The Land Never Lost

Chapter 10

Trinkett and Peter soared through the sky. The rush of wind beating against them was enough to drown out any noise. Only, there was no need. Peter was silent and his head hung low. Trinkett decided it best to let the boy gather his emotions. She was sure he had just said the hardest goodbye in his life. Trinkett had no intention of keeping Peter away for too long, but any amount of time apart from James might prove to be too much.

When she set the boy down, Peter realized they were in the very same clearing they had been in last night. Trinkett changed into her half human. Peter hadn't noticed the night before that Trinkett's clothes had no issue changing size as many times as she needed. Peter walked around the clearing looking for any signs of their battle with the glooms. There were no signs. He shoved his hands in his pant's pockets and hunched over. Peter paced in circles kicking rocks and twigs.

"You won't find anything if you are looking with your eyes." Trinkett said, looking up into the sky as though trying to find something herself.

"What? How else am I supposed to look?" Peter said irritably.

"Peter, you owe me nothing. You don't have to..." Before Trinkett could finish Peter interrupted.

The silence permeating through the clearing was eerily similar. The wind ceased blowing through the trees. Peter said, "Do you hear that?". Trinkett heard absolutely nothing. Peter walked forward. Trinkett made an attempt to reach for him, but Peter shrugged her off. She tried to look in the direction Peter was fixated on. On the tree in front of Peter an obsidian mark swirled into existence. Only this mark swirled hypnotically, with no sign of becoming a hand print.

Trinkett nervously looked around. There were no traces of glooms in the clearing. The fairy would have sensed the presence of one as soon as it manifested. Something was off.

Peter was now standing in front of the tree. His face contorted in pain one moment, and the next it was expressionless. Trinkett slowly walked up next to Peter. When she looked at the boy she noticed his eyes were no longer blue. The aqua had been completely drained from the irises. Peter stared blankly forward with nothing in his eyes. His hand raised slowly. The boy touched the obsidian swirl.

Peter wasn't sure what he was seeing. Or if he was seeing at all. There was an expanse of darkness. A singular point at the very limit of his sight glowed just bright enough to stand out. A low rumbling shook the ground and turned the boy's stomach. Peter thought it sounded like a big animal growling, waiting to pounce. The boy's nerves began to wane. He started looking around. Turning in circles in a desperate attempt to locate what was hunting him. The combination of darkness and silence was becoming too much. Peter closed his eyes and took a long inhale. With every calming breath, the growling grew more pronounced. Only... Peter's eyes shot open!

It was not a growl Peter was hearing. The low rumbling was a deep, haunting voice.

"MINE. MINE. LEFT. TAKEN."

With every word Peter winced. The voice resonated in the deepest part of Peter's spirit. It was a terrifying sound. A sound reserved for the most wicked nightmares you could imagine. Peter was scared, but he also felt anger. His fist clenched as he shouted out in defiance.

"If you are going to try to break me, you should at least show yourself." Peter saw nothing. The expanse was still an endless void of pitch black. That wasn't right though. The point that glowed softly was no longer present. Peter was sure he was still facing that direction. He turned in a circle slowly looking for the point. Nothing. He turned again, this time more slowly. Two cobalt blue glowing dots appeared. Peter fell back. Startled, he scrambled back to his feet. When he straightened up he could just barely make out a figure.