Relic and Ruin

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

HYLOPHOBIA – FEAR OF FORESTS

A man stood in the forest, surrounded by clawed, spindly brambles. He was a horrid beast with a scar that turned one eye white, the skin around it festering, and another that disfigured his nose and mouth.

The man listened. Silent. Still.

A chaotic noise could be heard in the distance. A jumble of laughing, thumping music, and chatter. But of all the voices, the man was able to discern the few he sought:

The ghost. The young man with a clouded mind, trying to remain unnoticed.

The little Necromancer with the fierce orange eyes and an even fiercer power.

He, too, had heard the rumors. The Relics were back. He'd been observing them for weeks to see if what he'd heard was really true. And he could feel it—the stench of their power radiating from them. The girl was far more repressed than her counterpart—it had taken him quite a while to really catch the scent on her.

But the boy . . . the boy was ripe with power. All that potential, and they didn't even know it. But the man did. And he knew what he had to do.

He raised his arms and screamed, "ARDU!"

RISE.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the soil shifted. It turned over and bubbled as something climbed from its depths—a hand clawing its way from the soil. The air was suddenly filled with the moans and growls of the dead.

The man addressed his army, grinning venomously. "BEATHA!" he cried.

FEED.

No one paid much mind as Erebus materialized at the edge of the forest and slinked across the lawn. Light and music and bodies surrounded the house as the late hours set in.

Ridley, Damien, and Mason had been taking turns scoping out the Lahey house, trying to catch a glimpse of the strange raven that had been lurking around. Erebus had always followed along, too, though none of the others knew that. He needed to know if this mystery person knew him, and what they wanted. And if they were following Nyx around, then maybe she knew something.

He'd heard the girls talking about the party, so he knew where to find Nyx. It wasn't long before he caught a glint of silver through the crowd.

She was standing in a small circle with two others. Even at a party full of people, they occupied their own space. Erebus could sense their magic.

Nyx keeled over laughing at something one of the others said, and Erebus's eyes fell on a figure standing behind her—a boy leaning against a nearby wall. The space around him was different too. It wasn't stagnant air, like that hanging around the humans. This space was darker, almost shadowed. From the dark jacket pulled tightly around his arms to his black tousled hair, something about him was different.

And he was watching Nyx.

Without thinking, Erebus found himself moving around the room. But before reaching him, the stranger's eyes locked with his own.

The boy smiled, stood up straight, and held out his hand. Erebus was taken aback.

"Hey, man, how's it going? I'm Cole."

Erebus regarded the outstretched hand a moment before warily shaking it. "Erebus."

The boy wore the briefest visage of disbelief. "Erebus . . . that's a different name, man, where'd your parents get that?"

Erebus decided to play along. "No idea," he replied, truthfully. "You know anyone here?"

Cole shook his head, bringing a red cup to his lips. "Nah, I just heard about it through the grapevine. Thought I'd check it out. What about you?"