"Yagas," Hans said sarcastically, stepping over some brush. "What could be more interesting."

"Speaking as one, I suggest you watch your tone. Weakling." She stepped over the same bush as Hans, watching him as he traveled ahead of her. Everything was clockwork: the easy thrum of the journey, the hacking of large sticks against thorn bushes, the dryness in her throat and mouth, the pounding against her skull, the way that hot sweat slipped down her back despite the chill air. It was all surprisingly familiar despite having only traveled two hours that day. 

"Warlock, actually." His tone was teasing. "But you knew that."

"Warlocks are weaker than yagas according to some Moracian guidebook I read once." 

"You can read?" Hans asked in an incredulous tone, stopping and clapping his hands over his mouth in an exaggerated motion. He whirled around and faced her. "Why? How? Aren't you supposed to be a girl?"

Karina rubbed her forehead. "Yes. I can read some. My parents taught me as a kid, so I could read the plants book my mother used for healing." They killed her; kill them. Karina tried to focus on something other than that twisted voice in her head. "My education was indefinitely discontinued."

"Huh. Sorry." Hans turned around and continued walking, returning to their old pace before exclaiming loudly once again. "Really? We're in a guidebook?  What are we, a Trader attraction?" He snorted, ducking under a low hanging tree branch. "Can't you imagine it?"

"Us trapped behind iron bars, them making us dance and do magick?" Her fingers curled into fists. "No, I couldn't." She stopped in her tracks. "I think they'd rather make us dance on coals." 

Hans stopped as well, glancing back at her. "Karina."

Her lips were slightly parted, her expression as blank as a newly swept floor. "What."

"You're doing the thing where your eyes bug out and turn dark and your face gets all weird and emotionless. Not that that's new or anything, but c'mon. Stop it." He shoved her gently, knocking her arm as his face faded from her mind. The motion barely registered. She was far, far away, in a place where flames kissed the sky and roared fiercer than anything. She was in a place where the villagers all stared at her with bright smiles, not realizing the way the heat from the flames blistered and stung her skin. No; they realized. They simply didn't care.

No one ever cared. 

Her eyes stung and her vision blurred until all she could see was a haze of gray smoke that she knew wasn't really there. All the same, she could feel it surrounding her, pumping poison into her lungs. She coughed and dug her nails into her palms. "I'm alright...I'm alright."

Hans patted her back and she coughed some more. "Why the Hel does this keep happening? These...visions. This pain. It's happened three times today." She shook her head helplessly. "Why?"

"I would say magick since you're a yaga but you haven't been using any. At least, not by my watch. So it has to be something physical..." He tapped his chin, looking oddly goofy. Karina wasn't used to seeing him serious...although it could have just been the pounding in her skull that threatened to drive her insane.

"Aha!" Hans crowed, and Karina winced at the sharp noise. It was somehow more shrill than any of his other screams.

"You're thirsty," Hans explained, "which can cause headaches and brown piss. So we need to get you water."

"Hans, this is the--"

"Forest of the Dead, I know. But surely we can find something to help..." He thought a bit more before having another "aha!" moment that rubbed harshly against Karina's ears like sandpaper.

"Duras taught me that when we were out in the woods and we weren't near a water source we could eat tree sap. But only on certain types of trees. The others are toxic or something." He grinned. "We gotta do something, right?"

"So we're either gonna be poisoned or we live painfully." She sighed. "Go ahead."

"Yay!" Hans felt near his hip, where his iron knife was sheathed, wincing once his fingers brushed against the handle. "Yeesh, iron stings."

"Yeah," Karina agreed, rubbing her wrists where the iron cuffs had been placed a few days ago. They were still covered in angry red welts, though they didn't itch as much as they had before. "Can you go already?"

"You try handling iron," Hans grumbled, pressing the blade of the knife to a tall tree. "Pray this works." He slashed the knife sideways, and a spurt of liquid flew out onto the hard packed soil. "It's working...let's pray it doesn't kill us."

