ELO

  Elo shook nervously " Bree, it's getting dark. We're in the middle of the forest. I have to run to get us back before dark." Bree shook her head; she sighed, "Elo, you can't carry me. Let's just walk as fast as we can. It'll take an hour, we're nor far. Nightfall isn't here yet." Bree and Elo walked purposely. Elo transformed, leaning against Bree. Bree was strained. Elo was much taller and heavier than her. Elo grunted, "I was a fool, I shouldn't have jumped from the balcony, I just wanted to get you out of there."

  Bree held her friend. They walked, and it grew darker. Bree didn't see a fae insight, which struck her as strange. The sun was going down quickly, she recognized the trees and rocks. They weren't far from home; they were almost at Bakura's trail. Elo grunted; she seemed to grow more tired. Bree half carried her. Elo had to stop, she sat by a familiar stump. She said, "Bree, I'm cold. I don't usually feel cold anymore. Not since I turned. I feel wrong." Bree signed. "Just a little longer, I can see the top of the cave, the herd isn't far." Bree bent down and forced Elo up. Elo leaned against her, and they hobbled.

  Just as the meadow clearing was in sight, the fog rolled in. She froze; they were surrounded. Bree was sure that the tree line should have ended. Looking around the mist, Bree was confident they were safe. She thought she heard the familiar chirping of birds. She glanced around to her right, trying to understand what had just happened. In the thick fog, she saw the icy eyed creature from her nightmares.

  “Bree…" he giggled. Elo transformed into her deer form. She thrust herself between Bree and the creature. Elo hissed, "Get away from her."

  Bree had no weapons. She had nothing but rocks. She reached down, picking up the largest rock she could find. Elo hissed as the creature crawled closer. Bree threw her rock then scrambled for another. She trembled, pushing down her fear. The demonic-looking creature let out a chuckle.

  He said, "Bree...Bree...Bree. I can't let you go home. We have unfinished work you and I.'

  Bree was silent; she steadied her rock. “Don't you remember Bree?" He hissed. "I'm your owner." She felt cold; she ignored the creature. She scooped up another rock and threw it. The monster did not stay his course. His black blob of a body absorbed the rock, he spat the stone out of his mouth. He growled, "Bree… you stupid woman." The creature reared up and reached for Bree with an amorphous hand.

  Elo bucked and kicked him, he smacked her over quickly. Elo got up, refusing to let Bree be taken.

  The creature wrapped himself around Elo and Bree. His neck twisted around unnaturally, he giggled as he glared at them. Bree's throat was on fire; it burned and sheared. Bree groaned, moaning, bleeding from her mouth. He smugly said, “all those nights we spent together, Bree. Breaking your little spirit apart…" He licked the side of her face. “It was delicious… but it's over. I need you. My plan is almost complete." Bree gasped, "why?" The creature giggled, "why? Bree, because I hate Faelorn. Because I hate you. I hate the Saints, the Sages. I hate the King most of all. I can't wait to destroy this realm."

  He touched her face with a black tentacle. He said, “I've been with you in your dreams, in your throat. Your part of it, this forest is part of it. I picked you because the blood of a saint runs in your veins." He squeezed the breath from her. “That all you need to know, Bree, you're my plaything, with no voice…"

  A creature of pure fire fell from the sky and attempted to rip the icy eyed monster's mask from his face. The creature shrieked, dropping Bree as it's tentacle arm was sheared from it's body. Bree fell hard on the ground. Elo was still entangled inside the monster. Bree tried to pull her friend free as Feanu, now entirely aflame, flew back up, ready to dive again. The creature shrieked in anger, he looked at Bree with a grin. She yanked on Elo's fore-hoof, and Elo cried out in terror and pain. He hissed, “tell Faelorn his brother says hello, Bree. I will be waiting for him..."

  He left, disappearing into the shadows and Elo with him. The phoenix dove and attempted to rip the creature in two. Bree was clutching nothing but a patch of bloodied white fur. Feanu shrieked, giving chase after the beast and his captive. Bree heard footsteps. Tharin was upon her. He called, “Bree, Bree, where is it? where did that vile beast go?" Bree couldn't speak; she just sobbed.

