by Eden Winter
“You mean, if we travel through the forest now or continue to go along the mountains until we reach the cavern?” Siluman said. He said it more as a statement than as a question.
“From the forest, we may reach the witches directly. I’m not sure if I have the mental capacity to negotiate with a cave troll.”
“In the forest, we may encounter other creatures,” Siluman said.
“Aha, but there is a chance it will be a forest elf…”
“Traveling so far west? It could take several more days to reach any forest elves, my lady. I do not advise we go seeking them. Along the mountain, we are able to hide in plain sight.”
“Along the mountain, we are out in the open is more what you mean. In the woods, we can hide. I am an excellent tracker, and if you return to your wolf form you will be able to track as well,” Dende said. She had already made up her mind even before she had asked Siluman for his input. What was the need to ask for his advice if she wasn’t even going to consider it?
There wasn’t much time left. They needed to get a move on.
Dende climbed onto her horse and headed straight for the forest. Siluman followed behind her in silence. He kept his wits about him, guiding his silent horse through a part of the forest that he had not known before. These were not a part of the wolf territory. He had an excellent memory and knew that if he came here again in the near future, he would be able to track his scent and remember just where he had traveled in these woods.
Leaves and branches did not completely cover the canopy, and there was some sunlight pouring through the trees to give Siluman and Dende some light. The life on the forest floor was waking up all around them. Dust particles and petals floated slowly by their faces. The trunks of the trees were thick and covered in moss and small animal life. Some roots were above ground, and they twisted and turned on the forest floor only to meet one another below the surface of the ground.
“The silence…” Siluman whispered. His hearing was nowhere near as keen as when he had been in his wolf form, but that meant that he focused mostly on what he could hear or what he couldn’t hear. His hearing was very important to him, and the fact that this part of the forest was barely stirring troubled him.
“It’s the first light of day,” Dende said with a yawn. Her jet-black hair had been moved out of her face, and her pale blue eyes searched the terrain around her. She looked up on occasion to gauge whether she was still going in the right direction by the way the sun shone through the leaves and branches of the trees. “I wouldn’t expect there to be so much life in this part of the woods.”
“The silence worries me,” Siluman said.
They surged forward, and after some time, they noticed that the trees were more and more frequent and were growing closer and closer together. The horses had to twist and turn between the trunks in order to continue. Siluman eventually jumped off and led his horse through the trees in the best way that he knew how. Dende chose to stay on her horse.
Dende preferred to have a vantage point. Being a warrior and living in the mountains had made it easier for her to view an area if she could see it from a certain height.
A large patch of sunlight hit a part of the forest, and Dende looked over at it. The trees in that area had bulkier trunks. There were lumps and holes that made the trees look like there was a soul inside trying to break free. Dende looked at the trees around her. The strange lumps on the trees left her puzzled.
“Do the trees appear to have faces?” she asked.
Siluman brought his eyebrows together and squinted his eyes so that he could take a better look. It was true. The trees in this area all looked like they had faces. Some were blank, but some looked like faces contorted in horror.
“What is this place?” Siluman had taken out a dagger. Dende hopped from her horse and took a long look around her.
“Something is here… I can feel it,” she whispered.
Before she could speak further, there was a low sound coming from one direction—the same direction where the patch of light illuminated a large screaming oak.
“What… is…?” she started, but the sound stopped her. Dende couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. Siluman hadn’t spoken either, but he had also not moved.
“A witch?” Dende asked using her mind. She wasn’t able to control her speaking.
“This…” Siluman struggled to get his words out, but he was still strong enough to try to control his voice. “This is no… witch. This… sounds like… a forest siren.”
His teeth were suddenly clenched together so tightly that Dende could read the pain on Siluman’s face.
A forest siren? How could such a thing exist? This was a creature she had never even heard of.
And then they saw it—the dark swirling hair of what was no doubt a siren. They could tell by the curves of her naked body, the curls of her hair, the white wings that fluttered behind her, and her dark skin. Her eyes were glowing. She was singing and somehow had the ability to render them motionless. Was she stronger than her sisters in the sea?
“Stop!” Dende cried out. She was gritting her teeth as well, and tears were falling from her eyes.
Siluman began to growl. He wasn’t able to move either, but Dende noticed from the corner of her eye that he was beginning to change. He was growing fur, and he was beginning to burst out of his armor. They didn’t know how powerful this creature was, but Dende didn’t think she was strong enough to control many creatures at once. Siluman seemed to have the same idea.
Dende gasped for breath. It felt like something was filling up inside her. She tried to gag, but only a raspy cough came out. Her eyes were the only thing that could move, and as she stared at the hollow faces that were carved into the trees around her, she understood.
This was no ordinary siren. There was no sea or lake to swallow up her victims. Instead, she could turn them into the trees. Their souls could be trapped, and they would be forgotten forever. How many creatures had been turned? She had no way of knowing and no idea of how they could possibly save them.
