The Wishing Tree - Book Two [Completed]

Immortal Dagger - Part 41

There's a bright light ahead and we slow to a stop just before it. There's enough head height in the caverns for me and Clara to stand, but all the of men have to duck a little to make it over to the wide entrance. Mason moves around all of us so he's the first one at the entrance, and he looks out cautiously.

His bow and arrow materialize out of his back, and he puts an arrow on the bow. He fires three quick arrows in close succession and then steps out of the cavern as though he doesn't have a care in the world. I'm the last one out, and when I emerge, I see he's shot three men right through the heart.

He's just pulling out the last arrows and replacing it when I get to him. I look back behind. I didn't remember seeing cave entrances around this area before. But, the place we exited has closed over, and it's just a hill with boulders.

I look back at Mason. "Who are they?" I ask. They're dressed in what looks like pale human skin over their own pale skin, which makes me shiver. Did they make clothes from skin?

"Barborous Tribe," Mason says, cleaning his arrow with a leaf and then replacing it in the pack. "Bit far from home. They're most likely scouts for Grayson, watching the tree." He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. "I think we have our answer about whether he knows we're coming back to the tree." He motions Clara, Rocco and Riven over with his hand. He looks at them all, but his eyes linger a little longer on Clara. He's careful to keep his face blank, so I have no idea what the longer glance means. "Things are about to get dangerous. We might not all survive. If our souls meet again, I'll remember you with fondness."

Clara gives him a surprised glance, but Rocco and Riven pat him on the back in a brotherly fashion.

"We'll remember you with fondness too, brother," Riven says, smiling. "Spread out? Take down the rest of the spies?"

Mason nods. "We'll need to, yeah. Then, we need to get Clara either to the Wishing Tree or into it somehow. She'll have to figure out how we can remove the souls with as little damage to the tree as possible." He looks her up and down. "Then, we just need to convince an army of Journeyers we're their best option, send Grayson to the Ether and finish the sequence to open the damn portal out of here." He grins, but it's not his normal carefree one.

"Clara, go with Riven – get to the tree as quickly as you can. Queenie, you go with Rocco. Don't use magic unless you have to. Magic will draw Grayson quickly if he's around and we may need all the magic we can muster to open the tree." He looks at the thick trees that form a circle around the large Wishing Tree. "We do the whole perimeter before we go directly to the tree." He points us in different directions, and we agree to meet in the same clearing we slept in last time we were here so we can approach the tree together.

I pull out my sword, Rocco pulls out his bow and arrows, and we start creeping the perimeter. Rocco is looking up, and I'm keeping my eyes on the lower branches. Something catches Rocco's eye, and he fires a quick flurry of arrows before I even realize who he's spotted. Three bodies fall from the trees ahead.

"They don't seem very quick," I observe, keeping my guard up as we continue forward. Rocco snatches his arrows out and replaces them without taking his eyes off the canopy overhead.

"They're not a tribe that fights, typically. They're just here to watch the tree," Rocco answers, keeping his voice low.

"Watch the tree? How would they tell him we were here?" I ask, matching his tone.

Rocco glances over at me and then away quickly, back up to the trees overhead. "Grayson must be able to tap into them still. They're a silent tribe: no speaking."

In that case, killing them quickly was more important. I put my sword back into my pack and grab my throwing knives from my hips. I pinned them there after the last time we were kidnapped for easy, quick access.