The House of Grey- Volume 4 (41 page)

“Where are we going
?
”
H
is light whisper sounded playful. “I thought we weren’t allowed in
this
section of
the
grounds
.
”

“We aren’t, but you should feel special because I’m going to show you something spectacular. Not many people get this opportunity
.
”

“You’re baiting me,” Monson answered suspiciously
.
Taris replied with a devious smile.

“Maybe
.
”

Monson
sighed
. He was never going to understand this woman. Maybe she sensed his uneasiness or maybe it was just her flirtatious personality
,
but at that point
,
Taris turned
towards
him
,
catching him on
his
wrist. She looked at him directly
,
her green eyes bright as gleaming emeralds
despite the darkness surrounding them
. She pulled him to her
,
whispering.

“Trust me a little longer
.
” She tugged him even closer. “You won’t regret seeing this. I promise
.
”

Monson did as he was told, moving behind Taris with exaggerate
d
slowness and observing that
the grounds became more wild and
scruffy.
T
hey moved f
a
rther and f
a
rther away from edges of the old dormitory
.
As they did, it got even darker and more difficult to see
.
A
s far as he could tell
,
they
were steadily
making their way into the forest and
towards
one of the
Four Lords of Coren Valley
, the mountain peaks surrounding the valley
. This made Monson nervous.
He needed to
say something.

“Taris, listen
.
”
H
e spoke gently
,
hoping fervently that he
would
not
offend
her. “I don’t think this is a good idea.
W
alking into the woods at nigh
t
with no lights or warm cloth
e
s probably isn’t the smartest thing we could do.”

“Who said that
we
were going in without any light?
”
she
answered as she moved f
a
rther up the path. Monson raised
an
eyebrow at her.

She was not making any sense. It was quite obvious that they
did not
have any lights with them.
What was she playing at?

Abruptly, Taris stopped midstride.

“This is the reason you don’t have to worry
.
”
She
squeezed his hand before
kneeling down
in front of an odd
-
looking s
h
rub
. She
fuss
ed
with some of the
foliage
. The
n the
re was a heavy
click
and
a
creaking
sound
as Taris opened
some
sort of compartment hidden within the recesses of...a
chest
?
It was not a plant at all
,
but a metallic chest
concealed by
thick brush.

“What is all this
?
” Monson leaned over Taris to get a better look.

She
giggled
.
“It
’
s a secret,
so
you should consider yourself fortunate. What you are about to see only two other people
besides me
have seen. It
’
s a very special place
.
”

“I’m honor
ed
,” said Monson with just a touch of sarcasm. If Taris was looking for overt excitement on some level
,
she was probably going to find herself wanting, at least after today.

Taris
stood after
shoving a variety of items into his hands
.
T
wo flashlights, sunglasses, gloves, a pillow and a very thick quilt.

Monson kept any comments to himself.

“That should do it
.
” Taris pushed the lid of the chest down with some force
,
pulled out
her
cell phone
looking at the clock.
“We’d better hurry
—
it’s almost time.”

Monson, despite his
misgivings about this adventure,
fe
lt
a
prickle of curiosity. Taris
’
preparations and enigmatic actions
came across as
conspiratorial.  It made him think that this little expedition may not have been as spontaneous as he had thought.

“This way
,
” she said after she plucked one of the flashlights and
a pair of
gloves out of his hands
.
“Watch your step
—
this trail can be tricky
.
”

They continued along
the same path
, which
eventually took them into the forest. It was
a
beautiful night
,
clear and crisp with the scent of pine and
cool
earth. Monson
stayed close to Taris as they crest
ed a hill and then
descended deeper into the wood.
Recent
rain
s had made
the incline of the hill slippery and unpredictable. Eventually
,
the ground leveled out and a more defined path seemed to spring out of nowhere.

“A couple of friends and I found this our freshman year
.
” Taris pointed to the pathway. “We originally thought it was
a
school publicity stunt
or something.
”

“Why is that?” Monson
scanned the
dirt
path.
“I don’t see anything
weird.
W
hy would you assume that this path had something to do with the school?”

“You see
,
Mr. Grey
,
that’s your problem
.
” Taris looked at him
with
a slight glint in her eye. “You are constantly looking at
the
surface when what’s really important is just below
.
” 

She grabbed his hand and led him deeper still into the forest. Monson waited
for her
to explain her perplexing comment. She stopp
ed
in front of a large break in the path form
ed
by
a ravine. More th
an
ten feet across and
at
least as deep
,
the ravine
was
a wicked scar on the landscape.
Because there was no stream in sight, t
he formation was an oddity
,
like someone with a hand
ten
feet wide
had raked it
across the forest floor.

“Can you help me?” asked Taris
,
giving him a little bump with her hip.

Monson proffered his hand and together the
y
moved slowly into the ravine. The belly of the ravine was a great deal wider than
it had
initially
looked
. The space made Monson uncomfortable
,
causing unbidden flashes of grave
-
like imagery with creepy undead creatures popping
out
at
every
twist and turn. He was happy when Taris
increased
her pace.

“You know Taris,”
he
said jokingly
.
“
If you
’
re planning on assassinating me
there
are easier ways to do it
.
Y
ou don’t have to take me all the way out here
.
”

“I want to make sure no one finds the body
,
” Taris
shot back
without missing a beat
.

“I guess I can’t argue with that
.
” Monson chuckled. “Just make it
quick
.
”
 

“You won’t have to wait long,”
she assured him.
“
W
e
’
re almost there
.
”

They
continued walking
. Monson
did
not
know
for
how long
, as
he
’
d
left his phone back in his room and
the moon
was not
visible here
.
He
hope
d
that their journey was close to complete.

Monson
let
out a whistle
once
he and Taris entered a bowl
-
shaped clearing
bordered
with unbelievably massive trees.  The space was
about
fifty
yards
across
and just as deep as the ravine. 
However, u
nlike the ravine with its narrow space
s
, sharp rocks
,
and awkward terrain, this enclosure was covered in a short
,
soft grass
that
seemed to melt into the mountainside
,
at
the base of which they were now standing. In the backdrop
,
Monson
spied
the top of the southern peak of
Coren’s
Four Lords, Lion
,
climbing into the sky like a sentinel
to
the world outside Coren.  On the opposite side of the clearing
,
a jumble of trees and
undergrowth
blanketed the crest of the bowl
,
marking the end of their path.
In the
beam of their
flashlight
,
Monson saw
a small opening
, almost like
a foxhole
,
at the base of the mass
.

“Wow
.
”
H
e stepped into the very center of the clearing. The stars littered the sky in such abundance that it
was difficult
to recognize the night.
The occasional m
eteor and other heavenly firework danced
along the
horizon
,
creating theatrics performed just for them. A
gentle
breeze cradl
ed
the two
in the warmth of nature’s comforting arms
.
Monson
felt any fear or apprehension drain
away
as he surveyed the area.
Spinning on the spot, he searched for Taris
,
who
was
watching him.

“Thank you, this is beautiful
.
I’m really glad I came.”

“I’m glad you like
it.
”
She
moved a bit closer to him
.
“
B
ut this isn’t what I
wanted
to show
you.”