"I don't pray to anything," Karina said softly, stepping towards Han to stand under the spot where Hans's knife had ripped open the skin of the tree to reveal a dark, wet wood. "Do it more slowly this time so it will leak down. Or make a hole."

"You make a hole." He pressed the handle of the knife into her palm, and tingles instantly shot up her arm. "Iron is horrible."

Karina shifted the knife in her hand, trying to get a good handle on it. Despite the fact that she was only holding onto the handle she felt even more sick. What was it about yagas and warlocks that made iron toxic to them?

She gingerly lifted the knife to the height of her head and pressed it against the side of the tree, twisting it around to create a small but deep hole. When at last she removed the knife and let it drop to the ground, a steady trickle of water streamed from the tree. She opened her mouth wide to receive it, her muscles relaxing as it gushed into her mouth and wet her dry tongue. Karina lapped it up greedily, relishing in the seemingly never-ending flow of water that made her feel stronger and more confident. It didn't taste like Moracia's dirty water from the ground that tasted more like dirt and stone than anything else. This was completely different; it was fresher and colder and was sweeter than honey. It was a treat she could never get sick of.

And she never intended to stop.

Stop, the voice in her head hissed, and Karina was more than happy to ignore it. Her headache was disappearing quickly, the stiffness in her muscles fading. She was stronger than anyone she knew. 

Stop, the voice said again, and suddenly she was jolted from her reverie and onto the ground. Her throat stung, and she quickly scrambled to her feet, ignoring the thorns that tore at the hem of her dress and ripped it. She wanted--no--needed more of the water.

Unfortunately, her favorite obstacle was already drinking it. His eyes were lit up like the stars against the night sky, his pupils dilated until they took up nearly all of his blue irises.

I warned you...Karina Hedge. This water will not save you... nor him. It will lead to your demise.

Leave the boy behind.

"No," Karina gasped, struggling to regain a hold on her own mind. "This can't be true. I need Hans. I need him for my revenge."

Look... at the water.

"I see it. It's clearer than window glass." She stretched her mind. This voice was trying to help her, clearly, yet all she could see was the perfection and beauty of it. 

But there was something unnatural in the way that it still flowed steadily despite the fact that Karina had been drinking for a long time. Something insane and strange in the way that even though she had only drilled a small hole rather high up in the tree, more and more water gushed out.

Karina reached for Hans and shoved him away from the fountain. As soon as neither of them were in front of the tree, the flow of water abated. "It's magickal," Karina realized, "which is why it was so good. Which is why it was so horrible. We were never going to stop drinking. All it wants us to do is drink until we die."

"Well, it is the Forest of the Dead after all." Hans sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Is your headache gone?"

"Yeah." There was an awkward pause. "You okay?"

 "That," Hans said mournfully, "was the best water I have ever tasted." He glared at her with his nearly black eyes. "Thanks, 'Rina. Now how are we gonna survive?"

"We can still use that water. We'll just have to save each other from it." She faced the direction that they'd been going. "We have to get moving. The sky is getting darker, and we'll have to clear a new place to camp soon." She started to walk, and they went back into the rhythm that they'd established earlier, only with less aching and sweat. They went back to the conversation that'd started before.

A version of it, at least.

"Yagas," Karina asked, "what makes them evil?"

Hello, lovely people! I apologize greatly for the late update; life happened (i.e. I couldn't get on the computer much yesterday). *sigh* But I'm back with a new chapter! What did you think of the trees? And what are your new thoughts on the doll? I'm very curious as to what you all think! Please tell me what you liked and didn't like in a comment, and if you enjoyed it, please vote! Thank you all so much!

A/N: Here's some new information in case you're interested in it. Part 2 of this book is almost over--just a few more chapters! There will probably be around six or seven parts overall here, ranging in length (basically, how many chapters there are in each one). I've been working on getting my chapter word count up, and have been going steady at around 1500 words in my most recent chapters. I'm hoping to boost that over time so that the word count of this book is longer and that there's enough character and world development spaced out over time. :) See you in six days!