LRRH: Witches Trail

Chapter 1

The earth beneath Ealga’s feet lost its sway as the she glided upward through the branches of a nearly ancient apple tree snatching a perfect fruit from its high perch.

“Mine!” She exclaimed gleefully. The force suspending her wavered slightly as excitement outran concentration making her yelp.

“Ealga!” Rayona’s voice was whispered in a scornful tone which broke any remain hold she had letting the earth take back control suddenly.

She was brought to the ground with more force than intended making her legs ache. She grunted with the impact. Rayona stood disapprovingly by the trunk of the tree arms crossed looking unpleased as ever. Ealga’s cheeks heated up as she knew she was not supposed to be using her power in broad daylight.

“Sorry mother. I just saw the apple and I had to have it. It’s perfect don’t you think?” She held up her prize toward her mother’s unyielding eyes.

“Ealga. This is important.” Rayona’s demeanor remained stoic regardless of Ealga’s success. “You must assume you are being seen at all times. Even at night. We live in secret for a reason. You risk us all and our livelihood. No more antics like that. Or I shall make sure you will never have the chance to use magic again.” The usually supple lines of her mother’s face were hard and full of authority. Ealga could only nod in understanding turning her eyes away from the potent expression.

Once Ealga had conceded Rayona let out a sigh allowing her features to softened. “Do you have enough to bring to your grandmother?”

“Yes, I’ve filled a basket there with all the apples I could find.” Rayona peered down where Ealga the over flowing basket and smirked.

“You have such a sweet tooth child. Your grandmother eats more than apples you know.”

“Yes I know, but they’re so good! And she likes them so I don’t see why she won’t like them.” Ealga smoothed her day dress down a little recovering from the short fall earlier.

“She’ll love them. I know that she’s looking forward to seeing you.” Rayona bent down and hoisted the basket over an arm and started to walk toward the small manor that rested near the base of the hill.

“Mother?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do I have to go to her house tonight? Why don’t I just go in the morning instead?” Ealga had been wondering this all day. She’d heard of being tested, that it could be dangerous, and that she’d be taught as a full witch if she were to succeed. None of that explained what the test was or why she was just walking to her grandmothers to prove herself. It was confusing.

“Because tonight is special. And you will have the chance to do something that very few will ever be able to boast about. Come along. We need to make sure you’re rested.” Rayona moved with a strange grace like she was in a ceremony or ball. She was beautiful too. Long brown hair, green eyes, and a fragile frame that she said was ideal for some, but not all. Ealga hoped she would look as graceful some day.

It had barely even passed midday and she could see the green hills and trees spanning out from around the manor ahead. The manor wasn’t large as some would have been, but showed against the viridian scene like painting. There were sounds of insects and birds all around with the much of the hills covered in wild flowers.

“Mother?” Ealga asked.

“Yes child?” Rayona sighed.

“Why do I have to do this test? I already know that I have magic.”

“Ealga.” Rayona turned to her child looking thoughtful and mildly exasperated. “You don’t know that what you possess is dangerous. You don’t know that you can put everyone you have ever loved at risk. I can tell you these things, but the meaning will be gone from your mind before morning. This test of your womanhood and power is meant to show you what you need to know so that you don’t abuse magic. So that the meaning is lifelong.” Rayona searched Ealga’s face for confirmation that her words had meaning.

“Alright mother. I-I think I understand.” Ealga felt her guts tighten slightly at the thought of this test. Somehow her mother’s answer made her consider what she was doing more carefully.

“Come along now. We’ll talk tonight.” Rayona started down the trail again with Ealga close behind.

Chapter 2

Ealga woke to the sound of hushed conversation in the other room. Her cot was warm and fluffy. Not much seemed worth getting out of bed for. She laid there placid straining to hear the words spoken outside her walls.

“Fabian, we can’t discuss this again. You know what risk if she doesn’t do what is necessary.” Her mother’s voice sounded strained though quiet.

“She’s our daughter Rayona. This is not something that I am going to permit without protest. You have done something to me, I swear or this discussion would be over.” Ealga’s father sounded furious despite restraint.

“Fabian please understand. You have become part of something more important than you’ll ever realize. Recall that I was tested in this way. She has my fire in her. She’ll find a way.” Rayona argued with compassion.

Ealga could almost see her father’s jaw clench with frustration as he didn’t respond and the door came open with his head peeking through. He walked inside and stood for a moment looking at Ealga with a strange expression. He seemed worried. Maybe even afraid. Ealga didn’t like it.

“Papa, what’s wrong?” Ealga asked surprised at herself for doing so.

“My sweet girl. You are precious to me is all. I am worried is all.” He paused a moment, “You heard us just now didn’t you?”

Ealga nodded shrinking into the covers feeling embarrassed.

Fabian let out a sigh then gently touched her cheek, “You will be fine. Your mother is right about one thing. You have her fire. I believe in you. Even if I don’t believe this… ritual.” Fabian’s turned thoughtful for a brief moment then he left the room as Rayona came inside.

She was holding a luxurious red cloak made from what looked like wool and silk. Ealga sat up looking at the garment.

“This is a gift from your grandmother to me and now from me to you. I wore it when I was tested. It is no ordinary cloak. It’s been given to enchantment. While it will not save you from wounds as though armor it will make you stronger. On this night it is the one thing that I can offer you that will help to ensure your success. Here, take it.”

Ealga reached out taking it from her mother’s hands. “It’s heavier than it looks.”

A smile began to creep across Rayona’s face. “You will be kept warm as well. The night is more chill than expected this night. Come now, get dressed. The carriage awaits to take us to the Whisper Trail.” Her mother departed from the room as Ealga hopped from the cot whirling the cloak around her person.

She didn’t delay too long suddenly emboldened by the gloriously red cloak she wore. She gathered her things from a small chest at the foot of the cot. She adorned a simple dress, stockings, sturdy boots, and a satchel. The cloak felt warm and safe as it draped around her.

She rushed out to the front of the manor passing through the quiet candle lit hall with her cloak billowed behind her as she half jogged to the front door. Pulling the heavy wooden door free she saw the dark carriage and horses waiting. Moonlight splashed over them make it surreal. Her father looked like a giant with a faint smile on his face as he caught sight of her. Rayona stood at the step of the carriage with the narrow door ajar.

As Ealga moved to the carriage step Rayona was beaming with pride. “You need to take this with you tonight.” Reaching just inside the carriage she drew out some of the apples in the basket that were picked earlier. Rayona loaded the satchel with apples and helped Ealga into carriage. A strange lantern rested on the bench next to were Ealga sat down.

“Where did this come from?” Ealga asked touching the metal of the lantern which curled decoratively around the glass panels. The work was stunning and it looked like a metal snake spiraling to the lid on top.

“Something of a family heirloom. I had the same one when I walked the Whisper Trail. It’s special so don’t lose it. The light within will burn all night once lit.”

Ealga smiled slightly. The carriage lurched into motion once Rayona entered and closed the door behind her. Darkness enveloped the cabin and she could see the trails of moon light coming through the small window in the door. A silent and dreamy landscape passed outside at a loping pace. Ealga’s mother sat silently watching her as though committing everything to memory.

Though it was not a long journey to Whispering Trail it felt like forever to reach. Ealga had held the cloak around herself and felt warm while she rode. Despite having slept the majority of the day she felt lazy and sleepy anyway.

When the carriage rolled to a stop she felt the prickle of reality snap her into a sober awareness. It seemed as though she may have nodded off for a brief time. Starkly awake now, she couldn’t shake the feeling as though it was a mistake to be so nonchalant.

Rayona moved and opened the door revealing the forest beyond. Tall trees were blacking out the horizon beyond in a solid wall of shadow. As she stepped out on the dirt road her mother followed behind.