  Tharin tried to coax her, Feanu circled overhead searching for the monster. A defying roar and the sound of a massive hoofed creature could be heard crashing through the forest. It was Faelorn, he found Bree and Tharin. He shape shifted his torso and face to human, his lower body was still of a stag. Bree looked at him, then to Tharin, tears ran down her face. She moaned the word, with her broken throat. “Eloooo…...Elooooo" Her hands were covered in blood and white fur. Tharin turned, "A bereaved the largest I've ever seen; it took Elo. I tried to stop it. I was too far away, I sent Feanu by the time I got here, I was too late." Faelorn looked at Tharin. He said," when Joltrun arrives, take her back. Whatever you do, don't leave Bree, or you will have to answer to me, Tharin…."

  Faelorn transformed, he was a huge lion, vine tentacle's running all along his body. He roared and leaped into the forest.

  Tharin carried Bree. "Bree, I'm so sorry. This is my fault. If I had been honest..." Bree said nothing. Her tears had run dry. She could only picture Elo agonized face, as she contorted into the body of the monster. Joltrun hobbled through the bushes. "I just received the news. We need to get her to the spring now." Tharin ran carrying Bree. Joltrun followed him, transforming into an old buffalo. Bree could see Bakura standing on the waterfall overlooking the herd. She leaped from the cliff and landed roughly on the ground. She galloped towards them. "What happened? Where is Elo?" Joltrun yelled to her what had happened. Bakura ran into the forest, her hide a golden streak among the tremendous green trees without a word. Bree sat, a blanket around her shoulders. Moira forced Bree to eat the little she managed to get down. Eli asked loudly, "Mummy, why is Bree crying? Is it an owie?" Eli asked.

  Tharin hovered around her, and Joltrun paced. Tharin told Joltrun about Bree magic.

  Joltrun was furious “Why didn't you tell me..." Tharin explained, "Her magic isn't stable. I wanted to make sure she was genuine, that she could really help. I thought I had time."

  Joltrun fumed, "YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING, ELF!"

  Tharin coolly looked down his nose at Joltrun. "I am an expert at teaching magical students. If her magic was unstable, then she could kill herself without intending to. Magic is dangerous, even healing magic." Joltrun cursed at Tharin. The elf continued unperturbed, "there's the matter of the curse in her throat, I needed to understand its nature. I had only just found out what it was when this whole debacle started..."Joltrun stared at Bree, who looked away ashamed. He asked Tharin,

  “ can you remove it? What if we tried right now." Tharin shook his head. “It's a rare dark form of magic. The kind that is not studied by my kind."

  "WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING THARIN!" Joltrun shouted. "My son is fighting a one-man war against these witches, and we're just standing here!" Bree got up she signed " Joltrun, that monster he's Faelorn's brother." Joltrun turned gray. "What..." Bree sobbed into her hands then for Elo's sake, for Faelorn's, she signed. "The man that Faelorn killed on that day he saved me. It was his brother. He wore a mask of the same kind, he let Faelorn kill him and then..."Bree touched her throat. She signed, struggling to keep her face straight. "I think he was going to use my body to hurt him, but when the spring brought me back to life, he couldn't control me. Still, I think he lived through me somehow."

  Joltrun stared at her. “Yes, that makes sense. A part of you lives in Faelorn's brother, then the rest of his soul is in the forest. He is the bereaved that we've been getting reports about, I don't know how he could have survived for all these years. He was only a child when he disappeared..." Tharin crossed his arms over his chest. "Joltrun, I don't know your family history, but I thought you killed Faelorn's mother." Joltrun paced, he was disheveled. “I half-killed her, and that creature was not his real mother. When she died, she was no longer mortal. Technically she is dead; the evil
in her soul is what is left. Her body is held in a coffin between worlds. It's enchanted so that she can never escape. You sent a sage from another world to do it." Tharin frowned looking at Bree "Our you sure that that thing is Faelorn's brother?"

  Bree nodded " He said he was."

  Joltrun paled, "His brother should be dead. He'd been killed in a sacrificial ritual. When I went back for the boy's body to bury him. It had disappeared."

  Bree's stomach was in knots; she wanted to throw up. She listened to their conversation quietly, her knuckles clenched. Tharin covered his mouth in horror. His eyes flashing in the dark, he calculated out loud to Joltrun. He said, "so what if his brother jumped worlds and somehow survived. How is he still sentient as a bereaved? Bereaved can't communicate coherently. Their just shambling undead, mindless. Souls trapped in their unforgiveness." Joltrun was shaking, "Its possible, at this point, anything's possible." Tharin hissed, "How long has it been since Faelorn’s adopted mother died?"

  Joltrun shook his head; he was pale as a sheet. " She died a hundred and fifty years ago." Bree went to her packs. She uncovered her bow and arrows and chugged the tea that little Eli had served her. She took a breath and steeled herself. Cael leaped onto her shoulder, the woodling clutched an arrow like a spear. He looked upset, and he pointed to the forest. Bree wordlessly agreed with the little fae. She began walking to the forest. Tharin grabbed her shoulder.

