by Eric Vall
“Good. I’ll look from the skies. Make sure to send a message to Laika and me if you find anything.” Then I turned away from the wolf Demi Human, shifted into my dragon form once more, and took off into the air.
I soared above the forest, but I didn’t find any sign of Ilya anywhere. The hours passed, and the sun slipped beyond the horizon as the dark of night creeped in. I could hear the citizens of Hatra march around in groups below as they called out Ilya’s name, and they held torches in hand to illuminate the night.
“Lord Evan!” I heard a voice call up to me, and I quickly spotted Laika below me.
“I can hear you,” I roared back. “Did you find something?”
“No,” she shouted, “but the people are tired. We’ve been at this for hours, and they need to rest. Most of them can barely see in the dark, let alone search for a missing child. We can continue to search in the morning.”
I growled, but I knew Laika was right. I couldn’t risk lives just to find Ilya.
“Okay,” I called down, “take them home, but I’ll stay out here. I can’t go home until I find him. Who knows what else could be out in the forest? He’s already been out here for hours.”
The forest was dangerous, especially for a young kid like Ilya. Even I didn’t know what all kinds of creatures lived out here. If anything happened to him, I didn’t know what I’d do. I wouldn’t be able to face Natalya or Maksim again, that was for sure.
Laika hesitated, but she finally nodded, and I could see her press a hand to her gorget. Each of the search parties must have had a member of the guild in them so everyone could communicate efficiently. Sure enough, within minutes, the little dots of light from the torches turned around and began to head back to Hatra.
I continued to search for a few hours longer, though, until the moon was high in the sky. I was nearly ready to give up, but I decided to circle the forest one more time, and as I swooped low over a portion of trees west of the Asuran village, I saw a flash of silver from below.
My heart skipped a beat. Was that Ilya’s hair?
I folded my wings and plummeted down toward whatever the flash was, and then I landed as carefully as I could along the ground. A few limbs from the trees were knocked off, but otherwise the forest was undamaged by my size. Then I shifted into my human body so it would be a little easier to maneuver, and I looked around the area, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like silver.
“Ilya!” I called out as I cupped my hands over my mouth.
“Hush!” a voice reprimanded sharply from behind me, and I spun around quickly.
But no one was behind me. In fact, none of my senses could detect a presence anywhere near me in the forest.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled with unease, and my black scales stretched up my arms.
“Who’s there?” I shouted, and my voice was hard. “Show yourself, and I might show you some mercy.”
A cold wind whistled around the forest, and I sniffed the air to try and catch the scent of whoever spoke. I couldn’t smell anything suspicious, though, and I frowned. Then I listened to the sounds around me, and I realized the forest was quiet, oddly quiet.
Something was here.
The last time the forest was still like this was when the necromancer was here and his undead creatures created unease throughout the forest.
I was on high alert now as I walked quietly beneath the dark trees. My enhanced vision, due to being a dragon, was helpful for things like this, since I could see just as well at night as I could during the day.
Suddenly, I paused as my ears picked up something.
A strange sound echoed softly around the trees, and I turned a few times before I found the direction it came from. It sounded like someone was close by, and they hummed a soft tune. I followed the quiet hum, and it led me to a small clearing in the forest.
It was a small meadow, maybe an acre in size, with pink and yellow wildflowers and tall soft grass around. There was a small pond in the meadow, and along the bank of the pond sat a woman.
She perched on a large boulder, and her back was to me, but I could see her skin was pale, and her hair was a soft silvery blue color. She hummed to herself as she played with something in her lap, and as I walked closer, I realized it was Ilya. The young boy was asleep in the woman’s lap, and she ran her pale hands through his hair as she hummed to him with a soft smile.
“Hello,” I said cautiously, but I could metaphorically feel my hackles raise as I watched this stranger touch one of my people.
The woman’s head whipped around at the sound of my voice, and I saw two horns protruded from her forehead.
