Enchanted Revenge by Theresa M. Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

Province preside.”
    “Okay. So why did everyone go there?”
    “We are almost at a village now,” he said. “You’ll understand better when we get there.”
    Whatever that was supposed to mean. Ever since I met this guy, the words that came out of his mouth frustrated me more than they relieved me. They brought up more questions than answers.
    But I didn’t argue, because I was getting tired of walking and would so like to find a village with a place to stop and rest.
    The trees thinned out the further we walked. I could see for several feet before another tree showed and then even more feet between that one and the next. The grass was still thick, with weeds and flowers blooming abundantly, but the trees weren’t as constant anymore.
    And then, at the end of our trail, there was an opening of sorts in the trees. Something more obvious than the trees just thinning out.
    When we walked out of the trail, my jaw fell so low it almost hit me in the chest. In a way, it was the most beautiful sight I had seen. But in a way it was also the saddest.
    The trail opened up into a wide circle clearing. In the very center of the circle was what appeared to be a large fire pit. It was a circle of green marble with the inside sunken in around the edges and a pile of wood in the middle. There was even a ring of marble benches around it to match. It was something I could imagine a group of people sitting around and telling stories, like me and my parents did when we went camping and roasted marshmallows. Only much larger than the campfires we made. The circle was so large, I imagined at least thirty or forty people could easily sit around it.
    Maybe it was just a place for them to congregate or something. But the pretty fire pit wasn’t the most astonishing thing.
    All along the edge of the clearing were huge trees. Not so much tall, as they were wide. The base of each tree around the clearing was at least ten feet wide, and in the center was a door. No kidding. A freakin door in the middle of each tree. Like the cover of a children’s fairy tale book.
    It was so beautiful, but so empty. It was obvious there was no human…or rather fairy life. It was abandoned. A ghost town.
    Hollow. Vacant.
    Dead.
    Like me.
    “Are you coming?” he asked, rather impatiently. I hadn’t realized that I had stopped walking, but how could I not stop and stare?
    “Yeah. Sorry,” I mumbled, as I tried to make my feet move me toward him. Unfortunately my eyes didn’t get the memo, as they continued to gawk at the amazing trees. They appeared to be real, actual trees. But still so perfectly made, with those doors on the front of them. The shapes were not uniform, but the doors were always in the center, right in the front.
    He sighed and shook his head slightly, but then kept walking. At least he was finally walking at a slower pace. My eyes drifted back to the center fire pit, the one we were getting closer to, and then to the benches that beckoned to me, or at least to my feet.
    Alec walked right passed them. But I couldn’t. I stopped and reached my fingers out to them. The stone benches looked so smooth, so pristine. Even in the waning sunlight, they sparkled.
    “There is a residence here we can use for the night,” he said, after he stopped and looked back at me to find me staring longingly at the beautiful benches. “I know you’re tired. We’re nearly there.”
    I only nodded. But before I turned away, I did place my hand on that bench. The green and brown and white woven throughout it was the most beautiful marble I had ever seen. The smoothness caressed my hand, its warmth filled me from my fingertips all the way up. It was almost silky smooth, like a silk shirt that had just been worn and then discarded. Soft, still warm, and no longer in use.
    Finally I withdrew my hand, after another sigh came from Alec’s direction. I followed behind him, trudging across the fresh grass. He finally stopped about ten trees, or houses, or whatever