The Ritual of Blood and Bone

Chapter Thirty-Five

The air is silent and still. When Seraphina takes in sharp, panicked breaths, the sounds are strangely muted. The stench of rotting and blood clogs her nose, making her gag. A strange, panicked heat spreads over her, clammy and stifling. Sweat breaks out across her skin and she trembles uncontrollably.

She looks around with wide eyes.

These aren't like her woods in the enchanted forest.

The trees here are impossibly tall and bare. They rise up hundreds of metres into the sky. Their canopy is thick with bone-like, spiked branches. The bare trunks themselves are a strange, dark grey wood and they stand perfectly straight.

Seraphina spins around, looking in every direction. The trees, tightly clustered together, are all she can see. Heavy fog clings to the ground beneath her, and the horizon is nothing but shadowed darkness.

Everything about this place is unnatural. 

Seraphina doesn't know what to do. Tears sting her eyes, and it takes all of her strength not to curl up into a tight ball and sob.

How did she get here? Where even is here?

No. She knows the answer to the second question.

She is in The Lost Forest of Morthagor.

The realisation slams into Seraphina. Her legs buckle and she falls onto her knees. The fog puffs around her as she disturbs it. She can't help but stare at it as it curls slowly through the air, twisting lethargically before settling again.

She gulps, swallowing a lump in her throat. Then, she closes her eyes.

"It's just a dream. Wake up," she whispers to herself, hating how strange and muted her voice sounds against the chilling silence.

"Wake up," she pleads, her voice trembling.

Something creeks behind her. Seraphina's heart rate spikes and she jumps up onto her feet. Fear-fulled adrenaline burns through her, making her stomach flutter and her limbs tremble. 

Sparks dance across her shaking hands and she balls them into tight fists.

Her breathing speeds up and she licks her dry lips, tasting the salt from her sweat. A shadow moves out of the corner of her eyes.

Seraphina.

She lets out a small scream. Immediately, she throws her hand over her mouth, trying to muffle any more sounds. 

She stumbles over to a tree and ducks down beside it. She shuts her eyes tightly and again, tries to force herself to wake up.

It doesn't work.

Something shrieks in the distance and her eyes snap open. The strange sound echoes around her, making the direction in which it came from impossible to tell.

It ebbs away, throwing the forest back into horrifying, still silence.

Seraphina holds her breath, not wanting to disturb the quiet.

Slowly, she stands, still keeping her back pressed against the tree. Her head darts around as she tries to see something, anything. All there is are endless trees, fog, and darkness.

A thudding sound behind her has her leaping up onto her feet. The sounds get closer together and louder. Beneath her, the ground begins to rumble.

Something's coming.

 Seraphina leaps forward, taking off running. Behind her, the thudding only grows louder. Seraphina whimpers and pushes her legs faster.

Her heart thunders in her chest, and adrenaline pulses through her, pushing her on. She doesn't dare turn to look at what is chasing her. Not when they grow closer and closer. She can hear panting now. It is low and gurgled.