“You’re Asuran,” I murmured as I took in her appearance. “I thought the rest of you were killed off during the demon attacks months ago?
Something twisted in the woman’s face, and I thought her pale eyes flashed black for a second.
“Who are you?” she asked, and her eyes narrowed in anger.
“My name is Evan,” I replied as I took a step closer to her. “I’m the Lord of Hatra. Who are you? Is there another Asuran village here in the forest?”
Her eyes followed me with a glare. “I know the Lord of Hatra. You are not him.”
“Why would I lie about that?” I asked with a frown. “Wake up Ilya and ask him yourself. He knows me, I’m his friend, and I’m here to take him back home.”
The woman’s body seemed to tremble, and then she slipped out from underneath Ilya limp body and walked toward me.
“You,” she snarled, and her pale eyes flashed black again, “will not take him anywhere.”
I immediately summoned flames to my hands, and the woman stepped back in surprise. I didn’t understand the hostility the woman projected toward me, but I wouldn’t let her hurt Ilya.
“Ilya!” I yelled, and the young boy jerked awake from his spot along the stones.
“Evan?” he asked sleepily. Then he bolted up when he saw me, ran over, and wrapped his tiny arms around my legs. “Lord Evan! I was lost out here for a long time. I want to go home, back to Hatra.”
The woman watched Ilya with a soft look on her face, and I took a step back, with Ilya still clinging to my legs.
“Come on,” I told the boy, “we’ll go home right now.”
I kept my eyes on the woman as I walked back into the forest backward, just in case she tried anything. Once we were back in the safety of the trees, I turned around.
Only to be met with the pale eyes of the woman mere feet in front of me.
“No,” she growled, and her pale fingers began to stretch and bend into black, sharp claws. Then her body morphed from the pale Asuran woman into a black, demonic creature with black eyes that glowed red like embers in a fire, and smoke billowed out from underneath her feet. “You will not take him anywhere.”
“Evan,” Ilya whimpered as he tightened his grip along my leg, “I’m scared.”
“It’s okay,” I comforted, and I pulled him behind me. “I won’t let her hurt you.”
I glared at the woman and tried to figure out what she was, because she was obviously not human. I didn’t even think she was alive.
Then words quickly appeared before my eyes.
Classification: Spirit/Wraith
Priority: Corrupt soul, healing required
Status: Deceased
I blinked, and the words vanished. How the hell was I supposed to heal a ghost?
Suddenly, the wraith lashed out with her claws and raked across my chest. Her nails slashed bloody furrows into my skin, but I could feel my wounds heal quickly, and Ilya trembled behind me.
“Ilya, I need you to get out of here,” I growled, but I kept my eyes on the wraith as she snarled in front of us. “Hatra is east, and I need you to run there as fast as you can. I’ll handle the scary lady, okay?”
“What if I get lost again?” he asked as I pulled him from behind me. “Or what if she finds me?”
The wraith paused as Ilya stood in front of me, and her peacefu
l Asuran form flickered across her features for a brief moment. Then the demonic face returned, and she reached a clawed hand out to Ilya.
“Come with me,” she hissed, “I will keep you safe from the dangers of the forest.”
“Leave him alone,” I warned, and then I made a quick gesture with my hand and sent a plume of fire at her. “The only danger he needs protection from is you.”
The wraith’s form caught quickly, and she shrieked as the flames burned across her skin, but it was only for a brief moment. The flames vanished in an instant, and she turned her ember like eyes to me in rage.
“How dare you try to burn me! You are just like the demons who killed this place. You are no better than them!”
I snarled at the accusation and used the dirt at our feet to create a wall between us.
“Ilya, run!” I shoved him toward the east, toward Hatra. “I’ll come find you soon, I promise.”
Ilya tore off through the trees just as the wraith phased her body through the stone wall. Then she screamed in rage when she realized Ilya was gone.
