Chapter 16

The sickly sweet smell of death wafted through the air in waves as they slowly moved down the overgrown path deeper into the forest. The black fog grew thick around their feet, making it impossible to stay on track without the Hunter leading them. Out of the corner of Cedric's eye, he could have sworn he could see glowing red eyes staring at him through the black trunks, but every time he looked, nothing was there. If it weren't for the cold that had settled into his heart, the night chill would have had him shivering, like the others that had joined them.

"It's almost beautiful, in an ‘everything here wants to eat you' kind of way," Jar'ra whispered as she rubbed her hands together, her breath fogging in a thick cloud. In the deafening silence, her voice carried like a yell and even the equal beat of the falling hooves was swallowed by the fog.