Forever Across The Marsh Novels & Stories

Their oars tilt in the water and splash, lifting to release beads that catch the sunlight before falling back to the surface. They approach a narrow passage in the marsh framed by honeysuckle. The light blue sky stretches open above them, dotted with white puffy clouds. The mango sun rests high overhead, hiding and peaking behind clouds, warming their shoulders as they glide forward, and casts golden shimmers on the waters surface. Melody feels her muscles settle into rhythm, each stroke more confident than the last. The passage narrows, and honeysuckle crowds both sides, releasing its sweet perfume into the air where it mingles with the sharp scent of salt and rich mud.

They'd been spotted. "Faster," Elara urged. Kaelan rowed faster. His muscles burned, his breath came in gasps, but he didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Not with their lives depending on him. The marsh channels twisted and turned, a maze only Elara could navigate. She guided them through gaps barely wider than the boat, under branches that scraped their backs, past hidden sandbars that could have trapped them forever. And slowly, the shouts faded. The ships disappeared. The marsh closed around them like a protective hand.

Every time they moved their oars, tiny luminous planktons made the water glowed bright turquoise beneath them, and the marsh was slipping away from sight. "Where are we?" she said. Her throat was raw. Cassandra brought a bag of skin with water in it and helped her to drink slowly. When she laid back again, the princess was taken aback when Cassandra's soft hand stroked her forehead. But it was probably too dark that her surprised expression didn't bother the other girl. "We are traveling to the edge of the marsh, to a place of healing. It is not much farther. Rest." Vasilisa shook her head. "No. How..."

*Move. She pushes up. Legs shake. Vision swims. She forces one foot in front of the other. The ground begins to soften. The grass thins. Ahead, the first tendrils of fog rise from the earth like ghosts waking. The Blackwater Marshes. She can smell them now—rotting vegetation, stagnant water, the faint metallic bite of blood long spilled. Dangerous. Deadly for most. But small. Light. Quiet. A child might slip through where a grown man in armor sinks.

It was glowing with a soft, steady light. "He's still with me," I whispered, tears finally falling down my cheeks. "He's not gone." "No," Caleb said, helping me up. "But the Rogues will be back with more men. We have to reach the Marshes by dawn." We moved faster now. The spark in my soul gave me a new energy. It wasn't the violent, hot power of the Beast; it was a cool, steady strength that made my muscles feel light. As the sun began to peek over the horizon, the trees changed. The ground became soft and wet, and a thick, sweet-smelling mist rose from the water.

I urged Troi forward and the warriors surrounded us, pushing their exhausted mounts to run. The marsh was unforgiving. The mounts struggled in the deep mud and our run looked like a farce in slow motion. Bo, alone, seemed to be doing okay, but even Troi was having issues. I jerked on her head with the reins, and she screamed a fearsome noise, a sleipnir’s battle cry. I looked over to see that the Bog People were on foot, moving fast, and nearly upon us.

“Whatever those things are, they can go bother someone else today.” Bane sighs quietly but follows behind me. The Hollow Marsh. Even the name sounds unpleasant. But I do not care. Somewhere here is where the Silvarin should be. And that herb is the only thing standing between Summer and death. We walk deeper into the marsh for almost twenty minutes. The water around us becomes darker and thicker. Then suddenly Bane stops walking. “Wait.” I turn back toward him.“What?” He raises his hand and points toward the riverbank ahead.

I said. “How do you know?” Rowan asked gently. “Because if she wasn’t,” I said, “they would’ve left her body for me to find.” He didn’t argue. We left again before the hour turned. North, toward the Bleeding Marshes. The most cursed part of the northern wilds. A place the old maps warned about, where soldiers had vanished long ago. But the trail pointed there and so we followed it. The wind changed as we rode. It turned wet and heavy. The air smelled of rot and smoke, like something burning beneath the earth. The trees bent lower here. The light thinned.

The marsh doesn't belong to wolves, it doesn't belong to vampires either. Zara looked up."Then who lives there?" "Absolutely no one." The answer unsettled her. "That's impossible." "It used to belong to a pack." Selma's expression darkened."They disappeared, all of them." "Disappeared?" Rynese repeated, "without fighting?" Rynese asked. Selma nodded. "The Belmars moved in afterward, they've spent years turning the marsh into a fortress." Kael folded his arms. "So we're walking into enemy territory."

He was Melvin Neal, the last-minute groom I had found for this wedding. He caught me steadily just in time. Still, a sharp pain shot through my ankle. I couldn't help but gasp. Melvin immediately stopped and asked softly, "Where does it hurt?" I straightened up with his help and forced a small smile. "It's nothing. Let's keep going." He didn't say anything. He just stared at me for a moment, then quietly said, "Hold onto me."