“Give him back to me! He is mine!” the wraith screeched, and her now black hair lifted around her head. Her eyes glowed red as her rage grew, and she lashed out at me once more.
“What do you want from him?” I growled, and my arms still burned with fire. “You can’t keep him here, if that’s what you want.”
“I need him,” her raspy voice replied, and then she lunged at me.
“You can’t have him,” I snarled as I dodged to the side and narrowly avoided her sharp claws.
I didn’t know why she wanted Ilya, but I would destroy this entire forest of hers before I let her get him. He didn’t belong here, he needed to be with Natalya and Maksim back in Hatra, where he was safe and far away from this demonic creature.
With an annoyed growl, I shifted into my dragon form and swatted at the rage filled ghost. My clawed hand slipped straight through her, though, and her mouth twisted into a sneer.
“I’ve never killed a dragon before,” the wraith taunted.
“And you never will,” I snapped. “You’ll be the one who dies tonight, spirit. Not me.”
Her dark eyes seemed to glint with humor. “I’ve lived a long time in this forest, dragon. I’ve killed creatures much worse than you.”
“And I’ve killed creatures more powerful than you,” I retorted as I snapped my jaws at her. “I guess we’ll see who wins in the end.”
The wraith turned her attention to the forest before she turned back to me.
“All lost children of the forest belong to me,” she hissed, and her red eyes flashed. “I will protect them and destroy anyone who tries to interfere.”
I mentally frowned at her words. She was trying to protect Ilya? Not harm him?
“I won’t hurt the boy,” I told her as I watched her form flicker and waver before me like a mirage. “I just want to take him home.”
“He is home now,” the wraith snarled.
Then her ghostly figure gave a high pitched shriek, and I roared in annoyance as my ears painfully reacted to the noise. She took this opportunity to slash across my scales, but they were too tough for her to do any real damage.
The wraith growled in irritation as she began to circle around me, and her body seemed to float above the earth silently. There were no footsteps to announce where she was, and she had no smell either, so the only thing that would prevent a sneak attack was the cold air that seemed to seep from her. It was like all the heat in the area was sapped by her presence.
I let out a breath, and I could see a puff of mist appear in front of me.
The demonic woman watched me cautiously and lashed out with her clawed hands toward my eyes, but I quickly dodged and breathed fire in her direction.
The wraith grinned when the flames passed through her easily, like she wasn’t even there, and I growled.
How was I supposed to destroy her if I couldn’t even touch her?
We began a new game of cat and mouse: her claws were not strong enough to hurt my strong scales, but I wasn’t able to attack her.
“Who are you, dragon?” the wraith questioned as a boulder I launched into the air passed harmlessly through her head. “And why are you in my forest?”
“I already told you, I am the lord of Hatra,” I growled, and I danced out of her reach, “and I’m here for Ilya. I need to take him home.”
“Lies! Tristian is the Lord of Hatra, do not take me for a fool, dragon.”
I paused. Tristan? How old was this spirit?
“Tristan hasn’t been the Lord of Hatra for a long time now,” I said as I narrowed my eyes at the wraith. “I’m his grandson.”
The wraith’s eyes changed back to their pale blue color in surprise before she snarled and they returned to embers.
“Impossible. Lord Tristan doesn’t have children.”
“My father would beg to differ.” I smirked as she narrowed her eyes.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter who you are, just stay away from my child,” she hissed. “He is lost, and he needs me. I will never abandon him like you did.”
I only had a moment to process her words before the wraith charged me, and I growled viciously and swiped at her, but my claws ripped through empty air.
The phantom fazed through my body and traveled through me to reach the other side. Then she tore into the forest after Ilya, and her intangible body swept through the trees easily.
I roared in rage before I shifted back into my human body so I could maneuver through the trees more quickly. Then I caught Ilya’s scent and sprinted after him.
The Asuran boy hadn’t gotten far by the time I caught up to him, but he panted heavily, and he jumped when he heard me appear behind him.