Fabian hopped down from the driver’s bench and came close to Ealga kneeling down to eye level. He wasn’t terribly tall but his brown hair was tucked into a cap to make it easier to manage. His heavier cloths were made of simple wools and linen as opposed to more expensive materials. The lanterns that hung either side of the carriage let Ealga see his gentle dark ocean blue eyes in darkness more easily. She could see that he was vexed about something.

“Ealga, you are strong. Though you must walk this dark trail on your own I know that you will find what you need inside to prevail. Remember that cunning will one of your strongest assets. Be observant. And if danger finds you run.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and stood.

As he did Ealga noticed inside his sir coat he had a dagger with a dark wooden handle and silvery metal pommel. She’d never seen it before. The sheath was made of the same wood and showed silver vines crawling down from the mouth to the tip of the sheath in an articulate design.

It was beautiful.

Rayona lit the lantern. The dancing amber light inside was like a small sun coiled by a serpent and it was brighter than she expected. Rayona offered it to Ealga silently. As she took it from her mother’s grasp she could see that Rayona’s eyes had become glassy in the light.

“Mother,” Ealga could feel her heart welling with fear and compassion, “I will make it. I promise. You don’t need to worry.” A broken sob erupted from Rayona’s lips as Ealga embraced her tightly letting Rayona’s hand rest on her head.

“My child. You are strong as your father has said. I know that you will prevail. I am-I am…” Taking a deep breath Rayona recovered herself slightly, “I am so very proud of you. You’re going to make it. Whatever you do stay to the trail as much as you can. Don’t waiver from your goal. I love you my darling. We must go now. Have your grandmother send word when you arrive.”

“I will mother. I will.” Ealga squeezed tightly one more time before letting go.

Her father came around from the other side of the carriage helping Rayona inside. Hopping onto the drivers bench he turned back to Ealga and winked. He cracked the whip and the horses began their steady pace down the road.

As the carriage moved past something caught Ealga’s eye. Something shined in the moonlight. Stepping closer she realized that the dagger she’d seen in her father’s belt lay sheath and all beside the wagon tracks. Picking it up it felt right. The weight, the wood of the handle, and the cool metal embossed on the sheath. Pulling it close she felt as though tears were close now. The wagon creaked on in the distance.

She waited until it was out of sight completely before moving toward the trail.

She knew that she could just run back home. She could choose to ignore this test. She could abandon being a Witch completely if she desired.

No.

She would do this. She couldn’t let down her mother or her father. She had to overcome this. Becoming a Witch was too important.

She adjusted the satchel on her shoulder and walked purposefully into the wall of blackened shadows daring whatever lie ahead to do their worst.

Chapter 3

The lantern was comforting as she walked the trail. So far it had been some time and she was feeling fatigued, but there was a good deal more left to go. Behind the clustered trunks of trees, she could barely see the spray of moonlight cutting through the forest ceiling. The air was chill enough she could see her breath sometimes. So strange being it late summer.

While the lantern helped her see it was heavy and having been carrying the satchel as well her arms were tired from holding it. Something in the woods tonight was different. No sign of anything roamed the forest floor. No sounds, not even owls. So very strange.

All at once the air took on more warmth. The vaporous cloud of breath she’d exhaled a moment before vanished. Something nagged at her that there was a change that was more than just the weather being funny. Regardless, the trail beckoned and she pushed on.

“It never seemed to talk this long when I would come in the day.” Ealga muttered to herself.

The words she uttered appeared to echo in the vastness of this place. Like the very trees were listening to every syllable and repeating it back to her. It didn’t feel quite so dangerous in the day. Then again it never felt this dangerous before. Even without papa she’d walked this exact path late in the evening. The worst it ever seemed was that some owl would snatch a creature from a distance. She felt like she was the prey now.

She picked up the pace slightly as her thoughts took hold. Her free hand went to the dagger that was left behind. It was nestled in sash at her waist. The cool wood and metal made her more comfortable as she let her thoughts drift every which way.

She couldn’t be certain, but it felt like her father had left it intentionally. As though he’d intended her to see it and then take it when the carriage was away. Why? Why not give it to her?

Perhaps he couldn’t. She wasn’t sure entirely what the rules for this test were, but it was possible that he did this to avoid her mother’s scornful eye. She supposed that it didn’t matter. She had it and that was enough.

In the near distance ahead there was a glimmer of something that flitted past some bushes. Ealga stopped moving feeling her breath catch in her throat. The grip on the handle of the dagger tightened as she watched for several long moments. Once she had her wits in better order she dimmed the lantern by twisting a claw like choke at the base lowering the wick.

The amber color turned nearly red once lowered. She fidgeted with the dagger in the sash a little. The sheath held to the blade strongly making the draw more difficult. Never taking her eye off what was rustling in the bushes ahead she pushed the hilt of the blade upward with her thumb until it was loose enough to pull. Once the dagger was free she approached the disturbance with point towards possible danger.

Once closer there were sounds like a little person speaking. It didn’t sound like anything but gibberish at first. Then it became more clear. At the same time globe of light no larger than a fist erupted from some nearby brush chaotically flying over deadfall and mossy roots.

“No no no no. It has to be hear. Has to be. I just left it here. I can’t have lost it. It was so pretty! Uuuugh.” The little voice was childlike and not all at once. High pitched and very very concerned.

Ealga stared in stark disbelief. The creature hovered for just a moment with wings of a dragon fly and the pristinely naked form of a fully grown women. The light that surrounded here was a white and pale blue. As though a star that had fallen from the sky.

“Little folk!” Ealga blurted without thinking.

“Aaaaahh!” The tiny fey darted behind a trunk after being startled.

“No! I’m sorry, I-I didn’t,” Ealga groaned with dismay, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Please come back.”

“Why child? Hmm? Why? You have a knife, you mean to steal my hat and take my wings. Well you can’t have them! They’re mine!” The fey’s voice turned bitter with fear and rage at the thought.

“No! I wouldn’t do that. I just thought that you were something of a monster at first. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll put the dagger away.” To her word she sheathed the dagger quickly putting the lantern on the ground first.

“Ha! Tricky girl. You think you can fool me? I won’t be so easily taken. You will have to do better than that.”

“Really. I am not trying to trick you. I promise. I just want to see you. That’s all. Please come out.”

“No! You need to go away now. I have important matters to attend to.” The tiny thing sounded so impertinent that Ealga giggled.

“I do!” The fey exclaimed flying out from behind the tree indignant.

As the creature hovered in the air just within arm’s reach Ealga realized that she was looking at a fully naked faery. Her face turned red as she turned slightly to the side in a failed attempt to be polite.

The tiny woman scoffed. “You mortals always do that. Why do you do that?”

“You’re naked!” Ealga retorted in disbelief.

“And what of it? You wear all those blankets all the time and put strange things on them. Then you smear paint on your faces or pluck hairs from your face while staring at yourselves in froze ponds hanging from the wall. You’re the strange ones.”

“Um. I suppose, but it is warmer in the ‘blankets’. It’s why we like them so much.” Ealga was having a hard time trying to communicate with this creature as she remained suspended, nude, and fists on her hips in a huffy authority right at eye level.

“Oh. Well…” the woman fluttered slightly away thoughtful, “I suppose that does make some sense. Is that why you wear hats? They are so pretty. Like flowers on your head or-“

Suddenly she became erratic with trepidation. “My hat! Oooh. I can’t find it.” The woman seemed to become more light than creature as she flew again in chaotic patterns looking for her lost head wear.

“Where is it? Where!?”

“Maybe I could help?” Ealga offered.

The faery stopped, “Could you? But it is very small. How could be sure you could help me?”

Ealga lifted the lantern and twisted the choke clockwise to raise the wick allowing light to flare back up. The faery let out a whooping cry of excitement.

