by J. A. Marlow
Grandma grinned widely. Her simple clothes and frilly apron started melting. "Who am I? Call me Diasis. No need to tell me who you are, Kate. The old woman's younger kin."
The image of Grandma completely disappeared.
A creature balancing on gangly rear legs with powerful thighs crouched before them. A front leg stretched down to the ground to keep balance while its remaining front leg remained tucked up against its stomach. Slitted eyes of red and white peered at them over a long snout. Dark fur clumped together in a ridge extending from the head down the back, coming to sharp points that looked sharp enough to cut.
"A razor wolf," Ayden whispered, gripping his walking staff tightly.
"And a pathetic human Gatherer who has no right to be in our forest," Diasis said, his speech slurred by speaking through a teeth-lined mouth. He turned his eyes back to Kate, "You have something that does not belong to you."
Ayden turned his head to Kate, his expression questioning.
Kate ignored the flashing teeth, tossing back, "Don't try that with me. You tried to get into Grandma's computer."
Diasis growled, light from the glowing trees glistening off the sharp points of fur on his neck. He settled down on his haunches. "What you wear on your back. The red cloth. It does not belong to you. Take it off and you may return to the cottage."
She couldn't have heard that right. Kate closed her eyes and then opened them again, "Excuse me? My cloak? You can't tell me you were looking for my cloak when you tore apart Grandma's house."
"We found what we needed, despite your lack of help. Return the cloak and all is done."
The stupid red cloak. The one Grandma insisted she wear and now a talking wolf wanted it? What a silly thing to ask for. "You promise we can go back safely?"
"I give my word," Diasis said. The circling dark Shadows came to a stop, appearing to lay down in the shadows.
"Don't do it," Ayden whispered to her.
But Kate's hand was already to her throat, untying the fasteners. The cloak started slipping off her shoulders. From somewhere behind teeth grabbed hold of it, ripping it away. Kate watched the red fabric flutter through the air and come to rest under a nearby tree.
Kate stepped closer to Ayden, "We'll just be heading back now."
"Will you?" Diasis licked his teeth. "I think we'll eat well tonight."
Ayden's hand gripped the rod tightly. "What of your promise of safe return to the cottage?"
Diasis chuckled, "I admit it. I lied. Thank you for being so accommodating. So few meals are."
CHAPTER NINE
Kate grit her teeth. The animals in the shadows were on their feet, advancing. She caught sight of a wisp of fog tangled with the leaves high above the head of Diasis. Great, death by Shadow Creatures and by fog electrocution.
Ayden squeezed her arm before stepping forward. "Not as accommodating as you think."
At one end of the walking staff a long brilliant red edge flared, rising from the surface. He raised his staff as one of the shadows surged forward.
"Eat the edge of my axe!" As he swung the axe at the moving shadow he shouted at her, "Get out of here!"
The red edge of the axe lopped off a heavy branch as two animals simultaneously attacked. An unmoving dark shape fell to the ground at his feet.
Kate saw a flash of yellow eyes and white teeth flying at her from the left. She tried to move out of the way, but the body of the Shadow Creature still managed to hit her hard on the side. The razor wolf landed on its feet while Kate ended up rolling across the leaf-strewn forest floor.
She landed on something long and hard. She grabbed it, rose to her knees and swung hard as the wolf pressed its attack. The wolf dodged, jumping to the side.
Only, it wasn't the only one attacking. A barrel body with curved ivory tusks ran at her with a low menacing growl deep in its throat. She jumped to one side, something catching at her pant leg. Kate put out a hand, landing hard on one wrist. As she rolled, sending up a flurry of dead leaves, the stick went flying, hitting the trunk of a tree with a hard thud.
The razor wolf lunged forward as she came to a stop. She scrambled backwards. She could see Ayden on the other side of two trees, the moving red of his axe blade lighting up the night.
The razor wolf bared its teeth, huffing sharply at her. A shadow nearby growled. Kate swallowed hard, pulling her feet under her. She would make a run for it. Just once.
