Forest of Spirits

by S. J. Sanders

  She probably would have felt better—though perhaps more revolted—if it had been a recognizable human skull decaying in the woods. This skull was almost worse in all its perfection just because it was so divorced from the familiar. Its presence sent an ominous awareness through her. If this being couldn’t escape whatever had killed it… what chance did she have now? Had the wyrm laid it low, too?

  She flinched as Raskyuil darted to her side, his thick gray fingers closing around her arm as he yanked her out of the way. The wyrm’s massive head shattered the trees around them as it lunged, risking the crocotta to attack. Their warble was loud seconds before the wyrm screamed, its body jerking as blood sprayed everywhere. The troll hunched over her, protecting her despite the way he was currently glowering down at her.

  “What are you doing?” he snarled. “You should have left while I had it distracted.”

  She shook her head and pointed down.

  The troll stilled before an oath ripped out of him. He yanked her to her feet and pulled her further away from the reach of the wyrm, his eyes fixed upon it. The creature seemed to watch them back, and Diana felt a shudder run through the troll which did nothing to reassure her.

  “That is why we did not encounter the silvanus of this territory,” he stated hoarsely. “The wyrm killed him and took over. We are in very real danger. We must run while the crocotta protect our backs for as long as they can.”

  Diana shot him a panicked look. She had to shout to be heard over the chaotic warbling of the Keena, Keech, and Dagani between their vicious snarls. “I thought silvani are immortal!”

  Raskyuil growled as he ran, dragging her behind him. “They have long lives and don’t age, but they can be destroyed. It takes considerable effort, but not as much as going against one of the greater spirits, or the lucomo himself. If this thing killed a silvanus, we are utterly without protection. We are fucked—do you get that, human?”

  The tail of the wyrm smashed through the trees, ripping Diana’s attention back to the monster, her scream at the unexpected action catching in a painful gurgle in her throat. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade as she drew it and swiped defensively at the flesh as they ducked away from its reach.

  The wyrm’s shriek was closer as trees rattled and snapped overhead. Diana felt her heart surge within her breast and her stomach twist. The overpowering foul scent wafted from it as it broke through. Raskyuil growled and shoved her away as he raised his sword against the creature. He stabbed his blade shallowly into its neck as it plucked him from the ground in its powerful jaws. She could hear him bellow in pain, his blood falling upon her.

  Tears of terror streaking down her face, she charged forward to slash through the skin of its thick neck with her blade. The blood that splattered her burned her skin, but she ignored it as she continued to drive her blade deep.

  The wyrm let out a keening howl of pain as it dropped its prey, its body thrashing, ripping her sword from her grip as the wyrm tore away from her, wrenching her arm painfully. Diana cried out as Raskyuil hit the ground hard, his shattering moan of pain almost inaudible beneath the noise of the wyrm. Tears blinded her as she clutched her arm to her chest. When her vision cleared, she was relieved to see her blade was still buried within its flesh and that, despite all its flailing, the wyrm could not dislodge it.

  With the creature weakened, the crocotta didn’t hesitate to descend upon it, their massive, powerful jaws opening wide as they tore large chunks of flesh from the creature’s body. Enraged with pain, it whipped its torso, shaking the crocotta loose and sending them flying into the trees, yelps ringing through the air. The wyrm swung its attention to her, its mouth opening wide in a screech as it slid its huge girth toward her.

  An angry roar cut through the air, like that of lion with an overtone of an eagle’s righteous cry. Jerking her head up, she saw a white griffin drop through the trees like a missile, claws digging into the wyrm’s huge face in fierce assault.

  Diana crawled over to Raskyuil. He was alive, though he was bleeding copiously from several places. He grimaced as she leaned over him.

  “I’m okay,” he grumbled. “Don’t go looking all teary over me, female.” He pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled before regaining his balance as he pulled a smaller sword free from his belt. “The one time I remove my ax is the time I end up missing it the most.”

