by Milo Woods
Mori shrugged. “I haven’t healed his wounds for fear that he will reawaken. I bandaged him, but once he wakes up, we’ll be in trouble. He’s stronger than both Keith and I.”
“Hmm … I’ll go get some raxanweed,” Kazuma stated. He left the tent, heading to the supply wagons.
“So, what’s the plan?” Keith asked Mori once Kazuma was gone.
“I don’t know,” she said, slumping onto Seeko’s bed. “We can’t seal portals with Seeko in this condition. I wouldn’t even know where to go to seal another one anyway.”
Keith thought for a long moment. “I have an idea,” he finally said. “Deep in the Penumbran Forest lies a temple of mystical healers. They might be able to help him.”
Kazuma walked back into the tent just then, carrying a buddle of raxanweed in one hand and a sheathed sword in the other. “Mori, we’ll feed him raxanweed daily so he can’t use magic during the journey. Don’t feed too much at one time, though. It’ll kill him.” He looked at Keith. “I’m not going into the Penumbran Forest, by the way.”
Keith met his gaze. “Who said you’re coming with us?”
Kazuma buckled the sword to his belt. “I did. Anyway, there are demon worshippers in that forest. For all ya know, there could be another portal in there.”
“Well, if there is,” Mori said, “we’ll just have to seal it. Keith, are those healers really there, or are they demon worshipers?”
Keith shrugged.
“It’s our only chance,” she said finally. With that, Mori packed her things. “They will help the hero if they are healers,” she continued, “and if they are demon worshipers, then we’ll have to hope that we can escape alive. Are you coming with us, Kazuma?”
Kazuma sighed. “I owe it to him to see him through this. Did ya know that I was the one who saved him from a demon when he first showed up?” He smiled, but no light flashed in his eyes.
Mori’s smile echoed his. She hurt so much, but it felt good to smile. She started to tear up and extracted herself from the tent.
“Where ya going, Mori?” Kazuma asked before she was though the tent flaps.
She stopped. “I’ll get us some supplies.”
“We’ll make a stretcher to carry Seeko, then,” Keith said.
Once out of the tent, the daughter of Luxant wandered aimlessly around until she found the edge of the camp. She could see Irenic soldiers, out there in the desert, burying their comrades, somber all.
The tears came freely. She couldn’t help herself. She fell to her knees and ran her hands through the dirt, feeling the ground beneath her soak from the tears. She did not try to mask the sobs she made. She grabbed a small rock and threw it as far as she could, hoping that somehow it would change what had happened.
Why did he have to leave her?
“Mori,” a voice spoke from behind her.
She turned and found Lord Bastion, recalling dully that he had brought a small arm of Ormant’s guardians to help with the battle. “Go away, Bastion. I’m not in the mood.”
“Look,” he said, sitting next to her. “I’m sorry for your loss. In fact, there was a lot of loss yesterday. But you haven’t lost everything. You still have me. You’re going to need someone there for you now more than ever.”
Mori felt disgusted. “Seeko needs me now more than ever!” she replied, still facing away from town. “He still has a chance.”
“What hope is there left for him? He betrayed us all yesterday!”
“The—The healers in the Penumbran Forest …”
“Do you really believe those rumors about the forest? I look out at that forest every day and all I ever see leave are demons,” Bastion said. He took a deep breath, cooling off. “Please, don’t throw your life away for a lost cause.”
Mori was trembling. Bastion was right. From Ormant, he could see that twisted forest. He would know better than she would. Was a rumor worth risking everything?
She looked to Bastion and sniveled. He smiled his lopsided grin. He had shown more than once that he cared for her. She could leave now and live a better life. She could see a life without fear, a life with him, an honorable life as the lady of two cities. Who knew? Maybe they could even threaten the Irenic throne one day.