  She signed angry, "I'm going. I don't care if I die. I will find Elo, I will help Faelorn."

  Tharin growled, "don't be an idiot, your not a warrior. Your still young; you can't control your magic, Bree. Don't throw your life away." Bree wiped her face on her sleeve, Cael hissed at Tharin.

  Bree pushed him away and signed, “I don't care, I love Faelorn. I love Elo; I will not leave them at the mercy of a monster. If I have magic, then all the more reason to go." Joltrun looked at Bree. He said “lets go.” Bree was surprised. Tharin hissed “Joltrun she cant' protect herself from those creatures.”

  Joltrun sternly said “I can protect her, and you will come to. I can't leave my boy unsupported.” He shifted and turned into a weathered looking buffalo, green moss growing on his back."I still possess some of my power. Until I pass on, The forest spirit lives inside me still. Bree ride on my back, we are going to search for Faelorn." Tharin summoned Feanu, ordering, "go ahead and search for us."

  Joltrun galloped into the forest, Bree on his back. Tharin ran beside them, summoning a bow with magic as the trio headed into the woods.

  Chapter 26

  Ash fell from the sky; the rot had finally consumed the forest. The trees were completely dead, not a fae was in sight. As Joltrun carried Bree. Tharin returned from scouting ahead, he said, " Faelorn's up ahead Bree, you are prepared, are you not?" Bree nodded, her face determined. She had started this; if she had been a tool of destruction for this forest, she would do what she could to save the fae's home. Cael rode on her shoulder; he was quiet as a mouse. Bree could feel his shaking. He must be worried sick about Faelorn and his woodling family. She leaned forward onto Joltrun's face. She looked at the weathered old buffalo's eyes. She signed as best she could, and Joltrun still managed to understand.

  She asked, "Joltrun, is Faelorn's mother alive? Could this all be her doing?"

  “Dark magic is a pure evil child. It never dies. When someone commits their soul to such evils, they become it. They achieve false immortality, but in reality, they become consumed by the darkness. They become part of it. Good will consume the dark. It's why even when terrible things happen, Bree, good finds a way to overcome. Terrible things happened to you, Bree, and yet here you are. I know you are good…"He took a deep breath; the trees loomed over them. Joltrun slowed to a walk. Not a fae, not an animal was in sight. Joltrun said, "As for his mother, she became the dark. She tortured the boy and has always haunted him." Bree signed, "the witches are they here too?"

  Joltrun said, "In the forest, there will always be witches. In this realm, they become a mindless hive. Human souls that have given themselves to pure evil. They let it twist their body, then evil twists their minds. If you hear a witch talk, ignore it. They will try to attack your insecurities, but it just the darkness repeating your regrets hoping to turn you into a bereaved." Bree clung to the old creature. She could tell that Joltrun's bones were weak. He moved like an elderly animal slow, his breathing was rough. Tharin followed behind them. He had not looked her in the eyes since they were last in the library. Bree wasn't sure if she hated him. Her feelings were mixed. Patting Cael's little head for comfort. She decided to focus on her surroundings. They traveled deep into the forest. It was an area that Bree was not so familiar with. The air was humid and swamp-like. Not a fae was in sight, even the insects seemed to disappear. Tharin summoned a lantern with a snap of his fingers. He said, “he's just over that bend ahead."

  Faelorn was staring into the darkness. He did not turn as they approached. Bree saw him; he was bleeding. Bakura emerged from behind a tree. She looked at Tharin and Joltrun and turned her head away. Bree dismounted she signed, demanding, "where is Elo? Did you stop him?"

  Bakura's eyes were dark, watery. Her golden hide was dull. She said, “We didn't find him… but Elo, we did find." She walked passed Joltrun. Bree ran to Faelorn, he was breathing hard. Bree touched his face, his cat-like eyes looked through her. She signed, "where's Elo?"

  He shifted, transforming back into a man. His arm had a terrible gash on it. He was pale, his eyes unfocused. He said, "Its too late, Bree…" Bree followed his eyes, then she saw it. Elo wobbling on her legs. Bree tried to run to her. Faelorn grabbed her hard and held her. “Don't," he said, his voice pained.

  Then the doe turned around. Bree saw why Faelorn had stopped her.

  Elo's eyes were gone, replaced by black holes.

