Highland Blood

Начало книги

I took two hesitant steps into the darkness. Thora bumped against my leg. My head felt dizzy. My temples pounded. A sharp pain seared across my forehead, making me wince. It was all I could do to stay upright. Thora began to whimper when the darkness didn’t pass. We were stuck between worlds. The silence was thick and heavy, the darkness tangible. If I didn’t focus, we could get lost forever in the in-between space, neither the realm of the living nor the otherworld. I shuddered at the thought. I forced myself to concentrate past the pain racking my body. I could feel the living, breathing world just beyond my grasp. It was like someone had dropped a black veil between me and the realm of the corporeal. I breathed in deeply, trying to inhale the smell of earth, to hear the sounds of nature, to feel the living energy which belonged to the world of men.

It felt like an eternity before the sound of trickling water came to my ears. The sharp, tangy scent of mud filled my nostrils. We’d made it back. We were in the realm of the living but where? It was so dark. I took a few steps forward but my foot caught on something, and I fell into the wet mud face first. Thora whined. I reached out in the darkness and felt mud, roots, water, and gritty stone. We were in a cave. Water dripped from roots overhead. The air was spiced with elemental smells. I rose and wiped the mud off my face and out of my mouth. Carefully, I reached out and touched the cave wall. It was wet and slimy.

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