Until the Halcyon and demons took over everything. Her dream life shattered as reality whipped across her face and reminded her that the Halcyon would butcher everyone she loved. It would be foolish to run. Eventually, the demons would overrun them all. Their only hope rested, unconscious, in her tent. For all she knew, Seeko could be dead, or dying, and she could do nothing. Only the supposed healers would know what to do.
She hugged him. “I’m sorry, Bastion,” she said into his shoulder, “but it’s no longer just about what I want. Everyone is counting on Seeko. If he loses, we all lose.”
Bastion was silent for a while, then pushed her gently away. “If that is what you feel is right, then I won’t stop you. I’m sorry it couldn’t have been a more peaceful time. Good luck on your mission. I will pray for your success.”
He rose and Mori listened as the man’s footsteps faded away behind her. She hoped that she was making the right choice. If she wasn’t, her dream of death would become reality.
/ / / / /
They began the long trek northeast, back to the Penumbran Forest, later that day. Mori took the lead while Kazuma and Keith carried Seeko on their improvised stretcher.
Mori scanned the barren desert for answers. Water formed in her eyes again, but she refused to let the others see it. What type of hero did this to his people? To her?
“It’s a good thing I came along,” Kazuma said as they left the camp, snapping Mori from her thoughts. “How else could ya carry the stretcher?”
Neither Keith nor Mori was amused. “How far, Mori?” Keith asked after a moment.
“Two weeks out of the desert, then another two weeks past Irris,” Mori said, looking back into the desert. “If you can, you should use your magic to help lighten the load.”
Keith nodded. “I am. It’s just annoying to carry.”
The hot summer day dragged along, exhausting Keith and Kazuma. Silence stilled the dry, dusty air as they walked. Mori would attempt to draw any water from the cracked ground and air when she could, giving it to them to prevent exhaustion.
More days passed before grass and small brush appeared within the orange dirt. The rest of the journey became easier from there. Mori pulled water out of the ground, keeping the group well hydrated. Keith would go out and hunt for the food the group would eat before sleeping each night.
The group became more anxious as the days went on. Carrying the helpless hero for miles was starting to make them feel helpless. Irris found its way onto the horizon and they rested in its ruins. Already people were beginning to rebuild the town, bringing life to a dead zone. Mori could see that Keith was trying to ignore the damage wrought to his hometown, but his stoic face betrayed his emotions. Kazuma, too, was having trouble dealing with the destruction he had a direct hand in. They left early the next day before anyone could say anything.
Soon after Irris, Seeko awoke. But they knew it was not Seeko, for red eyes had replaced his normal brown eyes. They forced the hero out of the stretcher, abandoning it. Keith bound his arms tight with rope and attached a leash to his hands, allowing him to pull Seeko along.
The night after Seeko awoke, he tried to escape. He didn’t get far without the use of his magic, so Keith caught him quickly and brought him back to their camp. The hero was laughing when he caught him.
“Ha! He says your name is Keith! What a stupid name!” Seeko said. Throughout the day, Seeko had been throwing insults and threats at the three of them. “I will cut you into little pieces and cast you into the wind!”
Keith nodded. “That’s nice.”
“I will eat your face!”
Keith stifled a chuckle. “Wow. That’s a new one.”
“Once I break free of this accursed binds, I will end you!”
“You talk a lot.”
Seeko roared, writhing in his binds. Keith stuffed a gag into Seeko’s mouth, and it didn’t come out again except for when he needed to eat or drink.
The forest drew nearer and nearer as the days passed, and the more it did, the more Mori felt it was a lost cause. The only things in that forest were demons that were going to try to kill them.
No. She had to be positive, for his sake. Someone had to be there. Seeko’s life depended on it.
/ / / / /
Finally, after weeks of hard journeying, they stood before the dreaded Penumbran Forest. The tall, crooked trees enclosed in darkness sent a shiver down Mori’s spine. The shadows seemed to sap the warmth from the grasslands bordering it. “This is it. Once we go in, we may never come back,” she said.
“This isn’t about us, it’s about Seeko,” Keith said from behind her.