“Yes yes yes! This is perfect! Come on then. Let’s see what you can do with that.”

Ealga scanned the forest floor in slow measures in and around the trees and deadfall. The time it took seemed to be quite long. The little fey sputtered and chattered through the entire process making Ealga think that something was broken in her mouth as it was constantly moving. Near the trail just within a large tree root there was this glimmer of something yellow like straw. Upon closer examination the rim of a broad hat lay in the green brown moss.

“I have it!” Ealga exclaimed. She found herself covering her own mouth as it felt like she’d wake the very night.

“Oh my! Oh oh oh oh. Mortal child with devoted heart, thank you!” Tiny hands snatched the hat up and spun into the air and through the canopy high above then looking like a falling star the little light disappeared into the distant wood. Suddenly Ealga felt very alone knees down with only her lantern keeping the darkness at bay.

“You’re welcome.” Ealga mumbled to herself.

“Hahahaahahah!” The laugh startled Ealga to her feet.

“What—” The faery hovered in the air laughing and holding her stomach, “Ugh! You scared me. And where’s your hat now?”

“Oh that thing? It is very much last summer. Besides I wanted to come back here and see what I could do for you little child.”

Ealga huffed at being called little. “You’re smaller than me!” She retorted.

“No I’m not. You just can’t tell from where you’re standing right now.”

Ealga sighed. “My name is Ealga.”

“Nimby Pims! Hahah. I am very pleased to meet you finder of hats Ealga!” Nimby spun around Ealga’s head in a flourish of speed before stopping abruptly with some radical conclusion at the tip of her tongue. “I would like to join you! On… whatever it is you’re doing out here. Keep you company. What do you say Ealga Hat Seeker?”

Ealga looked at this tiny thing that had somehow bounced into her life. Like something she’d never have imagined just popping into existence. There was only a moment’s hesitation before she smiled and nodded.

“Fantastic! Then let us be off. I am sure that you have to be somewhere sometime right? Away away away!” Nimby bounced inconceivably in the air as though standing on solid ground hopping about and flitted down to rest on Ealga’s shoulder. At least the journey wouldn’t be lonely.

Chapter 4

“What exactly is a grandmother?” Nimby asked thoughtfully.

“They are older. And the mother to your mother. Don’t you have a mother?” Ealga was lost in thought herself feeling as though the walk to her grandmothers was taking much longer than usual.

“No no, my goodness no. How strange that would be. How is it decided who your mother is?” Nimby turned to Ealga with a very serious expression.

Ealga went to answer and realized that the question was far more complicated than it sounded at first. She had some theories, but she honestly wasn’t sure.

“I suppose they just find someone that they want to be with and with that person they make a family. I don’t know for sure.”

“Awfully strange way to handle something like that if you ask me.” Nimby spoke as though a traveling scholar seeking new lessons from faraway places and people.

Ealga was thankful for the company though. Despite having been a very strange conversation she was more than happy to keep it ongoing as the woods had become even more chill and dark. The cloak that her mother gave her was doing a fine job of keeping her warm which she was thankful for. Nimby didn’t seem to mind the chill in the air despite wearing nothing. Ealga was bewildered by this creature in so many ways.

“Aren’t you cold?” Ealga asked.

“Hmm? No, why?”

“How do you manage it. Being,” Ealga blushed slightly, “without anything to wear and not be freezing?”

“Easy!” Nimby retorted smiling.

Ealga waited for a short while for some kind of explanation that never came. So very odd.

“Goodness, why is it so cold.” Ealga adjusted her satchel strap while shifting the lantern to the other hand. Seemed like it weighed ten times as much compared to when she started.

“Night of the silver moon.” Nimby seemed to be wistful.

“What does that mean?” Ealga wasn’t sure if she was just spouting nonsense or answering her idle question.

“It’s the night of the silver moon. A very powerful time.”

“How do you mean? Do you mean something like magic?”

“Not just magic. We are between the place that keeps us separate. Why else do you think it is so cold? Hmm?” As though Ealga would know.

“I wasn’t sure. I still don’t understand.” Ealga shifted again feeling the weight of the satchel strap biting into her shoulder.

“Silly Hat Seeker. It is when mortal and immortal realms are very close together. Well, not quite together, but no longer separate.”

Ealga screwed up her face feeling like her head was hurting. This was strange in ways she could barely fathom. Magic was something that made her life easier. Yet it always felt like she shouldn’t use it. It never made any sense. She wished that she knew more about magic than she did.

It was the reason she was on the Whisper Trail after all.

Nimby giggled at the expression Ealga made. “You’re funny.”

“I suppose.” After a short pause, “Nimby?”

“What?” The little faery flittered into the air ahead of Ealga and facing her still keeping pace at eye level.

“Have you seen others do this? Walk this trail at night like this?”

“Mmmm. I have seen some mortals try this yes. They weren’t so helpful though.”

“You mean that they didn’t help you find your hat?” Ealga was starting to think there was something odd about her companion. More than the fact that she was a naked proportionate woman barely taller than her hand.

“Well, no. I didn’t need a hat for them to find Hat Seeker. Is that all you think about?” Nimby chuckled flying further on in a looping patterns humming melodiously.

Ealga let out a breath exasperated. She wasn’t lonely, but Nimby was so strange that it was hard to be completely entertained by her at the same time. Fey, it would seem, could be very peculiar and not in very fun ways at times.

Nimby squeaked a terrified noise a moment later zipping straight back to Ealga. Ealga yelped at the sheer speed that Nimby flew at her. Nimby’s expression was horrified and somehow more pale in the bluish light she always emitted.

“Run run run! We can’t be seen. Go go go go!” Nimby dashed by hooking a tiny hand onto Ealga’s hood pulling her away to the brush line the side of the road.

A growl that sounded like churning gravel in the heat of a fire cut through the night air up ahead. Her belly turned to ice nearly losing her footing as she stumbled to follow her tiny friend. Fear blooming at such a rapid rate made turning the lantern down nearly impossible. Nimby was making small terrified sounds while viciously pulling on Ealga’s cloak.

Something moved nearby out of sight on the roadway. Something predatorial. Ealga dropped to the forest floor behind a tree trying to make no sound. As she did the cloak engulfed of her of its own accord becoming like a little tent just large enough for a small frightened child. The lantern hadn’t completely extinguished. The light from the dimmed flame bounced of the blood red fabric inside with a subtle amber glow. A small slit where the cloth hadn’t come together entirely showed Nimby outside flitting about madly. Panic creeped into a needle point sharpness in Eagla’s stomach.

“Hurry!” Ealga whispered harshly.

“Quickly, inside.” Eagla barely breathed the words before the faery darted into the odd makeshift tent. The seam of the fabric pulled shut like it was responding to an unspoken willful command. Ealga pulled the lantern close and curled her knees up to her chest waiting as Nimby clutched her arm shuddering with her face buried against Ealga’s sleeve.

Whatever was stalking outside caused a shift of underbrush only a few feet away. It nearly made Ealga scream. Instead she clenched her jaw as she pressed her forehead to her knees trying to not even breathe. Blood rushed in her ears as whatever it was growled again making her ribs flutter and rumble. Ealga squeezed eyes shut, she couldn’t fathom what made sounds like this. She kept her forehead pinned to her knees tears beginning to fall.

“Please don’t find me.” She whispered to herself over and over again in a desperate prayer.

Nimby put a hand to Ealga’s lips making nearly silent cooing noises. The tiny hand was surprisingly warm to the touch. Ealga quieted listening to the forest around her. This monster hunted for her. She understood this implicitly. She was prey. Wordlessly she begged for the darkness of the forest to protect her.

