Read Online Dark Magic by B. V. Larson - Free Book Online Page A

grew below, upon the black earth of the unseen forest floor.
    And so they proceeded into the trees with a final wave from guardsman on his rickety perch. He held aloft both his bow and his curved horn in salute, wishing them well. Once in the trees themselves, however, they felt far from welcome. Only Tomkin seemed unperturbed.
    “Finally, we passed up that lot. I thought they would talk on forever.”
    “They only wanted us to find the child, Tomkin,” admonished Telyn. She had her bow out and at the ready as they walked. She had not yet notched an arrow, but there was one resting in her other hand. Her eyes swept the forest, and Brand thought she seemed determined.
    Brand himself felt disquieted, but it was a mix of emotions. Partly, due to the influence of the axe upon his mind, he was overjoyed to be exiting the Haven, where interesting things rarely happened. But partly he worried about the lost child and the nature of this forest itself, which seemed if anything to be less pure than when he had tracked down the dying giant a few months ago. The Faerie could be involved here. Certainly, they had given up on directly attacking the Haven, but they were in evidence all along the borders and it would be just like their kind to lure away a young one into the dark forests.
    They had entered the forest before noon, and by late afternoon they had completely buried themselves in it. Brand could not recall ever having been so far into the Deepwood before. It seemed to him that every step took them further from all sources of light and happiness. He was glad it would only be a two day walk to the lands of the Kindred. In fact, he was tempted to suggest they keep walking all night long and get out of this cursed forest the following day. But he knew that would be a foolish idea. Arriving in the Black Mountains exhausted and staggering on their feet would be worse than spending a single night in the forest. He’d never been there, but according to all accounts the mountains were, if anything, more hazardous than the Deepwood.
    And so they traveled at a fast walk, only pausing occasionally while Telyn called for the lost boy, Ari. At these pauses Tomkin rolled his eyes and complained of wasted time. Finally, Telyn became annoyed with him.
    “That’s enough complaining, Tomkin. If you want to move faster, then help with the task at hand rather than weighing upon our horse’s back.”
    Tomkin made a dismissive gesture.
    “I’ll make you a bargain, then,” she said, “you make yourself useful, scouting the woods around us for any sign of the boy, and I’ll stop taking breaks to call and listen for him.”
    Tomkin threw up his hands in a gesture of exasperation. “The boy is dead and gone, missy!”
    But Telyn was stubborn, and in the end, perhaps as much out of boredom as anything else, Tomkin did as she bid. In truth, Brand thought he looked happier out there bounding around them in widening circles, looking for any sign of the boy. At least he had something to do.
    Even the road they followed began to blur. By nightfall, perhaps halfway through, it had transformed from a road to a trail. Each mile they tread into the forest the trail became harder to follow. Grasses and mushrooms grew up in profusion on their path. The horse’s heavy hooves crushed down these last, but Brand suspected that in a week or two all evidence of their passing would be erased. He wondered, with the thick, enchanted growth of the Deepwood working against them, how long would it be before the trail was erased permanently? If all trade were halted between the Haven and the Kindred, mostly from fear, he thought that within a season the road might not be possible to follow. It would have been swallowed up by the trees and most of all that strange undergrowth. He considered suggesting that the Haven send a patrol of militia, preferably on horseback and carrying sabers, through the wood once a week or so to drive back the forest. He wondered if they