Rune Wielders

Chapter Twenty Seven

They all stared at the underbrush, daunted by the sheer look of it. It was dark in there, darker than any other part of the forest. No light seemed to peek through the canopy above and no one wanted to move into the darkness first.

"So, uh, who wants to go in first?" Reed asked, trying to make himself smaller.

Colbie rolled her eyes and shoved everyone out of the way, stepping into the thick underbrush. "Ruby, we're going to need your swords again."

She wouldn't baby Reed again. No matter how sorry he looked to be in here. She looked surprised when Reed latched to her side when they all stepped into the dark jungle.

Instead of pushing him away, Colbie looked down at Reed. He looked back at her, his eyes seeming to be pleading with her. "Fine." Her cheeks burned, but everyone was focused on finding their way through the forest.

At least, everyone but Colbie. It felt like her senses had heightened, Reed's arm linked around her hip in an effort to have her close to him. It made her want to melt into a pile of goo. It also made her want to smack herself for being such a weakling toward her emotions.

They tromped their way through the undergrowth, sticking close together each time they heard a growl or a snarl coming from deep within. They weren't that far into the jungle yet but they hoped that it would be ending soon.

"This is terrible. There are bugs everywhere--and they're huge!--and the humidity is killing my hair. I cannot believe that there is such a place like this. The fact that Esoi likes it here is just more evidence that she's--" Ruby cut herself off by shrieking at a bug that flew directly in front of them. It disappeared into the depths.

Colbie looked around, feeling Reed's grip on her hip tighten. "Chill, Ruby. Lower your voice. There's something watching us--"

"Oh, boy, now Giantess is getting scared by every little thing. Hold on, I might wet my pants because I'm so terrified of something staring at me." Alden laughed, throwing back his head. "Oh, spooky!"

Colbie bit her tongue, pushing forward through the undergrowth. "Fine, get pounced on and killed, what do I care?" She cared, obviously. She cared about all of them. Alden was just a special case sometimes.

Ruby glanced from Alden and Colbie and shook her head, following after Colbie and Reed. "Colbie! Wait up!"

They stopped in a strange clearing. It was completely devoid of life, it seemed. No trees, no animals, no bugs. Nothing. It was like they walked into an alternate universe. It was silent beside their breathing.

"This is creepy," Ruby said, pulling her arms close to her body. "Are you sure there's no one here with us?"

"I'm sure we're fine. Remember, Alden is a big man who can protect us," Colbie sneered, looking around. She was ready to bring up her shield if needed but she wasn't going to waste the energy if there was nothing harming them.

"Uh, hey guys?"

Everyone looked over to Alden, frozen. There, on his shoulder, was a bug--but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was the inky-black cat, eyes narrowed straight on him. It pulled back its yellow teeth as if smiling.

Colbie opened her mouth but shut it, unsure of what to say to him. What could you tell someone that there is a huge cat stalking them and ready to pounce that wouldn't make them panic? "Alden, don't move. There's a cat behind you. It looks like it's going to pounce on you."

Alden waited for more, but there was nothing from any of them. "Oh, please. I'm sure it's just a little cat--" Alden stopped, going pale when he turned around to face the yellow eyes of the cat.