his way back into the jungle, looking for more wood. By dark, they had a roaring fire burning hot and bright.
Shadowfang was reluctant to venture into the light of the flames, but the increasing number of crackling blue-white sparks Isabel saw in the darkness prompted her to impose her will on her pet and soothe his anxiety at being near the flame, lest he be killed by the lightning flies in the night.
The darkness surrounding them was alight with the terrifying little insects—there must have been hundreds, lightning arcing between their wings as they buzzed around their would-be prey.
“Will they follow us tomorrow?” Isabel asked.
“Doubtful,” Ayela said. “They’re somewhat territorial, rarely venturing too far from the area where they were born.”
After the first hot meal in days, Isabel went to work cooking the deathwalker root down into a rudimentary healing salve. Ayela watched with interest while she carefully cut each flower sac and emptied the contents into a small jar she’d produced from the bag she carried over her shoulder.
“I have a friend you’d like,” Isabel said. “He’s very knowledgeable about the uses of plants. He taught me how to do this.”
“Knowledge of the jungle is valuable to my people,” Ayela said. “It’s a source of many poisons but also many medicines. The most respected person in any tribe is almost always the person with the greatest knowledge of the jungle, even more than the warriors.”
“Lucky would love to see this place. He’d have a thousand questions for you. In fact, I suspect the only way you’d get him to stop asking you questions would be to hand him something to eat.”
“You must miss your friends and your family,” Ayela said.
“I do,” Isabel said, “very much.”
“Then why come here, so far away from them, and all alone?” Ayela asked.
“It’s complicated,” Isabel said, shaking her head.
“Perhaps, when you trust me more, you will tell me the truth of your situation,” Ayela said.
“I do trust you, Ayela,” Isabel said. “I wouldn’t be out here with you if I didn’t.”
“Then tell me your reasons for coming to my country when reason itself argues against you being here,” Ayela said.
Hector and Horace remained silent but shared a look.
Isabel sighed. “I guess you have a right to know. Phane summoned a very powerful demon named Azugorath. She’s touched me and is trying to subvert my free will, trying to turn me away from the light and to the darkness so that I will serve Phane. Because of this demon’s influence, I nearly killed my husband. I left him that very night because that was the only way I knew to protect him.”
“Should I fear you?” Ayela asked, a slight tremor running through her voice.
“I don’t know,” Isabel whispered. “So far I’ve been able to control what Azugorath is doing to me, but she keeps pushing against my will, trying to find a way in. I fear that one day, I won’t be able to stop her.”
Ayela stared into the fire for several minutes without saying a word.
“That must be a horrible burden to bear,” she said, finally.
Isabel nodded.
“It seems we have something in common,” Ayela said. “Our loved ones are being held hostage by evil and the only way to get them back is to destroy the evil.”
“Exactly,” Isabel said.
Chapter 26
Hector woke Isabel quietly just before dawn. The darkness surrounding them was still crackling with lightning flies, but Hector was far more concerned about something else. He pointed silently into the jungle.
Isabel had to look carefully before she saw it—the light of a torch, then another. She motioned for Hector to wake Ayela, then she roused Shadowfang with her mind while she strapped on her boots and sword.
“We’re going to have to fight,” she said. “We can’t risk the jungle with all of these lightning flies.”
“So how did they manage to travel through the night without being eaten alive?” Horace asked.
“Their torches would have kept the lightning flies at bay … mostly, anyway,” Ayela said. “I’m sure they’ve been bitten more than a few times.”
She drew her dagger and fished a vial of thick black liquid from her pouch. Carefully, she drizzled her blade with the liquid, then held her dagger over the fire until it dried, forming a coating on her blade.
“What’s that?” Horace asked.
“Poison,” Ayela said.
“Oh,” Horace said, inching away from her.
The jungle started to lighten and the torches grew closer.
“Spread out and hide,” Isabel said. “We don’t want to let them take us with crossbows. Attack when you see my light-lance.”