Weight of the World

Chapter Sixty-Five

—The Crooked Forest—

Two more swipes and the Umbra fell dead at her feet. Another ambush. They were happening more frequently now, a sign that they were nearing their destination. Since their last encounter, Osric's aetheric signature had been appearing at random throughout the forest, likely in an attempt to throw them off their trail. Rather than chasing Osric throughout the forest, Mervin had suggested simply beating Osric to the Mistborne Caverns themselves. They didn't have the key to revealing the caverns, but they would at least be able to lay their own trap.

But their progress had been slowed considerably. The closer they came to the location Kellaran was leading them to, the more Umbra they encountered. At first, Lulu had thought it a coincidence, but this last encounter confirmed otherwise. The Umbra she killed had uttered, with his dying breath, a request to keep the Calling Stone out of Virmira Tanadall's hands. Enemies they may be, but even the Umbra feared what would happen if the witch took the Calling Stone.

Wiping the blood off her blade, Lulu turned to check on her companions. Varel had transformed back into his human form, no visible signs of injury. Kellaran was scanning the forest, searching for any more Umbra nearby. Mervin winced as Ren ripped his axe out of the skull of one of the dead enemies, and Whittle was quickly making his way to her side. He settled his hand on her shoulder, concern showing in his gray eyes.

"Are you alright?" his brow was pinched in a hard line, his tome clutched tightly in his left hand.

Lulu nodded, laughing off his concern. She didn't want him to care. "Can't die, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you can't be in pain."

"She's in pain?" Mervin was quick to make his way to their side, already pulling out some of his healing potions. She raised her hands to stop him.

"No, I'm fine," she assured them. "We need to get moving."

"There are no more Umbra in the vicinity," Kellaran assured them as she came to stand with them.

"They know about the Calling Stone," Lulu motioned to the dead guy at her feet. "He told me to keep it out of Virmira's hands at all costs."

"Then, it would seem, in this, we are not enemies with the Umbra."

"Then, why attack us?!" Mervin exclaimed. "Why not just help us?"

"We are still trespassers here," Whittle shook his head. "The Path aids King Alistair in the war against the King of Bones. Though we have a mutual enemy, the Umbra will not suffer us to move freely through their territory."

"Especially not with the Ascension so close at hand," Kellaran nodded.

"Ascension?" Whittle inquired with a frown. "What is this Ascension?"

Kellaran hesitated. It was only for the briefest of seconds, but Lulu saw her momentary fear. She hadn't meant to mention it. "It...does not concern us."

Lulu narrowed her gaze, but Idelle whispered in the back of her mind, telling her that if she pressed Kellaran now, she wouldn't get any answers. But the Ascension, whatever it was, was important. She could tell from the look of fear in Kellaran's eyes.

"We need to keep moving," Lulu shook her head. "We need to make it there before Osric."

"And just so we're clear, we're still going with the insanely stupid plan of taking that woman hostage, right?" Mervin glanced around with them. "Because I just wanna say that I am entirely against that."