Part 8

It was impossible to see the stars, the night sky all but invisible beneath the towering trees of the forest. Zara was used to starless nights yet she couldn't help but feel the need to see some sliver of light. Something to chase away the lingering dark thoughts the reapers had pulled from the corners of her mind.

She and Ronan both went through the motions of making camp, hardly seeming to notice one another. A fire was built, a meager supper of dried meat shared, and then they both sat in silence, watching the flickering of the orange flames. Every now and then, Zara would suppress a shiver and look over her shoulder, expecting to see a reaper floating towards her out of the pitch black night.

It was terrifying to think of how easily both she and Ronan had been brought to their knees without a single touch. Zara had seen and faced many creatures during her time as a Red Cape, but had never experienced anything even remotely close to what had happened inside the remains of Maran.

She mentally shook herself, trying to expel the helplessness she'd felt while under control of the reapers. It'd been weakness, and to survive the forest, that was the last thing she needed.

Every now and then, she could feel Ronan's eyes on her from across the fire. She knew he wanted to ask her what she saw, to know what it was that had brought her to her knees. She also knew she would have been lying if she hadn't felt that same burning curiosity to know what he had seen.

Unlike him, though, she could control her curiosity.

"So now what? Here we are, in the dark forest, searching for a magical object that we have no idea where to find in order to find a princess who we also don't know where to find," Zara murmured bitterly. Out loud, their situation somehow sounded even bleaker.

Ronan let out a sigh, running a hand through his dark curls. "I'm not certain," he answered honestly. "I was betting everything on Maran."

"What about Shadowham or Wintercliff? It's possible for someone to have moved it and hidden it in the ruins of another kingdom where it was less likely to be stumbled upon," Zara suggested, although she knew she was pulling ideas out of nothing more than thin air. "Or perhaps your father made a mistake."

Ronan's eyes hardened, and had she been easily intimidated, Zara would have flinched. "He didn't make a mistake. He may not have been a reliable father, but he was a damn good treasure seeker."

Zara shrugged her shoulders, hoping he didn't expect her to apologize. Otherwise he would have been waiting for quite some time. "Fine...then I suggest we head towards either Shadowham or Wintercliff."

"Shadowham," Ronan said, although he sounded reluctant. "We'd have to find a way to cross the Crimson Rill in order to get to Wintercliff and I'd rather not."

A shiver went up her spine at the mention of the cursed river's name. The legend behind it was full of death and darkness. People still insisted it wasn't water, but blood. There were many different versions, but each one ended the same, with the warning that any who touched the water lost their minds. "No, me neither." She let out a sigh and laid back on the ground. "Maybe luck is on our side...although in a place like this I highly doubt luck exists. Wake me up when it's my turn to take over."

Ronan mumbled something under his breath, but Zara couldn't make out any of the actual words. She shut her eyes and tried to sleep, but all she saw was Gray and the dark blood that stained the claws of the wolf.

She fell asleep only to have nightmares. In her dreams, the wolf came after her instead. She felt searing pain as it dug its claws into her chest and ripped through ribbons of her flesh. She tried to cry out for help, but no sound came from her throat. Her sword hung at her side, but her limbs were too heavy. She was completely helpless. Above her, the wolf continued to wreck carnage on her very breakable and vulnerable body.

Behind him, Gray stood watching with a blank, emotionless expression. She pleaded for help with her eyes. Instead, he turned and disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly, the wolf was also gone. She lay alone in the moonlit clearing, dazed. Her breaths were long, but the pauses in-between were longer and only continued to grow. She was dying.

"Helpless and pathetic, aren't you?" A cool voice whispered.

A man appeared in front of her and knelt at her side. He studied her with his bright, blue eyes, the dark hair on his chest startling against the white of his skin. "Don't worry. I'm a generous, sympathetic man. Let's put you out of your misery, eh?" He grinned a wolfish grin and raised his hand only instead of fingernails, claws glinted at the ends of his slender fingers.

The razor like claws dug into her chest.

Zara woke with a start, covered in a clammy, cold sweat. Ronan was at her side, forehead furrowed with worry. She felt a ripple of embarrassment and shrugged away from his touch as he reached out to brush her hair out of her eyes.

"Don't," she snapped.

He retracted his hand, but his expression remained the same. If he was hurt by her rejection, it didn't show. "Nightmare?" he asked. "An awful bad one judging from the way you were whimpering and rolling around."

