Chapter 7

The trees here branched off to form a clearing.Rilm was right about the time—overhead starsshone in their firmament,and the Hunter seemed to sparkle against the sudden depth of blue expanse.Below the stars lay a field of small,bushy plants with bright red berries that grewplump as we watched.One popped,an audible sound,spurting a small amount of red liquid ontothe ground.Others followed suit,and suddenly I knew where we were.“The plants that weep bloody tears,”I whispered.

Beside me,Lith shuddered.“I don’t like it here.”

Across the field we could see a tower whose gray outer walls had tumbled into the ground long ago.What remained looked like the shaft of a broken arrow stuck in the earth.The parapet was gone,and where the rock had fallen away,I could see crumbling stairs lining the inside.They must have led to the tower’s sole chamber,now open to the elements,through whose one window I could see the forest beyond.The tower was silent—no wails of sorrow here.