Chapter 5

There was nothing. No sound of birds or bugs. No growls or heavy footfalls. Nothing at all. The rugged forest floor had become extremely uncomfortable as Ealga remained locked in her cowed position. The tears had stopped falling at least. Whatever it was that had searched for its prey appeared to lose interest at some point before moving away. She had heard it moving through the low brush deeper into the woods away from the road. The shock of fear had her shaking despite the warmth of the tented cloak surrounding her.

Ealga didn’t know what to do. What had been out there? What was lurking in the shadows of the ferns and trees to hunt children on a lonely dirt road?

Nimby whispered in Ealga’s ear breaking the brittle silence which only made her jump with a squeak, “It is gone! Gone gone gone! Whew! But we cannot stay, no. Let’s hurry, Hat Seeker. Before it comes back.”

Ealga could only whimper and shake her head in protest.

“Come on! We can’t stay. We can’t! Hat Seaker is too brave to stay here and be eaten.” Nimby pulled away Ealga’s sleeve hovering close as her wings made a light rattling buzz sound.

Keeping her face buried Ealga peeked from the corner of her eye at her companion. Nimby appeared to be standing on solid ground in midair again with her hands on her hips, chest out, and expression defiant. Something about it was reassuring. The faintest curl of Ealga’s lips into a subtle smile emerged despite the fear she felt.

“Are…” Ealga swallowed realizing her throat was bone dry, “Are you sure it’s gone?”

“Yes. The nasty thing is gone. I would know!” The faery pointed to her head, “I know things like this.”

“What was it?” Ealga shifted feeling her legs and back beginning to ache in earnest now.

“A wolf. I believe.” Nimby had a scholarly tonality in her voice as she spoke.

“Wolf?” Ealga couldn’t believe any creature could sound like this one had. Wolves were just larger dogs really. At least that’s what it sounded like when her father would tell stories. “It didn’t sound like a wolf.” Dread crept into her mind again making her lip quiver as her throat tightened.

“What am I going to do?” Ealga very suddenly wanted to be normal. The trial was a way to prove she could keep her magic, but now that seemed like a ridiculous idea. Instead, being home by the fire dozing in her father’s arms, or helping her mother with chores seemed far more appealing. Downright lovely in fact. It was too late now though. She knew that she’d be unable to go back home. Whatever it was that was out there could probably find her again. It had been hours since she’d left and that meant she would have no chance to outrun this wolf in time.

What could she even do if it found her on the road without time to react? Eat her, that’s what.

Nimby came in close where Ealga could see her girlish pretty face in detail, “Hat Seeker? You’re frightened, aren’t you?” Nimby scratched her head, “I know! I can warn you whenever it comes back. That way you can hide like this again. It’s a perfect plan.” The sprite’s light grew brighter in the wake of this triumphant idea.

“What if I can’t hide fast enough?” Ealga’s voice was shaky.

“Don’t worry! If you can’t find a way to hide, you’ll think of something. Can’t you?”

Ealga lifted her head from her knees feeling helpless. She sniffed while pondering Nimby’s question. She was only a child. What could any child do against a wolf? Let alone one that could growl with such veracity that it shook her bones.

Without thinking about it something metal and cold grazed across the fingertips of her right hand. The pommel of her father’s dagger. It was tucked into her dress from when she’d picked it up before. She gripped the hilt feeling a sense of comfort from it. Her father had known that this would be dangerous and left her a weapon. In her mind, she could still hear how angry he’d started to become debating with her mother while she listened from inside her bedroom. He defied her mother by leaving the knife behind.

“Yes, I suppose I will think of something.” Ealga heard something in her own voice that was surprising. Determination. She had to make it to her grandmother’s cottage. Even if the trial proved that she wasn’t meant to have magic she could at least see her father again. See her mother. It was too much to bear thinking about her parents mourning over her empty grave after being eaten by a wolf. Especially if she’d just sat under a tree as a terrified lump hoping against hope not to be discovered and eaten.

Her grip tightened on the dagger. No. That must not happen. Getting to the end of the trial was necessary now. Even if she didn’t like it.

“You’re right,” Ealga said wiping her nose, “I will find a way.” With a small amount of strain, she sat up properly. Her body was complaining quite loudly now urging her to stand and move to relieve the tension in her muscles. “We’ll just have to be really careful. Warn me if you see the wolf coming and we’ll hide.”

Nimby giggled delightedly. “I know! I told you that I would. Come come come! To grandmother’s we go!” She threw a fist into the air in excitement.

“Shh! Not so loud. It could hear you!” Ealga whispered harshly.

“Sorry! Let’s go, Hat Seeker! I’m getting bored of your strange hovel.” Nimby gestured to the cloak tented around them.

Ealga felt a bit exasperated but stood slowly. As she rose the cloak draped around her shoulders with the hood covering her head. It was almost as if the fabric were alive and reacted to her intent. It was definitely magic. Old magic. A spark of raw childlike wonder sputtered to life as she watched the cloth shift itself into proper position.

Magic was wondrous. Hopefully, she’d be able to learn to use it after all.

The air of the forest was now bitterly frigid. What little moonlight penetrated the canopy of trees almost appeared to be crystalline beams of ice. It had been some time since avoiding the wolf. Yet, the moon hadn’t shifted in the sky whatsoever. Which made the awful chill in the air more disturbing. This road wasn’t the usual road to her grandmother’s cottage. This road was cutting through somewhere else. Some place dangerous.

In a moment, Ealga understood why her mother told her to stay on the road. If she lost the road, perhaps she’d be lost wherever this place was forever. And the wolf could still be hunting her as well.

Feeling for the dagger in her dress Ealga nodded noting that it was still within easy reach. She took up the lantern then adjusted her satchel of apples and walked to the road thankful she’d not gone far off the path to hide. Nimby swirled around her in a dizzying streaking ribbon of light. Once she set foot on the path again she moved with some urgency. No sense in dawdling.

Chapter 6

“Here.” Nimby offered Ealga a small berry a few times larger than a pea coated in a layer of fine frost. In the silvery bloom of the lantern light, it was impossible to know what color it was. Red seemed the most likely.

“Thank you.” Ealga put the fruit into her mouth. Something vaguely tart to begin with became very sweet and pleasant as she chewed. It was lovely.

“What kind of berry is this?”

“I don’t know,” Nimby stated cheerfully then she zipped ahead several feet while she hummed some musical tune that Ealga didn’t recognize.

For the briefest moment, some thought of the berry being poisonous crossed Ealga’s thoughts. There was no telling what any of the fruit was or really what any of the plants were either. The real world and the world of magic had merged together under the night of the Silvery Moon. Anything that seemed to be familiar could be something other than what it appeared. The mystery was wonderfully beguiling at first, but now just meant that possible dangers lurked everywhere. If the berry had been poisonous then it was too late to be worried. Eventually, she resigned to just keep moving.

Every breath puffed into the air as a plume of steam given the cold night only got colder. If not for the cloak around Ealga’s shoulders, she’d have frozen half to death by now. By no means was she comfortable. Alternatively, she wasn’t shivering on the ground as a crystalline coating of frost covered her from head to foot either.

Her arm ached relentlessly from the weight of the lantern. The apples in the satchel had grown heavy as she walked. Time stretched onward eternally. It felt as though it had been hours since she’d hidden away from the wolf monster. In her mind, thoughts of warm fires and sleep became ever-present. She’d only let out a few groans of discontent recently which Ealga felt was a sign of her maturity given the circumstances. There was a small degree of pride that she managed to keep her complaints down to a minimum.

Mother would be proud of her too.

Her feet ached, “This road just goes on forever,” the thought just burbled up from Ealga’s mouth, “Why is it so long, Nimby? I know that it can take some hours to reach my grandmothers, but we should have been there by now.”

