ICE

84. Alabaster Leaves

THE SPHERE SHOT upward and pierced the surface of the water with a small splash. The darkness around them dwindled, obscured by a beam of sunlight that radiated above their heads. Ravenna squinted and looked upward, toward the light.

"We need to move quick," Lyth remarked. His gaze was also turned upward. The skin around the corners of his eyes crinkled. "I observed several guards patrolling the property. It won't be long before they return to this area and cause us trouble."

Ravenna frowned. She shot a nervous look toward Vyses. "Are you able to make us invisible again? Even if the spell only lasts long enough for us to reach the marketplace. It would be much safer for us to move about freely if we were not visible to the humans."

Vyses pursed his lips. He glanced around, at the stone wall that encircled them, and shook his head. "It was pure luck that we were able to navigate through the tunnel system without being detected. I fear that we won't have the same results above ground. We need to conserve our use of magic for when we need it most."

Ravenna blew at a strand of hair that tickled her forehead. "I think this counts as an emergency," she said. "As Lyth said, this well is located on a privately-owned land that is patrolled by guards. It won't be like walking through the forest, where we won't have to worry as much about being seen."

He shook his head again. "Whoever owns this land is rich. Extremely rich. A private well and personal guards is proof of that. I'm certain that they will have a way to tell if we have used magic. They might have already detected us. We need to move quickly and try to get away from this area as fast as possible."

The sphere melted around them, leaving only a platform of red magic beneath their feet. It stretched across the diameter of the well, giving them easy access to the stone wall. Lyth moved toward it and grabbed one of the stones that stuck out. He hoisted himself upward and climbed. It wasn't long before he reached the top, crawled over the edge, and disappeared from sight. Sucking in a sharp breath, Ravenna followed his lead. She made her way toward the rugged stone wall and started to climb. It was a lot harder than Lyth made it appear. As she climbed, the muscles in her arms began to pulsate with a dull pain. She paused for a moment and looked down.

Vyses grabbed onto a stone and pulled himself upward. The moment his foot left the platform of magic, it completely vanished. Ravenna took a deep breath and forced herself upward. When she reached the top of the well, Lyth reached out to her. His hands curled around her arms and pulled with a strength she wasn't expecting. He easily helped her out of the well and onto the earth that surrounded it.

Ravenna thanked him and then shifted her attention to the land around her. It was filled with thin, wiry trees. Vertical stripes of evergreen raced up and down the sand-colored trunks and strange alabaster-colored leaves clung to the branches. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight and she stepped closer. The trees were evenly spaced apart, with only the branches connecting the cluster. The strange spacing allowed snippets of the land beyond, of stone walls and a field of flowers, to peek through. Just above the thickly clustered leaves, Ravenna could see the slender turrets of a small castle.

She carefully watched the spaces between the trees, just waiting for a guard pass by.

As Vyses climbed over the edge of the well, Ravenna turned her attention away from the trees around her. She immediately focused on his face, on his expression –hoping for some sort of explanation for the abnormal vegetation.

Vyses's gaze flickered around and his eyebrows furrowed.

"I've never seen trees like this before," Ravenna whispered to him.

"Nor have I," Vyses responded quietly.

A moment of silence passed between them and Ravenna realized that something was wrong. There was nothing but vegetation surrounding them. There was no muted rustle of an animal within the leaves, or gentle thrum of running water. There was no movement, no eating –not even the leaves brushed together to make a sound. The notion sent chills racing through her spine.

"We need to get out of here," Vyses remarked. His gaze skirted around them and his jaw clenched tight. "Quickly. I have a really bad feeling about this place."

Ravenna nodded. She reached up and grabbed the edge of her hood, pulling it over her head so that it concealed most of her face. Vyses reached out and grabbed her hand. He tugged her forward, through the trees, away from the castle that seemed to loom behind them. Lyth followed them, almost running to keep up with their hasty pace.

Vyses weaved through the trees, carefully watching for any sign of a guard that could catch them. The trees around them seemed to almost blur together. Ravenna kept her head down, her gaze focused on her feet.

It wasn't until Vyses released a frustrated grunt that she looked upward.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

He glared at something ahead of them. She followed his gaze, somewhat fearful that they'd been caught, and spotted the castle. It was still in front of them, somewhat concealed within the trees. The turrets appeared to poke through the leafy treetops, almost closer than they had before. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"I thought we were running away from the castle," she said.

Vyses sent her a sharp look. "We were."

She arched her eyebrow at him and jabbed a finger toward the castle. "Obviously, we aren't. We've gotten even closer to it. Here," she said, tugging on his hand. "This way."

She turned away from the castle and broke into a run. As she ran, she had to focus on maneuvering between the trees, taking great care to not run face-first into a trunk. When her lungs began to constrict, and the blurry trees around her didn't seem to be fading into buildings, she slowed to a stop. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. Her gaze flickered upward, toward the leafy treetops, and her heart stopped.

The thin towers of the castle stood tall, sprouted between the bushels of white leaves that clung to the trees in front of them. The castle was so close that Ravenna could see the individual stones that its walls were comprised of.

"This isn't right," she said with a scowl. "We purposefully ran away from it."

Vyses stared at the castle. "The only thing that could possibly explain this is magic –but it's unlike any magic I've encountered before."

"How do we escape?" Ravenna asked him.

Their gazes locked. A hint of panic swirled within his eyes. "I don't think we do," he whispered.

hey friends!

Things are slowly starting to calm down in my life. Which means that updates should hopefully start regularly again!! Also, for those of y'all that are following along with the Tapas version of this story, a new episode will be posted to Tapas this Thursday! 

Thank you again for all your patience and support!!!

ash ❤

PS. I started a store where I can sell various items with my designs on them (like t-shirts and phone cases and pillows and mugs, etc). Are there any quotes or anything from this book that you'd want to see on a t-shirt?