Oath of the Hunter

25 - Into The Abyss

By the time I tell Rowan to park the car, I can't breathe. Panic has me in a choke hold as I stare out at the otherwise unremarkable woods. We've parked up in a side street of a small town not far from the Ferreus home. If we go down the mile-long driveway, right into the heart of that place, we're asking for trouble, so I've chosen to sneak in. The less time they have to register my appearance, the better our chances.

With a deep, steeling breath, I pop open the door and step out into the cool air. Rowan and Lachlan follow dutifully. It's mid-afternoon, and the sky is a blanket of mottled grey threatening rain. An icy breeze stirs, tugging at our hair and clothes, and people wander about caught in their own worlds, utterly clueless to our fear and the abyss we're heading towards.

"Whether we do this or not, River, it's your choice," Rowan says as he comes up beside me, catching my gaze, his dark eyes alight with devotion. "I'm with you whatever you choose."

I nod, tucking my hands into my pockets. I'm leaving most of my weapons in the car, despite every shred of my soul desperately craving their touch. A Ferreus hunter is a threat with or without their weapons, but I'm hoping they will recognise the gesture of vulnerability if I walk in there unarmed. Well, mostly unarmed. I've tucked a knife against my ankle — an insurance policy, I tell myself — but I know it's because the pressure of the hilt against my skin brings some shade of relief.

Lachlan adjusts the books in the crook of his arm — courtesy of Imogen — and studies the woodland swaying in that mischievous wind. "Are we doing this?" he asks.

I cast one last look towards the car before turning and stalking into the woods. "We're doing this," I say over my shoulder.

Rowan and Lachlan catch up easily, and we're all silent as we walk through the woods. Every step has my heart constricting but I forge on. This used to be my home. They used to be my family. I spent twenty-five years of my life here. I can do this. I can face them once more.

Time melts away and none of us say a word.

My pace is set and my course unwavering as I lead them onwards. I recognise the trees, the shrubs, the quiet concert of chirping birds that influenced our own calls. I strain to listen for those damning whistles, and I'm so focused on catching any hint of unease that I don't realise I've arrived until I catch sight of a familiar clearing through the cover of trees.

Faltering at the treeline, covered by the shrubs and dense foliage, I peer out, but the training field is mercifully empty. All around, trees sigh with relief. Rowan and Lachlan come up beside me.

We stare out at the clearing, utterly silent, listening out for any disturbance.

With pinched brows and an inscrutable expression, Rowan stares at the training field, at the notches in the tree stumps from many knives, at the ground trodden down beneath pivoting feet over generations.

Unbidden, echoes of the last fight I had here stir in the air before me. I stare out at a shade of Esme as she twirls and feigns and pivots. Again. River, get up. Snap it back. We have work to do.

In that clearing, locked in combat with my sister, I had no idea just how much my life would change in a few short hours.

"...Riv?" Rowan's voice tugs at the fraying edges of my focus. I glance his way to find him frowning softly at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I manage, my voice low. Empty. "I'm okay."

He stares at me for a moment longer before looking out across the clearing. "I can hear fighting," he tells me.

I shift my focus beyond the echoes of the past to where Rowan points out a little gap in the copse of trees. Sure enough, when the wind drops, I catch a faint hint of thuds and sharp orders. Anxiety squirms and rolls in my gut.