“Stay close,” I warned as my eyes scanned the forest. “She’s on her way to us.”
Ilya looked around the trees, and fear was evident in his young, pale face.
Suddenly, the air turned cold, and Ilya cowered behind me as the wraith’s Asuran formed appeared from behind a tree. Twigs snapped under her feet as she stepped forward, and I realized she was only intangible when in her demonic wraith form.
I could use that. I just had to figure out how to keep her in her Asuran form while I destroyed her.
“Hello, Ilya,” the woman spoke as she approached, and her voice was soft and kind. “Come with me, little one. The forest is not dangerous, it will keep you safe and sound with me and the other children.”
Her voice seemed to put Ilya at ease, but he still hid behind me.
“I want to stay with Evan,” the boy replied firmly. “He’s my friend.”
The wraith’s eyes burned with rage, and they returned to dark embers.
Ilya whimpered and buried his face into the back of my leg.
“He doesn’t want to go with you,” I growled. “He knows you’re really a monster.”
“You turned him against me,” she wailed as her heated glare settled on my face. “He wanted to come with me until you appeared and ruined everything!”
“No,” I told her calmly, and I suddenly understood what I needed to do. “You think you’re a guardian to lost children? Look at Ilya, he’s terrified of you.”
The wraith’s eyes drifted down to the young boy, and her face softened a fraction.
“He has a sister back in Hatra, a home,” I went on. “He was lost in the woods, but he isn’t lost. He has people who care about him. You can’t take him away from them. If you want to help him, then let him go.”
The wraith’s feet touched the ground with a light thud, and I used this moment to my advantage. With a quick flick of my wrist, my webs shot from my fingertips and trapped her to the forest floor.
Her eyes glared and began to burn in hate at me before Ilya jumped back, and the movement caught her eye. She instantly calmed her rage, and her eyes returned to a pale blue.
The webs remained in place, though, and I smirked. As long as I could keep her focused on Ilya, I would be
able to touch her.
And if I could touch her, I could help her.
“I do not mean to cause terror in your heart, my child,” the woman murmured to Ilya. “I just want to protect you.”
I stepped in front of Ilya and looked down at the Asuran woman.
“Something happened to you in this forest, didn’t it?” I asked her. “That’s why you take children. Something happened to your child. Something terrible.”
The woman glared at me, but the expression trembled before it collapsed. Then the wraith sobbed and collapsed to her knees, with her feet still pinned to the ground by my webs.
“My son,” she confirmed with a nod. “He was ten when he wandered from our village and into the forest. He never came home again. We searched for days, but the village eventually gave up and told me to accept that the forest had claimed its prize. They blamed me, said I deserved to lose my son if I was so careless with him. But I was his mother, I could never give up on him. So, I left the village, my people, and searched for my son alone.”
She paused for a long moment, and her face twisted in agony.
“I finally found him, weeks later,” she continued in a grief-stricken voice. “He was nothing more than bones, but I knew it was him. His shirt was in ribbons around him, but I know my own stitches. I’d made him that shirt on his last birthday.” She paused again, and ghostly tears streamed down her face as she looked up at me. “Demons had ripped my child to pieces and feasted on his flesh. I don’t remember much of what happened next. I know the demons returned and came for me next. They ripped me apart alongside my son’s body, but it was a blessing. A mother should never be without her child. With my dying breath, I vowed to never allow a child to suffer like my son in these woods again. I was granted my wish and returned as a guardian spirit. I saved the lost children who wandered into my forest and held them while they wailed. Not one of my children ever stayed. I would make sure they died quickly and painlessly, but it didn’t matter. None of them were ever grateful to me. They all left me in the end, and I remain all alone. All I wanted was a child to love. Is that such a crime?”
“I’m sorry about your son,” I replied gently, “but you can’t kill more innocent children because you are lonely. You need to find peace and move on. Maybe your son waits for you on the other side.”