There were also leaves crunching underfoot, if that was even the right term, since we’d had to wade through waist-deep piles in places, and they were washed up against some of the larger trees in drifts twice as high as my head. They cut off a lot of what little light there was, and would have made an already difficult situation basically impossible, only I was here with two witches.

As a result, we had two light sources, although they were mostly illuminating leaf piles at the moment. Rhea had magicked up an orb of the kind that the dark mages had used in the tunnels, and Guinn had festooned a dead tree branch with strange, blue flame. We hadn’t wanted to risk using either of them, in case there were fey about, but there hadn’t been a choice.

Now, contrasting colors of electric blue and gold danced over the scene, highlighting two tired faces, predatory trees, and yet more leaves. Who knew that Faerie could be so boring, I thought, flopping back and looking up. And then catching my breath in wonder.

I’d been so busy watching my footsteps, that I hadn’t paid much attention to what was above me. Although it wouldn’t have mattered for much of our hike, which had taken place under heavy tree cover. But we’d reached, not a clearing, but a gap in the branches overhead, showing off a sight that you’d never see on Earth, unless visiting the famous Sequoias.

Although I didn’t know whether even they were this big. I was staring up at trees as thick around as apartment buildings, with leafy tops that speared so far into the starlit sky that I could barely see them. It looked like we’d stumbled into a massive cathedral of wood rather than stone, with the trunks like columns and the branches like buttresses.

It was almost like being in two forests at once. The sequoia-like trees looked like they touched the stars, while the tops of the shorter varieties, many of which were still pretty big, formed a second canopy far below. No wonder it was so dark! Through a gap, I could see crisscrossing beams of moonlight bouncing off the huge trunks far above us, but only an occasional ray reached the forest floor. And by the time it did, it had disintegrated into practically nothing.

“Douse the lights,” Guinn said suddenly, a second before hers went out.

“Why?” I asked, as Rhea followed suit.

Guinn didn’t answer. I couldn’t see her at all now, except as a silhouette against the night, framed by rapidly fading after images. But unlike me and Rhea, she was on her feet, with her head turning this way and that. She almost looked like she was sniffing the air, and maybe she was. Faerie was so damned weird that nothing would have surprised me.