Navigating the forest felt like something out of a nightmare. The path twisted and turned through the trees, often lost among the roots that snaked out from their trunks and crawled through the grass. When the path temporarily disappeared, Sophie panicked and frantically searched for it, only to find that it continued a few feet away. She had to pick her way over roots and growth, running into the trunks of large trees multiple times while she watched her feet. Grass and twigs crunched beneath her sandals, and the sound echoed through the forest. Once or twice, an owl hooted somewhere in the distant darkness, but the other animals, if there were any near her, remained silent.
Progress was slow. The lamp only illuminated a small circle around her. Her vision into the forest was obscured by low-hanging branches that grasped at the edges of her cloak, forcing her to free herself before continuing. The footing on the path was dubious at best, and Sophie had to be careful where she stepped.
Occasionally, something would move somewhere in the trees, making the bushes sway in their wake. Sophie would search for the source of the movement, but darkness met her wherever she looked, and what little she might have distinguished was ruined by the brilliance of her lamp.
It was difficult to keep herself from speeding along the path as fast as she could. As far as she could tell, there weren’t any animals around, but all the same, she’d felt eyes on her as soon as she passed beneath the archway. It could be that her mind was playing tricks on her, but her instincts were screaming that she wasn’t imagining it. There was something out there, following her movements.
Sophie lost track of time in the darkness of the forest. The sky wasn’t visible from where she was, and it felt like she’d been walking for hours. Her stomach growled in hunger, and her legs increasingly felt as if they were made of stone, each step harder to take than the last. Sophie yawned and rubbed her eyes but forced herself to continue. She didn’t dare stop. The thought of sleeping in the forest, alone and vulnerable to whatever had been following her, scared her enough to continue putting one foot in front of the other.
The trail finally forked at a thick trunked tree, and Sophie took the left path as Zephan instructed. She glanced down the other way, but it twisted into the brush and vanished.
She was so intent on her walking that she didn’t notice the path had begun to widen. She blinked heavily, and her eyes stayed closed. One foot tripped over the other, and she stumbled to one side, immediately awakening from her daze as gravity sought to pull her down. Sophie threw out her hands, catching herself on the trunk of a tree and nearly dropping her lamp, then shook her head to try to clear her senses. With a soft groan, she looked around blearily and only then realized that the entire forest around her had changed.
The canopy of leaves that had been impenetrable above her head before was not as thick as it had been, and blue-white patches of moonlight filtered through the trees. The branches curved overhead in a uniformity that was hard to believe came naturally. The tree trunks were so tightly woven together that it would have been difficult to slip between them. The result was that the rocky trail through the forest floor had become a tunnel, partially illuminated by moonlight.
Sophie looked over her shoulder. The tunnel continued behind her and as far back as she could see. When had it started?
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and whipped around. Holding up the lamp, she searched between the trees and squinted into the darkness beyond her little tunnel. “H-hello?” she called, voice high and cracking. “Is someone there?”
Silence answered her. A slight breeze ruffled the leaves above her before it lightly caressed her face, the first she had felt since entering the forest. Sophie waited for a few moments, then tentatively took another step down the path.
A low, feminine voice echoed through the tunnel, making it difficult to pinpoint the source. “You are a long way from home, wizard.”
Sophie jumped and dropped the lamp, startled. It bounced once on its side and rolled away from her, the light distorting the shadows around her. Her eyes darted down the path and between the trees, looking for the source of the voice, but was met by more darkness. She raised her hands instinctively, her mind screaming at her to cast a shielding spell as she turned in a slow circle.
“Who are you?” Sophie called out, taking a step toward the fallen lamp while her eyes continued to search the forest.
A musical laugh flowed through Sophie and made her shiver. “What is it you seek, little one?” the voice asked, ignoring Sophie’s question.
Sophie put all the will power she could muster into lowering her hands calmly and slowly. If whoever this was meant her harm, it would have been easier to attack her while she was falling asleep on her feet, not after she was alerted to their presence. She knelt and picked up the lamp, once more trying in vain to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.
Sophie stood up straight and tried to project confidence. When she spoke, her voice was surprisingly steady. “I seek the aid of one who is called Vyraeli.”
The forest seemed to sigh with her answer, a swirling breeze blowing loose strands of her hair.
“Why do you seek Vyraeli?”
“I was told that she could help me,” Sophie said, then added in a pleading tone, “Please, I need to speak with her. She is the only chance I have.”
The breeze died abruptly, and the whole forest seemed to hold its breath. Sophie continued to scan the trees, looking for any sign of movement. After what seemed like an eternity, the air moved again, and there was a rustling of leaves to her right. Sophie jumped back and watched in amazement as, with the deafening crunch of a thousand snapping branches, the wood bent and parted, making a new passageway through the trees.
