Chapter 166
Stepping into the woods, Ru made her way through the tangle of trees so close together it was impossible for them to step through three abreast and the other two girls often had to leave her side for a few moments as they advanced. Though she’d spent enough time recently walking through thick woods, this place was different. It was green and alive, much more so than the woods around Reaper’s Hollow. What was even more different was the silence. It filled Ru’s ears as loudly as any cacophony she’d ever heard before, much louder than the sounds of battle they’d heard before entering. Even when she saw flashes of blue in the distance, or streams of black smoke in response, there was no noise whatsoever, save the sound of five pairs of booted feet on the ground. Ru could imagine how a person could end up here and feel so all alone that he or she decided to end it all under certain circumstances.
The ground itself was harder than solid rock beneath the top layer of discarded leaves and needles from the trees. The canopy above them was lush and green, streams of sunlight still managing to wind through enough to illuminate the path to some degree. It certainly wasn’t painted in shades of black and gray like the last forest she wandered through, nor was it dead and abandoned like Kayakoy. It was as if the forest itself was alive and it wanted to swallow all of them whole.
Despite the fact that she wasn’t in the front, Ru was leading them, drawn by the pull of the portal. She’d felt it immediately, as soon as she stepped between the first closely sited trees on the outskirts of the forest. And with each step, she knew she drew nearer and nearer. However, the pull was from the darkness inside of her, not the light. It was as if the portal was beckoning her home. Not only was it causing her stomach to ache, as they approached, the powers inside of her began to undulate, begging to be released, and Ru knew it would be just a matter of time before she had to do something to gratify the hunger, the burning deep within her soul.
Ru wiped her hand across her forehead. It wasn’t particularly hot, but the circumstances had caused beads of sweat to spring up all along her hairline and her upper lip. With one hand on her stomach, she carried on, longing to get the task completed as quickly as possible.
Cutter glanced over his shoulder, as he did every few moments. Ru assumed it was not only to make sure he was headed where she knew she needed to go but also to check on her. She offered him a weak smile, but he stopped, “Ru? Are you okay? Why don’t we stop for a moment?” The last part wasn’t really a question as he came to a halt in front of her, blocking her path.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, pulling a water bottle from the backpack she carried and leaning against the trunks of one of the trees. There wasn’t much else in it—some food, a map, her phone, and a flare. She didn’t think she’d need anything else other than the water, but they all had on similar packs, just in case. Ivy had also insisted they bring a pop-up tent and a couple of solar blankets, which Rider was carrying since he was the strongest. There was no way in Hell Ru was spending the night in this forest, not conscious anyway.
“Take your time, Ru,” Lyric insisted. “Sky’s winning. I can feel it.”
Ru could feel it, too, to a degree. While she could sense both sides as easily as the other, the force of white light inside of her seemed to be closer, stronger, while the darkness was fading. She was hopeful this meant she would be able to sneak in and get her job done while the Keeper forces were winning the field. But Lyric was right; if they didn’t slow down a little bit, she wouldn’t make it there without having to discharge the built-up negative energy within her, something she knew she couldn’t do without alerting others of their location.
“Where’s the perimeter?” Rider asked. “Can anyone feel it?”
“I don’t think it’s too far ahead of us,” Ivy replied. She was gazing off in the distance, her pretty face solemn, as if she was concentrating. “I feel Keepers of the Earth just ahead.”
“Good.” Cutter stood with his hands on his hips, perspiration beading on his forehead as well, though Ru didn’t think it could be as prevalent as what she was feeling drip down the sides of her face now. She rubbed her water bottle across her forehead. “As soon as we get through our own first line, at least we’ll know nothing will be coming for us from behind.”
He had a point, and Ru turned to look over her shoulder. She didn’t feel anything there, but she decided it was time to move. “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” Cutter asked. “We’ve got time.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Ru nodded, and he took a deep breath and turned back around. She gave him a gentle shove in the correct direction and he headed off, Ru right behind him, as they walked on in complete silence.
It seemed like about twenty minutes passed before Ru saw something up ahead of them. Even though the trees were dense and it was darker near the center of the forest, the feathery white outlines of wings ahead of her was an indicator they’d almost reached the perimeter. The balance of power inside of her was still an ongoing battle, but she could sense the light in front of her and spurred Cutter on with another gentle nudge.
Out of nowhere, a tall woman dressed in dark green stepped out of the trees, blocking Cutter’s path. Her hair was white, and her eyes were blue. He hesitated for only a second. “God, you scared the crap out of me,” Cutter mumbled.
“Sorry,” she replied. “It’s hard to see anything in here.”
“Well, yeah, when you’re standing behind a damn tree.” Rider was clearly just as startled as Cutter.
Ignoring his remark, she pointed behind her. “I’ll escort you through the perimeter, Alfred.”
“Thanks.” Cutter spoke for all of them, and Ru was just thankful her actions hadn’t gotten her a blue lightning bolt to the head. “How are we doing?”
“Well,” the woman replied, leading on without turning to respond. “Our forces have successfully driven the enemy to the edge of the forest on the remaining three sides. We’ve taken or destroyed at least half of their forces with minimal casualties ourselves.” Her voice sounded confident, even cheerful, but Ru didn’t share the sentient. Something was wrong.
“Were they outnumbered when the battle began?” she asked, stepping up next to Cutter when she could get through the trees beside him and then passing him so that she was almost even with the woman.
“Greatly,” she replied. “It seems they either underestimated us, or this portal isn’t as important to them as we thought.”
Ru turned to look at Cutter and could see her concern mirrored in his face. Turning back to their guide, she asked, “Once we get to the portal, how far away from the perimeter will we be?”
She seemed to consider the question. “About a half a mile.”
“That’s too far,” Ru said immediately. “We need to bring the guard in with us as we go. There’s no reason to hold the perimeter this far off once we are beyond it.”
“Sky has placed us,” came the reply, blue eyes looking at her sharply before the woman turned around and continued to walk again.
“No, don’t you understand,” Ru said, pulling on her arm. She turned and looked at Ru and then shoved her hand off of her arm. “That’s what they want. They want us to back off.”
“We have our orders.” They were at the line now, and several other Keepers and a few angels stepped toward the disagreeing pair.
“Who’s in charge here?” Ru asked, looking at the others.
“I am.” The Keeper who stepped up looked familiar, and she heard Rider say a word behind her that even he seldom let slip. He had a jagged scar down the side of his face, but Ru was having trouble placing him.
“Great,” Ru said, smiling, though she knew it probably looked as fake as it felt. “We need the perimeter to tighten up behind us as we go. Otherwise, we’re going to have big problems once we reach the portal.”
“No can do,” he replied, crossing his arms across his wide chest. “I have my orders directly from Sky. You pass through, and we maintain our position.”
“Listen, Flint,” Cutter said, stepping back around her. “I don’t think what Ru is asking is unreasonable. I’m sure if Sky were here, she’d understand that.”
Flint. Ru remembered him from Holy Island. The only Keeper besides Sky who’d opened his mouth.
“Listen, Cutter,” Flint said, mimicking the other Keeper’s tone, though Ru could hear more animosity, “I’m in charge here. And I’m going to do what I was told.”