“Oh, well…” Nimby mentally addressed the question in the span it took to blink an eye, “Things change.” Then silence.

A ball of consternated frustration welled inside Ealga’s chest, “Ugh, I guess that’s true.”

Nimby looked back at her then flitted up into Ealga’s face with a childlike jovial expression, “Why so grumpy, Hat Seeker?”

“I don’t know.” Ealga set down the lantern and squatted next to it to allow her legs to loosen up a little. “It feels like it’s been hours. I am glad that the wolf monster hasn’t come back, but this is taking such a long time. I am also very cold.”

“Yes, yes, you should rest. Yes.” A short pause ensued, “Oh! You should get a very large hat for yourself when you’re at your grandmother’s. That would help.”

Ealga’s head sagged as she closed her eyes. The feeling of heavy fatigue washed over her. It may be that her companion was genuinely unknowing of things beyond the world of magic. Though right now it just sounded like rampant, malignant, purposeful stupidity. As though Nimby had made it her quest to be as empty-headed as possible at times.

Small feet landed on the back of her head. “Yes. A hat seeker should have a hat of her own. Proves she’s capable of seeking said hats.”

“Get…”

“Shh!” The faery lifted to the air so fast that it was as if she had disappeared altogether.

Eagla’s breath caught in her throat. Her mind raced. She waited. She didn’t move a muscle for several long moments.

“It’s here,” Nimby’s voice wobbled as she whispered into Ealga’s ear. “Run!”

Panic exploded through her body like liquid lightning. No scream came forth, but it blasted in her skull just the same. No thoughts except survival were present. She ran.

Instinct took over completely as her feet acted of their own accord. By the time she’d let out two breaths, she heard it. Footfalls of something enormous had taken chase. She was prey. Her aches and pains were gone with any sense of question that her life was precariously close to being ended bloodily.

Fathump fathump fathump fatump.

It was closing in on her. She’d never be able to escape. Hiding was impossible. The road just went on into darkness as she ran for her life. This is where she was going to be eaten.

Nimby abruptly burst into view from the side. She appeared to be a whisp of erratic light instead of the little faery creature. Her voice was shrill with fear, “Look out!”

Time stopped. Ealga whipped her head to look behind her. In the air, painted in the pale lantern light, was a monster that descended upon her.

The teeth stood out against its the dark fur like rows of ivory spears. The beast’s maw was wide open as it fell from the air having pounced from nearby. It was a wolf in essence but the human-like arms with clawed hands outstretched made it all the more strange and grotesque. The coat of thick fur did little to hide all the powerful muscle underneath. Its form was stretched long from the leap it made. There was grace in this act of impending terrible violence.

The scream that had been contained in her mind finally erupted from Ealga’s chest. With it, a potent ripple of something else. The lantern light flared suddenly as she bellowed. Some kind of invisible force collided hard with the creature. It roared loudly in fury while it tumbled through the air in a mad spasm to control the sudden change in flight. Then it crashed to the earth haphazardly.

Its claws had nearly reached her. In fact, her satchel strap showed ragged frays where it was severed from the bag which spilled the apples out onto the road.

Before she could even wonder what had happened, the wolf monster was back up again hunched on all fours. Burning red coals looked at her with lethal desire. The growl that emanated from it was the same as she’d heard before. Raw menace made manifest.

It didn’t hesitate for a single moment. It charged her.

There was a subtle, imperceptible, tingling in her chest that seemed like her fear but it wasn’t. The red eyes of the monster bobbed as it ran with its muzzle agape to brandish those terrible teeth.

Again, her instinct snapped forward. This time it hadn’t been to run. There was no way to outrun something like this. She’d just die. Her heart raced as she surrendered to some inner voice that guided the motion of her hands. She put them forward fingers hooked and splayed apart as though she would dig them into the earth. In a sharp motion, she made them into fists then jerked both upward violently.

Power seethed into the physical world like a silver vapor that followed Ealga’s motions. The apples on the ground suddenly popped open. Trees sprung forth from the seeds held within each one so fast that the wolf monster couldn’t react quickly enough.

The branches entangled together in an impossibly thick mesh. The gnarled trunks pushed together to form a prison of living moving wood. It was so dense that the wolf vanished inside while it thrashed against the emergent vegetation.

There were snarls and growls followed by loud cracks of wood being broken to splinters. Yet the wolf was not able to immediately claw itself free.

Ealga was just frozen in place with her mouth open. She panted with exertion, suddenly she was very tired and overly warm. Nimby flew into view. Her face showed a frantic urgency. There was something she was saying, but Ealga couldn’t hear it. Everything was becoming dark, quiet, and surreal. The wild hand motions that Nimby made were indecipherable gibberish.

Nimby tugged on Ealga’s hood. She was surprisingly strong for a small faery. Ealga stumbled a little then followed her companion awkwardly. Then she ran.

As the world came back into focus again Nimby’s urgent cries finally started to make sense, “RUN! DON’T WAIT! RUN RUN RUN!”

Chapter 7

The cold night air burned in Ealga’s lungs. The night had swallowed her whole now. The road vanished behind as she fled from the monster that gnawed away at the mystical prison of apple trees. The snarls it made had faded some time ago. The lantern could only do so much to illuminate the terrain as she crossed through the brush at a full run. It was a surprise that she hadn’t slipped or broken an ankle. It was never her intent to learn to hunt or navigate through a dark forest such as this, but it was clear that a threat didn’t need to simply be faster than her. They would only need to wait for her to snare her foot on something to cause an injury she couldn’t recover from.

Ealga started to slow before she came to a full stop. Luckily the satchel wasn’t hung at her side anymore. The extra weight would have made it even more difficult to make her escape. Every single muscle in her body seized suddenly. They wouldn’t obey her will to move. Then she collapsed to her knees panting as she did. Every one of her ragged breaths stole away her energy. She began to shake with fatigue under the weight of her exertion.

At her side, the lantern burned low. It wasn’t a lack of fuel; it was something about how Ealga had pushed herself so hard. There was a connection between it and her. It was good to have the light that wasn’t too bright.

“Come on! Hat Seeker, we can’t just sit here.”

“I can’t move. It hurts too much.” Ealga fought the urge to vomit.

Nimby fluttered into view touching Ealga’s face. She seemed genuinely concerned for her. It felt good to have someone close by. To attempt this trial alone would have been so terribly awful.

“I don’t feel right. I feel like I am sick.”

“Child,” Nimby’s voice took on a tone that was utterly different from the usual child-like whimsy she usually expressed, “Your magic is beginning to seed now. You’ll feel better in a moment.”

Ealga weakly looked at her companion, “What? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you worry, Hat Seeker. You’ll feel better in a moment. I’ll be right back!” The faery flew away without waiting for a response.

It wasn’t long before Nimby returned, but the whole while Ealga just sat and shivered in the dark. Thoughts of the wolf monster crowded her mind. Still her muscles didn’t allow her to move. She was just paralyzed into a lump depending on a mythological creature to do… whatever it was she was doing.

“Here.” Small hands touched Ealga’s face. She opened her eyes as they’d closed a moment before. Nimby hovered there holding another berry with her hands outstretched.

“Eat.”

Ealga couldn’t lift her hand, so she opened her mouth and waited. Nimby dropped the fruit in. Ealga chewed. The juices flowed down easily and eased the pain in her lungs and throat. Ealga’s voice came back soon after.

“Nimby, I’m feeling better.”

“Of course! Fruit is wonderful. We should be going though. It could be chasing us soon.” Nimby glanced around a moment to make sure that her prediction wasn’t coming true immediately.

“Did I make the apples turn into trees like that?”

Nimby looked back at Ealga like she was half stupid, “Yes, Hat Seeker. I didn’t do it. Certainly.” She folded her arms authoritatively.

