Her eyes slowly fluttered open. Ray found herself standing in the middle of a vast forest of trees. Despite their familiarity, it was several minutes before she recognized where she was. She glanced right and left in anticipation but her mind was blank, her eyes like a doe. She could feel an eerie stare boring into her back. She held her hands curled near her chest and quickly realized she was without a bow. What alarmed her though was the pure silence rattling in her ears.
"H-hello?" she called out, surprised to hear her own voice echo through the maze of trunks and branches. She placed a hand over her mouth looking around. She felt nauseous and sick.
A sudden high pitch sound rang through the trees followed by a streaming melody of minor tone's, all sounding like a pan flute.
Ray perked, whirling around in search of the noise. She wondered where it came from. Curiosity clenched her mind and she began to propel forward slowly. Her hand brushed the bark of a tree as she navigated through the forest. The forest seemed endless with no end or horizon, just more trees. The sound resounded through the forest sending chills up her spine with its deadly harmony.
Not too far ahead a shadow, black as midnight loomed through the tall trees, its silhouette mystifying and disfigured.
She stopped in her place watching it from afar. It moved through the forest like a liquid mass. She inched ever so closer, being wary of the sticks on the ground. She just wanted to know what it was. Her foot just missed a twig and she blinked. The shadow vanished and reappeared in blurs.
Was she dreaming?
The shadow cracked, a crippling sound darting through the forest, echoing like a cave.
Ray held her breath as the mass stopped. Its image jerked and contorted, standing like a cloaked figure with wisps of shadow orbiting it in the form of ravens. Ray froze as it turned and looked at her with rapturous, purple eyes lacking pupils. The mass shadow moved right through the trees like they were nonexistent. Ray attempted to move her feet but they were stuck like they were buried in quicksand. She scrambled, shrieking at the absence of her bow. She could only stare petrified in the void like countenance of shadow. A newly formed mouth opened agape, strands of purple lightning sporadically shooting from its jowls.
Ray wanted to yell but she did not dare make a single sound at the sight of the creature. Her head was spinning and her limbs went cold. Sobbing breached her mouth and she shuddered like a child shaking their doll. The shadow reflected in her eyes like liquid and she became entranced by the indistinct creature. Her mind couldn't grasp that her surroundings were contrasting with alarming, vibrant colors of red and black that washed together like streams of water.
Her joints felt weak. Tiny golden wisps of fire surged from her eyes, mouth, and nostrils, the creature itself gaining substance from her weakening frame. She fell limp toward the ground, her senses fading along with her spirit. A thud resounded as her body hit the floor of the forest.
Footsteps that embarked through the vibrant leaves after the shrill cry of the monster pierced the air. Ray's eyes were only able to see the mere outline of her rescuer before her vision turned black.
Ray woke with a jolt, her ridden body sore and unmoving. Her breathing quickened for a moment as the world around her came into focus. She didn't know where she was. Light poured in from a nearby window, soft and white against her tired features. She had been tied up with hemp rope bindings and left to lie in the middle of a bedroom. The rug beneath her was worn and ridged and served no comfortable laying spot. She rolled over taking in the room in a daze till her eyes fell on the bed. A figure lay there bound at the wrists and feet with their back towards her. Examining the figure closer, she would recognize the brown mop of hair on his head anywhere.
"Jex," she could barely whisper, then cried louder, tears springing to her eyes. "Jex, oh thank gods…" With much effort she managed to sit up. With her feet bound as well it took a series of movements to move across the ground to the bed where Jex lay. She hoisted herself up onto the bed though her movements did not stir Jex's sleeping frame. Ray used her shoulder to turn the boy towards her only to let out a loud gasp as tears began to fall in streams down her cheeks.
Fresh scarring had etched its way into his skin and most of his upper left face was swollen, red, and smeared with blood. He would be able to open his eyes but with great effort. Shallow breaths streamed from his parted lips and the rest of his skin appeared dangerously pale.
"Oh Jex, what did they do to you," she whispered and leaned forward placing her forehead to his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have listened to you, we would not be in this mess."
It was then the door swung open and two men tossed in another figure with his head covered by a potato sack and his shirt missing. He hit the ground with a loud thud and a pained groan escaped his lips.
Ray instantly shot up from her spot and watched the door slam shut and heard it lock from the outside. She stared down at the man recognizing him immediately.
"Nimer," she gasped, sliding off the bed and leaning down, taking a hold of the potato sack in her mouth and pulling it off. There appeared to be blue and purple swells and lashes littered about his pale skin. He just barely opened his eyes as he stared ahead in a daze.
"They couldn't get it out of me…" he muttered in a hoarse whisper.
"Get what? Nimer, what is going on?" Ray pleaded.
Nimer glanced up to her. "The location of my shards and the way to the kingdom. They are after both…" A guttural cough breached his throat and his eyes slid closed once more. "They are trying to find the Darkwell heir…"
"The Darkwell heir?" Ray questioned. She shuffled around to try and unbind him only to be met with a surprise. She could see it clearly, Nimer had not been bound by rope but with chains embedded with a blue gemstone. Her eyes narrowed also on the man's skin, squinting as she looked closer at his arms. She could now see the light masses of animal-like stripes tainting his skin on his arms and chest beneath the beatings.
"Your skin…what are those markings?" she asked.
"I can't tell you right now Ray…for your safety and his," Nimer said, nodding toward Jex. "For now, we have to stay strong."
There was something going on, but she wouldn't pry further if it meant putting Jex in more danger. She sighed. "Nimer, how will we get out of this?" she urged. Nimer had gotten them out of trouble this far. She had no choice but to trust him further.
"Answers will come...for now, let me rest...," His voice faded with his consciousness and he fell to the ground with a heavy thump.
The farm girl was left in a room of silence.
Ray's eyes turned to the window and the soft light pouring in as light flakes built themselves up on the sill. Her eyes watered once more as she hung her head and sobbed.