"It was nothing, I'm fine," she drew in a deep breath and let it out through pursed lips, unable to get the man's ice cold stare out of her head. She had never seen him before, but the name Ardon swam through her head. It made no sense. She had never met, nor even seen the leader of the wolves. She had no idea what he looked like, in his human form or his wolf form. But her senses prickled. It had been him. She shivered again. The forest was already playing with her mind.

"I can keep watch a little while longer if you need me too," Ronan offered. Zara had almost forgotten he was still crouched on the ground next to her. His green eyes implored her, kind and honest unlike the malicious blue gaze of the man in her dreams.

She stood, her heartbeat almost normal again. "No, that's not necessary. It was just a dream." Only a dream.

Ronan scrutinized her, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he believed her. She stared back calmly, willing her mixed up emotions to settle. He finally shook his head and sighed.

"Fine. I'll get some sleep then."

She nodded and waited until he had lied onto his sleeping mat and turned his back on her before stamping out the remaining embers of the fire and lighting the thieves' wick instead. She was bathed in a warm, yellow glow. Outside their camp, the night was alive with sounds. It had never bothered her before, to know what might be out there hiding under the cover of darkness. Now, though, she couldn't help but feel as if something menacing waited.

#

The compass was no longer of any use at all. Zara had watched with mild amusement as Ronan cursed under his breath and toyed with it for a few minutes, before stuffing into the bottom of his pack.

"What?" he had asked, arching an eyebrow as he caught her staring.

She shook her head. "Nothing, just enjoying watching your little fit."

He rolled his eyes. "I bet you are."

There was no talk of the nightmare, and by morning's first light, Zara had expected the memory of it to be nothing more than a fuzzy haze. If anything though, the realness of it only seemed more vivid. She pushed it to the back of her mind, focusing instead on trying to lead them in the direction of Shadowham. She'd never been there and the one map she'd brought with had been created decades before, when there had been actual roads and paths that wound through the forest and led travelers from one city to the next. Still, with the solid knowledge of where Maran was, she was able to find what seemed like the right direction.

They trudged on through most of the early morning and afternoon. The sun even managed to peek through several spots of the trees, a pleasant warmth on her skin. Especially after the coldness of the reapers in Maran. As they continued, though, the air around them began to feel warmer and warmer until it was if they had stepped right into a stone oven.

Her clothing clung to her back and at some point, she had to remove her red cape. In less than an hour, she was fighting the urge to free herself of even more of her clothing. Their footsteps became less sure and after a while, Zara realized she had no idea how much time had passed or if they were even headed in the right direction anymore. Everything looked so similar. For all she knew, they could've spent the past couple of hours walking in a giant circle.

She came to a halt and dropped to the ground, pushing her damp hair out of her eyes.

Ronan wiped sweat from his brow, pausing to lean against a nearby tree. "One sip of water and then we keep going. Sun has to set eventually."

Zara nodded, too hot to even consider using the extra energy to open her mouth and speak words at him. She sluggishly opened up her pack and lifted out the canteen. It felt much lighter than she remembered it being. Frowning, Zara turned it upside down and shook it. The hollow emptiness sent her reeling into a panic.

She stood and snatched Ronan's out of his hand and shook it, only to realize his was also empty. His eyes widened as he met her bewildered expression.

"This doesn't make any sense," she murmured, stumbling backwards against the thick tree trunk. "They were full when we left and I don't remember drinking that much."

Ronan shook his head. "We didn't, there's no way."

Her head swam and she swore she could see tendrils of steam actually rising from the ground. A calm, coherent voice in the back of her mind warned her something was wrong. That they needed to get as far away from where they were as possible. A different voice, though, suddenly rang through her mind. It was soft and lilting, like velvet as it caressed her paranoia until it stilled and disappeared. They didn't know where they were really going anyways. What was the rush?

"We should find some water," she heard herself say, glancing up at Ronan.

Despite the heated flush of his skin, he looked strangely serene as he nodded. "Water."

Zara shouldered her pack once more and they began stumbling through the forest. Her feet seemed to lead her in a direction different than the one they'd been heading in and she followed them willingly. The heat of the forest wrapped around her and cocooned her in a thick blanket until she felt a lazy sleepiness overtaking her. Her body slowed and lulled to a stop and Ronan pressed a gentle hand against the small of her back and she grumbled before moving again.