Her hand touched soft fabric.
The touch felt out of place. She looked down to find her hand on the very edge of her red cape.
A long low creak trembled through the trees. A tree behind the razor wolf shuddered, leaves fluttering down from the canopy.
The razor wolf paused to regard the trees. It snarled, snapping at the air. It turned back to her, pulling its haunches under it in preparation to lunge.
A thick tree limb lined with clumps of leaves slammed to the ground in front of Kate. The wolf jumped out of the way. The Shadow Creature lurking in the shadows flew through the air in front of her, propelled by a different limb.
The trees were moving?
"Ayden! Watch out for the trees!" Kate yelled, scrambling to her feet.
"Head down the path!" Ayden shouted.
On her feet, Kate froze as the limbs paused in mid-motion. One stopped right in front of her nose, quivering, setting the leaves rustling.
A razor wolf melted out of the background shadows, baring its teeth at her. The limb slowly rose to take its normal position on the tree behind her. Kate slowly knelt down to grab the cape, afraid a sudden moment might trigger either a razor wolf or a tree attack.
The wolf sniffed at her. Hugging the ground it started making its way towards her, claws fully extended.
Her hand came in contact with her cape. She snatched it up running past the quivering tree. She found the main path leading deeper into the woods. A sweeping limb stirred the top of Kate's hair. It arced close to the ground, catching the wolf in the front chest just below the throat.
Kate ran as fast as she could. Away from the wolves and other Shadow Creatures, Away from the crazy trees.
Ayden was suddenly next to her, the blade of his axe gone, but the staff still extended.
The moonlight streamed down on their path as one limb after another swung down, creating openings in the forest canopy. Ayden pulled her in a different direction. Howls, squeals and deep thuds filled the forest behind and around them. The edges of the path were filled with the sight of entire tree trunks twisting around and moving.
This had to all be a nightmare. Trees didn't do this!
"The fog is coming!" Ayden shouted back to her.
Among the moving trees, she caught glimpses of sky and the tops of the high nearby hills. Over the tops of the hills a glistening shroud moved.
The trees moved again and the image was lost. But she'd seen enough.
She returned her eyes to the uneven ground, "How far are we?"
"Not close enough!"
Ayden ducked under a tree bough and darted to the left, finding another path. Kate followed, almost tripping on the cape still held tightly in one hand. But her side was starting to hurt. There had been too much hiking today, and she'd already been at her limit when they arrived at Grandma's house.
A snort and an excited whine preceded a dark mottled object darting out from underneath a bush. Kate dodged out of the way, determined not to be taken down by a Shadow Creature so easily.
With a triumphant cry, Ayden jumped on the back, grabbing two stubby ears in his fists. The animal bucked against him, but Ayden held on, keeping its head low to the ground while having his heels dug deep into the dirt. "I can't hold it much longer! Get on!"
He had to be crazy. Okay, the creature wasn't a razor wolf, but it still didn't look very appealing. Low to the ground with a flat head, the thing had gobs of snot rolling out of its wide nose. "You have to be kidding!"
"Kate, get on now!" Ayden yelled back. "Do you want to escape the fog or not?"
She wanted to object. Really wanted to. A series of howls gave her the needed impetuous. She preferred dealing with snot than the razor wolves.
Kate flung the cape around her shoulders and quickly tied it at the neck while approaching the slithering body. She managed to get a leg over the wide body just as it jumped. Kate fell, grabbing at the back and at Ayden to keep from falling off.
"Hold on tight!" he warned.
Kate grabbed Ayden's backpack just as the head came up and the creature shot forward.
With soft grunts and snorts, the creature took off down the path.
Ayden tried to guide it by pulling at the ears. She did her best not to get thrown off by the side to side gait. Kate tightened her legs around its middle as much as possible, trying to find a rhythm to the movement.
She couldn't hear anything happening behind them because of the noise of moving so quickly through the forest. Just as well, as her imagination was doing fine filling in the blanks.
