The Rabbit and the Raven: Book Two in the Solas Beir Trilogy (18 page)

The group rode on in silence as the forest around them grew thicker and began to change from a landscape of ferns and moss-encrusted evergreens to a vine-covered wonderland. The horses began to tread carefully, stepping through the creeping foliage.

“We are almost there,” Cael announced. “See ahead?”

Rising from the vines and encased in moss and fungus was the carved tree stump Abby had seen in her dream.

“It’s a dude,” Jon said. “With a green beard.”

“Indeed.” Cael smiled, and then grew serious. “And this marks the boundary of our forest. From here, we must be on the alert at all times. The Southern Oracle’s rainforest is not a hospitable place. We are fortunate to be traveling during the dry season. Were we to enter the forest during the wet season, this journey would take us much longer, and I shudder to think what creatures we might encounter in the flooded undergrowth.”

Solemnly, the group dismounted, taking their packs.

“Will the horses stay here or go back?” Abby asked, patting her mare’s neck.

“They will stay. There is water nearby, and plenty for them to eat. They will be content here until we return,” Cael affirmed.

After gathering their supplies, they traveled on without their horses. The vines twisted and thickened into a tropical canopy of dark green that blocked out the sunlight. Then the sun
started to set, and what little light there was began to rapidly fade.

“We should camp here for the night,” Cael said, inspecting a small clearing centered among the roots of several gigantic trees. He hunkered down and dug a shallow pit for a fire.

“I’ll help you,” David offered. He closed his eyes and in his mind’s eye, he could see the dry branches littering the ground rise and settle into a neat pile in the middle of Cael’s pit. He flicked his wrist and heard the crackling noise of flames. When he opened his eyes, he could see they had begun to burn brightly with a blue-edged flame.

“Nicely done,” Abby said.

“Thanks,” David smiled.

Marisol crossed her arms and stared out into the encroaching blackness of the jungle. “It’s not so bad. Nothing scary just yet.”

As if on cue, a long, lonely howl pierced the air. Jon shot her a look. “You were saying?”

Marisol frowned. “Yeah, okay. I stand corrected.”

“Those who dwell in this forest are more restless at night,” Cael said. “But so long as we have the fire and keep watch, we should be fine.”

“Should be?” Jon asked. “Great. Well, I’m wide awake. Guess I’ll take first watch.”

Marisol peered into the darkness and shivered. “Yeah, I think I’ll stay up too,” she said, taking Jon’s hand.

“Very well.” Cael laid out his mat under one of the trees. “Wake me when you feel tired. Oh, and keep your satchels packed—remove only what is absolutely necessary, and return it to your pack as soon as you are finished using it. We may need to leave in a hurry. Swords at the ready,” he added, tapping his scabbard lightly. Then he lay down, closed his eyes, and within a moment was softly snoring.

Jon shook his head in disbelief. “Dude can sleep anywhere.”

“Shhh, he’s probably a light sleeper,” Marisol warned. “Here—sit with me back-to-back so we can keep watch.”

Nodding, Jon rolled a log over for Marisol to sit on and then settled in behind her, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

David and Abby laid out their sleeping mats side by side. “G’night guys,” Abby said drowsily, curling up on her mat.

Jon looked over at her. “Et tu, Abby?”

“She hasn’t been sleeping well,” David explained. “Hopefully she can get some z’s tonight.” He lay down with Abby and pulled her close. “I’m here with you,” he whispered. “No bad dreams.”

“No bad dreams,” Abby whispered back. She yawned and settled into the crook of his arm. “Love you.”

To David’s surprise, she drifted off almost as quickly as Cael. “Good night, Abby,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “I love you too.” Then he fell asleep as well.

David woke with a start. Somewhere in the night a woman was screaming.

“Abby,” he murmured, and tried to sit up. Then he realized that Abby was still fast asleep in his arms. He raised his head to look for the others and was shocked at the complete darkness around him. The fire had gone out. He closed his eyes and focused his power to relight it.

“
Ahh!” Jon yelped, when the fire blazed high in front of his face. He had been kneeling in front of the pit, trying to get the dead fire started again.

Marisol and Cael were on their feet, back-to-back, swords held out in front of them, eyes scanning the forest.

“Sorry, Jon,” David said. “You okay?”

“Fine—just singed my eyebrows,” Jon grumbled, rubbing his forehead. He stood and drew his sword.

Abby woke and looked up at David. “What’s going on?”

“We were about to wake Cael to take the next shift when the fire blew out,” Jon explained. “That’s when the screaming began.”

“What do you mean, the fire blew out?” David asked.

“One minute it was nice and toasty, the next it was out cold,” Marisol clarified.

A woman’s scream pierced the air again. It was impossible to tell where it was coming from. It sounded close at first, then further away, then close again, from somewhere on the other side of the clearing.

“Sounds like a banshee,” Abby whispered, clutching David’s arm.
“It’s horrible.”

“It’s
La Llorona
,” Marisol gasped.

“What?” David asked. He stood up and pulled Abby to her feet. They drew their swords as well.

“The Witch of the Ditch,” Jon replied. “The Weeping Woman.”

“It’s a ghost story from Mexico that my mother told me,” Marisol
explained. “There’s this legend about a beautiful woman who drowned her children to be with the man she loved. But he left her, so she killed herself. After that, she was doomed to wander the Earth, searching for her dead children. People say she comes out at night near rivers, and that if you hear her wailing, you’ll die.”

“And there you go,” Jon said. “We’re done for.”

