Dark Spirits of the Forest

by Michael Weinberger

  The old woman answered simply, “You are in my service and I have need of you.”

  Jett didn’t respond, listening as Pinga continued, “There is a culmination of darkness in the forest that cannot be allowed to remain. I have turned a blind eye to such evil before, as it has never been my place to take action against such Spirits, be they benevolent or malevolent, but it has now gone too far and I shall ignore it no longer.”

  Confused, Jett asked, “I don’t understand. What is the problem, exactly?”

  “Simply, there are too many angry Spirits in one place, at one time. This unbalances the world leading both man and nature down a path of sickness and decay. In time, the forest and everything in it will be consumed by the darkness, and the evil will spread until it has taken all. It will carve a path of disease and death as it travels the world, and modern man has no way to stop what is going to happen. It is up to those like you to stop this. It is why such abilities were given to your ancestors and passed down to you. You, and those like you, are my right hand and represent me on Earth.”

  Jett took it all in before his eyes widened, “Wait, you said, ‘those like me’? Are there others like me out there now? Is there someone who can teach me more about my gifts?”

  Pinga either ignored Jett or chose not to answer him as she shifted her body in order to crawl even closer to Jett, “You must hurry. If the power continues to grow it will become unstoppable, even for you.”

  Movement distracted Jett and he looked around seeing the edges of the vision begin to fade. Pinga had apparently said her piece and was dismissing him to his “mission.”

  “Wait!” Jett exclaimed, “I don’t even know where I am supposed to go!”

  Pinga leaned closer, reached out to Jett with one gnarled, arthritic hand and caressed his cheek. Jett felt the power enter him like electricity, and his body contorted under the shock. Every muscle contracted from the strain as his jaw clenched, his eyes squeezed shut and his back arched in reaction.

  Pinga reacted as well, as if what she had felt when she touched Jett had both surprised and pained her. Her eyes were wide as she quickly pulled her hand away and grabbed at it as if had been burned. Jett recovered the instant Pinga’s hand was off of him, but he held very still not knowing how the Spirit was going react to what had happened.

  Pinga’s face calmed before spreading into a wide smile, “I see! You are even more than my Shaman now, but how has this come to be?”

  “What?” Jett managed to say into the lake’s waters, as Pinga’s power released him and he instantly felt the cold water surrounding him once more. Survival instincts overcame conscious thought and his legs kicked out with a mind of their own to right him and drive him toward the lake’s surface. Panic surged and his arms flailed wildly as he involuntarily breathed in another mouthful of murky lake water before his body broke the surface in an explosion of water and foam, coughing and hacking out the water he had inadvertently taken in.

  He treaded water as his mind fought to catch up with his present position. He remembered the blow from the Ogre, felt the bones inside his body shift as he hit the water, but he was still intact and, except for being somewhat cold, completely fine. His hearing came back next and he heard Ursula desperately calling his name. He treaded water a moment more before calling out to her, “I’m all right! Where’s the ugly?”

  Ursula didn’t answer right away, and Jett could just make out her words as she was staring at him strangely from the water’s edge, and yelled to him, “He’s down!”

  “Be careful! He’s not out for the count.” Jett replied as his breath returned.

  He swam toward her and, as he arrived at the shoreline, reached out for Ursula’s extended hand to be pulled into a tight hug. She didn’t seem to care about getting wet, but when they separated she held him with a look that expressed both relief and confusion.

  Jett’s eyes moved over the ground to where the body of the ogre lay and took it the sharp angle of its neck, “See why I bring you along?”

  Once Ursula seemed to mentally understand Jett was all right she looked to the body of the ogre as well, “So what do we do with it?”

  “Just watch.” Jett replied.

  The pair stared at the body for what became an uncomfortable length of time and Ursula was about to say something snarky when the body shifted gently.

  “It’s still alive?!” she gasped.

  Jett nodded, “It’s a magical creature. Snapping its neck doesn’t do much more than slow it down.”

