Kyri smiled at Evan before grabbing the bag she had packed earlier with her clothes and other necessities. She then took his hand and headed up to the Gate room with him. Once they were through the Gate, she stopped and took a deep breath. She could smell the minty odor of the plants that lined the path from the Gate to her village.
She frowned when she realized this. Those plants only released their oils when they were trampled. Looking around, she could see that several plants had been uprooted - almost as though they had been clawed out of the ground.
"Come on," she said. "Something...there's something wrong."
Together, they hurried through the forest to the village. When they arrived, something seemed off. Kyri could sense it. She looked at Evan then back to toward her uncle's hut just as the door opened. When he saw her, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.
"There was...we've been attacked. Several are dead, including Xan. Others are gone. Jep's gone."
Kyri looked up at him and shook her head before stepping back to Evan, pressing against him as she looked at her uncle. "What do you mean? Gone?"
"Disappeared," he said. "I...those who are dead...they were drained of their blood."