The Forsaken Saga Complete Box Set (Books 1-4)

by Sophia Sharp

  Nora knew it was pointless, but still extended her feet out in front of her in a flying kick. It would make no difference, but on some level Nora wanted to go down fighting. The last thing she would do was cower before death.

  Her feet made contact with the tongue. Immediately, the great jaws snapped down on her. They moved so fast that Nora did not have time to react. She felt the rush of wind as they clamped down, about to extinguish her very life…

  The surface she stood on shifted, and suddenly Nora found herself falling downward, through the snake’s body. She was so disoriented she didn’t even have time to catch herself as she fell. She landed with a grunt on the hard ground and looked up in amazement.

  The snake shimmered. Its entire body began to oscillate from transparent to opaque. Gaping holes appeared in its skin, filled with a beaming light, and then closed up again. A cry of terrifying pain echoed from its jaws, but it was not the voice of the snake. It was the cry of the elder. The snake’s body waxed and waned, wavering back and forth unsteadily. Parts folded in on themselves, before coming back at impossible angles. The body thrashed about, but it didn’t have the solidity to affect its surroundings anymore. It went through earth and rock without touching either.

  Then, abruptly, the entire spectacle ceased. The snake collapsed lifelessly onto the ground. Nora watched with amazement as more holes filled with shining light burst forth along its skin. Each one added to the already blinding brightness radiating from the body. The light illuminated the surroundings with the power of a thousand suns, and more and more of those gaping holes appeared, until they completely overpowered the remains of the snake. For half a second, the entire snake was nothing more than an elongated ball of light. Then it collapsed in on itself before winking out with a spectacular flash.

  The flash burned a hole in Nora’s vision. It took a few seconds for her to blink it away. When her eyesight was restored, she found the elder collapsed on the ground not two hundred feet away from her. He looked…older, somehow. More frail. The edges of his hair were now tinged with gray, and there were lines on his face that were not there before. His eyes were closed, but Nora saw his eyelids flicker. He was still alive.

  Yet Nora had defeated the snake. Elation gripped her, but was quickly cut off when the elder stirred. Nora dared not approach – not yet, and not without knowing what had happened to him. It could be another ruse, in his attempt to lure her closer. She would not fall for it again.

  Slowly, the elder picked himself up. As he moved, Nora saw that his body shook weakly, and his movements looked frail. It was as if a portion of the years he had lived had started to catch up with him.

  From his hands and knees, the elder opened his eyes. As soon as he did, the link to him in Nora’s mind cemented into being. Fear washed over his face temporarily, but was instantly hidden by an unreadable mask. The elder got up and fled.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~A Terrible Favor~

  Nora watched him go, but did not follow immediately. She felt him trying to shield the connection that linked them together, but she held it in place with help of the torrial. It seemed easy now, compared to the strength needed to force it into being before. Cutting off the elder’s connection to the snake seemed to have reduced his strength.

  But was she ready to follow him? The episode with the snake proved just how much more experienced he was than her. If she went after him, was she just rushing to some other threat? The whole expedition was pure madness, teetering not far from the edge of a glorified suicide mission. She could only focus on one thing now. Kill the man that was in the dream with her.

  She would have to be more careful this time. Severing one of the three cords that pulsed into the elder had weakened him. She had seen him after it was done, and he looked less of the man she first met. Those cords, whatever they were, seemed to provide a life energy to him that he feasted upon. If she managed to sever the remaining two, would that be enough to kill him?

  There was another problem, of course. When she saw the cords the first time, they shimmered with a lustrous light. But the next time she looked, they had become completely transparent, rendering themselves invisible to her. They may as well have been gone, and she wouldn’t have known the difference. But, she took the chance and slashed at one. That move saved her life. It was also incredibly dangerous and foolish.

  When she found the elder next time, how could she be sure that the cords would be there? What if they remained transparent? That would put her at a distinct disadvantage. And what were they connected to, so far in the distance?

  Nora fixed the image of him riding the snake in her mind. She remembered exactly where the three cords connected to his back were. Even if the two that were left were invisible to her when she caught up to him, she could still slash them if she got close enough.

  She shivered despite herself. Close enough meant within arms-reach of the elder. Her instincts were good, and they warned her of the danger coming so close would entail.

  Of course, the elder now knew she knew about the cords. If they were as vital to his existence as Nora suspected, he would do everything to keep them safe. It would come down to a battle of the wits, not of pure strength, and the best strategy would win out in the end. Was she smart enough to go head-to-head with someone who’s had the experience of a hundred lifetimes? Of someone who had elevated himself to the very top of an already manipulative, cunning race?

  She had no choice but to try. After all, she was already here. She—

  A sudden shift in the connection interrupted her thoughts. In the blink of an eye, the elder had crossed a great distance. What? How? One second Nora felt him in one place, running from her, and the next, he was dozens of miles farther.