  Ursula sighed loudly, “I’m really not in the mood to go another few rounds with the thing.”

  “You weakened it too much for that.” He said,

  “So… what’s happening?” she asked.

  “This place is called Fairy Lake for more reasons than simple poetry,” Jett told her, “and the spirits of the lake can take it from here.”

  Tiny wisps of white light, not unlike fireflies, began to emerge from the little Fir tree growing from the sunken log sitting in the middle of the lake. Ursula watched as the lights rose gently into the air and floated in their direction. The sight was amazingly beautiful and Jett felt Ursula’s arms wrap around him, as the wisps glided over the surface of the Lake to land gently on the stirring form of the ogre. The ogre either didn’t, or couldn’t, resist the wisps and its large body began to shrink. When it stopped shrinking it then began to simply come apart into small red wisps that matched the white ones covering it. The wisps joined and became a connected pair that then floated back toward the tiny fir tree. When the joined pair of red and white wisps touched the little leaves of the tree their light looked as though it was absorbed and traveled from the leaves where they had first touched through its branches, then into the tree trunk, then into its roots and finally into the log the tiny tree was rooted upon. A soft pink hue illuminated from between the crevices of the log, shining up from the water until all the wisps had been taken in. Eventually that glow faded, leaving Jett and Ursula alone on the shore with only the light of the moon and stars.

  Ursula let out an awestruck breath and was compelled to whisper, “That was spectacular.”

  Jett nodded and looked up to the starry sky, “You ready to go home?”

  Ursula hadn’t taken her eyes off the lake, but nodded her reply.

  “Good,” Jett pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. “I have something to talk to you about on the way.”

  Chapter 5:

  “I would feel better if I could accompany you,” Benjamin mumbled while Jett and Ursula packed their bags. “If a Spirit as powerful as Pinga needs help with something, then whatever it is, it won’t be a simple errand.”

  Jett watched as Benjamin paced back and forth within the room and the energy coming from the giant man, although not directed at anything or anyone specific, had a degree of menace within it. Benjamin wasn’t human and, although he was Urusla’s father, he was an inherently dangerous being of immense power who didn’t always care to play by humanity’s style and civilized behavior. Fortunately for Jett, Ursula was Benjamin’s nigh-immortal daughter, and perhaps was the one person who wasn’t afraid to tell him “no.”

  Ursula said, “Pinga called upon us to go to Wisconsin, and I can’t image it being anything as bad as what we faced with Kaylanna and her brood. We’ll be fine.”

  Jett had been about to protest that Pinga hadn’t called on them both, only him. He managed to hold his words though because, while it might have been selfish, he wanted Ursula with him.

  Benjamin was about to make another point but Aurora, Ursula’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, ran into the room making flying noises and holding a Barbie doll in each hand and simulating them to be in flight, like “Supergirl.” The child made two laps around the room, “whooshing” airplane engine sounds through pursed lips the entire time, and then left the room as quickly as she came in, without saying an actual word, or acknowledging anyone inside the room at all.

  All three adults stopped to watch the entire s
pectacle, and when Aurora had exited, they lowered their heads to laugh at her antics.

  Jett was the first to recover, “I’ve barely been home long enough to see her.”

  Ursula nodded, “She missed you too, but it will be all right. You can make up for lost time when we get back.”

  “Duty calls,” Benjamin stated with obvious distaste, and gave Ursula a look as if to say, “Here we go again.”

  Benjamin shifted and looked to Jett, “Maybe if I went as well we could get the job done faster and get you back home sooner?”

  Jett smiled at him and said, “You think we can’t handle it ourselves?”

  Benjamin didn’t take the bait, “Not at all. Just most tasks can be finished faster with three working on the problem instead of two. As simple as that.”

  Ursula countered, “There is also such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, Ben.”

  Jett added, “Or in this case Pinga stated there already were too many Spirits at play. Who knows how an Ancient Spirit Bear such as you would affect the situation.

  Benjamin shrugged, “Then have you considered how Ursula’s presence might also affect the situation?”