“I-I’ve never done something like that before. It just happened.” Ealga’s body started to respond again if ever so slightly.

“You’re beginning to understand what you can do, Hat Seeker.”

“I am?” Ealga just thought about that for a moment. She should be terrified right now. She should be trying to run again. Hide. Shouldn’t she?

Ealga looked at Nimby with a serious expression, “I can’t beat something like that wolf monster thing. We’ve lost the road. I’m supposed to stay on the road. I don’t even know where I am right now. How am I going to get to grandmother’s if I can’t find the road?”

“I can help. I can get you back to the road.” Nimby smiled with an unmistakable confidence that couldn’t be ignored.

“You’ll have to be careful though. We mustn’t go back the way we came. We’ll need to go through the goblin village to get back to where we need you to be. Yes, yes, we will.”

Ealga tried to stand up. She pushed herself from the ground and found that her legs would support her. Then she noted that Nimby said they would have to go through a goblin village.

“Goblin. Village?” Ealga asked.

“Mmhmm! Weird ugly creatures with greedy eyes and they stink sometimes. They make houses out of wood and mud. Greedy things. They horde stuff for themselves all the time. Stealing whatever they can.”

“Can we go around it?” Ealga didn’t like the thought of trying to go through another dangerous place to get back to the road.

Nimby shook her head, “If we try to go around it we’d take too long. Or worse the wolf could come after you when you can’t run easily.”

Ealga sighed feeling something like lead on her whole body. It may be more dangerous, but if it got her out of the forest faster then she wouldn’t argue. Besides, goblins didn’t sound as terrifying as the wolf monster anyway.

“All right, we go through the goblin village.”

“I know. I just said that we would.” Nimby announced.

Ealga groaned as she took up the lantern again. She didn’t have the strength to even be exasperated with Nimby’s odd mannerisms. With some effort, she put her mind toward walking. A few paces later her muscles stopped aching so much. There was some tension, of course. There was no telling when the wolf would break free. When it did, she didn’t want to be anywhere near it.

The trees that had imprisoned the wolf monster on the road had been her own magic. At least, that’s what she felt Nimby meant when she’d said that the seed was beginning to grow within her. Then afterward a strange fatigue that made it impossible to move herself. Maybe that had been from all the running though.

Maybe not.

Regardless, she was now headed to a goblin village to get back to the road. Goblins apparently liked to steal and were greedy. Hopefully, they didn’t see her cloak or lantern as something more than a fancy garment or tool. If she lost those things, she’d never make it to her grandmother’s. She’d never get home either.

Chapter 8

Ealga knew that smell, “I’m so hungry.”

“Don’t eat anything!” Nimby kept her voice down, but there was no mistaking the urgency of her tone.

Ealga only groaned in dismay.

“I know. It’s been so difficult though, and I don’t have my apples anymore.”

Truthfully, all time had droned on for so long that it was impossible to know how long it had been. Whether it was magic or not didn’t make any difference. Ealga’s stomach growled and gurgled demanding sustenance.

Nimby hovered nearby in Ealga’s peripheral vision. Her faery light was dimmed almost to the same level as the lantern. There was a chance that the illumination would have made it easier for the wolf monster to follow her. No different than a star against the inky darkness of the night sky. While the precaution seemed sound it failed to erase fears of being tracked. Wolves, Ealga knew, had a sense of smell that would likely be the first thing to give her trail away. She couldn’t see as well now either.

“You mustn’t eat anything they give you, Hat Seeker. Not one crumb. No.”

“Ugh, I know. You’ve already told me more than six times now.”

“It’ll trap you here on this side if you do. No matter how yummy it is, don’t eat it.”

Ealga leveled a frustrated glare in Nimby’s direction. In spite of all Nimby’s help thus far, she hoped that her gaze would set the troublesome creature on fire.

“All right! I think you understand now” Nimby made a satisfied harumph sound then sneezed.

She still wasn’t on fire yet to Ealga’s boiling annoyance.

Her whole body ached. Having fled from the beast she’d felt all but spent with no drive or energy to do anything other than walk. When the soft golden glow of torchlight appeared ahead there was a sense of relief that accompanied that aroma from earlier of something tasty cooking. There were noises now too. A bare hint of many voices all speaking to each other. The language wasn’t anything familiar.

Ealga guessed it must be the language of goblins.

Nimby had taken them through the woods on a narrow trail that at times didn’t look like a trail at all. It did get wider and more distinguished when it forked in other directions. Thankfully, Nimby knew exactly where she was going. Without her Ealga couldn’t imagine having ever gotten this far. Mostly, she’d already be eaten.

The light intensified as she moved toward it. The ground hardened into a proper road with ornate stonework. Shortly thereafter the woods fell away revealing the village beyond.

Mud brick huts were huddled close together on either side. A few had more than one story. The thatched roofs appeared old but well-tended. Though straw for a roof was very odd. Seemed hard to keep the rain out with just straw. Maybe there was some trick to it.

Worse, it was susceptible to fire. Which there was a lot of. Long torches were sconced on the roadway to add more light. Chimneys billowed smoke into the air from fires in fireplaces. It wasn’t difficult to imagine sitting in a chair in front of a warm fire. Ealga yearned to be done moving or worried about death following her.

Then it finally dawned on Ealga that the houses and buildings were a great deal smaller than what she was used to. As if they were all built for a village of children. Her father would have to bend almost all the way over to even get inside one of the homes.

In the street, a smaller creature took notice of her approach. A pipe was perched in the corner of the goblin’s mouth. The pointy disheveled hat, ratty clothes, and worn soft boots all made it look unreal. It’s eyes were larger than anyone she’d seen. They were glassy with interest and watched her with fixed intent. Ealga noted that it had pointed ears. Long ones, that pushed out from under the brim of the strange hat it wore.

“Halt there.” It croaked in a gravelly voice.

Ealga stopped and stood a bit more upright. It wasn’t that she was trying to be intimidating. It was more like the tone of the command made it feel like she’d stolen something and had been caught red-handed with her bounty.

“A girl. And a pixie. What ya doin’ here? Come to trade have ya?”

Ealga shook her head not sure how to really answer. Nimby wasn’t much better help. She had bolted away behind Ealga’s hood as if to use her as a shield.

“Well, girl?” It drew in a breath making the burning leaf in the pipe glow red hot then let the smoke flair out of its nostrils. “Are you stupid?” The goblin asked with a grin.

“N-No. I’m not. I’m uh…” Ealga shook her head again, “I’m just hoping to pass through is all. I won’t be a bother. Would that be alright?”

“Ah. Passin’ through. That’s nice.”

Ealga waited for an answer to her question but like Nimby, the strange goblin just sat cross-legged on the street blocking her path. What was it about not getting a proper answer from anyone she spoke with?

“Yes. Passing through. Do you mind m—”

“You can do that. I don’t mind. Name’s Grix. This is Mudrut. We could offer some food, perhaps. You hungry there girl?”

She was. Her stomach answered for her in a long gurgle.

“Thought so.” Grix pulled the pipe away from his mouth long enough to pick at one of his jagged teeth with a talon-like nail.

Nimby came around her head and pushed into her hood whispering directly into Ealga’s ear. “We can’t do that. Just start walking. He’ll move. Go on, Hat Seeker.”

Ealga took a step forward. Grix looked up from where he sat as his smile grew a little wider. Another step and then another. Grix followed her but didn’t try to stop her. When she passed him, he merely got up from where he was and followed.

Ealga tried to ignore how uncomfortable she felt. There were a number of others on the street that had come out of their homes to see whom it was passing by. They all were glassy-eyed and gray-skinned with long pointy ears. Their clothes were in disheveled patchy hodge podge materials. The aroma of cooked food was really strong then. Some of it was familiar, other parts were alien though it carried an exquisite allure.