  Diana unsheathed two long daggers. She definitely shared that sentiment as her mind strayed to her bow that was lying within feet of his ax in the small clearing of their camp, and her sword that was lost to the wyrm. All she had left were her smaller blades, but she would be damned if she would be an easy meal.

  She would help Silvas in any way she could to defeat the creature.

  Chapter 15

  The shriek of an enormous wyrm shook Silvas. Many ages had passed since he last heard the ravenous sounds of a wyrm awoken from the depths of the earth, and even now he could not tolerate the presence of the creatures in the Eternal Forest. There were all manner of serpentine beings and spirits that inhabited the worlds, many of them blessed and powerful, some of them terrible, but the wyrm was the foulest of all.

  And it was heading straight for the camp where he had left Diana and Raskyuil.

  Silvas increased his speed. His wings beat through the air and he drew his limbs tight against his body to lessen the drag, but he knew it was not enough. Any attempt to overcome the wyrm was doomed. It simply had too much of a head start.

  His wings shook and he nearly fell from the sky when a completely alien fear swelled within him. It was so strong that he could almost hear Diana’s cry rip through him as the tang of her terror touched his tongue. Instead of desiring more of it, he recoiled as it soured in his senses. That had never happened before, but he didn’t have the luxury to analyze it. Not yet, when his skin wished to split and peel away at the wave after wave of strong emotion sweeping over him.

  In the chaos that flooded through him only one thing was certain—and he clung to it as an anchor. I must get to Diana.

  Folding his white wings, he dropped from the sky, opening his feathers to control his descent as he plummeted through the trees. He stretched his talons out in front of him, preparing to strike as the branches dropped away and he got a clear shot at the scaled head of the beast. Snapping his wings open at last moment, he dug his talons into the wyrm’s face, tearing through the hard-plated scales. As he clung to it, he was surprised at how disoriented the creature appeared to be as it thrashed with cries of rage rather than focusing its attacks on him.

  The powerful creature appeared almost pitiful as it writhed. If it weren’t for the obvious stench of taint to it, he might have some sympathy for it. There was something very wrong with this wyrm. Something that brought it into the Eternal Forest from the mountains. Everything about the creature ran contrary to its nature—even the way it rushed through the trees in a frenzy.

  He would be merciful to give it a swift ending.

  Dropping his beak, he ripped off the protective ridged scales from around the eyes to render them vulnerable to his assault.

  Wings stretched open and flapping to aid his balance, Silvas dug his claws deep into the wyrm’s hide. Once his seat was assured, he used his talons to pry out first the left red eye and then the right, each punctuated by a terrible scream.

  Even blinded, the wyrm turned its head in an attempt to bite Silvas with its venomous fangs as he flapped away. It snapped as Raskyuil plunged his sword deep in the creature’s belly. The wyrm rolled away, and as it did so, it turned its head and exposed the hilt of Diana’s blade resting flush against the skin behind its jaw, piercing the back of its brain.

  Pride filled him at the sight. No wonder the wyrm had been disoriented. The aelven-crafted blade had located a vulnerable spot between the scales and sunk deep for its mistress. Glancing down at Diana as she danced around the creature armed with nothing more than two daggers, he wanted to smile, the mouth of a griffin not flexible enough to
give much in the way of expression.

  He believed that his huntress would want her sword returned to her.

  Diving toward the silvery hilt, Silvas wrapped his talons around it and wrenched it free as he shot back into the air. Blood and slimy wet bits of what he assumed to be brain matter burst free from the wound with the removal of the blade. He didn’t pay it any mind as he winged his way back to Diana. Circling above her, he allowed the sword to drop from his claws to the ground a short distance from her as he released a sharp bellow. As he predicted, it drew her attention and she scrabbled forward, yanking the blade from the dirt that it had sunken into on impact. The smile she rewarded him made his crest feathers fan with pleasure as he wheeled around and dropped to attack the wyrm again.

  As he attacked the dripping wound at the back of the beast’s head, his talons and beak cracking and breaking the hard planes of the skull, the wound widened. He was aware of Diana stabbing into its belly and the soft underside of its jaw whenever it dropped its head to defend itself. Every strike produced a new wound, releasing more of its essence, weakening it little by little.