  “I’m born of the Earth,” Ursula said defensively, “I get a pass.”

  “You’re also over eight hundred years old. I’m not sure that qualifies you as human,” he retorted.

  “Sure it does,” she fired back, “I’m just not a ‘normal’ human. And anyway you’re ‘literally’ older than dirt, so there.”

  Jett felt that was his cue to interject a little rational thought into the mix, “Look Ben, you’re less than half a day away by plane. If we run into something that needs your kind of attention, we’ll give you a call.”

  Ben frowned and adopted an inflection in his voice making him sound like an imbecile, “So, if some-ting need smash, you call.”

  Ursula rolled her eyes, “You’ve been watching too many superhero movies.”

  Benjamin ran his hands through his long brown hair in frustration, “I just don’t like it. Pinga is an Ancient, and a very powerful Ancient, who bound herself to the world and watches over it. She isn’t supposed to interfere unless something truly significant forces her hand, and even then, she should have been able to alter whatever is happening by influencing the natural world around the problem. The fact that she has called upon you to do the work for her means whatever is going on has surpassed her influence and is out of control.”

  “Isn’t that why Shamans exist in the first place?” Jett asked, “To assist the natural world when they are called upon?”

  Benjamin looked Jett right in the eyes, “When they are at full power, yes. You are still learning.”

  Now it was Jett’s turn to be defensive, “I did pretty well against Kaylanna and I’ve done a lot in the six months since we defeated her.”

  “You had a lot of help,” he said, and when Jett and Ursula both jolted at his statement, Ben raised his hands up indicating the comment wasn’t intended to be insulting. “Don’t get me wrong, you did amazingly well and we couldn’t have defeated her without you and your abilities. However, you did have Ursula, three Spirit Bears, me included, and an army of First Men at your side at the time.”

  Jett considered that, then asked, “Not to change the subject, but I was wondering about that.”

  “Which part?” Ursula asked with a smile noting the irony.

  Jett smiled back, but continued as if uninterrupted, “You told me that Kaylanna had killed one of the four Spirit Bears to acquire the power she possessed when we faced her.”

  Both Ben and Ursula suddenly lost their smiles and regarded Jett soberly.

  “We defeated her, and supposedly brought balance back to the world, right?”

  Ursula didn’t move, but Benjamin cautiously nodded.

  Jett saw the nod and continued, “Right, so how did we establish the balance exactly? Is there a fourth Spirit Bear once again walking the Earth? Or…?”

  Jett let the question hang in the air, assuming that either Ursula or Benjamin would pick it up, but to his surprise, neither one did. They just sat there and regarded him with vacant expressions like he was some kind of crazy person.

  Then Jett saw it, Ursula’s eyes were tearing up. Benjamin must have noticed it too and he turned and put one hand on her shoulder, supporting her for a moment before quickly taking his hand away as if the touch had been inappropriate. Ben’s mouth opened as if to say something, but he thought better of it and just turned away from her. Ursula wiped at her eyes and recovered from whatever had affected her before looking back to Jett, his face now a mask of concern.

  She smiled, “It’s all right. My memories are from a time long ago.”

  Jett started to ask again if she were all right, but Ursula very subtly shook her head at him then inclined her head toward Benjamin. He got the message and changed the subject.

  “If Pinga thought I wasn’t enough, then I doubt she would’ve asked for my help.” he ended.

  Ben let out a held breath before turning back toward the others and inclined his head as he considered what Jett had said. “It’s possible, but it’s also possible she knew you had other resources and assumed you would use them.”

  “Can you still communicate with the Ancients, Ben?” Ursula asked as if she already knew the answer.

  Benjamin looked to his daughter, “I can’t call to them, but I can hear them when they speak to me.”

  “So, if Pinga wanted you to help, she could have just asked you?”

  “Technically… yes,” Ben quietly admitted.

  “Then perhaps what is called for here is a Shaman and not…you?”

  Benjamin thought about that for a moment before admitting, “Fine, you are probably right.”

