RISING (#2, of Crows and Thorns)

Chapter 94

There were only two possibilities—Tabitha had accidentally come across krekenns, perhaps not realizing how close to danger she'd come to being attacked by a swarm of them. Or, and this was the one I felt was true, she was catching forest animals to feed the krekenns. If so, where the hells did she keep them? More importantly, why the hells would she be keeping krekenns? They weren't exactly some sweet domesticated pet. They were deadly otherworldly creatures.

I knew she was in trouble, but I didn't know what kind of trouble. I prayed to Zrenyth it had nothing to do with Sirro and the Kinslayer if indeed it was the same scent the Horned God had detected at the Deniauds' the morning after the Servants' Dance.

Rising, I straightened and jogged on the spot to keep my core temperature up, but I was bone cold. I needed to get back to the mansion and get warm before I caught pneumonia. Deciding to go back and regroup, and figure out what to do, I started moving, leaving the trap behind, and relocated the old path I'd been running down when I'd come across Tabitha's footsteps over an hour ago. It seemed to be curving toward the Deniauds' so I carried onward while thinking about my dilemma. What the hells was I going to do? How was I going to confront her about this?

I broke into a run, and in places, I had to be careful of the ruts gouging the earth. As I pounded along the path, feeling returning to my frozen, numb fingers, an edgy feeling that itched the back of my mind. A rutted path.

What did it remind me of?

Where had I seen this before?

Slowing down to a jog, I sifted through my memory, when the abandoned path suddenly narrowed to an abrupt end. The gouges in the earth curved off and headed right into the forest. Following the grooves almost hidden beneath fallen leaves, I pushed through the bushy understory. Jagged branches poked at my broad shoulders and raked my sides, and I stepped out onto the running trail I'd originally run down first thing this morning.

My ears pricked. In the distance, I heard the gruff sound of an engine.

Picking up my pace, I followed the wider trail which was well-used with the odd gouge similar to what marred the old path I'd just left. The spaces between the trees grew wider and murky light lifted the gloominess of the forest. Drawing closer to the Deniauds', my mind kept ticking over, trying to figure out what was familiar about those furrows in the ground. As I approached the end of the running trail, I finally unearthed the memory.

Almost a week ago Valarie and I had been sent into the Hemmlok Forest on a mission for Sirro. We'd left the hole in the ground, after discovering the lingering afterlife—the Kinslayer—had escaped, and headed back to the Szarvases to get into cell phone range so I could inform Sirro of what I'd learned. I'd stumbled to a halt to catch my breath, my muscles burning and my exhausted body on the verge of collapsing, when I realized I was standing on an old abandoned path that had been strangely rutted.

Holy Hells-gate...

The answer clanged through me.

Mud churned beneath my sneakers as I skidded to a stop, turning around in astonishment to look back the way I'd come, at the line of bushy trees, staring in the direction of the old path I'd left not long ago. I was willing to bet that it was the exact same path I'd come across last week.

Sirro's polished voice floated through my mind.

There are old paths through the forest that connect all the estates, though hard to find.

It had to be one of the paths Sirro had spoken about that connected the Lyon, Deniaud, and Szarvas estates. And by using it, anyone could travel to another House undetected.