Forest of Spirits

by S. J. Sanders

  Silvas’s eyes narrowed on the hall, the stone walls that he had raised from the ground etched with roots and vines that had become imbedded over the ages. Glowing pods bulged out in many places, providing illumination. Flowers sagged from many of them, hidden among foliage, bearing a heady perfume meant to lure the senses. A shudder ran through his body, and he tried to ignore the seductive scents that made him ache with desire. Arx was a living thing as much as the trees of his woods, and set out snares to heighten passions that grew clustered around bedchambers. The palace was sustained by the inhabitants as much as they sustained themselves on other beings.

  He respected the symbiotic relationship, but he had no time to indulge such things with his huntress. Not yet, anyway. First, he needed to visit the oracle of the cavern and speak to the ancient one who dwelled there. Silvas needed to know with absolute certainty that it was the most ancient and terrible children of the Earth that awoke. If Cacus indeed prowled the Eternal Forest and its outlying woods that breached the mortal world, Silvas would need to prepare.

  Arm tightening around the human, he scowled as he ducked inside of his chamber. At his entrance, the glow pods lit up, and he glanced around speculatively. He would need to hide her somewhere that none would expect, and where none from his court could tamper with her until he returned.

  At his hesitation, the huntress began to writhe, attempting to break from his hold. With one large hand, he swatted at her ass, catching her upper thigh, and she sucked in a breath between her teeth. He noted that the sound bore some semblance to an angry serpent stirred from the grass and wondered at what fighting spirit she might possess once she was released from his embrace. Tightening his hand around her thigh, he snarled a low reprimand until she stilled and fell silent. Fingers tightened their hold, but he cared little about that. The grip of a human was nothing but a pleasurable, amorous invitation to many beings of the forest. She would learn that eventually, when he had time to instruct her in such delights.

  “Arx,” he growled aloud to his abode in his ancient tongue. “Open a way, part and reform your living walls, and bring to life a chamber beside my own.”

  A low moan rippled through the hallway, making the female freeze in his arms, but his lips twisted in appreciation. The vines on the wall across from his bed writhed as the rock folded away with sharp cracking sounds. They reshaped themselves, and another doorway appeared. Still, he waited until the stone of the walls resettled before walking with his prize into the room provided for her. This room had more glow pods than his own, perhaps to compensate for her inferior vision, and a stone bed stood against one wall where it had sprung from the ground.

  Setting the human on her feet with care, Silvas released her and stepped back to give her room as he watched expressions fly over her face. She gripped her bow in both hands, drawing it tightly against her chest as if for comfort as eyes the hue of summer’s deep—lush green—darted around the room. He found himself fascinated with her eyes that seemed to appear varying dark hues of green, blue, gold, and brown. He wondered how they would appear when she was caught beneath him, her body straining with passion.

  “This is your chamber,” he rasped in a soft growl. “I will have basic comforts delivered to you so that you may rest while I am gone. You will stay here. You will not attempt to leave the chamber.”

  “And if I do?” she whispered, her eyes fastened apprehensively on him.

  He shrugged. “It will do you no good. The door is bespelled, and you shall not be able to open it or exit.” His gaze fixed on her, knowing that it unsettled her and using that to his advantage. “Know that I am not required to tell you these things, but I am telling you out of consideration for your comfort. I shall return shortly.”

  Her pink lips parted, but he did not allow her to respond, not wishing to listen to the pleas or objections that would fall from her tongue. Nothing she said would be able to sway him, so there was no reason to stay and listen, and in doing so give her false hope.

  His little huntress would not escape him.

  Pulling the heavy door shut behind him, Silvas strode from his room, returning to the hall. He peered at a particularly thick tree trunk that stretched along one wall before disappearing into the ceiling.

  “Alseida,” he called out.

  The dryads of his court could hear him through the trees in every sector of his palace, and in some cases even out through his Eternal Forest when they chose to visit among their trees. He knew that Alseida would hear him and present herself at his summons.

  The tree rustled, the lower leaves against the ceiling twitching as something pushed out from its bark, the cellulose growing thinner and splitting as a beautiful female stepped forward, pulling herself free from it. Her green hair was the last to appear before it dropped around her amber shoulders. She peered at him with brilliant green eyes, sharper and clearer in color than the warm green of the mortal. Her simple dress obscured much of her form, though as she bowed, she exposed her rounded thigh from the open side of her dress, and the upper swell of her breast.

  “You summoned me, lucomo,” she asked in a breathy voice, her eyes bright with interest.