There was a strange glow coming from an opening in the trees ahead of them. Zara followed after it, like a drunken moth to an open flame. She suddenly heard that same strange, inviting voice beckoning to her. She didn't realize it was outside her head until Ronan glanced over at her.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

Zara nodded and hummed her agreement.

Ronan pushed himself ahead of her, beckoning her to follow him with a nod of his head. The urge to argue that he had no clue where he was going was born and died quickly. Why argue? He knew what he was doing, she assured herself. Besides he was handsome. So handsome. You could always trust a handsome man to know what he was doing, right? Zara suppressed a giggle and a small part of her was instantly appalled. She was quickly distracted, though, as everything around her swam in vivid colors. Leaves danced on the branches of the trees and she felt suddenly as if she were in a dream. The heat felt like a minor inconvenience now, nothing more to worry about than a particular persistent fly that just wouldn't go away.

She happily followed after him as he trampled through the brush, easily stepping onto a log and dropping down onto the other side. He turned and graciously offered his hand. She grabbed onto it, enjoying the warmth of his palm in hers much more than she would've thought, and let him help her climb over the log. He smiled at her and she blushed, ducking her head. What was wrong with her? Surely something was wrong, yet what was it? What...was....it? Not important, she decided.

She realized they were standing in the middle of a circular clearing. A perfect, round circle. The light of the sun cast a yellow glow and Zara closed her eyes as she savored the warmth. They'd been in shadows, in darkness, for so long. Hours, years, decades surely.

"What is that?" Ronan asked curiously.

Zara opened her eyes and followed his gaze, tilting her head softly to one side

"Strange," she murmured.

In the center of the clearing was a small pool of water. Chrystal clear and shimmering in the sunlight. Just looking at it made her throat feel dry, as if she had swallowed sand.

The voice came again. "Closer."

"Do you still hear it?" Ronan whispered, glancing towards her.

Zara nodded. "I hear it."

"Come. Drink. Do not be afraid."

She took a tentative step forward. She swore she could taste the water already. Cool and sweet. It would be the perfect ending to a long day of traveling. She took another step. The warmth would disappear and she would feel so deliciously cool if she could just get into the water.

"I feel as if there's something I'm forgetting," Ronan said loudly. Zara paused and looked over at him, where he stood frowning, eyes turned towards the sky. She thought she could also feel it, a far away thought burrowing to the surface of her mind. The beautiful, singsongy voice spoke again though, and the thought was lost.

"Just a few steps more, beauty. That's it. Sit down, lean closer."

Zara obeyed the voice, dropping to her knees and leaning over the mirror like surface of the small pool. She could see nothing but darkness beneath the reflections at the surface. A deep, hypnotizing darkness...what was at the bottom? She leaned even further over the pool, hoping to get a closer look. As she bent her head, her fingers found their way to the water's edge and tested the coolness.

Zara smiled lazily. What did it matter what was at the bottom anyways? Her conscious abruptly tugged at her again and she hesitated, pulling her hand from the water. Ronan was next to her, kneeling at the edge of the pool. Her forehead quilted together as she glanced at him, but his eyes were glued on the clear water.

"Ronan," she murmured, and she too felt as if she had forgotten something very important.

"Here, your canteen," he answered, helping her tug off her pack.

She opened it and the red fabric of the cape peeked out at her as a warning. She felt a suddenly rush of realization and was ripped from the fog. It was a trick. Her hand went to the hilt of her blade a second too late.

Something wrapped itself tightly around her wrist and she was pulled into the pool and dragged beneath the surface. Water stung her nose, and the breath was stolen from her lungs. She kicked and thrashed, barely making out the glow of the sun coming from the top of the pool. The harder she kicked, the harder it became to concentrate. Her head felt as if it was filled with lead, her lungs screaming and burning for air. Her was beating franticly. She was going to drown, she was going to die and Ronan would be next. How could they have both been so foolish?

Another tug and she was pulled deeper still. Desperately clawing for the surface, she felt herself roughly grabbed by the forearms and just as the edges of darkness were begin to creep in upon her vision, she was pulled onto the shore.

