The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,133
the stable, coughing so hard they could barely stand. Caden's strong arms braced around her back as he practically propelled her forward.
Eva glanced frantically around. "Where's." Cough. "Jason?"
A thump sounded and Caden collapsed to the ground, bleeding from a wound on his head. Laurell stared at her over his body. The warrior jerked forward a step, her movements awkward.
"Run," Laurell managed to gasp out even as her arms reached for Eva. Her sleeve slipped back, revealing skin transitioning to wood, green lines where her veins should have been.
Eva barely evaded her reach.
There was a sharp cry behind her and Eva spun in time to see Jason crumple to the ground, Vincent and several throwaways were arranged around him. She opened her mouth to warn them when a sharp pain in the back of her head sent her sprawling.
She caught a glimpse of Laurell's jerky movements as she shambled toward Eva, the throwaways laughing as they joined her.
"Not so mighty now, are you?" Vincent said as Eva slipped away.
*
"Psst, Eva," a low voice niggled into Eva's consciousness.
She started to stretch, her head pounding, only to stop when her arms refused to move more than a few inches. The thought that she might be in trouble rapidly roused her.
She opened her eyes to examine the odd place she found herself in. Vines flourished, a tangled nest of wooden snakes, where they crept across the ground.
Older trees arched high above, even as their trunks and roots were entangled by the same vines she now realized held her immobile.
"Don't struggle. It only makes them tighter."
Sure enough, the vines tightened slightly as if in response to her aborted tug.
Eva craned her neck, careful not to move too much. "Jason?"
"Yeah, they got me while I was coming out of the stable. I'm pretty sure the throwaways are the ones who set fire to it," he said tiredly.
"Where are we?" Eva asked, hoping he'd been awake for at least part of their abduction.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he said morosely. "I was out until a little bit ago."
Eva looked around, trying to see beyond their burrow of vines. These trees were scarcely seen in the Highlands where the elevation was higher and water less plentiful.
You wouldn't know that to look at these; their crowns were wide and the leaves a deep green. It reminded her in a way of the forest near her old village. These trees didn't have much in common with the hags in the way of appearance, but they had the same sense of agelessness, as if they'd seen all the strangeness this world had to offer, and stood tall in spite of it.
Beyond the trees, Eva caught sight of dull gray. It seemed they were underground, or in a room of some sort.
She squinted up at the canopy. How was that possible? Trees like this didn't grow in darkness.
Blue glimmered above. Sky. Not entirely underground then.
As interesting as the place was, she pushed the questions surrounding its existence away. It wasn't important right now. What was, was getting out of this mess.
Vines completely wrapped around both her and Jason. Closer to the tree trunks, Eva caught odd bumps under the vines. Her stomach sank. Why did she think those bumps might have once been human?
She looked away, straining to see in the other direction.
Laurell stood at attention, her expression blank. Her skin had a faint woodish cast, almost making her blend in with the trees around them. It was why Eva had missed her the first time.
"Laurell," Eva said with an ache in her voice.
The warrior was different than those she'd discovered in the garden. Her frame still held a human solidness, her body not completely wooden. Her clothes hung on her oddly, her sword peeking out through the vines that encased her legs.
Her friend didn't answer. Her eyes were open, her expression agonized. She knew what was happening to her. Knew it but couldn't do anything to stop it.
There was a small rustle and then the feel of furred feet running up Eva's side. A lupine head popped through a gap in the branches and the fox regarded Eva, its tongue lolling out of its mouth in an expression that asked why she was resting here when there were adventures to be had.
"How is that thing here?" Jason asked in surprise. "I thought those bugs turned anything living into one of the wood people."
Eva shook her head. "Maybe he’s immune because he's a mythological?"