Forged in Stone - Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,41
an animal. The tightening continued, and I could see it now: a dark mass of roots tightening all around my legs.
My heart started beating a mile a minute. What was happening? I tried again to move my legs, but the roots were moving higher and higher. They were almost to my knees. I started to yell.
The coiling of the roots continued. I screamed at the top of my lungs as the roots coiled up over my stomach and chest. I continued screaming until it wrapped around my throat so tight I couldn’t breathe. I was going to die at the hands of a tree.
“Over here!” Through the fog created by the lack of oxygen I heard a voice. Had James come back for me?
Suddenly the roots loosened, I could breath. I gulped in big breaths of air as someone pulled me out of the hole. I tried to scream again, but I still hadn’t regained enough air.
Arms tightened around my waist. “Gotcha.” A low and hoarse voice spoke in my ear. “We have been looking for you.”
I said nothing. I was too afraid to speak. Instead my entire body shook. His hands tightened on my waist, pressing into my skin in a painful way.
Another man walked around in front of me. He was holding a small lantern. His eyes were black, and his lips were twisted into an evil grin. “You should not have run from James, girl. You made our job too easy.”
James. They knew his name. Was there any hope they’d take me to him? I already knew running from him had been a huge mistake. “Can I see him?” I managed to get the words out.
The men laughed. It was a horrible off-kilter laugh that chilled me to the bone. “No. That would defeat the purpose of all of this now.”
“Why? Don’t you work with him?”
Both men laughed. “No, but you are going to wish we did.”
“I am going to look for the others. Watch her.” The second man walked off, taking the lantern with him.
I was left in the pitch blackness with the man holding me in the painful grip. He tightened his hold, and I winced.
“Am I hurting you?” He laughed. “Let me fix that.” He moved a hand from my waist and cupped my breast. He squeezed it hard before running it down the front of my body. His lips brushed against my neck. “Such a pretty girl. I bet you are fun.”
His touch and words snapped me out of my fear-induced daze, and I took my chance. I kneed the man holding me hard in the groin. He grunted and let go. I didn’t wait to see where the other captor was, I just ran.
“Where do you think you are going?” He yelled.
I kept running. The one thing I had was my speed, but in the pitch black night I could see absolutely nothing. After running a few hundred feet my foot caught in a root, and I fell down flat on my face. I felt the pain in my ankles again. The roots were back. How was it possible? How did these men control it? The loud laughing right above me let me know exactly how much trouble I was in. The roots continued their climb up my immobile body. The roots moved faster this time, and within seconds they’d reached my chest.
“Stop running little girl. You are never getting—” The man suddenly grunted in agony.
“You are dumber than I thought.” James’ voice came from nearby.
“James!” I couldn’t see anything, but the coiling stopped.
“Oh, now you will answer me.” He lit a lantern, and his face came into full view.
He set the lantern down, and I watched as he pulled a long sword out of the man’s torso. The blade was glowing bright green and lit up the dark forest.
“You killed him.”
“I did.” His face was somber as he used the sword to cut away at the roots.
“And your sword is glowing.”
“It is.”
“Why do you have it?”
“The sword? It’s required of Guardians.”
“What’s a Guardian?” Even in my exhaustion, I had to ask questions. I needed answers to hold onto.
“What I am.” He handed me the lantern before lifting me up into his arms. “Please do us both a favor and do not run or hide again.”
“I busted my ankle.”
“Good.”
“It’s good I hurt myself?”
“No. It is good you fell here where I could find you. You don’t want to know the things those men might have done.”
“I can imagine.” I wouldn’t forget the