A Kingdom of Bones

VI | six

The village is bigger than I expected. It's packed into a forest, tucked away behind thick, large trees, and hidden under a canopy of leaves, yet expands a good mile or two with dozens of tiny Mortynian buildings. When I had been told they lived in the Unmarked, I figured it would be in tiny scattered shacks, not an intricate village with grassy roads that weave carefully around the trees. Who would have thought these simple creatures would be able to create something like this with such little room? But this wouldn't be the first surprise of the day.

"I'm ready to see Vik." Celeste muses out loud, her hand finding mine in the dark. I fold my fingers around hers, my nerves making my grip tighter than usual. Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind.

"Me too." I answer, my eyes scanning the area. It's much darker and colder outside now, with little moonlight to brighten the dim path and no sun to warm us. But Merilda seems to know where she is going, taking turns and stepping around fallen branches like she has the entire area memorized. She moves speedily, her hands hidden behind the fabric of her robe.

I take a deep breath as I follow her steps around a tree stump, "But I'm also nervous." I add in a whisper, leaning in so only Celeste can her my pathetic confession. My heart beat matches that of my footsteps, pounding a tattoo against my ribcage. The answers I feel I have waited so long for are so close and my excitement has grown into pure adrenaline. I gnaw at my bottom lip for a distraction, but even the taste of blood in my mouth isn't enough to deter my mind from conjuring up numerous possible explanations West will give me for today.

Celeste squeezes my hand reassuringly, "Everything will be fine." she whispers back, her warm breath tickling my neck. I nod, swallowing hard past the lump in my throat and struggling to adjust my eyes to the lack of light. The darkness only seems to make my nervousness worse. I can only see so far in front of my face and the thought of being unable to examine my surroundings in an utterly new area allows my imagination to play tricks on me. My eyes see things dart around the trees that aren't really there. Or maybe they are.

I want to ask Celeste if she sees what I do—a long, tall figure peeking around the thick trunk of a tree to our left—but the last thing I want is to scare her, so I stay silent, flexing my fingers on my free hand and chewing on the inside of my cheek as I stare from the corner of my eye. I can tell it's behind the fence, standing out in the Unmarked, watching us. I can only see the outline of its thin body, but something about it, even just its black shadow, leaves me with an overwhelming fear, one that feels almost unnatural and sudden. I'm acutely aware of my labored breathing, which only gets faster when I see the shadow twitch.

"Do you see that?" Ellis suddenly asks from behind me. I jump at the sudden noise, then release a panicked breath.

"Yes." I say, my fear making my voice shake. Ellis speeds up to stand beside me. I feel the cold metal of his rings brush against my knuckles. His fingers close around something attached to his waist, and then he's pulling out his curved sword.

Merilda must hear him because she stops and turns around, "Put that away, imbecile, you'll scare the Mortyns." she hisses, reaching for the weapon. He pulls it out of her reach and jerks his head towards the black mass behind the tree. Her eyes flick to the area and my heart stutters in my chest, the night's silence becoming less than welcoming.

"There's nothing there." she says, but her voice still drops a degree. My heart drops to my toes, my first instinct being the creature leapt the fence and is lurking somewhere behind us. I jerk my head towards the back of the trail, scanning the area for any skinny, out-of-place shadow. I come up empty. The only thing behind me is Rolland, looking at me like I've went and grown two heads. I'm sure he can see the way I'm acting fidgety and unfocused; it's clearly making him uncomfortable. Fear is contagious.