  “Not for anything which you might be imagining,” he snarled.

  Only for a short time had he been foolish enough to take the dryad to his bed and lost hundreds of years as she coupled him with and drained him. In the end, it had taken many silvani and several trolls to pull her away and free him. He had been so drained that he was a wraith in his own palace for the passage of centuries before he recovered. After that, he instated his guard, and Alseida was punished, bound to the service of Arx.

  Green eyes narrowed on him with anger, but he smiled with satisfaction, reveling in it.

  “What would you have of me?” she whispered venomously, all softness disappearing from her features as if they had never been present.

  “I have returned with a very special guest…”

  “A human,” she spat disdainfully.

  “A human,” he agreed in a silky tone. The dryad was smart enough to pay heed now. “You will not enter her room. That is my order, which you will obey as my will compels you—but you will retrieve two of my guard and have them bring all manner of things to see to the female’s comfort. A mattress, bedding, a table, fresh clothing, food, and drink. If I return and discover that she wants for anything, I will hold you completely responsible. Are my orders understood.”

  Anger flashed in the green eyes and her lip curled. “You plan to sully yourself with a mortal? They are prey to our kind, a passing amusement at best. Throw her to the trolls and allow them to debase themselves with their crude entertainments. You are lucomo. You deserve noble fare for your taste.”

  He darted forward, backing her into the wall, one hand gripping hard around her forearm. Slowly, he brought up his other hand and raised one finger in warning. An angry growl rumbled out of him as he barely leashed his temper.

  “Do not utter such things again. As I recall, allowing you into my bed nearly felled the Eternal Forest. Or is your memory so short that you do not recall the barriers weakening to the point that men were able to pass indiscriminately? We nearly lost many beings to their appetites, all because you could not contain your feeding, nor surrender yourself to sustain me in turn,” he stated flatly.

  “I have changed,” she said softly.

  “You have not,” Silvas growled in reply. “You have never shown that you improved on your selfish nature as you play your games in these halls. In any case, it does not matter—I have no use for you outside your current function in Arx. I find this mortal much more to my taste,” he purred, relishing the way she paled at the truth he offered.

  Dropping his hand, he stepped back, the jewels on his antlers jingling softly with his movement. He frowned down at her. “Do not disappoint me when it comes to the care of my huntress.”

  Mutely, Alseida nodded. She pinched her lips together for a moment before she dared to speak again. “She shall come by no
harm from me, lucomo.”

  “Good,” he snarled, turning away so that he did not have to look at her for even a moment longer. “See to my female promptly. I go now to the lower caverns. I expect everything to be done before I return.”

  With those parting words, Silvas strode down the corridor, and then another, walking the maze of hallways as he headed into the darkened heart—the hidden courtyard of Arx where once he seeded his home above the cavern of the oracle’s spring.

  When he finally arrived at the black staircase descending into the depths of the earth, he hesitated for only a moment. It had been a long time since he had last spoken to the oracle, and their last parting had not been a happy one. He only hoped that she did not still nurse her anger against him.

  Chapter 6

  Diana jumped to her feet from where she had been sitting on the stone bed, her heart hammering in her chest as the door to her room swung open. The strange protrusions from the walls kept the room comfortably lit so she was able to clearly see the pair of enormous gray males who entered. Stumbling back against the wall, she watched them as they dragged in a thick mattress between them. Though she stayed out of their way, she tracked their every movement, expecting some sort of violent behavior from them.

  To her surprise, they didn’t do more than glance briefly in her direction before setting to work, no doubt ordered by the lucomo. What were they? She couldn’t even guess by looking at them, though they had a distinctly earthy appearance. Although one was only a few inches taller than the other, both were thick with muscle, and certain patches of their skin had a rough texture like broken rock. On the larger male there were also a few spots tinged with greens and blues, as if moss had attempted to cling to him at one point or another.

  Despite their rough appearances, their heads were well-formed, and their ears were pointed like those she had seen on representations of elves. The biggest difference was that the long tips flopped over on the shorter male, made more prominent in appearance by the way they pulled their coarse hair behind into long ponytails hanging from the top of their heads. Those long, muscular bodies and strong arms and legs could almost be considered attractive, if not a bit rugged, with inhuman coloration and skin texture. But their faces were frightful! Eerie yellow eyes fastened on her in an unnerving stare, and though they possessed full lips, they smiled at her without any recognizable kindness, mouths full of sharp teeth, with long canines designed for tearing. As they turned, she stared in surprise at the cat-like tails that trailed behind them, whipping expressively as they worked.