Ealga pressed on. Nimby whispered her encouragement nearly silently as she kept an even pace. The village was really just a straight road with houses on either side. At least it made it easy to navigate since all she wanted to do was get through and be gone. Dozens of eyes were watching her now. She could feel them all as pressure on her skin.

“That’s an awfully nice cloak ya have there, “ Grix observed. His tone carried an edge to it though he tried to sound casual.

“Thank you.”

“Perhaps you’d like some coin for it. Or perhaps a trade.”

“I do appreciate you asking, but I am not selling my cloak. It’s special to me.”

“Is it?” Grix let the last word dangle a little. He sounded almost hungry in a way.

Ealga was starting to become uneasy.

Ahead more of them emerged and looked on as she walked. Then she noticed accompanying footfalls behind her as well. The village was following her. Eyes straight ahead she discretely felt for the dagger in her dress. Grix who kept up beside her didn’t seem to notice that she’d taken a weapon into her hand.

“How special is the cloak to ya? What’ll it cost.”

“I am afraid I can’t give it you Grix.” Ealga felt that pressure on her skin redouble.

“It’s magic, isn’t it girl?” Grix held a twinge of madness in his eyes. Something that Ealga felt was like hunger but sounded more dangerous.

“It’s not, it’s just a cloak.”

“Liar.” Grix replied venomously.

The hiss that came from all the other goblins startled her. The started speak in that same guttural language of theirs and started to close in. Grix grabbed the hem of the cloak as though to rip it from her shoulders.

Ealga spun as she pulled the knife free from its sheath. A brilliant tingling sensation went through her body. While she was afraid, she was also furious. This cloak was her mother’s gift to her. And no one would steal it from her. Ealga found herself a little shocked that she’d become so adversarial so quickly.

Grix hopped back with a wicked little yelp. The blade of the dagger had an unnatural shiver in the metal. Ealga didn’t know the first thing about how to use a knife for violence. However, there was a sense that the edge of it would cut through stone if she wanted it to right now. She took a breath, feeling something in her body moving like water. Power was in her. It was flowing into the dagger. She was using magic again.

“Stay back!” She commanded.

Grix shied back but his face was twisted into a monstrous expression. The other goblins all shuttered back as well with their mouths opened to show jagged teeth. They all snarled as the started to surround where she was standing.

Nimby clutched against her neck. Ealga was at a loss. How was she supposed to get free to leave the village if they all swarmed her?

When a roar of something huge and terrifying erupted from nearby she knew then she had more problems than just the goblins to worry about now.

Chapter 9

Chaos.

An explosion destroyed the relative quiet of the village. It was followed by a thunderous cracking sound. Ealga watched as whatever just happened sent the whole goblin village into a frenzy. Her gaze moved down the street where she’d entered. Next to the forest edge, the common room of a goblin home was now exposed to open air through an enormous jagged rupture in the side of the building. The wolf monster must have crashed through the corner of it and then slid onto the road in a harsh tumble before it rose on its four limbs uttering a menacing growl. The nearby torchlight only enhanced the madness of the creature’s expression. White teeth bared below the red eyes that burned with intense hunger. Tiny trails of smoke seeped from their corners barely visible against the shadow of this thing’s hulking form.

Goblins surged in a flood against the intruder without hesitation. There was no indication of where the weaponry was hidden, but many of them suddenly brandished weapons. Ealga saw the beast had fixed its attention on her. It wasn’t just that she observed the unspoken threat it conveyed. In those eyes there was a terrifying intelligence. One of time, predatory wisdom, and ageless patience.

Breaking her gaze from her pursuer took a force of sheer will that nearly wasn’t enough.

Ealga found her feet and ran. Her grip on the dagger was so tight now that her knuckles turned white. The flow of enraged goblins blurred past her looking to combat the trespasser. All the while, something was pulling on her ear in her hood.

Nimby must have been screaming at her to keep her moving, but all sound had dulled to nearly mute with the rush of panic. Nimby took flight from Ealga’s hood. She hurtled ahead with a line of golden glittery motes trailing behind that floated in the air. It was clear this meant to guide her on a route through the churning turmoil. Ealga’s instincts demanded she follow and ignore everything else.

Several heartbeats later the noise of her surroundings became clear. Ealga wished it hadn’t. Screams pierced into her awareness. Agonized screams. Then snapping sounds followed by something like a muddled slap of a sack of wet vegetables hitting stone. Roars from behind her filled the air. Triumphant bellows of a wolf monster killing prey and enjoying it.

They were dying. They were defending their homes. And they were dying. The grisly sound of it twisted her stomach. Had she not been in a complete sprint she’d have retched what little was in her stomach onto the ground.

Nimby’s trail took a sharp right onto a narrow trail that cut between two of the goblin homes. No torches lined the way so her lantern flared up with light to allow her to see more clearly. A tingling buzz continued to reverberate in her chest and arms. Her magic had become erratic. The dagger blade fluttered and shuddered like it was moving yet not. The edge of the blade glowed as magic appeared to give it life.

Ealga came to a stop. Her feet slid with her forward momentum and her grip on the lantern slipped. It clattered on the ground but didn’t break. Its light shined pale white revealing a goblin holding her wrist with both hands. Golden eyes furious and desperate looked into hers then to the dagger that shimmered in surreal flutters. Ealga couldn’t break free from the goblins grip and now stood facing the way she came.

“Give me dagger!” The goblin woman snarled. Its command of Ealga’s languages was basic and steeped in an accent that was deeply foreign to her ears.

“Let go!” Ealga shrieked in reply as fear pushed against her thoughts. All she wanted was to flee.

“Give!” The goblin demanded pulling hard on Ealga’s arm.

It was no use. Somehow the faery creature was much stronger and despite her struggles, Ealga couldn’t resist. Instead, she suddenly lunged forward out of raw insanity. Magic flooded from her in an explosive burst and into the weapon she still gripped with all her strength.

Radiance was all she saw for a split second. Raw power pushed through the metal of the handle to the tip and then to the edges. The goblin had not anticipated that its opponent would simply acquiesce to her. The dagger slipped through the cloth, flesh, and bone without so much as a whisper. Then a thud as the cross guard met something solid.

Ealga looked up from her hand to the eyes of her assailant. They were wide with shock. Disbelief was there as well. The goblin’s pupils dilated followed by a slow exhalation. Warmth flowed across Ealga’s hand. The gnarled-looking creature just looked on until there was nothing resembling life in its expression and the weight of the corpse slumped into a heap. The blade cleft free of the wound opening it further as easily as if it were thin wet paper.

“Hat Seeker!” Nimby stunned Ealga from herself. She saw it there on the ground. A corpse. The corpse she made. Her hand was dark now with dark sticky blood but the blade vibrated steadily with mystical energy and the gore on the blade simply vaporized before her eyes.

“Hat Seeker!” Nimby came into view pinch Ealga’s cheeks. “Run now! RUN!”

Run?

What was happening right now? Was that goblin just lying in wait to ambush someone?

She killed it. No. She killed her. It was a goblin woman. Her facial features were wide with dead shock carved into the features. The exaggerated structure of her mouth, teeth, and elongated nose made her appear like some deformed terrified child on the ground. A dark puddle of blood was growing still underneath her.

What had she done?

“Run now!” The sensation of summer warmth accompanied with sounds and smells of children shrieking with laughter and gaiety.

“Nimby?” Tears blurred Ealga’s vision.

“Please don’t stop, we must run. Come on!”

Ealga found herself moving again but it was panicked like before. Instead, she was in a nightmare stupor trying to fathom how things had gone so wrong. She took up the lantern again following Nimby out and away from the village and back into the forest.

