An Order of Death | ONC 2024

Chapter Eight

The unbloomed flower swayed in an illusive breeze, magic rippling from the petals. Amongst the alluring enchantment that tugged me toward it, beckoning with the poison it held within it, a thought pierced through the tranquillity — something wasn't right.

We hadn't been walking for too long, so we couldn't be at the centre of the Ivory Forest already. We were only a day into the journey when it usually took my mother several to reach the spot where Noxol grew. Unless it had grown out from the middle which would explain why there was only one bloom.

"That's it." I could hear the uncertainty in my voice. Where was the trouble people warned about the forest dealing out? Even if my mother never had earned a place on the forest's bad side, this still seemed too easy.

When I reached into my bag, searching for my protective gloves and the enchanted jars to put the petals in, I didn't notice Oryal kneel in front of the flower to pry the petals open and see what was inside.

"You idiot!" I rushed over to his side, pushing him away from the Noxol. "That's poison! Don't touch it!"

The bounty hunter backed away, holding his hands out before him with furrowed brows. "I wasn't thinking." His eyes were cast over with a thin layer of white magic but it vanished when he blinked it away. "I remember you telling me the poison is in the petals, so why did I do that? Something isn't right here."

I assessed his palms and fingers, looking for any sign of the poison setting in. He didn't appear to have touched it for long enough for it to take hold, but you could never be sure. Noxol was dangerous for a plethora of reasons. While it did the most damage after being consumed, it was also known to seep into the skin if it wasn't handled properly.

"Agreed. Everything feels off." It was like a misty haze had settled over the area like a fog, only it clouded our judgement instead of the world around us.

Pulling on my gloves and making sure they covered the majority of my forearm, I twisted open the jar and knelt next to the flower. With a deep breath, I carefully opened the petals to evaluate the inside.

Shimmers of tall, gold and silver stamen caught my attention. Their anthers were shaped like hearts — some were whole while others were torn, ripped apart from anguish. The petals were so large that only a few surrounded the centre, another reason why Noxol was so rare and valuable.

I gently tugged on one and pulled it free from its home. However, before I could place it inside the jar, it crumbled into dark, thick dust. It coated my dress, leaving stains as if it were powdered charcoal. What was wrong with it? Was it because it hadn't fully bloomed?

I stood to brush the remains of the petal off me but when I looked back down at my skirt, the evidence of its crimes were gone. The petal was back on the flower as if it had never been stolen in the first place.

"You saw that, right?" I turned to Oryal whose eyes darted between me and the Noxol. "I'm not going crazy, am I?"

"I did. It has to be the forest playing tricks on us already. We should keep moving and hope that this is all it will toy us with," he suggested.

I nodded, packing up my belongings again. I knew something was wrong from the moment my eyes found the Noxol and I hadn't gotten my hopes up for that very reason. Would we even be able to tell what poison was real when we did find where it grew?

"From everything I was imagining the forest could do, this deception was never something that crossed my mind. It seems harmless in comparison to the terrifying monsters and haunting nightmares I thought it would scare us with." There was a strange comfort in the faux Noxol.

Oryal winced as he watched the trees we passed. "Don't say that too loudly. It might hear you and conjure something worse."

"It would do that?" My eyes widened and the relief I felt was swiped away.