Chapter 13
AS SOON AS Johanna set foot on the path, voices whispered with the wind, the words lilting and mysterious. The leaves rustled as if reaching for her. They were bursting with stories. They were in pain. They struggled against their magic-enforced shape. They wailed Set us free, set us free.
The chill that took hold of her went to her bones.
The duke, walking behind the wagon, concentrated on where he put his feet and his walking stick on the uneven ground. Both he and Loesie in the cart showed no signs of being affected; neither did Sylvan.
Johanna had to restrain herself from running away. She had to get out of here. Something bad was going to happen.
But the duke kept walking slowly, with his cane going tap, tap, tap on the uneven ground. Once the path had been paved, but