She shook her head before looking back. “The hero is supposed to be saving us … not the other way around.”
“Did ya really travel all this way to have second thoughts?” Kazuma said from behind Keith.
She stared at the ground beneath her. “I care about him. I’m not going to give up on him.” She smiled. “He will have to call us ‘heroes’ after this.”
“That he will,” Kazuma said, “so we better make sure he gets there in one piece. Keep a watch out for demons.”
She took a deep breath and walked into the forest. The others followed close behind. “Stay close,” she said. “I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Soon the forest canopy shaded the sun from sight, bathing the four of them in darkness. The smell of dust and moss stuck to their noses and the rapid change in humidity made their clothes stick to them.
They wandered in the forest for a little while until they stopped to drink some water. Keith removed Seeko’s gag and he drank heavily.
“So,” Kazuma said, “what exactly are we looking for?”
“You came all this way and you don’t know what you’re looking for?” Seeko laughed until Keith shoved the gag back into his mouth.
“If only he didn’t have to eat or drink …” Keith muttered to himself. “Anyway, what are we looking for?”
Mori stopped in her tracks. “I thought you said there were demon worshippers in the forest.”
“It was only a rumor,” Kazuma said. “Truth is, no one knows what is in this forest.”
Keith nodded.
Kazuma furrowed his brow. “But I thought ya knew, Keith.”
Keith shrugged. “I’ve heard the same rumors as you, Kazuma. We’re from the same empire.”
Mori’s voice rose. “So we came all this way on a rumor? Why did you guys go along with it?”
They said nothing. Seeko laughed again through his gag.
“I can’t believe you two!” Mori shouted. “Why are we even in this forest?”
“Whoa, calm down,” Keith said.
“We aren’t all lifeless dolls, Keith! I can be mad if I want to!”
Kazuma rose a finger to his lips. “The demon worshippers will find us if ya keep shouting!”
“What demon worshippers? There’s no one here!”
But the two of them just stared past Mori, frightened. Finally, Mori turned to find a young girl of maybe sixteen standing in front of them. The girl had midnight-black hair, long and wavy. She wore a long white robe with black trim, and a large hood concealed her eyes, but her smile was still visible from underneath the hood. She flipped back her hood, revealing frightening red pupils.
“I told ya there were demon worshippers,” a wide-eyed Kazuma muttered to Keith.
“She looks more like a demon than a demon worship—”
“Hush, you two,” Mori hissed back at them.
Suddenly, something invaded Mori’s mind, a spear of thought. She flinched at the intrusion, and saw Kazuma and Keith do the same. Mori flung her spark at the intrusion, using its brilliant blue to combat the crimson-hued thought. But no matter how hard she tried, the spear stayed firmly in place, unmoving.
“That’s not necessary,” the mental spear said within her mind.
“Who’s in my head?” Kazuma yelled.
The girl responded by waving. “It’s not often we get visitors,” she broadcasted to them. Her voice in their minds was melodious and sad, like a song for the lost. “Most fear the forest, and for good reason. I mean, we are demon worshippers after all.”
Keith’s and Kazuma’s eyes went wide.
“I’m kidding.”
Kazuma and Keith stood in place, untrusting of the small woman in front of them. The girl ignored them, walking up to Seeko.
They heard what she communicated to him but not Seeko’s responses: “You hear the voices, correct? … You are not him? … I see … I think our Mother can fix you … She knows the counter to your magic, Akeni.”
“What are you?” Kazuma asked the girl.
She faced him, fixing her intense red eyes on his dull green ones. “I am a human, just like you.”
“Not a demon?” Keith asked.
“No.”
“Why are you talking to us inside our heads? How?” Mori asked.
“In order to understand one’s enemies, we must be like them, no?”
“What enemies?” Mori asked. “The demons?”
“The demons can communicate with their minds, so we are encouraged to do the same. It works over long distance, so my Sisters already know you are here. Come. We will fix the corrupted one.”
The girl turned away from them, heading in the direction she’d come from. Mori followed a moment later.
