The snow fell quietly as Ryker and Eleanor stepped into the forest. Following the boy's whispered clue they started looking for the tree.
The trees in the forest stood like sentinels. They were tall and upright, as skeletal things wrapped around them in frost and silence. Every branch of the trees was twisted like claws against the pale morning sky.
There was no wind present. No sound but their boots crunching through untouched snow.
The deeper they walked, the heavier the air grew. The light dimmed, as if the forest swallowed it whole.
'This feels horribly wrong'
Ryker pulled his jacket tighter around him and glanced at Eleanor.
She moved with purpose, silent and focused. Her crimson eyes watched every flicker between the trees. The white of her hair made her look like a ghost in the snow.
Distant and untouchable.
But she was here.
And that alone was enough to steady his heart.
*****
They walked for nearly half an hour before they saw it.
