The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(6)

Ealasaid snorted. “I’d rather not get used to seeing corpses at all.”

Finn attempted to take a steadying breath, but inhaled too deeply. Her stomach convulsed, forcing her to bend forward. The smell of the charred corpses was too much for her, and she found herself expelling what little food was in her belly. Naoki hopped to the ground and chittered nervously at her side as Iseult kept a hand on her back, waiting for the moment to pass.

As Finn’s nausea began to wane, she heard someone else retching behind her, and turned to see the red-haired man, Tavish, had also lost his morning meal. The sight somehow made her feel slightly better.

“Perhaps some of us should go ahead to the gates,” Maarav sighed, glancing between Tavish and Finn. “Rae and I can gather the supplies on our own. With only two of us, we can ride the rest of the way.”

“And what if you encounter whoever killed all these people?” Ealasaid gasped.

Maarav gestured to the desolate streets. “Take a look around you, my girl, no one is left in this cursed place.”

Finn crouched to allow Naoki back onto her shoulders, then looked to Iseult for his opinion, secretly hoping he’d agree with Maarav so she wouldn’t have to continue looking at the bodies.

Iseult nodded in understanding, then turned his gaze to his brother. “I’ll take the women . . . and Tavish, to the gates,” he agreed. “But be quick with your tasks, I’d like to be far from this place come nightfall.”

“We all would,” Tavish muttered, then gestured for Ealasaid to walk ahead of him toward Iseult and Finn.

The four of them changed directions, making their way toward the gates, while Maarav and Rae climbed atop the horses and continued on toward whatever might remain of Maarav’s inn.

Finn walked beside Iseult in silence for some time, deep in thought, keeping her gaze upward to avoid looking too closely at any more corpses.

“Do you know what’s odd?” Tavish blurted suddenly.

Finn jumped, realizing the man was walking close to her other side, though she noted he was peering around her toward Iseult.

Iseult did not reply, but Tavish still continued, “It’s odd that we seem to only be seeing the corpses of townsfolk and the city guards.”

“Why is that odd?” Ealasaid questioned, walking a few paces behind them.

“Because in any battle there are casualties on both sides,” Iseult answered grimly.

“So you did notice,” Tavish commented, seeming relieved that he wasn’t the only one to find the situation strange.

“Yes,” Iseult replied simply.

Finn wished she could be so observant, but she’d been too busy trying to pretend they weren’t surrounded by any corpses, let alone only those of the townsfolk.

“So what do you think happened?” Tavish continued, once again looking past Finn at Iseult.

“Either the bodies of the opposing forces were taken,” Iseult explained, “or the townspeople were killed by a force so great they all died where they stood. Now keep your mouth shut. Dangers may still lurk.”

Wide-eyed, Tavish snapped his mouth shut and glanced around warily. Finn couldn’t say she was glad for the silence. It seemed to bring out the eeriness of their surroundings. As far as she was concerned, they couldn’t reach the gates soon enough.

Naoki let out a sudden squawk from her perch on Finn’s shoulder. Finn stumbled, but Iseult’s hand darted out to catch her arm before she could fall.

Maintaining his grip on her, Iseult glanced around for what had alerted Naoki. Finn looked too, until her eyes caught a hint of movement a few feet away. She pointed, just as Tavish seemed to notice the same movement.

It was the corpse of a young woman, less burned than the rest, but still just as dead. Her limp body was wriggling back and forth, though none of her limbs seemed to be responsible for the movement.

“The dead are coming to life!” Tavish gasped.

“No,” Iseult said coolly, then released Finn’s arm to step forward.

He withdrew his sword, lowering the tip toward the woman’s still wriggling body. At first Finn thought he might use the sharp edge to skewer her, but instead he slid the point beneath her torso, then flipped her body over, revealing a small creature that had been trying to free itself from the trapping weight of the corpse.

It struggled to its clawed feet, checking over its craggy, rock-like skin for injuries with its spherical eyes. One of its bat-like wings seemed to be broken.

“It’s a Grogoch,” Finn gasped.

The Grogoch jumped at the sound of her voice, then trembled in fear as it looked up at Iseult. Naoki hopped off Finn’s shoulder and crouched on the ground, prepared to pounce the Grogoch.

“Wait!” Finn cried, then knelt beside Naoki to halt her pounce. However, Iseult looked just about ready to pounce the small creature himself, and Finn couldn’t blame him. They’d met Grogochs before. Not only had many townsfolk danced themselves to death, but both Finn and Iseult had been rendered unconscious long enough for Kai and Anna to kidnap her.

The Grogoch blinked up at her, still trembling.

“What happened here?” she demanded. “Did you sing the townsfolk to sleep so the other Faie could murder them?”

Naoki let out a low growl.

The Grogoch was trembling so violently she thought it might wet itself. “N-no, lass,” it sputtered in its humming voice. “I was only here to have a bit of fun, then they attacked. I was knocked down and my wing was broken.” It gestured pleadingly with its taloned hands at the drooping wing.