Kazuma stood his ground. “And if we refuse?”
“Not in your best interest. You are lost, right? You will never leave this forest without us.”
Kazuma exchanged glances with Keith. “Was that a threat?”
Keith marched forward, pulling Seeko along with him. “If it was, I can take her.”
Sighing, a hesitant Kazuma followed.
“The key to this communication is to understand how the demons communicate,” the girl thought to them. “All demons have a voice, a mental representation of themselves, within their minds. Using magic, they can communicate to other creatures like themselves.”
“So, why can’t we do it, then, if all it takes is magic?” Mori asked.
“It takes a certain element of magic. You have been taught that there are only four elements, when in actuality there are six. Dark and light magic are more powerful than the elemental magics and can do wonderful and terrifying things. Their dark magic has coalesced into a creature they call the ‘Kikoeru,’ which is the being that links all of them together.”
“This dark magic explains why the demons are so strong,” Kazuma said. “They already have access to multiple elements, but now we know that they have access to six elements and not just four?”
“Demons for the most part can only use elemental magic and dark magic, but not light. Very few humans have ever used more than one element, and it is almost impossible to learn another discipline of magic. Here in the forest, we have been taught how to use light magic. And so we have replicated the Kikoeru, using light instead of dark.”
“How do you know all this?” Mori asked.
“Our Mother knows all of this. She is a demon … so I suppose we are demon worshipers. But she is different. She knows both light and dark magic.”
“Ya are demon worshipers?” Kazuma said as he drew his sword.
“Not all demons are bad.”
“Tell that to the ones that have tried to kill me! As in all of them!” Kazuma said.
“He does have a point,” Mori said. “I haven’t met one that wasn’t trying to kill me.”
“You have only met the violent utaru in combat, but most Akeni and Syran are not interested in mindless killing. Halcyon demon forces are primarily utaru. They are the vicious ones, kept in check only by the Kikoeru.”
“This is all very interesting,” Kazuma said as he looked to his sword, “but demons are still
inherently evil. They killed my family in Vicussa and took my finger. They turned Seeko into one of them.” He waved his sword at the girl before him. “Who’s to say that ya won’t go insane like these utaro or whatever? You’re just like them!”
“No. We are not like them. We hear them sometimes, when Mother does, but she protects us from them.” The girl stopped. “We rest here for the day. We will resume travel tomorrow.”
Before them was a small rocky alcove with a stream flowing through it, emptying into a small pond via waterfall. A small cave was on one side of the waterfall and the girl walked into it without fear.
The others were not so fearless. “She’s going to eat us in that cave,” Kazuma said.
“Mori,” Keith said, “Kazuma is right. We can’t trust her.”
Mori used magic to wick the sweat away from her body and then flung it into the waterfall. “What choice do we have?” Then she went into the cave, following the slim girl into the darkness.
Hopefully, they weren’t right, or else they wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.
/ / / / /
Kazuma watched the girl as the group prepared for the night, surprised that her jaw hadn’t dislocated and consumed one of them yet. But he knew she was up to something sinister. The group of them huddled down, eating what leftovers they had from earlier in the day. Then Keith and Mori turned in, trusting Kazuma to keep them safe in the night.
Eventually, the girl spoke to Kazuma’s mind, for she, too, was still awake: “You should trust me,” the girl said through their link. “I am your only hope for healing the hero.”
“That just makes me want to trust you less …”
“Let me start, then.” The girl moved next to him, and locked eyes with him. “Hi,” she said shyly. “My name is Lorissa.” She leaned against him.
“This is not going to work, little girl.” Kazuma pushed her away. “If ya weren’t a demon devotee …” What was he thinking? She was much too young, and the enemy.
“What will it take to convince you that I am not your enemy?” she thought.
“The fact that ya want to be my friend makes me that much more suspicious. Just stay away from me.”
She accepted this. “I’ll take watch over you four. I already know the threats in the forest.”