The Shadows That Dwell Within (The Warrior Queens book #1) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 18 - Victoria

The imp slime coated Victoria's skin like a thick hot soup - that smelled like vomit. It was strange how normal that was now when Victoria could remember a time she wouldn't even dream of running into such beasts.

Rosaline was crouching on the ground and appeared to studying something intently. She too was covered in slime.

"It's Adelaide's ring" Rosaline whispered.

A wave of horror washed over Victoria. She put a hand to her mouth to suppress a gasp.

"You know what this means, right" Rosaline said, excitement flashed in her eyes. "Adelaide's here. She's still alive".

"I'm not sure that's what it means. Are you sure it's hers?"

"Who else is rich enough to afford a ring like this?" Rosaline said.

"I'm not sure - we'll search the forest anyway..." Victoria trailed off, distracted by the rock she just stepped on. It crunched and crumbled. It was a bizarre colour – kind of a discoloured white. It almost looked like...

"It's a bone" Victoria said.

"Do you think it's from an imp?" Rosaline asked.

"Judging from its mangled state, I'd say yes" Victoria replied.

It was half buried – as if it had been there for a few years. Victoria did another quick assessment of the forest. Icicles hung from the branches, scorch marks seared the tree trunks and even some of the trees had fallen down. All the evidence that imps (or worse) had been here.

"We have to get out of here" Victoria said.

"Why? We haven't found the conjuror's house yet" Rosaline argued.

Had those conjuror's created those imps? Anyone who could create that amount of creatures was not someone Victoria wanted to associate with. She shivered at the thought of being attacked by that amount of imps. They would simply be overrun. Victoria spun on a heel and walked right into Nicholas.

"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?" he said.

"This place is filled with beasts...we have to go back to the airship immediately" Victoria said.

"But we haven't found the conjuror's house" Rosaline said.

"I do not want to be messing around with someone who can create creatures like this" Victoria said pointing at the imp carcass. "I can't take it anymore. I don't want any more lives lost".

"So are we just going to ignore the possibility that Adelaide could be out here?" Rosaline said holding the ring out toward Nicholas as to emphasise her point.

Nicholas stared at the ring with an awestruck horror.

"They searched the forest – they would've found her-" Nicholas was cut off by a static crackling in Victoria's pocket.

Victoria pulled the transceiver out of her pocket and hit the answer button.

"Agent Elderwen" she said into the microphone.

"We found the house" Maxwell replied.

The cottage sat on the edge of a lake, presumably a water source. Inside there was not a soul to be seen. Only tattered couches and dust-coated tables were left behind. As Victoria progressed further into the living room the stench of decay hit her.

Nicholas came through the room looking grim.

"No one lives here now but looks like a family once lived here" he said handing Victoria a photo.

The photo was grainy and coloured yellow with time. There was an excited child blowing out candles on a birthday cake. Around him were a smiling couple, presumably his parents and an older couple. On the back of the photograph there was an inscription.

Happy birthday Kiyan

We miss you loads

We love you always

May we meet again someday

Love grandma and granddad

The Falcons left the house none the wiser. It felt wrong to even be in the house. Though it was bizarrely in the middle of a forest it was still a family home. A happy home. So what happened?

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