  It was not just that he was using his Vassiz speed. She thought he had actually manipulated the world around him. Nora felt what he had done through the connection, very faintly, like the delicate taste you imagine exists when you smell a delectable aroma. He had shifted reality in one direction while going the other. No, that was not quite it – she had done as much when scaling the mountain. It was something stronger, something that moved him over a distance she could not have followed easily.

  She prodded at the connection gently, trying to catch the wisp of a shadow that could clue her in to what he did. It was like trying to figure out a word that was caught on the tip of your tongue. She grasped at it and missed, catching nothing. Frustration boiled up inside of her. She tried again and missed. It was like catching smoke with her hands. The process was maddening.

  She tried again and missed. She tried once more and missed again. A growl sounded in her throat. She tried again and caught absolutely nothing.

  Then, just when she was about to give up, the process revealed itself to her. The elegance of it was so simple Nora felt ashamed she hadn’t thought of it herself.

  The elder did not shift reality in one direction to make the jump. Rather, he folded it in front of him so one step forward would take him many miles away.

  Nora could do the same. With the torrial’s help, perhaps she could even do it to a greater degree than the elder. It would make the chase much easier.

  Nora stood up, and in that moment, she realized something that gave her immense confidence. The elder was no longer the one chasing after her. She was no longer the one running. Now, here, in the dream, she was the hunter, and the elder was her prey. She had found his weakness and shown herself equal to even the greatest nightmare he could muster. She set out after him.

  ~~

  Nora followed as the elder fled. She drew on the torrial and pinched reality together in front of her. Then she stepped through the fold. One step took her many miles away. The elder must have sensed her coming, for he started running with ever greater haste. She felt him folding reality before him, transporting himself over great distances in the blink of an eye. But she was more than his equal for that.

  Suddenly she stopped, remembering Gray. Was he still looking for her? He must
be. Would he know where to go, now? That was unlikely. Not with the way she was travelling. But could she in good conscience bring him along with her to more danger? Then again, if he were looking for her where she said she would be, and was unable to find her, that would distress him even more. She turned her attention away from the elder momentarily. She had to get Gray.

  In her mind, she imagined the same connection forming between her and Gray that existed between her and the elder. It would allow her to know where he was, and vice-versa. She focused, willing it into place, and it snapped easily into existence. Without any trouble, she knew exactly where he was.

  He was much closer than she expected. In fact, it felt like he was less than a mile to the northeast – much closer than he should have been if he could only travel on his feet. It seemed like he had some control over this place, too, and used it to move toward her.

  Nora turned toward him, ran forward, and drew on the torrial to fold the land in front of her. It happened instantly. In the flash of an eye, the landscape before her simply cut off and became another, with no transition between the two. Nora stepped over the edge and let go. She felt the world rebound back to its former shape, and when she looked back, she saw new land behind her. Land she had not crossed, but skipped over.

  There, not a hundred feet away, was Gray, barreling toward her with all the speed he could muster. Nora ran to him. He nearly knocked her over when they met, standing on his hind legs to allow her to embrace his tummy. On contact, the connection between their minds formed. Not the one that told Nora where he was, but the special one that allowed them to share thoughts and emotions, images and memories.

  It was not as strong here as it would have been in the real world, but it was enough to communicate. Nora felt elation stream in from him, tinged only slightly with the barest hint of worry. She smiled. Gray was just happy to see her, with no thought to his own wellbeing or anything that had happened before. There was no anger for her inadvertently misleading him, no distrust from coming to the forest and not finding her there. Just happiness at seeing her. Even the hint of worry that seeped in originally was now gone.

  “You came here for me,” Nora told him, “and I won’t forget that. You saved my life many times before. Where I have to go, you may have to do so again. Or I may need to save you. But whatever we face, we’ll do it together, won’t we?”

  Gray roared loudly in reply, and then, in complete contrast, reached over and grasped Nora’s shoulder gently in his jaws in a display of affection. Nora smiled, and patted his head.

  “I don’t think you can keep up with me,” she said, thinking out loud, “but I do know of a way we can get to where I need to go together. Stand still for a second, and don’t be alarmed.” She sent the same sentiment through the connection between them and waited for understanding to come back through. Once it did, she closed her eyes and drew on the torrial.

  When she opened them, there was a saddle tied onto Gray’s back. She laughed with delight. Seeing the elder on the snake had given her the idea. It was just like the harness he’d used, except modified slightly to fit Gray’s size. Gray twisted back to look at it uncertainly, then gave his great body a violent shake. The harness did not move an inch. He looked at her and tilted his head questioningly.

  Nora smiled and patted his cheek. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Look at this.” In one move, she swung herself around the side and up onto the saddle. It was a perfect fit. She held onto the handle with one hand, while using the other to reach down and re-form the connection with Gray once more. “No matter how fast you are, you can’t keep up when I run at full speed,” she explained, supplementing the words with images through the connection. “But with the new way I can travel, we don’t need to run at all. You’ll be the one who takes me there, and I’ll manipulate the path in front of us to make sure we go faster than I could running.”

