeat.

Hooves—she was hearing hooves.

A galloping beast in the distance, drawing closer.

Once the animal was in range, Ingrid noted the man riding atop.

He was large, broad and armored, but he was dwarfed by the sheer size of his mount.

The horse appeared to be the same as those found on Earth, but the one glaring difference made Ingrid pause at the thought of calling it anything but “giant.”

It was easily seven feet tall, with bulging flanks and an easy, powerful gallop.

It closed the gap quickly, and the rider became more visible.

He was classically attractive, Ingrid thought, just like Dean, Raidinn, Tyla, and even Sylan.

Viator all seemed to have the same predatory sharpness, softened by their colorful eyes and symmetrical, delicate visages. And this man was no different.

A mass of golden wavy hair bounced at the back of his neck as he rode with perfect posture, slowing and finally stopping just ten feet from the line of unseen world-walkers holding their breaths.

“Alkaleese!” he shouted in a strange accent, pulling the reins quickly to look in every direction. “Here girl! Alkaleese!”

There was panic on the man’s face. He dragged a hand through his hair. “Alkaleese!” he shouted again, this time louder, a slight crack of distress in his throat.

He was searching for someone, but that someone was not Ingrid. She unclenched her jaw at the thought, still not moving. All she had to do was be silent. If she could manage a few more minutes, the soldier would move on and continue his search. Then she’d go back to the long march of nothingness.

“Did you find her!?” a voice called out in the distance. Its origins weren’t visible, but it did sound close. Male, deep, accented the same, and accompanied by more hooves. He was riding another giant equestrian.

“No!” The blonde soldier answered in a somber squawk. “Poor girl must be hiding. Spooked.”

“I’m sure she’s close. We’ll set up camp here soon. Just make sure you’re back before sunrise.”

“Yes sir!” The galloping started up again like a drum. The blonde rider brought his hand down hard on the massive backside of his horse, and the great beast lurched into a run.

It was barreling right toward Ingrid.

Stunned and nearly paralyzed with indecision, she could only watch it all happen. Within seconds, the horse and its rider were on her. If not for Dean’s sweeping pull, she’d have been trampled to death.

Together they fell hard to the ground, smacking soundlessly against the soft dirt underneath a small fruit tree of some kind.

Ingrid bit down, holding in a groan of pain.

She looked for Dean but found only more greenery in every direction.

She had no idea if he was okay. Had no idea what direction Raidinn and Tyla had staggered off to.

She watched the first rider get smaller in the distance, then turned her attention back to the small area in which her friends might be.

There were no footprints, no signs of wear on the grass.

But Ingrid did see another bush full of those flowers Raidinn had used for her first lesson of the day.

The vibrant buds seemed to sway in the slight gusts of wind.

The bright pink wasn’t glowing like other flora she’d seen that night, yet it was very distracting—its stems and arms extending upward to attack.

Oh… no.

Gathering the situation, Ingrid took a few steps forward in desperation.

She had no idea what to do, but she knew what could not happen.

The flowers and branches would soon strike, swatting away whichever twin had landed in the unfortunate spot.

Because of whatever ailed them, they weren’t moving out of the way to avoid the bush’s defense mechanism.

Thwack.

Thwack thwack thwack.

In a frenzy of snapping branches and rustling leaves, the vibrant posy launched into a melee. It was merely trying to survive, just like she and her friends were. She couldn’t be angry at that, though something close to rage boiled in her as the galloping reappeared.

More horses.

More soldiers.

With wobbling legs, Ingrid slowly lowered herself to the ground. She thought it might make it easier to find Dean if she were crawling on all fours.

She made her way back under the fruit tree where she’d first landed and gently probed with her arm. In the darkness, it was difficult to see in front of her. She could only make out the signs of where her body had landed and the handprint she’d made when lifting herself to her feet.

But then she saw something else.

She saw something she wasn’t supposed to be able to see.

Faint outlines of her fingers, then her hands, her wrists—they were rapidly becoming visible.

Had it been that long since the last dose of the Spectis Weed? Dean had said it would last for four to six hours. It couldn’t have been that long, she thought. No.

She quickly scattered and ducked behind the trunk as the galloping horses neared. There were at least two of them. Maybe three. The thunderous pounding of the hooves was deafening for a moment before turning to soft pattering as the riders halted just feet away from the raucous plant.

“Only a tempest bush,” one of the riders scoffed. It was the rider who’d ordered the blonde soldier to keep on searching.

“And what else?” a new voice asked. This one was gruff, monotone, weathered in a way that encroached on indifference. “Can you see what it’s caught?”

“No. Must’ve fled,” the first rider said. “I see nothing. Just a?—”

“What is it?”

Everything in Ingrid’s body burned, screaming to move, to help, to at the very least see if her friend was slowly materializing. But she didn’t. Her body was almost completely visible now.

“There’s a spirit here! Ealis bless me, we’ve found a Shade.”

“Quit your nonsense.” The second voice still seemed apathetic. Eager to move on. “I don’t see anything.”

“Cap, I wouldn’t lie. The more I look, the clearer it appears to me. It’s… it’s a female.”

Tyla.