Chapter 10

Ealga had run as far as she could. She couldn’t hear a single thought above the pounding blood in her body or the pain in her legs. In some way, she was grateful for the distractions of her body. Exhaustion was a familiar friend by now. The lantern was too heavy now and fell from her grip as she slumped to the earthen floor of the woods. Nimby buzzed and whirled in wild patterns around her trying to push forward more but there was no more left to give. Then was the dagger. The blade was still covered in a dark ichor of blood from the goblin woman she’d slain. The fluid had poured along the metal cross guard and marred the pale flesh of her hand in dark veins that stained the sleeve of her dress.

Then the echoes of the dying in her mind clawed to the surface of her memories. The horrible sound of it. The panic and anger of it all. Ealga squeezed her eyes shut ignoring Nimby who still spun around trying to make her move.

There was no way to know where she was now. Nimby was her only way of getting back to the road and to the safety of her grandmother’s cottage. Still, she couldn’t force herself to move. Fear had stolen her soul. There was no fear now, but what remained in its wake was a hollow girl who no longer cared if something happened. The nightmare of this journey had sharpened into an edge that cut into her and bled her to will to death. Her body even seemed to give up.

If she remained here the wolf monster would kill her and perhaps that wasn’t so bad. Maybe dying was more like falling asleep after one final hellish moment. Peace could be what remained. Some sort of oblivion of nothingness that had no pain or anything else. Just a submergence into deep dreamless, eternal sleep.

“HAT SEEKER!” Nimby shouted.

She’d halted in front of Ealga drawn exhausted face and hovered there looking extremely distraught. Ealga just smirked mirthlessly.

“I can’t move,” Ealga stated flatly.

“I’m so tired. So very tired right now.”

Nimby slowed herself and came in closer touching Ealga’s cheek. “I can’t,” Nimby stumbled on her words, “I can’t do anything about this. You need to get up. Please.” Nimby pleaded.

The tone of Nimby’s voice made Ealga aware of something about the situation she had almost missed. Nimby had seemed very different from her in so many ways. This urging to get moving and earnest concern for Ealga’s well-being was different from that. And there had been other times that Nimby demonstrated a more grown-up demeanor. It was like Nimby was two different faeries.

“I don’t know what to do, Nimby,” Ealga could feel her eyes getting heavy. The fatigue was becoming potent.

“You must. You have to get up. Please. You mustn’t die here in this place.”

“I can’t!” Ealga snapped. “I can’t move! I just,” Despair swelled from inside as she tried to speak.

“I can’t do anything.”

“Yes. You can.” Something hard emerged in Nimby’s voice. It was the cold steel of something like anger but not entirely directed at Ealga.

That did shock Ealga a little.

“What can I do then?” Ealga’s eyes met Nimby’s who still rested a hand on her cheek. Nimby was so warm to the touch for something so small.

“You have magic, Hat Seeker. You can find a way to use it to give you strength. But you mustn’t just sit there.” Nimby pulled back slightly taking the warmth with her.

Magic. Ealga did have magic. Though it seemed that she only ever used it when she wasn’t supposed to which had gotten her scolded by her mother or she’d be terrified, and things just happened by themselves. The sticky blood on her hand reminded her that she’d also used magic to kill, but that wasn’t even something she’d meant to do. It simply occurred when her emotions took hold and there was something threatening her.

“What does it matter, Nimby? I can’t seem to use it when I want to. Or I hurt people.” Tears threatened to come but apparently, she’d already done too much crying and nothing happened.

Nimby’s expression softened, “You can control it. You just haven’t tried yet. You’ve used magic before you came to the forest right?”

“Yes, of course, I have.”

“How did you manage it then?”

“I don’t really know. I just saw what I wanted and then something would happen in me that would allow me to reach it.”

“Exactly! Don’t you want to get to your grandmother?”

“Of course, I do!” Ealga felt a stirring in her, but the despair still clung tightly to her heart.

“Then you have to get there! You can’t stop now.”

Ealga struggled to find a way to back to what magic felt like. Whenever magic came forth in the beginning it was something like a dream where her world opened into possibilities. She never dreamed of using it for hurting someone. More than anything she wanted to know what animals talked about or what it was like to fly into the sky to see if she could touch clouds or not. So much had happened now that it felt like those dreams were just childish. The reality of magic was something dark as well. Her mother had been right to scold her. The evidence of her misuse of this power showed itself as the dying eyes of a goblin who must have been as frightened as she was at the time.

Is magic something worth having?

“Hat Seeker, you must find a way to use it. We can’t stay here like this.”

“Why should I? What if I hurt someone else again?”

“Child,” Nimby’s tone radically shifted into something maternal and wise, “you have the gift of sages, seers, and witches. It is strength you carry. A strength to use as you wish. You cannot allow yourself to fear your own strength or it will twist and bend inside you becoming a poison that rots you from the inside out.”

Nimby came in close again offering a small kiss on Ealga’s forehead, “You must choose for yourself what you will do with your strength or to wield it at all. If you choose to abandon your gift it will remain regardless. If you do nothing when you know you should do something the regret you feel afterward will only feed that poison of fear further. If magic can be used to do harm then it can be used to do good as well.”

Ealga stared at Nimby in a state of confusion. Her words true. In some deep way they were right to her. It didn’t make complete sense, but Ealga understood something in her being that heard what Nimby said. This trial was about understanding magic. At least, that’s what Ealga had thought at first. Now though she couldn’t be sure that was really the point.

There was another purpose for being here. Magic was a gift. One that she’d been given. I wouldn’t take away her guilt for the past. However, it could at least be used to give her a chance to really understand what she was doing here in this forest. Perhaps she could understand why she had this gift, or even learn how to assist those who needed it.

Yearning to be free of the woods and to be somewhere safe sparked to life again. With clarity now she could see what she wanted. She wanted to live. Wasn’t that enough?

“All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good!” Nimby’s behavior flipped back to being carefree instantly. It still confused Ealga but she didn’t have time to think about that right now.

Ealga closed her eyes and sought the feeling she would feel when drawing her magic. Excitement started to come through. She took in a deep breath and listened to the forest around her. The air moved in her lungs as she breathed. Her body relaxed a little and she felt how her breath moved something inside. Like a force or energy began to come to life. Breath moved it, nurtured it, and fueled it.

Ealga lost herself in this feeling for a moment. Her attention was solely on this energy that brewed within. There was a connection in this space inside herself that she’d never known was there. As though she were light and fire jumping from cloud to cloud in the sky like lightning. It could become whatever she wanted it to be.

In her mind she played with this energetic force. Every breath shaped it into what she wanted. The safety of firelight. The warmth of good company. Escape from the darkness where she could rest. Her intent to find this escape and safety was mounting fast. Her breathing on the other hand slowed. She drew it in slowly and deeply molding the magic into her desire.

The air moved around her now in a swirling breeze. Ealga opened her eyes and could see where she wanted to be. Luminescent vapor spun forward in her vision linking itself a great distance ahead. It was like peering through the center of a spring. One end had attached to a point beyond and then the power of that spring drew it towards her. A golden light near the center of the glowing spiral drew closer rapidly. Ealga felt as though she were moving but she remained on the ground as she was before. The sensation of movement increased as the rings of the magic collapsed in soft wumping sounds until the light she saw was clear. It was a campfire.

The rhythmic sounds stopped then and Ealga lurched forward as though she’d come to an abrupt stop. The man who sat on the other side of the fire was wide-eyed in shock. Nimby burst with gleeful sounds hailing victory.

Ealga knew she’d traveled somehow but couldn’t be sure how. All she could really do was let herself collapse from the exhaustion. Darkness took her far too quickly for her to do anything about it. The world just disappeared into blackness.