Kael stumbled deeper into the forest. Every step echoed, though the ground was soft. The mist curled around him like a thousand whispering mouths.
He could hear them now. Voices.
Faint, familiar.
"Kael… help me…"
He spun around. That voice—it sounded like...
"Mom?"
But that wasn't possible. She'd been gone since he was five.
"Don't trust them…" another voice warned. This one was deeper, older.
Then a scream tore through the air—close. Too close.
Kael ran.