Dende heard a mighty roar and the breaking and cracking of the metal armor. Siluman was once again in his wolf form. His roar was loud enough that for a moment, Dende could not hear the siren’s song. She collapsed onto the forest floor and writhed in pain. Her bones had already become stiff, and now she tried to move her joints so that she was able to move freely again.
“Again, Silu. Don’t stop roaring. I can’t hear her now,” Dende said with her thoughts and only to him. Siluman turned to her and nodded. He roared and approached the siren who was now eyeing him suspiciously. Siluman bared his fangs while the siren tried to fly off. He leapt into the air and brought her back down.
Dende regained her strength and pulled her sword from its sheath. This wasn’t a magical sword like King Kainen’s; it would not have been enough to kill the siren. Dende raced towards one of the trees around her and plunged the sword as deep as she could. A thick brown liquid oozed out. It had a shine to it that made it almost resemble bronze.
Dende mouthed the words of one of her father’s incantations and pulled out the sword. The bronze from a previous victim could be enough to kill a siren if she did not have the king’s sword to behead it. The sap from this tree was bronze enough, but now Dende needed to cut off her head.
Siluman was still clawing and gnashing at the beast. The siren screamed and was too involved in her fight to be able to continue her singing. One of her wings was broken and was dangling precariously from the bone that protruded from her shoulder blade.
“Bring her head to me,” Dende said. She jumped from one root to another, racing for the siren. Siluman was ready. He grabbed the siren by the hair and held her up.
With a scream, Dende turned and swiped the head cleanly from the siren’s shoulders. Dende fell to her knees, completely exhausted. She held her face in her hands, not sure if she wanted to laugh or to cry.
A gentle hand brushed against her shoulder and she looked up. Sil
uman had returned into his human form. He fell to his knees too, ignoring the cold and the fact that he was completely unclothed.
Dende fell into his arms, and he held her tighter than anything he had ever held before. She looked up into his eyes and brought her face towards his in a passionate kiss.
They had lived. If not for him, she would have turned into a forgotten tree in a part of the forest that no other creature had dared to venture. And without her, he would be dead. Despite how large he was, his lips were tender. He held her face in his hands. Dende let the tears fall. She was so grateful for him.
They had lived.
“Well, well, well…”
The sound of a voice caused Dende and Siluman move away from each other. Dende gripped her sword tightly and looked around. They could not see anyone. The voice seemed to be coming from all directions. Dende had no way of knowing if whoever was speaking was friend or foe. She decided immediately that everything would be considered a foe until she returned to the king’s tower.
The encounter with the siren made her more determined than ever to make it back to her kingdom alive.
There was a laugh in the wind. Siluman and Dende stood up and continued to look around them. They even searched high up in the trees and below their feet. They were being toyed with. But Dende was ready. She shot Siluman a look, and he nodded in response.
They would not die here. The voice grew louder and it spoke again.
“Who are these creatures? What is it that Queen Ragana has found in her woods?”
Chapter Seven
The Queen
It was usually impossible to tell if a vampire was becoming sick. They were already so pale and almost frail-looking despite their power. But the humans and the other vampires in Queen Veri’s court could see that she was deeply troubled.
Even if no one had seen her, the sky gave away all of what she was feeling. They could see her rage when the sky was black, and it revealed that she had not fed in quite some time. That she roamed the halls of her magnificent castle more like a ghost than a queen. She barely spoke to anyone and dismissed anyone who wanted to seek her company.
Veri had grown ill since that evening when she had collapsed naked in her bedroom. On occasion, she could feel a shooting pain in her head that caused her to see the faces of the king she once loved and her nemesis—the human who had stolen the king from her. The sudden pain could be felt all over her body, but none was so sharp as the pain she felt in her mind and in her heart.
She could no longer control the memories that she could see. Whenever she tried, she was hit by a wave of sadness that caused her to see the human’s face again. She was too afraid to try to see anything else. Even at times when she wasn’t expecting a memory, one would strike, and she would be forced to sit or lie right where she was.
She couldn’t have her subjects see her this way. She didn’t need their worry or their pity, and she certainly didn’t want any of them to think that she was becoming weak. Veri realized that she was going to need to find a way to stop these memories.
Her pale face was a ghostlier white, and she was losing the roundness in her cheeks. She had had no appetite.
“You are wasting away,” her younger sister Upír had said when she saw her. It was no secret that no member of Veri’s family was to be trusted, but Upír seemed to be the only one who had no ties to anyone involved. Upír was loyal to herself and only herself. To Veri, that was better than the evil her family was normally capable of.
“There is something that you are keeping from me,” her sister said, suddenly waltzing into the queen’s study. It had been almost a week since Upír had noticed the change in the queen. The moons were no longer full, and the nights had grown darker because of it.
Upír’s cheeks were rosy now, and she looked content. She had just been feeding. She climbed over a few books in order to find her sister. There were so many books, and a lot of them had to be stacked on the floor. It was like coming into a maze of books. Her sister was remarkably shorter than Queen Veri, and her hair was pale as well, but it was much shorter and there was a curl to it. Her eyes were the color of blood, and her lips were as pale as the rest of her. They looked very little like sisters.
