The Sorcerer's Ring: Book 05 - A Vow of Glory by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online Page B

to sound authoritative, to reassure his friends. But deep down, he was not
so sure himself. This entire journey was feeling increasingly ominous to him.
    As
one, they turned and faced the jungle, staring at it. It was a wall of foliage,
blackness behind it. The animal noises rose up in a cacophony all around them,
so loud that Thor could hardly hear himself think. It felt as if every beast of
the Empire was screaming out to greet them.
    Or to
warn them.
    *
    Thor
and the others hiked side-by-side, warily, each of them on guard, through the
thick, tropical jungle. It was hard for Thor to hear himself think, so persistent
were the screams and cries of the orchestra of insects and animals around him. Yet
when he looked into the blackness of the foliage, he could not spot them.
    Krohn
walked at his heels, snarling, the hair standing on his back. Thor had never
seen him so alert. He looked over at his brothers-in-arms, and saw each, like
he, with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword, all of them on-edge, too.
    They
had been hiking for hours now, deeper and deeper into the jungle, the air
becoming hotter and thicker, more humid, heavier to breathe. They had followed the
traces of what appeared to once be a trail, a few broken branches hinting at the
path the group of men who had arrived here may have taken. Thor only hoped that
it was the trail of the group who had stolen the sword.
    Thor
looked up, in awe of the nature: everything was overgrown to epic proportion,
every leaf as big as Thor. He felt like an insect in a land of giants. He saw
something rustling behind some of the leaves, but couldn’t actually see
anything. He had the ominous feeling that they were being watched.
    The
trail before them suddenly ended in a solid wall of foliage. They all stopped
and looked at each other, puzzled.
    "But
the trail can't just disappear!" O'Connor said, hopeless.
    "It
didn't," Reece said, examining the leaves. "The jungle just grew back
on itself.”
    "So
which way now?" Conval asked.
    Thor
turned and looked all around, wondering the same thing. In every direction was
just more of the dense foliage, and there seemed to be no way out. Thor was
beginning to have a sinking feeling, and felt increasingly lost.
    Then
he had an idea.
    “Krohn,"
he said, kneeling down and whispering in Krohn's ear. "Climb that tree.
Look for us. Tell us which way to go.”
    Krohn
looked up at him with his soulful eyes, and Thor felt he understood.
    Krohn
sprinted for an enormous tree, the trunk as wide as ten men, and without
hesitating pounced on it and clawed his way up. Krohn sprinted straight up then
leapt out onto one of the highest branches. He walked out to its tip and looked
out, his ears standing straight. Thor had always sensed that Krohn understood
him, and now he knew for certain that he did.
    Krohn
leaned back and made a strange purring noise in the back of his throat, then
scurried back down the trunk and took off in one direction. The boys exchanged
a curious look, then all turned and followed Krohn, heading off into that part
of the jungle, pushing back the thick leaves so they could walk.
    After
a few minutes of following him, Thor was relieved to see the trail pick up
again, the telltale signs of broken branches and foliage showing which way the
group had went. Thor leaned down and patted Krohn, kissing him on the head.
    "I
don’t know what we would have done without him," Reece said.
    “Nor
do I," Thor responded.
    Krohn
purred, satisfied, proud.
    As
they continued deeper into the jungle, twisting and turning, they came to a
stretch of new foliage, with flowers all around them, enormous, the size of Thor,
bursting with every color. Other trees had fruits the size of boulders hanging
from the branches.
    They
all stopped in wonder as Conval walked over to one of the fruits, glowing red,
and reached up to touch it.
    Suddenly,
there came a deep, growling noise.
    Conval
backed away and grabbed his sword, and the others all looked at each