  It seemed that somewhere in the process, she had tried to turn human again. Bree saw a head and a torso on the side of the white deer. It's face was covered in viscous black liquid, Elo's golden hair was tainted with blood and black slime.

  Bree covered her mouth; she felt like she had screamed, though she could not. Faelorn sobbed a horrible sound. He held Bree, turning his face into her hair.

  Bree held him, and herself. She couldn't cry; she stared at what was left of her friend.

  The creature that had been Elo turned to them as if seeing them for the first time. It opened it's mouth, and Elo's voice made a terrible sound. It was a cry and sobbing. Both the deer head and the human one sobbed their eyes devoid of human emotion. Joltrun transformed back into his human form. He said, "Faelorn, you have to do it. Kill her, end her suffering..." Faelorn cried, "I can't ….not Elo. Not my dearest friend." Joltrun voice was grim. "This boy is what it means to be the lord of the forest. You must protect the forest at all cost." Bree shoved Joltrun signing. "Stop, It's Elo. We have to do something," Joltrun spoke. "I'm sorry, Bree, I know she was your friend. Surely you don't want her to wander the forest forever like this." Faelorn was shaking. He pleaded tears streaming down his face. "Not tonight, I can't kill her tonight. I need time. Just a few hours." Joltrun grumbled, "Faelorn..."

  Faelorn looked him in the eyes; he touched Joltrun's shoulder. He said, "I will kill her. I can't let her suffer. It's a promise I need to gather myself. If I don't, it could be me too." Joltrun looked at Faelorn, tears fell from the old man's eyes.

  "I'm sorry, boy," Faelorn held Joltrun. "I'm sorry too, father." Joltrun sobbed, " I care for her too, only you can kill bereaved, I don't have that strength anymore."

  Faelorn shook. "I'll do it at dawn. When the bereaved is weakest. It'll give me time to recover."

  Bree heard them, she couldn't take her eyes off her friend. The deer corpse vomited black goop on itself and let out a moan.

  Faelorn walked away, Tharin and Bakura were talking in hushed tones. Bakura embraced Tharin.

  Bree didn't care what they were speaking about. Tharin held his lantern high and summoned Feanu.

  "There nothing I can do, Bakura.
I'm terribly sorry. I should have barred them at the door." Bree glared hatefully at Tharin. Seeing her, he backed away and left wordlessly.

  Bakura turned to Bree, seeing her tear-stained face. She gave her a warm hug, her yellow robes enveloping her. “I'm sorry, child..." Bree's face was pasty, her brown eyes swollen and red. She said nothing, her hands hanging limply. Bakura let her go. She said, “You need to say goodbye to Elo. We shouldn't stay here. You shouldn't witness what must be done for Elo's sake…."

  Bree wiped her nose on her sleeve then signed defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere. Elo's not dead, she can be saved."

  Bree looked at Bakura. "There has to be something I can do." Bakura's face was hurt; she looked down at Bree. She said, "I have been herd leader for a millennium. Bree. I have lost family to the bereaved. Even before you came here, even before Elo seemed happiest. I was always worried this would happen to her. It is not entirely her fault, but she is not blameless. You only become bereaved if you let your guilt and hatred get to you." Bree glared, arguing, "He did that to her. So what if she had dark thoughts or bad thoughts. She didn't hurt anybody."

  Bakura said gently, "I know… but this is not your realm. Elo had issues, deep down in her heart. She couldn't let go. She never did. That the danger in the realm. Our souls are seeking rest for our lives and our own sins. Until we have peace, until we can accept what's next and accept the King's promise, we are at risk of the final death. That is what it means for the souls that wander here." Bree looked up defiantly. "Not everyone who wanders into this forest is lost; some find their new paths, better paths. You just have to believe. You, Joltrun, and Faelorn have taught me that." She turned away, her hands aching from signing so aggressively. She went back to where Faelorn and Joltrun stood, the men sat quietly, hands clasped in prayer. Bree stared at Elo, the creature was unaware. It wobbled as if learning to walk. Bree knew the longer she waited, the longer her friend would take to being transformed. Bree stared at the walking corpse; it was changing. Elo's white fur was fading, the black rot overtaking her body. Bree squatted in the roots of a great tree. She stared, she focused. She felt the magic on her fingertips. It was an hour that passed by when, finally, the sun was starting to come up. Bree was exhausted; she had not taken her eyes off of Elo. Faelorn transformed. Bree stopped him. "Give me a chance, I'm ready to try" Faelorn stared at her, "to try what? There is nothing you can do." but Bree had walked away and approached Elo.