“But what of the skeleton? It looks to have been here for quite some time.”
“Yes. Whatever killed this person has most likely returned here several times. For what purpose, I do not know.”
“There’s magic in it,” I said, stretching my hand over the skeleton, “but I’m not sure what type. It’s very faint. Elven, maybe?”
“I do not like this,” Heidel said. “We’re not prepared to face a magical foe with Olive’s powers acting erratically. We have no other defense against magic.”
“It’s too late to leave now,” I said. “We knew there were dark creatures here. Let’s just hope we don’t end up like that.” I nodded toward the remains. “I don’t understand—something murdered this person years ago and then recently returned again… but why?”
Kull sheathed his knife. “We won’t find our answers by remaining here. We must seek out the starstone’s final resting place.”
“I agree.”
We made our way out of the structure, down the steps, and into the forest once again, although I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d gotten while inside the elven home.
The wood sprites had tipped their arrows in spider venom, and the elven homes had been covered in their webs. There was most likely a connection between the two. What was out there? What did the spiders have to do with it? I didn’t like not knowing what we were up against.
Deeper in the forest, following the trail of decay became easier as more and more trees wept the dark sap. Our path took us to a small open area shadowed by hulking trees that stood with their limbs outstretched. Leaves blanketed the ground in a carpet of orange and gold foliage. In the center of the glen was a small, perfectly circular pond filled with inky greenish liquid.
“This is it,” I said, my heart beginning to race. “This is the place I saw in the vision with the sky king. The starstone was floating over that pond.”
“You are sure?” Heidel asked.
“Yes. I’m positive.”
We walked the perimeter of the area, but it was hard to tell if anyone had been here with so many leaves covering the ground.
“Honestly,” I said, “I’m not sure what we’re looking for. If we wish to determine who took the stone, I think we’re a year or two too late. Any trace of their presence has to be gone by now.”
“Not necessarily,” Kull answered as he stood at the edge of the pond. “We all leave traces wherever we go, whether we realize it or not. A strand of hair, or—” he knelt near the pond and carefully removed the topmost layer of leaves, then picked up a leaf that rested on the bottom, “the oil from our fingertips. Or the residue from a web.”
He eyed the leaf closely, and I knelt beside him. A grayish, sticky substance covered the leaf.
“Is it the same material as the spiderwebs in the woodland village?”
He ran his finger over the leaf. “I can’t say for certain. There are many types of spiders, and they all create different webs. But at a first glance, I would say it is.”
I turned to the pool. “And this looks to be the same liquid we found in the venom and leaking from the trees.”
Heidel stood over us. “It does not look natural. What would cause the water to transform like this?”
“I wish I knew.”
Something moved in the trees behind me. Kull had his sword out so fast I barely saw him move. I grabbed the knife from my pack and spun to find a young girl standing in the trees’ shadows.
She was a little taller than me, with skin so pale it almost looked translucent, and her lips were so bloodless they were almost indistinguishable from her skin. She wore a dingy white gown that matched her long, stringy hair. With bare feet, she stepped into the glen. Her eyes caught my attention—they shone with a dark crimson glow.
“Who are you?” Heidel demanded.
“I am Cyren of the woodland elves. I am the guardian of the pool. Like those who came before me, I have taken an oath to protect it.”
“Why must you protect it?” I asked.
“Because this pool is sacred to my people and to the unicorns—we work together to safeguard it. More importantly, I stand watch over it now because this liquid is deadly. Any creature who touches it will perish.”
“Where does it come from?” I asked.
“I cannot say, but it once was meant to keep the stone safe.”
“We have come here to find the missing stone. Do you know where it is?”
She shook her head. “I do not know. But it has been gone for quite some time.”
“Cyren,” Heidel spoke up. “What happened to the others like you?”
“Others?”
“Yes. We came across the elven village. Was it yours?”
She paused before speaking. “Yes. There are none left like me. I am the last.”
“What happened to the others?” I asked.
A haunted look crossed her face. “He came at night, after the watch had retired. He knew when to come, for he slipped into our homes unnoticed, when we slept. He slaughtered us in our beds, working his way from house to house.
“I awoke and heard something moving up the ladder, so I hid beneath my bed.” She closed her eyes. “I will not repeat what I saw that night. But after he left, I was alone. He had killed everyone and taken the starstone.
“I knew I should not have used my magic, but it was the only thing left to do. I cast a spell that should have destroyed the creature, but instead,” she lifted her hands, “the spell transformed me.”
“You are lucky the spell did not kill you,” Heidel