“Not quite yet, Jon,” Cael replied. “I have never heard such a sound, but if the creature meant to attack, it would have. For now, we stay on our guard. No more sleeping tonight.”

“No rest for the wicked,” Abby teased.

David looked at her and smiled. “I thought the saying was no rest for the
weary
.”

“I like my version better,” Abby quipped. “Seems apropos.”

Morning was a long time coming, but when the canopy turned from black to green tinged with grey, the screamer fell silent, vanishing with the darkness.

“I’m exhausted,” Jon said, sinking down to sit on a log by the fire.

“Yeah, me too,” Marisol agreed, joining Jon. “I think that little adrenaline rush is finally leaving my system.”

“Why don’t you guys sleep for a bit? You too, Cael,” David said, stoking the fire. “Abby and I will keep watch and wake you in a few hours.”

“We will not get far today if we do that,” Cael objected.

“True, but if you don’t get some rest, you won’t be ready if that thing comes back tonight,” David argued.

“Touché. Come on, Sol,” Jon said. Standing, he took Marisol’s hand, pulling her to her feet. Then he led her over to their as-yet-unused sleeping mats.

“Yeah, I’m game,” Marisol agreed. She rubbed her eyes and let herself sink into a tired heap on the mat. “C’mon, Cael. I know you’re tired too. Don’t be all stoic about it.”

Cael smiled. “Stoic? I think you have mistaken me for someone else.”

“Yeah, see—you’re actually making a joke. You
must
be tired, tough guy,” Jon said.

Cael nodded. “I am—a bit. David, no more than three hours, please. We will want to put some distance between ourselves and our visitor.”

“You got it.” David said.

“Sleep well, guys,” Abby said. She looked around the clearing and found a few more pieces of wood to add to the fire.

“I can do that.” David stepped in to help her.

“No need to use power when you don’t have to,” Abby
said. “You should conserve your energy in case we need you tonight. It’s not like you got much sleep either.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “If you want, you could take a little nap too—I don’t mind keeping watch.”

“Sounds tempting, but if I sleep now it will be harder to rest tonight,” she replied.

“
If
we get to,” David countered.

“With any luck, our screamer will get bored and bother someone else,” Abby said.

Hoping to put some miles between themselves and the previous night’s intruder, everyone pushed themselves to exhaustion during the day’s hike. As evening came and they made camp further into the rainforest, Cael volunteered for first watch.

“You sure?” David asked. “I don’t mind staying up a little longer.”

“Now who is being stoic?” asked Cael.

“Point taken,” David agreed. “Abby?”

“Yeah, I could use some sleep,” Abby said. She joined him on their mats, settling into his embrace with her back to him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

“You as well, Jon and Marisol,” Cael instructed. “I will be waking you soon enough.”

Marisol nodded sleepily and dragged Jon over to their mats. Soon they too were fast asleep.

Cael settled into a spot where he could watch for trouble. He realized that the last evening’s visitor had rattled him—his muscles already felt tense in anticipation of the next round.

Hours later, the night was still blessedly silent. He woke Jon and Marisol for their shift.

Jon’s hand immediately flew to the hilt of his sword as he startled awake. When he saw Cael’s hand on his arm, he relaxed slightly, but didn’t release his grip on the sword. “Is it back?”

“No. We seem to have lost it,” Cael informed him.

“Thank goodness for that,” Marisol said, relieved. “That was so creepy. If I never hear that sound again…”

“Yes,” Cael nodded. “I think we are all in agreement about that.”

Abby woke up cold. She reached behind her for David—he was still there. She could hear him breathing steadily, fast asleep. She looked to the fire. It was still going. Whatever had bothered them the night before seemed to be gone—or, if it was still lurking about in the dark, it had run out of things to scream about. Sleepily, she closed her eyes and rolled over to snuggle up to David, face to face. In his sleep he stirred slightly and draped his arm over her. She nestled her cheek against his warm chest and began to drift off.

“Hello, Rabbit.”

Abby’s eyes flew open. She found herself looking not into David’s blue eyes, but Tierney’s, which were so
dark and intense, they were almost black. She recoiled and tried to wriggle away, but his arms were around her, holding her close.

Tierney grinned. “Please, don’t get up on my account. It wouldn’t do any good anyway—I’m in your head.”

Abby glared at him. “What do you want?”

Tierney studied her clenched jaw and laughed. Apparently the enraged look on her face filled him with delight.
I’m so glad to be a source of amusement,
she thought angrily.

He reached out and caressed her cheek. “Don’t be mad, love. I wanted to see you, of course.”

“What did you do with David?” she asked.

“He’s still here, lying beside you,” Tierney said, gesturing to his body. He was wearing David’s clothes. “If it makes you feel better, I could wear his face too.”

“No,” Abby said quickly. “No, don’t do that.”

“Why?” Tierney asked, feigning innocence. “Would that bother you, dear Rabbit?”

“No, no, I…” she said.

Tierney raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Yes?”

Abby looked into his dark eyes. “I want to see you as you are,” she said firmly.

“Do you, now? How very interesting,” Tierney replied.

Abby sat bolt upright, her heart beating fast. She sucked in a breath of air, and breathed out slowly, trying to calm herself.

David opened his eyes and looked up at her. “Abby? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Abby lied. “Just a bad dream.” She looked around the camp. Jon and Marisol were sitting back-to-back, eyes trained on the forest around them. She could see Marisol’s hand resting on the hilt of her sword. “Everything’s okay—just go back to sleep,” Abby said, settling in next to David, gently brushing the hair off his forehead.

“Okay,” he mumbled. “Love you.” David closed his eyes and drifted off again.