The Lost Knight (Volume III) The Lost World

Chapter 10: This Is Not Good

"Something's wrong," Dathid says when we meet up with him.

We walked all day yesterday and most of the day today and haven't seen anyone. I thought Imbertess was a town, but it was just a vacant swath of land. Up a mountain and down a ravine; I'm ready for a break, a bed, and most importantly, a unicorn.

The group has grown weary and quiet. Dathid's news is disheartening but not surprising. There's a heaviness in the air that I can almost touch. He's been waiting for us near what's supposed to be the village entrance. However, other than a well-maintained gate, there's no signs of a village, just a bunch of enormous trees.

I didn't know trees could get this gigantic. Their base has to be at least thirty feet across, with mammoth root structures that stretch over my head. The trees are so tall they block out the sun, and only rough, scrubby plants grow beneath them.

"I waited to go in until I had support," Dathid continues.

"What's happening?" Trelix asks.

"Nothing. Nothing's happening. There doesn't seem to be anyone here."

"Agatha and Trelix, wait here while we go investigate," Jonah says.

"I don't want to wait here," I say, annoyed that I've trained for two years only to stay with a babysitter. "I can go, too. I'll hang towards the back with Trelix. We should stick together. Safety in numbers."

Jonah thinks it over, and when no one else voices an objection, he says, "All right. We stay together. Dathid and Solara, you take the lead. Trelix, you stay with Agatha, and I'll take the rear."

Everyone proceeds cautiously. There's no danger because there's no evidence of a village ever having been anywhere near where we are. It's eerily dark, and everyone's on edge, but I can't understand where this village is supposed to be. There are lots of trees but not a house or cottage anywhere.

Dathid and Solara disappear on their patrol while Trelix and I cautiously dart from tree to tree. When we duck inside the apex of the roots on the third tree, I understand where the village is. In front of me is a small arched door carved directly into the side of the root, and small round windows travel up the trunk. I desperately want to open the door and see what it looks like on the inside. I can't believe people literally live in the trees!

My blood chills and makes me shiver as the danger gets very real. These peaceful woods are the village. I look down the path and count the doors. A big village, too. Where has everyone gone?

My heart is pounding fast. The quiet makes every twig snap and whisper sound like a gunshot. I wish the trees would at least sing. I know by the group's reaction that they didn't expect the villagers to be gone. That means the Grucht Leisck have been here, or maybe are still here. I know I'm not ready for battle. It's one thing to play with Trelix and completely another to fight for my life.

Trelix shuffles me over to another tree and presses me against the trunk. After a long heart-stopping wait, Dathid and Solara head back toward us. "There's no one here," Dathid shouts.

We leave our hiding spot, and the group gathers in the street. "It's so odd," Dathid says. "I was here not that long ago. You would think that if they moved out we would've heard."

Jonah shakes his head. His eyes are just slits.

"What?" Trelix asks.

He shakes his head. "I don't want to add to the speculation. But I know the villagers did not find a peaceful end."

I want him to clarify but then think better of it. Jonah can sense things we can't, and knowing what happened to the villagers will change nothing but my terror level. I don't want to know.