  Raskyuil, who had until that moment been targeting the belly with his blade, grinned with battle lust. Free to attack elsewhere, he darted along the side of the serpent, looking for his opening. When the creature dropped its head again, he took his opportunity. The troll jumped upon the horned snout of the wyrm as he pulled himself higher on the ridged brow. Lifting his sword high, he stabbed a weak spot between its orbital sockets at the center of the skull.

  The crunch of breaking bone announced the death of the wyrm. With one last brittle sound, it pitched forward, crashing through the trees and brush. Its tail gave one last terrible whip through the air as death seized it.

  Touching down once more on the ground, Silvas regained his natural form, his eyes trained on the wyrm as he studied it. On closer inspection, it showed signs of magical mutation. There were many more horns and ridges on its face, its snout almost grotesque in its unnatural transformation.

  “What is this?” Diana asked.

  He noticed that she was intentionally not looking in his direction as she posed her question and guessed that was due to his nudity. Instead, she jerked her chin to the ground, where her foot kicked the sludgy remains of one of its eyes to reveal the brilliant red gem that served as the lens of the creature’s eye. Her breath caught in fascination.

  “It almost looks like a ruby.”

  He cocked his head, studying her as she picked up first one and then the other, pocketing both lens stones. “It is valuable for its magical properties, but it is not a ruby, though it may be similar due to the nature of the wyrm.”

  With the frenzy of battle still burning in his blood, all he wanted was to sink deep into her body, to satisfy and burn out the flames roused within him in her arms and the tight fit of her cunt. He licked his lips. His cock was already swelling as he imagined spending his passion with her.

  “I don’t need to see that, Silvas,” Raskyuil grunted in a weary voice as he limped toward them, his expression pained. “There is only one hard dick I am of a mind to look at, and that is my own.”

  Diana made a sound of distress as she stepped toward the troll and ducked under his arm to help shoulder his weight. “I knew you were hurt,” she accused.

  “Just a minor flesh wound,” he grunted with a slight wheeze. “Hold onto those wyrm stones. It’s smart that you grabbed them. You never know when you might need something to barter. I am certain that a witch in your world will give you plenty for it. Been ages since there’s been a wyrm there.”

  “I’ll be sure to keep your sage advice in mind should I happen to locate a witch,” she said as she shouldered more of his weight when the male groaned.

  Silvas narrowed his eyes on Raskyuil with displeasure as he noticed the extent of the male’s injuries. Deep gashes from the short spines on the wyrm’s tail cut into his chest and abdomen, but they were not nearly as bad as the puncture wounds along his torso. The troll noted his scowl and chuckled weakly.

  “Don’t look too worried, Silvas. It got ahold of me and it hurts like a bitch, but thankfully it didn’t have its fangs fully extended when it plucked me up. I’m not envenomated.”

  “That is fortunate,” Silvas grunted. “Regardless, you need to a see a healer. Your crocotta will return you to Arx at once.” He held up a hand as the troll’s face hardened. “I will not yield on this. You will return.” He held Raskyuil’s gaze until the trolls lowered his head in submission to his will. Good. He didn’t have the time or patience for any foolishness. “I need you at your best, my friend,” he said as he stepped away. Turning his head, he called for Dagani and followed the crocotta’s name with a low vocalized warble.

  There was no response.

  Silvas frowned and repeated the call. He had seen the signs of the crocotta attacks all over the body of the wyrm. He had little doubt that it contributed to their successful slaying of the wyrm. His frowned deepened as Raskyuil joined him at his side.

  “You should be resting,” Silvas growled low in his throat.

  The troll wrinkled his nose in response. “I’m not about to keel over any time in the near future. Besides, I’ve known Dagani since the day he was born. He’s never failed since his whelping to answer to his name. I am coming to look for him even if I have to drag myself.”

  Silvas held back an exasperated sound and strode forward. “If you insist.”

  At his other side, he heard Diana’s light steps as she joined them.