  She smiled and moved closer to Benjamin, before placing a small kiss on his cheek, “We’ll be back before you know it.”

  Benjamin took Ursula’s hand and patted it before asking, “Has anyone told Aurora?”

  “Told her what?” she asked.

  “That you were leaving for a few days or so… and the rest of it.”

  “The rest?” Ursula asked.

  Benjamin hesitated, then asked nervously, “Who did you get to…?”

  “To?”

  “You know… Who did you get to stay with Aurora while you are gone? Because… Well, I could…”

  “What, Ben?” She couldn’t help but tease her father. The sight of such a powerful Ancient creature like Benjamin fumble over his words when it came to his granddaughter was something that Ursula found both humorous, as well as endearing.

  “Well, I know how you feel about my taking Aurora to my place with all the heavy machinery and the like, but… well, could I pick her up from the sitter for an afternoon or… maybe… maybe more... while you are gone?”

  Jett and Ursula smiled wickedly at each other, before she looked back at her father, “No, that won’t work.”

  “What?” Benjamin was aghast, “But Ursula…”

  Ursula held up a hand, “I don’t want her playing in that death trap of a warehouse you call home.”

  “Now wait,” Benjamin looked hurt, “I’ve started… what do they call it? Baby-proofing.”

  “It’s a machine shop dad. How exactly are you going to baby-proof it?”

  Ben looked pleadingly at Jett, “Jett? Help me here?”

  “Don’t look at me, you old bear, I agree with Ursula.”

  Ben let out an animal growl that faded into a disappointed grunt before Jett continued, “So you’ll have to stay here while we’re gone.”

  Ben didn’t get it at first... then he did, “What?!”

  “Ben,” Ursula had to draw out the request a little longer, as she relished his reaction, “We were hoping you could stay here with Aurora while we are gone.”

  Ben’s jaw fell open, “You want me to stay with her? Keep her the whole time?”

  Ursula laughed, “Well, you’ll have to give her back eventually.”

  Ben’s m
outh moved, and for the briefest moment a look of complete happiness, bordering on giddiness, covered his face. Then the Ancient Spirit Bear cleared his throat and altered his expression to one of exasperated surrender, “Well, of course, it’s a terrible burden, and I’ll have to change a bunch of the plans already on my schedule, but I can do you the favor, if you really need me to.”

  “Well, thank you very much Ben.” Ursula spoke in that subtle, yet mocking way of hers, when she knew she had really “zinged” someone, and then added, “Just one condition.”

  “What’s that?” Ben asked.

  “Chocolate is NOT a food group.”

  Ben stared at Ursula silently for a moment, as if waiting for her to admit having made such a ridiculous statement and was obviously joking.

  When Ben realized no amendment was forthcoming he quietly and sadly whispered, “I… can do that,” but Jett was pretty sure the giant had his fingers crossed behind his back.

  “Good,” Ursula looked up from her father and called to her daughter, “Aurora!”

  The two-and-a-half-year-old walked into the doorway, Barbie dolls still flying but she was no longer making airplane engine noises.

  “Jett and I have to take a trip for a few days and, while we are gone, Grandpa is going to stay here at the house with you. Is that okay with you?” she asked.

  The little girl’s eyes widened and she let out a little squeak before running out of the room.

  “Was that a ‘yes’?” Benjamin asked.

  “Wait for it,” Ursula said cryptically, as Jett rolled his eyes, obviously knowing what was coming.

  A few seconds later the trio could hear Aurora’s footsteps coming back down the hall and the child ran into the room holding a box. Taking Benjamin by the hand the tiny child guided the force of nature down to the floor next to her as easily as if Benjamin had been an obedient puppy. Although it wasn’t surprising to them, given how alone Benjamin had been for so long, Jett and Ursula were always stunned to silence at the way the girl had her grandfather wrapped around her finger. Benjamin proceeded to sit where the child had asked while Aurora proceeded to remove multiple bright pink ribbons from the box.