Free The Death Seer (Skeleton Key) by Skeleton Key, Tanis Kaige

the world. And it’s very, very difficult—nearly impossible—to come back from. She’s in despair, my mother. That’s what Suicide Swamp is.”
    “Maybe my being there would help you?”
    He was shaking his head before I finished. “No, it wouldn’t. It might possibly ruin us both. I already know I can do this…I’ve done it before several times. And now, with you here, I have even more hope to live for. If you stay here, it will help me succeed. So please, Brenna? Stay and wait?”
    I steeled myself. It was time to stop being the damsel in distress. He needed my strength and it was the least I could give him. I drew back my shoulders. “Can you at least give me a contingency plan should you fail to return?”
    He puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath. He dropped his satchel to the ground and knelt next to it. I knelt with him while he pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment…his map. He laid it out on the dirt path. “We’re here,” he said, pointing to a tiny sketch of a house with three stick figure women standing in front of it.
    “Looks like a child drew this.”
    “I did,” he said. Then he trailed his finger along a path that led through some woods and to a castle. “This is the way we came to get here. It’s a pretty solid path, but of course King’s Hall could look like anything. They’re always changing it.”
    “Okay,” I said. “And which way is the swamp?”
    He gave me a wary look. “Don’t follow me, Brenna.”
    “I just need to know where you’ll be.”
    “I don’t see why. I’ll be back before nightfall if you’ll only let me leave.”
    “I’m not letting you go until you show me how to get to the swamp.”
    He sighed, frustrated, and pointed to the path. The swamp was represented by a big black scribble. “That’s where I’m going. There’s nothing on the other side. It’s a dead end. So don’t go there. Wait for me. And if I don’t show up by nightfall, then in the morning, go back to King’s Hall and tell Gus what happened. He’ll be able to help you navigate through this world, but beyond that, you’re on your own.”
    I nodded, feeling better for having gained a modicum of control over my situation. We stood, and Kord rolled up the map before pressing it into my hand. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, hovering to whisper, “Promise me a kiss when I return.”
    “You can have a kiss now,” I replied, baffled by the request.
    “No, I want you to promise it to me when I return. I’d do just about anything for a kiss from you.”
    “So take one.”
    He fell back a step and dropped his glasses over his eyes. “Make the damn promise.”
    “You want a formal, declared promise?”
    He was backing away from me. “I thought that was fairly clear.”
    “Okay,” I said, with a frustrated laugh. “I promise you a kiss when you return.”
    “What kind of a kiss?”
    “For God’s sake, Kord, any kind of kiss you want.”
    He grinned, turned and strode into the dark forest without so much as a goodbye.  

I waited with fair confidence the better part of the day, but when I noticed the old crones getting fidgety and conferring in whispers with each other in far corners of the house, my faith began to erode. The golden glow deepened throughout the day, gradually darkening to the point that I knew nightfall was near and I knew Kord wasn’t returning.  
    It wasn’t doubt, it was knowledge. I knew something had gone wrong just as surely as I knew the earth orbited the sun…although after the journey I’d been on, perhaps even that knowledge was questionable.  
    I stood, staring out the window next to the door at the darkening sky. “Can I make it to the swamp and back by nightfall?” I asked.
    “Not likely. He might still return,” said one of the old crones.
    I shook my head. “Something’s wrong.”
    They didn’t disagree with me. I turned back to the hearth and gathered my bag. “I’m going after him.”
    “Ye’ll not make it,”