Deep Amber by C.J. Busby Read Free Book Online

expecting a hawk to roost with the chickens.
    Suddenly Jem stopped, and held up his hand.
    â€œCan you hear something?” he whispered.
    Dora looked behind her. She could no longer see the place where they had entered. Branches swept low across the path, and the gleam of sunlight from beyond the edge of the trees was barely visible. Everything was still, and quiet. Then, just as she was about to shake her head, she heard a faint hiss, coming from up ahead. She froze. The hiss was followed by a clanking sound, and then what sounded like a whistle.
    Jem’s hand went to his short sword. He easedit out of the scabbard, and gestured to her to get behind him. “Follow me – stay close,” he mouthed, and set off cautiously up the path.
    Dora stayed about as close as she could without tripping him up, her ears straining for the faint metallic clanking up ahead. As they moved forward, the sounds got louder, and they could see wisps of smoke filtering through the trees. Suddenly, there was a huge shriek, and a sound like thunder. The ground under their feet shook, and a shadow seemed to pass through the trees to their left.
    Dora and Jem froze.
    But then slowly the noise and tremors faded, moving off deeper into the forest, away from the path.
    Jem shrugged, and put his sword away.
    â€œIt’s gone. Probably just the forest folk,” he said, and clapped her on the shoulder. “No need to be scared, Dora. There’s bound to be a few odd noises in a place like this.”
    But before Dora could answer, he had set off up the path again, whistling tunefully. Dora gritted her teeth, and headed after him.It was about mid morning when they reached a fork in the path. They were now deep in the forest, and their footsteps were barely leaving any mark in the soft layers of dead leaves. Jem’s whistling had finally died away under the weight of the surrounding silence. The light had faded to a greenish dimness, and when Jem turned round, Dora could only just see his pale face in front of her.
    â€œSo… which way, do you think?” said Jem, pointing to the fork. To their right, the path broadened and became flatter and straighter. To the left, it wound further into the trees, like a narrow dark river.
    â€œI don’t know,” said Dora. “There’s only supposed to be one way – and the Druid said we mustn’t stray off it.”
    â€œI think we need to take the left-hand fork,” said Jem. “I think that’s the real path.”
    â€œAre you sure?” said Dora, taken aback. “The other one looks much better used.”
    Jem gave her a superior look.
    â€œThat’s what you’re meant to think. It’s an illusion, obviously. To catch out the unwary traveller. We’ll take the left-hand path, because we’re not idiots.”
    Dora frowned. She really didn’t like the look of the left-hand path, but Jem was already heading firmly up it – and there was a certain sense to what he’d said. Everyone knew the forest was tricky, so things were not likely to be what they seemed. Perhaps Jem was right, and the obvious-looking path was the false one. She shrugged, and followed him.
    It wasn’t long before Dora was regretting her decision, and wishing she’d never even heard of Jem, never mind had to travel halfway across the kingdom with him. She was pretty sure they were lost. And ever since they’d moved onto the narrow dark path the forest had been getting stranger and stranger. There were noises, now, from all directions – weird screeches and howls and the grinding of metal on metal. Sometimes Dora thought she could see a movement – a shadow, a gleam of silver, a flash of some bright colour – but then it was gone, and all they could see around them were trees.
    She and Jem were sticking very closely together, and Jem had his hand permanently on his sword. Suddenly, without warning, therewas a booming sound and