Leaves, tall grasses and the whip-like twigs slapped at them. Kate gave up trying to protect her face and arms. She couldn't do it and stay on top of the creature at the same time.
A ribbon of fog snaked across the path in front of them. The creature huffed, turning sharply. Ayden bent down low over the neck. Kate followed, letting her cheek rest against his backpack. Pins and needles ran down her left ankle.
The creature moved violently to the side. Kate had one image of a curl of fog on the path ahead of them before she hit the ground. A cloud of leaves sprung up around her as she slid and rolled.
The creature continued on its way, the snorts and huffs fading in the distance. Kate took a deep breath, trying to figure out what might be broken.
"Kate? Are you okay?" Ayden asked breathlessly.
Kate opened her eyes and turned her head. Nearby, Ayden slowly picked himself up.
Kate groaned, rolling to her side. "Yeah, I think so."
"We used to ride those things for fun. Who knew the day would come when it would save my life." Ayden used a nearby tree to help himself get to his feet, "The fog is getting thicker. We're almost to the trees, though."
Kate pushed herself to her feet. "Let me guess. Run?"
"Pretty much."
Kate couldn't manage a full run, but she did manage a trot pushing the palm of her hand hard against a stitch in her side. She let Ayden lead the way around the increasing patches of fog.
Then Kate saw the leaves up ahead of a Trailing Willow. Finally!
But it was a tiny tree, barely big enough to shelter a small warren of bunts, much less something as big as a human. Didn't Ayden say it needed to be bigger for the dense fog that would be rolling? Her eyes searched for a tree bigger than the one they'd taken refuge under after the shuttle crash.
Ayden froze, putting out a cautioning hand towards Kate. He dropped down to his knee. Kate dropped down next to him. She looked out into the trees, trying to find what he was studying so intently.
A dark shape moved along the edge of a tree. Another raced through a patch of low bushes. She spotted the razor edges of fur along a razor wolf's back before it disappeared behind a tree.
They were moving away but Kate still didn't like how close they were. Ayden turned towards her and mouthed a few words. She thought he said "They have a new kill."
She dearly hoped she'd read his lips wrong. She felt sorry for any creature a Shadow Creature got a hold of. She definitely didn't want to be one.
Ayden rose and moved to the side. She followed as quietly as she could, which didn't say much. With each crack of a twig, and the thunder of dry leaves crushed under her feet her eyes darted into the shadows, expecting a bundle of claws and teeth to launch at her.
Fog meandered in and out of nearby branches, building in strength. Ayden passed a small Trailing Willow slightly bigger than the last. A bank of fog standing in their way diverted them to another path.
Kate didn't like how the fog moved. It was as if it had a purpose. As if it were determined to box them into a trap. Waiting to reach out to them.
She hugged close to a bushy tree with a halo of tightly intertwined branches to stay out of the way of the moving fog. At the touch of her hand it shuddered.
Kate dropped to the ground, looking around the small clearing for an attack. The branches above her head swayed. One side of the round circle of branches flattened.
Through the new opening Kate caught sight of the biggest Trailing Willow she'd yet seen.
Ayden paused, looking back at her. She gestured quickly at him before darting through the opening. Ayden followed just before the branches released to reform the circle around the tree.
She ducked under the protective veil of leaves, moving toward the center to the trunk of the Trailing Willow. She let herself drop to the ground, easing her aching feet. Ayden joined her, putting his back to the trunk while turning to gaze back out through the veil.
A soft rustle next to her hand set her heart pounding.
Kate looked down to find a bunt peering up at her from behind a tree root. It sniffed her hand, regarding her for another moment before ducking down. Another bunt head popped up further away before disappearing down a hole in the tangle of roots.
All of them completely silent.
Ayden wasn't relaxed, either. He still had his collapsed axe held tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on the world outside of the sheltering leaves of the Trailing Willow. Even when Bunbun climbed out of his coat, he didn't make any move to retrieve the bunt.