A tall, lithe Anai woman stepped out onto the path, dressed in dyed cloth and leather. Sophie would have placed her as middle-aged if she were human, but with graceful features that no human could ever possess. Green and orange leaves were tangled in her long, dark hair. In the lamplight, her bronze cheekbones seemed unnaturally high, and Sophie could make out the tips of the telltale pointed ears peeking out from beneath her hair. The woman carried a staff of cream-colored wood twisted into the shape of an owl at its tip.
With a wave of the woman’s hand, the pathway closed, tree trunks settling back into their regular positions, another roaring series of creaks in the otherwise still forest. Sophie reached out with her senses, feeling the Anaiian magic wash over her. It was so different from her own, more wild and primal. The butt of the woman’s staff hit the ground sharply as the magic from her working faded.
“Then speak, traveler.”
Sophie felt muscles that she didn’t even know she was tensing relax. The woman’s voice was the same that had echoed through the passage. This Anai, while still intimidating, wasn’t as imposing as the disembodied voice had been. Taking a deep breath, she bowed politely and asked, “Are you Vyraeli?”
The Anai nodded once, and Sophie continued.
“My name is Sophie. A friend of mine arranged for my passage outside of Zo’rahn and instructed me to seek you out here.”
The Anai woman watched Sophie, her gaze intense. Her eyes flicked down her clothes, then back up to her face, expression foreign and unreadable. Sophie felt her cheeks warm. Being on the road for the past few days left her clothing tattered and dirty. It didn’t make for a good first impression.
Vyraeli continued to watch her as Sophie fought the urge to fidget. She forced herself to look into those cold, dark eyes that were inspecting every inch of her.
Finally, the Anai broke the silence. “You’re younger than I expected. Tell me, are you strong, wizard?”
The question caught Sophie off guard. Strong? What did she mean? Was she speaking of physical strength, or did she want to know how good she was at magic? “Um,” Sophie began, unsure of how to answer. “I know a fair bit of magic, but I’m still technically an apprentice.”
Vyraeli began to pace around her, moving like a cat stalking its prey. “How old are you, girl?”
“Eighteen,” she answered, standing still as the Anai paced around her, trying to think non-threatening thoughts.
The Anai completed her circle and reached out a hand. Sophie barely stopped herself from moving away as Vyraeli gently took a strand of red hair between her fingers and examined it. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself and let the hair fall back into place. “Your friend has some very interesting contacts. Why would a wizard want to leave Zo’rahn? You’re practically royalty here.” She tapped a finger to her lips as her eyes flicked over Sophie again. “Tell me, what are you running from?”
Sophie swallowed. She had just met this person. There was no way that she could tell her why she was running from the Vizier. What she knew could be dangerous, and the fewer people she told, the better. “I…” Vyraeli was watching her closely. She couldn’t outright lie, but she didn’t have to tell her everything.
“What wizards do here… I don’t want to be a part of it anymore. My master doesn’t care about anyone other than himself and the family.” She averted her gaze from the older woman’s. “I want to be free, and this is the only way,” she finished, feeling that she had not done a very convincing job.
Vyraeli stared critically at her for a few long moments, then sighed. Sophie could tell that the woman suspected there was more, but she didn’t push. Vyraeli’s expression softened.
“You’re in a terrible state, child. A hot bath and some food would do you a world of good.” Sophie thought she saw the barest hint of a smile before the Anai turned her back on her. She started walking down the path and beckoned for Sophie to follow. The Anai looked over her shoulder, eyes gleaming in a patch of moonlight.
“You don’t need that,” she said, indicating the lamp. “There is more than enough light to make our way through the trees.”
Sophie doubted that she would be able to navigate in the dark but was hesitant to contradict her new host. She switched off the lamp and stowed it back in her bag. Vyraeli nodded and continued walking.
It took a few minutes for Sophie’s eyes to adjust to the darkness, but it was easy enough to follow Vyraeli as she passed through stray beams of moonlight. Without her lamp to blind her to what was beyond its light, the forest was a completely different place. Small animals and reptiles skittered across the moss-covered forest floor. The pale tendrils of moonlight filtering through the canopy were just enough for her to see where she was placing her feet.
Every so often, she caught a glimpse of something moving in the trees from the corner of her eye, a quick shadow that was gone when she looked for it, the gleam of moonlight on metal that disappeared within the trees.
With a shiver, she realized that this path was perfect for an ambush. Arrows could be shot from behind those trees into the narrow tunnel, and the shooters could fade back into the forest. No wonder no one had ever found where the Anai of this forest lived. Then again, someone like Vyraeli could manipulate the shape of the trees to lead travelers in circles so that they might never find their way out.
With a chill, she stared straight ahead, walking quickly to keep up with the Anai, unable to shake the image of a target between her shoulder blades.
Vyraeli glanced back and smiled at the expression on Sophie’s face. “Don’t worry,” she said warmly. “No harm will come to you. You are my guest now.”