The Thief (A Tale of Heroes & Demons Book 2)

Chapter 5

Beneath the Trees

"We should have been there by now." Orelius pulled the horse to a stop.

"Are we lost?" Saege could feel the tension in him as he sat behind her. She twisted slightly to get a better look at his face. Over the course of the day she had to consume the herbs three more times, about a quarter of the supply in the pouch.

"We can't be."

"Why not?"

"These are my woods. Bronto and I..." He trailed off, a frown overtaking his face.

"Who's Bronto?"

"Bronto is...was...the leader of the bandits that roam these forests. He and I..." Orelius's eyes closed briefly. "Bronto is dead. By the demon's hands."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. The only one that should feel sorry is that demon. Once I get my hands on it..." He stopped, brows furrowing. "That can't be right."

"What?"

Without a word the horse was spurred forward to a nearby tree. Orelius brought the horse up alongside it and brushed a hand across the bark. His hand came away covered in a thick, sticky liquid ad with a grimace he brought it closer for inspection but reeled away at the stench emanating from it. It was fresh.

"What is that?" Saege wrinkled her nose.

"Nothing good." He ripped a strip of cloth off his clock and wrapped it around a branch nearby. He followed the trail forward as it cut through the forest, but a few minutes later they once again found themselves by the cloth marker.

Shoulders slumping, Orelius brought a hand up to rub over his face. "No, no, no, no..."

The anger was sudden and fierce and spread through Saege. "For the sake of all involved, tell me what's going on!" She didn't get a change to speak again as a moment later she found Orelius's hand pressed firmly against her mouth.

"Shhh!" He brought his face close to her ear. "We need to be quiet, very, very quiet. The trail is from a whyrme. I thought they were extinct, which is why the bandits live in the caves they carved, but apparently we were wrong So, so wrong." He cautiously lowered his hand from her mouth.

"Where is it?" Her eyes darted around the forest, but she could see nothing.

"Close. The whyrme can distort reality, making any creatures close to it go in circles so they cannot escape while it attacks."

"What about the bandits? What happened to them?"

His face was grim. "I fear the worst."

Leaves rustled behind them, causing the pair to jump and reach for their weapons. When they could see nothing emerge, though, they relaxed only slightly.

Above the pounding of their hearts Saege's next question could barely be heard. "How do you kill it if it distorts times?"

"There are many legends and stories, but most do not survive once a whyrme has set its sights on you." He pulled back and slipped to the ground. With his sword unsheathed, Orelius kept his back to the horse.

Another rustle sounded to their right. They turned.

"Stryder!"

Orelius's shoulders sagged in relief. "Raenen!" Leaves crunched underfoot as the man that Orelius left in charge of the bandits emerged next to them. "Why aren't you with the others?"

"The whyrmes are back. Drove us out of the caves."

"That's not possible." Orelius's eyes scanned the forest around them. "They abandoned those caves decades ago. They never come back."