  “They dropped after the wyrm threw them from its back. I know I heard Keena yelp,” Diana said. “I think they were thrown somewhere over there.”

  She gestured to a shady area within a thick copse of trees. Nodding his thanks, he strode toward the trees as he repeated the call, first to Dagani and then to Keech and Keena. The mated pair answered him, though there was something subdued about their usual excited cry.

  Silvas broke through the tight cluster of trees, sorrow filling him as his eyes landed on his crocottas. Keena and Keech appeared unharmed, their bodies pressed close around Dagani, who lay crumpled at the base of one tree. Dam and sire lifted their heads at his approach, and Keena dropped her head again to nudge her pup forlornly.

  Kneeling beside them, ignoring the hard carpet of bramble beneath his knees, Silvas bowed his head, his dark antlers lowering as his white hair swept over his shoulders in respect. Reaching forward, he stroked one hand down the male’s side, and then again. He continued to stroke him even as he willed the forest to reclaim what remained. He had done so thousands of times, easing suffering in his domain, seeding life with the remains of death. Centuries of witnessing the cycle though being separated from it. This loss was perhaps as close as he would get.

  Just behind him, he could hear Raskyuil’s choked, hard breath even as Diana freely wept. He latched onto their grief, allowing himself that outlet. He who had never truly understood or known grief, or any deep emotion, born as he was among the eternal ones, remained untouched by the living world and never truly knew the bonds of love. This was as close as he got to knowing love and showing it to another.

  Despite that, through the spark of instinct that he had been trying to ignore, he felt and tasted the complexity of Diana’s sorrow. It coiled through him, squeezing his heart and blocking his breath. His hands trembled, and beneath his palm the body slowly faded into the earth. That done, he stood and looked over at his companion and was startled when two wet drops slipped out of his eyes to trail down his cheeks.

  Raskyuil, though battling his grief, looked at Silvas in shock as his eyes tracked the path of the tears.

  Hardening his jaw, Silvas glanced once more toward the remaining crocottas, summoning them to his side with a low click, before giving his order. “Return to Arx with Keena and Keech so that they may be in the comfort of their clan, after which you will see the healer and see to your own recovery.”

  “Please reconsider,” the troll replied gruffl
y. “This journey has barely begun, and already there has been loss to unexpected dangers. At least return the human with me so you can travel unimpeded.”

  “You know I cannot,” Silvas said as he held the male’s gaze. “These things must be done as fate wills.”

  Raskyuil let out a harsh sigh as he turned his head toward Diana. “You keep watch, girl, and return safely. Both of you.”

  Running his hand over his head, he grunted in resignation and approached Keech. Though the male crocotta’s head hung with grief, his ears pricked forward once he was turned in the direction of the palace. The crocottas warbled softly to each other. Although they didn’t have a language in the formal sense, Silvas understood the desire the communicated between them. Though they cried for their offspring, they were eager to return to their den, their young, and their clan.

  At Raskyuil’s command, they sprung forward, their tails whipping behind them as they broke into a fast lope. They soon disappeared into the gloom of forest as the sun sank behind the mountains.

  A sound at his side drew Silvas’s attention to the human who remained in his company. Her arms were laden with wood, and she gave him a small smile. As quickly as she seemed to have found the wood, he understood how the wyrm had come upon them so woefully unprepared and away from their most effective weapons.

  “I’m sorry about Dagani,” she said as she stepped closer to him.

  “Thank you,” he replied as he stepped away from her.

  The words were sharp as they dropped from his lips, and predictably Diana recoiled, her lips tightening as a flush crawled up her cheeks. She didn’t attempt to move any closer, and a strained silence settled between them, replacing the heat of intimacy that had burned in the air earlier.

  Silvas felt the bite of regret, but it was necessary. What he experienced at the death of Dagani was still raw and unsettling. More so what it meant for him. Things had changed between him and Diana in a way he had not anticipated. He needed the space to think clearly. Searching for firewood to keep his human from getting chilled was a good distraction.