so different from the thatched cottages and treehouses and stone bungalows of Limbo. The homes here all looked so pretty and perfect. Some had lights on inside, even at the late hour, but she knew that Shadowvale’s citizens were from all walks and creeds.
What must it be like to live in a town like this?
Supernaturals abounded here. So did humans. Although they weren’t as interesting to her now as they’d been before she’d spent nine hours with them on the bus. That had been plenty of time to study that species. Amazing how much some of them snored. And with their mouths open.
An owl hooted far off, and not long after that, a wolf’s plaintive howl split the night. She liked those sounds. They made her feel at home. As much at home as she could feel in a strange place like this.
The homes got bigger. And bigger. And scarcer. And then they went away altogether.
Not long after that, she passed a school. Home of the Tigers, the sign proudly announced. Real tigers? That couldn’t be, could it?
She picked up the pace a little anyway.
She was in the country now, surrounded by nothing but trees and fields. Mountains rose up in the distance all around her. The sky above was bright with stars. It was lovely, really. A lot like Limbo. She kept going.
Next up was a cemetery. Last Rest, it was named. A cluster of winged cats mewed at her from their perches on the headstones and from the top of a mausoleum. She wiggled her fingers at them. They were cute. They’d probably try to kill her if she attempted to pet one, but cute was cute. Even when it was deadly.
The cemetery faded behind her, then the fields disappeared, too, and there was nothing but woods.
An enchanted forest, to be exact. That’s what the sign had said at the beginning of the road that led into the amazing forest. The trees were incredibly tall and thick, and the air smelled like magic. Green and woodsy with an underlying hint of darkness. Very much like goblin magic. And fae, she supposed.
She could understand why the exiled king made his home here. So far, this part of Shadowvale felt the most like Limbo. She shifted her bag to her other shoulder and trudged on. She was close now, according to the map in her head.
The trees covered the road like a canopy, hiding the stars. It was dark, but clumps of sprite moss provided some light. Enough that every so often, she could just pick out a face in the bark of a tree, the sign a wood nymph lived there.
She kept going, a little bothered that the walk was taking longer than she’d anticipated. She knew she’d slowed through town, but she was used to walking, and she’d picked up speed once she’d gotten past the houses. She’d run, but it wouldn’t do to arrive sweaty.
Was that a hint of lavender in the sky? The sun must be on its way up. Or was it?
She’d heard the sun didn’t shine here. That the skies were permanently gray, because the witch who’d created the town had done so to keep her vampire lover safe.
If that was really the case, Theo was fine with that. Like most goblins, she preferred the cool shadows of the forest to the blazing sun. Limbo had bright days, but also long shadows. Its thick forests provided steady breezes, and the surrounding mountains meant daylight was short because the peaks blocked all but the highest sun.
She turned down another street, wider than the one before. Blackthorn Drive. At the post, she stopped and stared back the way she’d come. The sky had to be lightening, because she could see the green of the leaves. Just like the forests of Limbo. No wonder the exiled king had come here.
Although she wasn’t sure he’d had much of a choice.
She faced forward again and noticed that the forest started to change at this point. The trees grew more twisted, the bark and leaves darker. Almost sooty. Like they’d been burned. She inhaled. There was no acrid smell of ash.
She walked toward an iron arch across the road ahead. In the curve of the arch, Dark Acres was spelled out, but there was no gate, thankfully. A raven sat on one side of the arch, watching her as she passed beneath it.
Signs of other houses appeared as she continued on. A chimney here, a weather vane there, the peak