“I can barely smell your scent,” Upír said. Her fangs were still bared, but they were slowly retracting back into her mouth.
“Don’t pester me, Upír,” Veri growled. She was sitting on the floor; her bright orange robe had fallen all around her like a wild flower.
“I just came to check on my darling sister and find out what is making her so ill at ease,” Upír said. She pouted to show her sister that she had been hurt by her words. Veri had not looked up once to acknowledge her. Her head was buried in a book, and she used her fingers to trace underneath the words she was reading. Upír pouted for real now. She missed the banter she and Veri had, but Veri wasn’t even paying her any mind.
“What are you reading?” she asked Veri.
“I am trying to figure out what…”
“What’s wrong with you,” Upír finished the sentence for her. “You are too proud, sister. There are doctors and humans who are familiar with the dark arts who may help you with understanding the magic that has put you under this spell.”
“There is no spell. I am just ill. I can’t…” Veri finally looked up at her sister with pain in her dark eyes, and Upír’s expression softened. Her older sister looked so frail to her now. She had never seen Veri look so lost or helpless. It made Upír want to cry.
“Please, let me help you,” Upír offered. She got down on her knees beside her sister and took her by the hand. Even Veri’s hand felt dainty and diminished.
Veri didn’t know what to tell her sister. She wanted to know how to control her visions. She also wanted to know why they had started and why all of them were centered around King Kainen and his human lover. She wanted peace and time. How would she find a way to let go and move forward if when she closed her eyes she could see the two of them kiss? She brushed her fingers over her lips now, remembering how Kainen smelled and tasted to her. She missed the feeling of his lips on hers and the way she pressed up against him when they were caught in a passionate embrace.
How would she be able to explain everything to her sister without giving herself away? She didn’t know how she could explain that she was still in love with someone who had left and hurt her. The elves had also not been friends of the vampires. She did not know of an excuse to tell her sister as to why she had been fraternizing with someone who was potentially their enemy. If she had only stayed away from Kainen that night when their affair had begun, she would not have to endure this ache.
Outside, the sky began to develop dark green swirls that were being cut through by shades of blue. It began to rain softly.
“My Queen,” Upír said with worry in her voice, “someone has broken your heart.”
Veri yanked her hand away as if her sister had just bitten her.
“What do you know about it?” she spat angrily. The last thing she needed was a scandal in her court. The sooner she could be well again, the easier it would be for her to rule.
“That before this the sky was pink and orange and a deep green that I have never seen before. Now, it is perpetual darkness here. You went from being loving and happy to this hostile shell who locks herself away and snaps at everyone who comes near,” Upír said. She lowered her eyes.
Veri knew that her sister was right. Upír spent more time with the queen than anyone else in the court. She was the only blood relative who knew so much about the queen without wanting to kill or overthrow her.
“I know that a good queen may not always rule when her heart is full of love, but she also knows that sometimes her people come before herself.”
Upír spoke tentatively. Veri could be ill tempered, but under different circumstances that temper would have brought a ferocious spirit and will to lead. Now Veri was wasting away before Upír’s eyes, allowing matters of the heart to get the bett
er of her.
Veri nodded. Illness or otherwise, this was not how a queen was to behave. She had to internalize her feelings for the sake of her people. She was a queen first and foremost. She had not been on the throne for long, but this was a lesson that she needed to learn.
“You’re right. Thank you, Upír.”
Veri offered Upír a weak smile.
“Take some of my blood. I just finished feeding on the most delightful human man,” Upír giggled. She offered her wrist to her sister. Veri shook her head. “You need to keep up your strength. Do not have your subjects believe that they can overthrow you whenever you appear weak to them.”
Veri let out a long sigh. She needed to do and feel so many things, but right now she couldn’t control her most urgent need. The need to feast on blood.
The queen took her sister’s hand and ran a finger along the vein of her wrist. She could smell the sweet human blood that was coursing through Upír’s body.
Veri bared her fangs and bit down on her sister. Upír winced but smiled. Veri did her best to be gentle, but she hadn’t fed in so long that the sudden taste in her mouth was almost more than she could bear. She pulled away from her sister, the corners of her mouth stained with blood.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t…” Veri couldn’t finish her words. Just as she had begun to speak, so did the overwhelming pain she felt in her mind. She winced and closed her eyes. She held her head and saw flashes of Kainen’s lover smiling and laughing. She was once again seeing through the king’s eyes and could hear herself laughing too. She saw her hand reach out for the beautiful human. She stared into his eyes that reminded her of the ocean and leaned forward to kiss him. The memory faded, but it left her with a blinding headache.
She slumped forward and breathed rapidly, waiting for the pain to subside.
“What… was… that?” Upír asked. She had a worried look on her face. Veri could see that Upír was afraid to touch or be near her.
Veri bit down on her lip and blinked to fight back the tears. She had just managed to get a bit of blood inside of her, and she didn’t want to lose it all with her crying.