Kate reached out and picked up Bunbun before he could hop away. She stroked him on the head, finding the caress of the soft downy fur comforting. Bunbun went tense in her hands, but he didn't make any move to leave. One of the other bunts came up and sniffed noses with him.
From out of the fog one dark shape after another appeared and disappeared. The tall trunks of some of the trees glowed brightly as the fog enveloped them.
A dark shape flew through the air, landing in the middle of the small clearing. A razor wolf and a creature with a heavy body and two jagged horns high on its head attacked the shape with far too much joy.
Ayden's words of a kill slashed through her head. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to see them hunt. It would be too easy for her imagination to see herself as the target instead.
Kate felt Bunbun shiver. She looked down to find him staring intently past the leaves. She found her eyes following the direction despite herself.
Cream and light brown fur still covered some of the rounded body. The pattern of the fur lead up to a two-pointed right ear. For a certainty Kate knew exactly who it was.
The Watcher.
Kate's stomach threatened to empty itself. She turned away, concentrating only on Bunbun. But she couldn't block out the noises of the Shadow Creatures. They huffed, whistled, growled and clicked furiously over their meal.
The Watcher was gone. Which meant she couldn't pass on what was in her head. And more personal, the Watcher couldn't help her find Grandma.
Ayden reached over and stroked Bunbun's head. He lifted him out of Kate's hands and with his eyes closed, he put Bunbun's little head to his own forehead.
He smiled at her when he opened his eyes, motioning towards Bunbun and her forehead. Kate shook her head. She didn't want her head buzzing like it did with Grandma.
Bunbun twitched his nose at her from where he hung limply in Ayden's hands. Ayden scowled at her and motioned again. Finally he mouthed, "Do it."
Kate rolled her eyes. She put her head forward, hoping she didn't look completely ridiculous. She felt Bunbun's furry head against her own forehead along with his tickling whiskers.
A rush went through her, making her shudder. The top back of her head tingled. She put a hand up to rub the spot
"So weak!" a voice said a short distance away. "It didn't even fight!"
"How could it fight when death came so swiftly? Well done, my brothers. The mark removed before giving the forest time to react."
Words? Kate's
eyes popped open. She returned her attention outside, quickly identifying the last voice as coming from the razor wolf. She took a deep breath. How could she understand them?
"Give me a share of the Watcher!"
The words appeared at the same time as the sounds she'd heard earlier. Why did they make sense now?
She looked down at a tickle on her hand A bunt had popped up between her and Ayden, putting a paw on her hand as it extended up to rub noses with Bunbun.
Bunbun. Somehow Bunbun made this happen.
A sharp bark and howl forced her head up. Two razor wolves tussled, allowing one of the others time with the body. A bank of fog rolled by, light sparking off their bodies as it passed over them.
A creature with black leathery skin and large dark brown scales of armor along its back and legs pushed into the group, putting himself between the two. "Enough! You'll have plenty to eat soon!"
The creature with horns laughed, "An entire city to eat!"
"And the humans daring to live in the forest. The twin full moons can't rise soon enough," said the creature standing between them. "Save your fury for then, and not for each other."
Kate gulped and looked back at Ayden. He returned her worried expression, his eyebrows compressed together. She didn't want to believe what she'd heard. Attacking the city and the Gatherer camps?
Kate's delusions of Grandma's safety diminished by the second.
A howl sounded in the distance. The Shadow Creatures paused in the midst of their feast. One stood on its gangly rear legs and answered the howl. Settling down, he announced, "It is time to journey to the human city."
One of the Shadow Creatures grabbed the remains of the Watcher and dragged it with him while others trailed behind him, fighting for pieces. The thickening fog swallowed their forms.
A tree next to the Trailing WIllow shivered. It spread its leaves wide into the fog. The leaves protecting them glittered at the force of the fog.
Bunbun nuzzled her hand before hopping to the ground. A few bunts poked up from the roots. Out of nowhere a dozen bunts appeared, moving quickly out into the fog. Bunbun joined them in their racing antics.
