Heart desired

//Chapter 40//

"This whole farm planes belongs to him." Kahlee gestured to the grounds below us. Every where I looked, I could see different types of animals and farmers. This place had a unique unpleasant smell from all the animal waste. After walking here for almost fifteen minutes, my nose had somewhat adjusted to it.

"Who?" I asked. I preferred doing exhausting tasks without speaking. Silence was always a good way to stay calm and inside my head, without worrying too much and panicking. Apparently, as I noticed for sometime now, Kahlee was the opposite. She could not go without saying anything for more than ten minutes.

"Darav Hallowburn." Kahlee said. "His father is Naleal Hallowburn. Half of the farms in Elkelyn is owned by them."

I still had no idea who she was referring to. "Do you mean the guy we left Little Pinkie with?" I asked, because another farmer did not cross my mind.

"Yeah." She said. "Did you see his gray brooch? It's so cool."

I knew her love for animals, so I could not help but smile a little. She wore a brown brooch, indicating that she had earned her title as a professional hunter. It was because of this that we did not need any guide to find where Resh and others had gone. She was an excellent track finder. It had only taken her a ten to fifteen minutes to figure out the most likely place for someone to dig a tunnel under thirty feet. .

We were on the verge of the Elkelyn. Sermeth was attacked two or three days ago, but there was no visible damage to be seen. I figured that this was not the area it had happened. An aftermath of an attack would not be this peaceful.

"Do you want to become a farmer?" I asked her.

"Kind of." She said. "But I like the freedom in hunting. Here, I know it will become boring after a while. I mean, think about waking up for every day for hundreds of years and the first thing you have to do every morning is feeding the animals." She shook her head. "As much as I like them, one day I will be bored to death."

I laughed. I could laterally imagine her being bored to death.

"Turn this way." She said. We were going on the edges of the woods. By turning, we would be going in to them. "I can smell Kylan. Though faint, his heat essence is still here."

I followed her, well, because I defenitely could not smell anything except animal waste.

The path was narrow. Kahlee pointed to a place where I could see tracks left from a cart. I praised her inwardly. If I had to do that myself, I would not have recognized that.

Then I saw it.

A giant cube of soil, sitting in a middle of nowhere.

It was as wide as twenty feet and was as tall as the same. It could easily fit fifty or so people inside. How people did not notice this, I had no idea.

I had seen Zone work before, but this was incredible. Each side was clean cut. I was not the only one who was gawking. Kahlee let out a breath of awe in a moment.

"That Zone," She said, touching it from a side. Her hands were so small compared to the cube. "He knows what he is doing."

I pushed our supplies around it. "He did the same when they came to rescue me," I said, smashing a Coutalapa who was sucking on my blood, perching on my hand. They were bigger than mosquitoes but had no wings. "But this is... something else."

"He had been digging tunnels since he started to crawl." Kahlee said. Behind the cube was the entrance to the tunnel. It had a gaping mouth, but half of it was filled with soil cubes, which were a lot smaller compared to the one outside. "He has a natural talent."

We went inside. I was cautious at first. It was eerily quiet in this place, as if the whole forest decided to not make any sound around the area. I touched Kahlee's hand. It was getting darker as we went in, and I did not want to lose her before I could light a torch.

"Is it me or does this tunnel feels cramped and ancient?" Kahlee asked.

"It's not the tunnel. It's the woods above." I said. "It's called Bluesunset forest for a reason."

"Which is?"

"I read it in a book in Rawen's palace library." I said, lighting a torch. We could not see each other anymore. "This forest had been through so many eras. Once the Delatas was covered in water. And another time, an enormous fire burned the whole planet to the ground. Still, they could see the sunset from this woods. It's just a children book."

"But still, I feel like someone is watching us."

"I know." I said. "The feeling is mutual."

We did not say anything after that. Our sounds were absorbed through the cubes of soil along the way and the clay walls around us, but still they echoed around sometimes. Any other sound would be drowned out by our own echoes. The only sound around us now was the footsteps and the sound of the wheels rolling against the floor. Sometimes, perr glass bottles would click against each other, making a clink noise here and there. The torch burned with a crisp sound. Even though it was quiet, it was filled with various sounds. Our breathing sounds were also could be heard.

I could feel shadows creeping behind me, silent and watchful. I cast a look at Kahlee. Her eyebrows were scrunched in concentration. A drop of sweat tickled down her throat. With our black clothes and capes, I felt like we were also shadows creeping inside a tunnel.

How far do we have to go before the person watching us would show himself?

What if it wasn't a person at all?

I didn't dare look back. Going back was not an option at all.

Deep, steady breathing. Sure footsteps. Watching every corner we could with our eyes.

We walked straight ahead.