Her lungs gasped for air, greedily sucking in a breath. She coughed and sputtered water before realizing Ronan was in the midst of a struggle. She fumbled for her blade and pulled it from the sheath, slipping on the wet grass towards him where he was in a wrestling match with a creature with gray, glistening skin and a deep blue, scaly fin where there should have been legs.

Ronan had the creature's wrists in his large hands, but it was viscously snapping its jaws at him, trying to get a bite. Zara pressed her boot to its throat and pointed the tip of her sword right where its heart should've been, assuming it had one. The monster stilled, glaring at her from two black slits.

"Siren," she spat.

She had only seen one other siren in her life and it had been decidedly dead, having been captured and slaughtered by red capes after it had murdered almost a dozen victims. This one was very much alive. The top half resembled a woman, though its features contained more than a few inhuman qualities. Its eyes were black and lifeless, reminding her of a doll's. Gray skin stretched across hollowed cheekbones and a pointed nose. The mouth and lips would've have appeared normal, if not for the rows of sharp, jagged teeth inside.

"Release me, human. Or I will make you pay," it answered. Gone was the voice smooth as honey, and instead replaced with a raspy, grating voice that reminded her of claws on stone.

"From this vantage point, it appears that would be very, very difficult for you," Ronan said.

"You will do exactly as I say." Zara threatened, pressing the tip just a little further into the siren's skin so black blood appeared.

The siren cackled and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "Or what? Stupid, helpless humans. How easily I lured you here...how helpless you were as you thrashed clumsily in the water," it mused. "I would've liked very much to taste you. You have a righteousness in you I'd love to see fade from your eyes as I break your bones one by one."

Her black, unblinking eyes slid to Ronan and her lips peeled back into a menacing smile. "And you, handsome. My, my what a treat you are. I bet she was just pining to get her hands all over-"

"Enough!" Zara snapped, refusing to meet Ronan's eyes. She remembered the vague feeling of want she'd felt towards him while under the siren's spell. But it had been a spell and nothing more. "You'll tell us what we need to know or I will slit your wrists and leave you to die a slow, agonizing death. It will only be a matter of what will kill you first...blood loss or the sun."

Already the creature's skin had started to dry and crackle. Its eyes snapped back to Zara, less amused and more angry. It struggled for a moment, but Ronan's grip was too strong and the longer it was on land, the weaker it became. "What could I possibly tell you, human?"

"Where is the Finder's Glass? We know it's somewhere in this forest and you will do well to tell us," Zara said, her calm voice filled with threats she was more than happy to make real.

A conflicted expression crossed the siren's face. It wanted to kill her. Pull her to the deep, murky depths of its pool until her last breath escaped her in a torrent of bubbles and she was still. Zara knew from experience, though, that self-preservation would win in the end. It almost always did.

"I only know what the whispers of the forest tells me, and not all rumors are true," the siren finally began, head falling back against the ground in defeat. "It was stolen from Maran and hidden away in Wintercliff. It is said to be guarded there by a banshee."

"A banshee," Ronan muttered. "Wonderful."

The siren smiled the same eerie grin once more. "I could save you the trouble, handsome, and kill you here and now. It would be much less painful than what a banshee could do to that soft skin."

"Tempting, but no thank you. I'll take my chances elsewhere," he said in a dry voice.

Zara removed her foot from the base of the siren's neck, keeping her blade pointed. "You will let us leave this place unharmed, or so help me I'll come back here and watch you crumble in the sun."

The creature's eyes flashed, but she remained silent. Zara slowly removed her sword, but kept it unsheathed. Eyes still on the creature she lifted her pack and a corner of the cloak spilled out.

"Red Cape!" the siren hissed and lunged towards Zara. Ronan's grip held tight, though, as Zara thrust her sword directly at the creature's throat once more.

Crevices had begun forming in its drying skin, lips chapped and movements jilted and clumsy. "You think that cape will protect you here? It's nothing more than a target on your back. A death sentence. Red Capes are not welcome in this part of the dark forest, no."

Zara ignored the fury the siren's words ignited, nodding at Ronan to release its wrists. He stepped back a foot immediately as Zara lowered her sword a final time. The siren began to slowly inch its way back towards its pool.

By the time they had left the clearing, Zara could hear the splash of the siren re-entering the water.

"You'll never leave this place."

Zara jerked her head towards Ronan, wondering if she'd only head the voice in her head. She knew from the worried look in his eyes, though, that he'd heard the warning too.