Hushwood

iv. faces

He tried to pull away. Shaken and furious, she grabbed his wrist, her knuckles going white. "Why did you hide this from me?" she demanded.

Tobrym didn't meet her gaze. "I didn't want you to worry."

"Well I'm worried now! This is important, Tobrym!"

"I'm sorry."

Her insides burned, but she felt cold on the outside, and the passion slowly left her. She felt vulnerable and small, as if she were already alone in the vast darkness of the forest.

"As am I," she said in a subdued voice. "I shouldn't have shouted."

"No, it's all right. I was thoughtless."

She met his eyes. Hers were weary and dim, like those of someone far older than she, with only a tiny spark of the youthfulness that had filled them before she'd entered the Hushwood. "I'm scared, Tobrym. The forest doesn't want you here. And it's powerful. If it wants you gone, there's nothing we can do to stop it from happening."

"We've still got the—" Tobrym stopped unexpectedly, and the blood drained from his face. "Hännah's lark, Ari. The knife."

Dread filled her as she looked towards the raging, fuming river.

Panicked, Tobrym stood, patting himself down. Ari closed her eyes. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. She couldn't get herself to calm down. She counted again. Then a third time.

Tobrym released a heavy breath, and his whole body sank as the tension left him. "It's here." He pulled it from his pocket. "We're safe."

Arienne put her face in her hands, unable to think straight. She felt completely broken, with pieces of her sanity scattered in every direction. She could scarcely tell herself to move.

She felt Tobrym's hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said gently. "The forest can't harm me as long as we've got the dagger, remember? So all we've got to do is be sure not to lose it." He tightened his grip briefly, reassuring her of his presence. "We'll be all right."

Tobrym's going to be okay, she told herself. So is Bindi. And so am I. She pulled herself to her feet. "Let's keep moving."

~~~

Midnight came and went. Tobrym and Ari stopped to sleep, keeping watch for one another in shifts. Then they continued their journey through the trees, shrouded in darkness and doubt. There were no mirrors that they could see.

It was strange...for hours now, there had been no signs of danger or ill fate. The forest was silent. As relieved as Arienne was by it, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. We shouldn't be safe, she thought, unnerved. It's not the Hushwood's way.

"Ari," said Tobrym. He knelt. "Are these footprints?"

She joined him, her brow creasing with gentle concern. Her eyes widened. "I think they are." The footprints were small—unmistakably a child's.

Tobrym carefully felt the ground, testing the print's age. The damp soil clung to his fingertips. "It's recent. An hour, maybe two hours old."

Breathlessly, Ari asked, "Do you think she could have passed this way?"

"I don't see any other explanation. Unless it was some other child that the Hushwood's taken?"

"No, no, that can't be. It's been a year since the last one vanished. I don't—" She stopped, biting her lip. They both knew what she'd meant; there was no way a child, alone, unprotected, could have survived for so long.