Isle of Winds (The Changeling Series Book 1) by Fahy James

Author:Fahy, James [Fahy, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Venture Press
Published: 2015-12-22T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen –

Through the Barrow Wood

Robin lay on his back, wheezing as though he had just been punched in the stomach, his eyes screwed shut as he fought the dizziness in his head. He felt as though he had just rolled down a huge hill, tumbling over and over.

From somewhere nearby came Woad’s piping voice. “Pinky! You okay? Anything broken?”

“Is he dead?” came Karya’s voice from somewhere nearby, sounding equally winded but also quite business-like.

“Ugh…” Robin managed, opening his eyes as the nausea subsided.

“He’s not dead … just clumsy,” Woad called.

“Oh. Good,” Karya muttered. “I did tell him to bend his knees. You heard me tell him.”

Robin ignored their chatter, staring up at the sky above him. All snow clouds had vanished. The sky was filled with more stars than he had ever seen, and the blackness behind them wasn’t black at all, but the deepest most velvety blue. He didn’t recognize a single constellation.

Sitting up woozily, the second thing he noticed was that there was no snow. He was lying in a large field, the grass so tall he was almost hidden in it. A breeze rippled softly around him.

“It’s … warm,” he said in disbelief. “We’re really here?”

“Nothing broken then?” Karya came into view, ploughing through the sea of grass like a small determined ship.

Robin glanced up at her and saw, at the top of the hill he had just tumbled down, Erlking Hall.

He stared, his mouth hanging open. Here, in the Netherworlde, it wasn’t just a grand stately home. It was transformed.

Atop the hill a castle loomed, massive and dark. Countless towers and turrets, roofs and bridges crowded together like a small town. It looked black and glossy in the moonlight, as though carved from shining obsidian. Every single window was dark. The place looked deserted. Haunted.

It was only when Robin got over the initial shock of seeing it so transformed that he noticed it was largely a ruin. Crumbling in places and half-covered with straggling ivy.

Karya heaved him to his feet with a grunt. She followed his gaze.

“Big, isn’t it?” she understated.

Robin didn’t answer. He was scanning the castle, wondering which of its countless windows he had peered from in the locked room with Phorbas.

“Yep, the Erl King’s Hill.” Karya clapped him on the back. “Seen better days, of course. And that’s where we have come from, not where we are going.” She turned him around by the shoulders.

Beyond the grassy slopes, where Robin’s mind insisted the village should be, there was nothing but rolling silvery hills bereft of any sign of habitation, and a distant smudge of a shadowy forest.

“Ah, it’s good to be back,” Woad said, turning a few cartwheels around them, sending up sprays of pollen. “I’ve been stuck in the human world for far too long! Smell that Netherworlde air!”

Karya ignored him, scanning the hills and woods. Robin assumed she was searching for signs of Mr Strife or his skrikers.

“Where are we going?” he asked. “Can you tell where Henry and Phorbas

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.