CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Kyra walked slowly through the mist, arms out at her side, as she entered an obscured forest path. She passed low, thick trees with gnarled branches, twisting and turning, reaching out for her. They created an archway, a path covering her head, leading deeper and deeper into the gloom and fog. It was a path she felt she had been walking forever.
The path opened and Kyra found herself in a small clearing, the fog thicker here. Before her sat a small stone cottage, torchlight flickering from inside, a beacon amidst the thickening fog. Kyra wondered who could be inside, who could live in such an eerie place, here in the midst of nowhere, inside a mysterious, ancient forest.
Slowly, its weathered, oak door creaked open, and there emerged a figure who stood before her, sta
