The Raven's Chronicles. Rage of the Wraith

Chapter 34. The Traitor

The night was moonless. The gloom pressed on them from all sides, heavy, choking and cold. Ravin and Jules rode at the front of the column of horses that ploughed through the woods. The boy held a torch above his head, and the other riders followed its reddish glow. But still, the light could wrestle only a small piece of the darkness at once. It slid along the twisted branches, not able to settle in one place for longer than an eye blink. And every spot it left behind was immediately claimed back by the night.

Jules squirmed on the horse's back, waving his legs and looking around with desperation. As they reached the Moaning Hills, the forest started to whisper. Shadows darker than the night itself bled from the trees. Many dead eyes watched the riders. The horses neighed, terrified.

"For all the gods' sake, hurry!" Lord Kedmon rode right behind the hunter, his white mare about to hit on Opal's rear.

"We won't help Michael if we break our necks," Ravin jerked out into the black void before him. The careful look of his eyes was fixed on the narrow path. "We'll save your son. If the wraith wanted just to kill him, she wouldn't have kidnapped him."

"What do you mean?" Jules' fingers tightened at the material of Ravin's cloak, "Is she luring us into a trap?"

"Probably," the hunter whispered.

A throaty roar broke the night's silence. Some horses behind them whinnied in terror. Jules didn't react to it, as his own heart was clenched with fear.

"It's like she wanted to be found," Ravin said under his breath, "Maybe she thinks it will be easier to kill us if she lures us inside a cave. Or is it Melissa's conscience that is attracted to the place where she died?"

His apprentice didn't answer. He felt a chilly gust on his neck and Opal suddenly halted. Jules looked out from behind Ravin's shoulder and saw Rosalie blocking their way.

"Here!" she disappeared and reappeared in the darkness leftwards, "Quickly!"

"There!" Jules jumped from Opal's back and ran after her without a second thought. He tripped on a protruding root and would have fallen on the ground if Ravin hadn't caught his elbow to steady him.

"Keep close," the man reminded and turned around to look at the guards following them, "Hurry up!"

They marched up the hill as fast as they could, extending their hands to young trees, grasping their branches, seeking support on rocks and roots, while the soil slid from under their feet.

Rosalie kept disappearing and reappearing between the trunks, leading him, bleak and silent. Her misty body didn't have enough time to form before it diffused again. She appeared to be a foggy cloud with only an outline of a human figure and face - it was a miracle that she managed to appear outside the castle. Her desire to protect her brother must have worked similarly to the pendant had helped her out of the castle before. Jules barely sensed her; his Sixth Sense was overwhelmed with the wraith's nearby presence, a cauldron of anger, hatred and the thirst of blood.

And then a stony wall grew up in front of them, with a wide hollow between two heavy rocks. It wasn't the grotto where Melissa had died, but Jules guessed it was near. What was strange, he didn't perceive the shadows anymore; maybe the wraith scared off all other supernatural beings.

"Here!" Rosalie appeared at the cavern's mouth, "Michael's in there!"

"Remember what I told you," Ravin turned to the men gathered around him. "Don't kill the monster. Your job is only to weaken it, so I can finish it off."

Lord Kedmon unsheathed his sword and stepped into the darkness without hesitance. Captain Rogre turned towards Ravin, who got the torch from his apprentice and handed it over to him. The man motioned at his men. Sir Lensters led the warriors inside.