Forever Entranced ~Book Two Of The Soul Bound Series

Chapter Twenty-Two ~ Little Will

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The Wailing Forest creaked in the night, the moon from above and stars twinkling down on the ice. The mist rolled over me as I lay across Nigel's gigantic wolf body, the only source of warmth besides the fire, which I could have slept next to but the idea of snoozing on snow was much less appealing.

Nigel's body lifted and fell with each of his heavy breaths. Every once in awhile he would kick a leg or make a small whimper. I supposed that even he may know what it's like to have bad dreams. I had yet to fully fall asleep, though I was far past exhausted, I continued to fear my nightmares and the man with the obsidian eyes. Killian had assured me that no one would be able to dream jump me for awhile thanks to the excruciatingly painful process I had to go through in order to break the bond, but I still wondered.

I shifted so that I lay on my stomach, my face buried in soft fur that tickled my nose and caused me to sigh, rolling over onto my side and tucking my hand beneath my head. I allowed my eyes to close, trying to let myself be lured to sleep. I had almost fallen asleep when a soft whisper breathed into my ear, "Ava." It spoke, breathily. My eyes shot open and I craned my neck back, my eyes searching around for the owner of the faint voice, but everyone was still peacefully asleep, "Oh, Ava!" It cheerfully called me. My eyes landed on a floating blue orb, swirling and dancing between two frozen trees, "Come with me, Ava!" It seemed to beckon to me before darting off into the forest.

I slid off of Nigel's back, my feet almost soundlessly hitting the snow. I quietly snuck around Illius' long, outstretched legs, my boots crunching on the snow with every step, my heart pounding. I gripped one of the trees the orb had been by and peered into the forest, trying to see through the mist.

"Ava!" It called and appeared a few feet out in front of me, lingering in the mist.

"Who are you?" I asked it, keeping my voice low. It spun around in a circle and disappeared through the fog, "Wait!" I fiercely whispered before following after it. I carefully stepped over roots and around rocks, my eyes trained on the blue glow in the distance.

It led me deeper through the forest, coaxing me with its mysterious form, "Ava," It whispered as it rounded a tree. A bitterly cold feeling suddenly nipped through the air and I could see my breath flowing from my lips. My stomach twisted with nausea. The little, blue orb shook as though it were afraid and darted off in fright.

"Hey!" I shouted after it in a whisper, but it was already long gone. I began to shiver even through my enchanted gear. The forest appeared to grow darker and the mist thicker. A chill ran down my spine, goosebumps forming on my arms, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Everything in my body told me to run, that something wasn't right, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force myself to move.   

A black shadow came into view through the white mist. I silently prayed that it was West, Illius or even Killian, coming to take me from this awful place. As it neared, I glimpsed glowing red eyes and my heart clenched in terror. I stood petrified, the shadow coming to loom threateningly in front of me. It had a human form, with no distinguishable features visible on its malicious face other then its blazing, red orbs that held me there with fear.

"You shouldn't have come here," It growled, a nasty, low and quite gravelly sound, "Now they're coming for you." It darkly laughed. I blinked, and it was gone.

An owl hooted in the distance and all I could hear was my heart hammering inside my chest. There was a crunch like foot in snow and I flipped around, but no one was there. Something tapped on ice close to me and I jumped, slowly backing up, my back pressed up against a tree.