Chapter 28

A dull, rumbling sound can be heard from the horizon and Indra looks up at the clear blue sky. She can't see any dark clouds gathering overhead, but she can feel the muggy heat that makes the sweat drip from her scalp and trail down her back.

For hours, they have been silently riding through the forest. The aged trunks of the trees are twisted to the east and the autumn foliage various in shades from matured green to garnet red. Some leaves are rolled up and dry. A few of the old tree trunks are distorted and twisted into strange looking portals. It is difficult to see if the trees are growing up or down; the forest has its own pulse like a rhythmic heartbeat traveling up from the ground into their own bodies.

The heat rising out of the earth creates a low-lying haze among the trees. The light fog resembles a snake as it twists and caresses the protruding tree roots. This is not a place that wants you any good. Indra can feel it. A new rumbling sound rolls across the s