Page 90
Instead of eyes, the upper half of the creature’s face was a blank surface, pockmarked with holes, deep pits, and spongy, porous growths. The hollowed-out flesh revealed the outline of where its eyes had once been.
The back and crown of the creature’s skull were covered in large, layered fungal growths that reminded me of oyster mushrooms.
Was the creature another victim of the curse of this place? Had the mushrooms taken over its body?
Zeke took a step toward us, and the creature snapped its attention our way.
Red light pulsed from the thick, exposed tissue on its neck. It stretched downward like fungal roots connecting its head to its body. Did it use the roots to detect nearby prey?
My blood rushed in my ears and my breathing quickened as it approached, prompting Cyn to pull me closer until his chest pressed against my back. His arm snaked around my waist, and I relaxed in his hold, trusting him to keep me safe.
Zeke remained still, and I wondered if he didn’t take care of it because he didn’t want to hurt it. The creature couldn’t see us. If it would just move on and leave us be, then nothing had to die.
Right before the creature moved within striking distance, a snap echoed through the forest, grabbing its attention. It turned and keened, darting down the path we’d carved until it disappeared into the undergrowth.
I didn’t know how it moved so fast without sight, but I was glad it left.
Cyn released me, and I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
“You okay?” Zeke asked, closing the remaining distance.
“Yeah. Just a little freaked out. Why didn’t you fight it like the other infernal?”
“Because imlics can kill us within minutes if their venom gets into our bloodstream,” Cyn said, moving ahead now that he saw where the bushes were. “We can’t heal fast enough to survive its venom.”
There was so much I didn’t understand about this world. I couldn’t tell what information I needed to learn right away and what I’d never need to know. I was sure there were people who lived across Elyrdin who didn’t know about these lesser infernals.
“Try these,” Zeke said, bringing a handful of shiny, plump berries to me.
I took one from his hand and held it up. They resembled pearls, catching the faint luminescence of the nearby mushrooms.
Cyn crouched down and snapped off several branches from the sturdier parts near the bottom of the bush.
Popping the berry into my mouth, I cringed when it burst, releasing a sour liquid. “Oh god. You sure this is safe?”
Zeke laughed.
“We said it’s safe, not delicious,” Cyn said, standing. “Eat more. No telling when we’ll get a chance to eat again, and you need the juice to stay hydrated.”
I wrinkled my nose, wanting to bite back at him, but I wouldn’t be the brat he claimed me to be. At least not right now. Not when he was right.
The berries tasted awful and made my stomach upset, but the husks from the bush’s skinny branches were softer than I expected bark to be and surprisingly filling. According to Zeke, the fibers offered more protein than most meats, but cultivating them in Feranzis for a regular diet posed too great a danger. When I asked about growing some in Elyrdin, he said the forest’s magic was what made the bushes nutritious. I found it odd how the magic caused the bushes to thrive, yet corrupted everything else.
Zeke finally shifted back from his alternate form after Cyn urged him to give his body a rest. Apparently, Shyrlivi bodies burned twice as much energy while in their alternate forms. He needed to preserve the calories he’d consumed until we found more bushes.
Pushing through a particularly thick patch of tangled vines, I froze on the other side at the sight of a pale body made of twisted bone and black tendrils impaled on a large tree. A thick branch speared straight through its chest, suspending the corpse above the forest floor.
My fear wasn’t of the dead body but of the insane amount of strength needed to lift something so big and drive a branch through its chest as if it were nothing.
The dead creature weighed at least fifty pounds more than me—and I didn’t have any of the whip-like tentacles dangling from its body to defend myself with, nor the rows of razor-sharp teeth I saw gleaming in its gaping mouth.
Before I could speak to the guys, a foul stench of decay hit me, churning my stomach and sending me behind the nearest tree, where I doubled over to vomit.
“Rae,” Zeke said, voice soft as he put his hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles.
“The berries taste worse coming back up.” I shuddered and straightened, wiping my mouth. “What did that?”
“I don’t know,” Cyn said, scanning our surroundings. He approached the impaled corpse and squatted in front of it, looking at the ground. “It’s been dead a long time.”
