The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,119

you get one of the Kyren as a pet," Eva warned. She didn't think she could even if she wanted to—and she didn't want.

"That's fine. I thought about what you said before and you were right." His smile was apologetic and regretful.

The expression made him seem as young as he really was. Without the normal bad temper, he looked like an earnest youth ready and willing to learn.

Eva sighed before moving down the path.

"I doubt these are natural," she said finally.

How could they be? Nothing in nature grew this way. At least nothing she'd ever heard of. This was the Highlands, though. Anything was possible.

She circled one shaped in the form of a woman, wind catching her skirt so it billowed out behind her, the brown and blond branches of her hair following suit.

The finest threads of metal glinted deep in the tangle of branches.

"Is this metal?" Eva asked.

If so, it was spun finer than anything she'd ever seen. As thin as a strand of hair, it wound around and through the branches, almost as if it was holding them together. It was part of them, as integral as the wood the branches were made up of.

"What are you talking about?" Jason stepped closer, trying to see what she did.

He pushed aside one of the branches for a better look. "You're right. It is metal. How did they create this? It should be impossible."

His face was astonished as he stepped back.

Eva looked over her shoulder at the rest of the wood people. Some were greener than the one in front of her, small vines and flowers sprouting from them. Others in the more shaded parts of the walled-off courtyard had moss growing on them and a skin tone closer to stone.

"Our blacksmiths would never be able to make something that fine." Jason's expression was troubled as he regarded the rest.

The wood people, fifteen in all, watched with unseeing eyes as Eva moved among them. She stopped by one, a girl on the cusp of womanhood, her figure slight. Her hair had flowers growing in it. Pink, the like Eva had never seen before.

Wonderingly, Eva reached out and brushed the flower's petal. How could metal and plant be one?

Impossible, just like so many other things she'd seen on this journey. She felt like she'd used that word too many times, but the impossible never got any easier to swallow.

She was surprised at the warmth of the branches making up the body—almost like they were a person’s flesh.

The girl's head shifted, wood branches creaking in a small moan.

Eva stepped back.

A splintering sound reached her, like roots being yanked out of the ground.

Jason's face twisted in horror as he lurched forward. "Watch out."

Eva whirled to find another of the wood figures reaching for her. Jason grabbed her arm and yanked her out of reach.

The wood figure's mouth opened on a silent scream. Instead of the expected shrill sound, wood creaked and groaned.

Around them, the rest came to life. They turned as one toward Eva and Jason, their wooden faces frozen in agonized expressions. They were almost silent as they advanced. The dry rustling of their branches as they shook and quivered was terrifying.

They staggered toward Eva and Jason, trailing roots behind them like tattered cloth.

"What in all of the gods is this?" Jason hissed, one arm in front of Eva as if it might protect her from the garden suddenly springing to life.

"I'm going to put this out there. Next time you want to show me something—perhaps don't." Eva reached for the dagger Caden had given her. It wouldn't do much good against these things. An ax might. Perhaps next time she should suggest that as a gift.

"We need to get to the gate," Eva said.

"How do you expect us to do that?" Jason snapped. "There are five of them between it and us."

"You're the one who wanted to be an Anateri. Think of a way!" she hissed back.

The gate represented safety. More importantly, it was a way to keep whatever these things were inside the confines of the courtyard and away from the rest.

Small figures crawled from beneath the bushes where they'd been hidden until now. They tottered forward on uncertain steps as they milled around uncertainly. Their mouths opened on silent cries.

"Children," Eva whispered.

A wood figure staggered toward them. One of its hands brushed Eva's arm. Pain bit deep as its sharp branches tore at her skin.

Eva cried out, swinging her dagger and knocking its arm back. Jason was there in