  Nora pointed to the side, in the direction of the elder. “That’s where we need to go.” Gray snapped at the air once, then set off at full speed.

  Nora laughed, filled with joy as she felt the air stream across her face. Gray was fast, and the burden of carrying her and the harness did not seem to slow him at all. Together, they would find the elder. Together, they would see justice done.

  Nora focused on the connection that existed between her and the elder. He had gone far, but had slowed recently. Perhaps because he thought she was not following anymore. While the connection would soon tell him otherwise, let him think so for the moment. It was a small advantage she’d be happy to exploit.

  Gray kept running forward, and Nora reached through the torrial to bend the world. Reality shimmered in front of her, and then the terrain they were on ended and another began. Gray jumped through without hesitation. She felt the elder start to move away, faster than he had been going recently. Already, he had picked up that she was coming. And already, he was running. From her.

  Nora used the torrial again to change the landscape in front of her. Gray remained unfazed. Together, they jumped from place to place, each time getting closer and closer to the elder. It wasn’t long before they left the bleak terrain that marked the place she had arrived and entered one more vibrant. They went over rivers, across mountains, and through valleys. They were running, they were chasing. They were hunting.

  The elder did not move in a straight line, but Nora always knew where he was. She directed Gray the proper way each time the path altered. The rush of chasing somebody, something, was not lost on her. Her hunting instincts kicked in for the first time since her feeding. This was what being a Vassiz was all about. The elation of the hunt, the thrill of the chase. Now, she was the hunter, not the elder. Their roles had been reversed. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, and her eyes focused squarely ahead, the ache in Nora’s foot did not even register. She was wholly focused on getting the elder.

  A stray thought entered her mind, and she found herself wondering how the others were doing. Even if she managed to kill this elder, all her plans would be useless if even one of her friends failed. She shook her head and put that notion out of mind. She couldn’t think about things she had no control over. In an instant, she was back in the moment, chasing the elder across the land with Gray at her side. In an instant, she was the hunter again.

  Bit by bit, they were catching up. The elder had a head start, but Nora had the torrial. Soon, they would meet. And then Nora would kill him.

  Out of nowhere, the elder stopped. She and Gray were only one more fold from catching him. A strange kind of interference appeared on her connection with him. Nora slowed, pulling Gray to a halt. She could still feel the elder, but telling his precise location was like trying to make out the image on a grainy television channel.

  “He did something,” Nora said out loud. “We’ll have to be careful.”

  Gray emitted a deep rumbling sound from his throat as if in understanding.

  “Alright.” Nora drew on the torrial and created the final ripple needed to bring them to him. She was wary, though, and so made it stop a good distance away from the elder’s exact location.

  Gray stepped through the border, and suddenly they were in the depths of a dense evergreen forest. The interference on Nora’s connection with the elder increased exponentially, but she could still tell he had not moved. From so close, the interference was enough to mask his location.

  “He’s hiding,” Nora whispered to Gray. “He knows we’re here. We have to be careful.”

  Quickly, she slid out the saddle and onto her feet. She allowed the harness to disappear, which made Gray look at her thankfully. Despite her best efforts to make it comfortable for him, it still must have still been an annoyance. Not that he would ever admit as much.

  Nora tried to draw on the connection to find the elder, but the interference was too much. She used the torrial to get rid of the interference, but nothing changed. The connection was as obscure as ever. It wasn’t quite camouflaged like it had been once before, and Nora would kno
w if the elder moved, but it was enough to block her from finding the elder exactly.

  He was somewhere in front of her, but that spanned a radius of nearly sixty degrees. If he hid well, she could walk right by him in these woods and not realize it. She couldn’t rely on the connection anymore. Now, it was up to her to use her instinctual senses.

  She pushed the fuzzy connection to one corner of her mind. It would only be a hindrance. She put her hand on Gray’s head to form the connection to him once more. “Stay back,” she told him. “You can follow, but only do so from a distance.” She felt affirmation shoot back through the link, telling her he understood. With that, she set forward.

  She had not gone a hundred feet when a strangled cry broke through the air. Somebody was in pain. It was not the elder’s voice. Was somebody else here?

  Nora sensed her connection to the elder, making sure he wasn’t the source of the cry. As best she could tell, he was not.

  The cry came again, more dire this time. Nora’s heart missed a beat when she realized whose voice it was. Hunter’s. How did he get here?

  She ran through the trees, racing toward the voice. Another cry of pain spurred her onward. She burst through a row of trees, and her eyes fell on a horrific sight.

  Hunter was there, slumped against the thick trunk of a tree. A deep red gash ran along one arm, from shoulder to elbow, exposing raw muscle and bone. His shirt was off, and he had used it to try to contain the wound, but blood still streamed out of it. The entire cloth was stained red. Nora nearly vomited when she saw the scene.

  Hunter lay there awkwardly, with his legs twisted horribly underneath him. His face was a mask of pure agony. He was breathing hard, and the three scars along his torso pulsed wickedly, threatening to break free at any moment. His eyes were shut.