Warden (Book 2: Lure of the Lamia) Read Free Page A

similar vein, Samara showed Errol how – by focusing his thoughts – he could “speak” to the plants. This was less direct than Errol initially thought, since communicating with the Greenlife was less about words and more about images, concepts, and feelings. For instance, in asking whether it had rained recently, he had to project an image of rain, time passing via thoughts of the rising and setting of the sun – as well as the nourishment it provided – and more.
    Unfortunately, in the time they had, he learned only to ask questions that required yes-or-no responses. “No” answers caused a uniquely sour taste to arise in his mouth, along with images in his mind of the bitternut seeds he had hated as a child. On the other hand, “Yes” responses resulted him tasting a deliciously sweet nectar, accompanied by a mental picture of honeysuckle. Any type of response that was more in-depth than this was simply too complicated for Errol to decipher. Still, he progressed enough that Samara was willing to give him a passing grade.
    “You can commune with the Greenlife now,” she said. “Although your skill at doing so is that of one of our babes.”
    “Feel free to send one of them in to the basilisk, then,” Errol said, suddenly miffed at her attitude, “and I’ll just go home.”
    “I meant no disrespect. I only intended to express that not everything that is conveyed to you by the forest – and vice versa – may be properly understood.”
    “Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”
    With that, Errol began marching towards the cavern entrance with Mobley beside him.
    Frankly speaking, he couldn’t believe he was doing this. He was about to blindly – literally – enter a cave and hunt for one of the deadliest monsters in the Badlands. Upon reflection, the fact that he could no longer see in the conventional manner suddenly struck him as a great idea. If nothing else, he wouldn’t have to worry about inadvertently locking eyes with the creature.
    When he reached the cavern entrance, he dropped down to the ground and carefully traced an immobilization ward on the ground with his warding wand. He’d never done it before without being able to see, but he was confident that the ward was properly etched. Then he spoke the activation phrase and felt the ward flare briefly, accompanied by Mobley’s barking. Now, at least, if the basilisk tried to leave the cave before they found it, it wouldn’t be able to get far. Errol then stood up, took a deep breath, and entered the cave.
     
    *****
     
    For Errol, the lack of light inside the cave was no different from the bright day outside, visually. However, the temperature was noticeably cooler. In anticipation of this, he had brought the amarok hide with him, and he placed it around his shoulders for warmth. The thick pelt was incredibly rugged, and he’d only been able to skin the beast with one of his Wendigo blades. It had not yet been properly cured, but it would serve to shield him from the chill of the cave.
    All around him, he felt the plant life – moss on rocks and walls, mushrooms protruding up from the ground, the luminescent lichen wherever it could find a toehold. Their presence was a buzzing in his head, a constant hum that gave him a rough image of the cave that he was in. Moreover, he found that if he paid close attention, he could distinguish between the details being provided by each type of greenery.
    From the information being relayed to him, the cave was fairly sizeable – about fifty feet in length as well as width. Impressive stalagmites equivalent to Errol’s six-foot height protruded up from the ground in several areas, with matching stalactites above. In addition, about a half-dozen jagged clefts in the walls led to interconnected chambers.
    Before going too far into the interior of the cave, Errol paused to confer further with the plants. Basically, before he took another step, he wanted to know if the basilisk was in this part of