  They were followed by another pair of males and then another, each varying in shade, size, and features as she would have expected to find among people and less so among monsters. Each of them carried small necessities and comforts for the room as she had been promised. Her eyes trailed over them until arriving at the door where a tall woman of pale yellow complexion and vivid green hair stood still in the doorway. At five feet and nine inches tall, Diana wasn’t little, and this lady had her beat.

  Diana bit her lip and considered the woman in front of her. She obviously wasn’t human, and she didn’t look particularly happy at the moment. Perhaps there was some chance that she would help her get the fuck out of there. Swallowing nervously, Diana stepped forward a few paces to introduce herself, but changed her mind as cold, pale green eyes turned to peer disdainfully at her.

  This wasn’t the gaze of someone inconvenienced and irritable who could be swayed to her cause. Her eyes were unnerving with their complete lack of warmth. Sharp and cold, the hint of yellow to the pale green irises made Diana think of an alligator peering at her, though the pupil was diamond-shaped. Whoever she was, the hostility that came off her in waves had Diana flattening herself once more against the wall.

  Definitely not any kind of friend or ally to be found there.

  Although she never moved from the doorway, the woman conveyed a subtle menace as she stood there like a psychedelic green and yellow messenger of death, watching over the males. Her expression was so devoid of feeling that Diana found it frightening to witness. Despite her human-like appearance, this made her seem even more inhuman than the massive gray-skinned creatures who talked, growled, and laughed amongst themselves as they worked. She stood in complete silence and didn’t so much as betray a flicker of emotion until the last hulking gray male left the room.

  At that moment, her gaze once again focused on Diana, her face pinching with disgust. With one elegant hand, she grabbed the door and yanked it shut with enough force that the resulting bang sent an almost pained rattling through the walls. Although the vibration made her teeth chatter, Diana remained against the wall, her heart pounding too loudly in her ears as she stared at the door. At any moment, she expected someone else, another inhuman creature, to come inside to prowl through the room. She didn’t dare to move even a foot from the wall until it became apparent than no one would return.

  A short sob of relief burst out of her.

  With her attention fixed on the door, she took one step and then another, easing herself away until she bumped against the hard frame of the bed. Upon contact she stilled, her muscles cramping slightly from the tension running through them, certain that someone would throw the door open and attack. As she stood there, Diana strained to listen for any movement on the other side of the door.

  Complete and utter silence greeted her.

  Licking her lips, she glanced down at the plush bed. With a fine mattress thrown on the stone frame, numerous pillows, and thick bedding, it was an open invitation after the day she had had. She bent down and ran her fingertips over the bedding before placing her hand more firmly upon it. She waited to see if it got any reaction.

  Nothing.

  Sighing gratefully, Diana allowed herself to sink upon the bed, her weary muscles soaking in the comfort. Rolling onto her back, Diana stared at the ceiling. The monster that had brought her there said he would be back soon. Since no one had yet returned after delivering the items he promised, she surmised that no one would be back for some time yet. She could try the door…

  Slipping once more to her feet before her nerve failed her, Diana crept across the floor, keeping her weight balanced on the balls of her feet until she arrived at the door. It didn’t look like anything particularly special to her. It even had what appeared to be a perfectly normal—if somewhat old-fashioned—handle. Nothing looked especially dangerous or otherworldly about it.

  Her stomach dropped, and instinct backpedaled in warning as she reached for the handle, but the part of her that insisted it was just a normal door was louder than the human instinct that had been tamed by modern civilization before everything fell apart. Her fingertips brushed through the air just above the handle when a blue light flared over the door. The power swelled and bulged out before releasing a boom that sent her reeling back several feet. A painful zap of energy licked through her.

  Diana spun away and stalked back to the bed. She should have just stayed in the damned thing. With a few more shaky steps, she was able to sprawl haphazardly across the mattress. Her entire body ached from the blast of energy that came off the door. Maybe she would just lie there, rest while she could, and wait for her captor to return.

  Chapter 7

  Silvas descended the long stone steps leading deep beneath the floors of Arx. The damp air betrayed just how near he was coming to the spring that dwelt at the heart of the Eternal Forest. After a time, he was able to hear it bubbling over the rocks of the spring. It grew louder the closer as he approached, and along with it came the echoes of soft sighing sounds.

  “Selvans,” a voice whispered, emerging from the gurgles of the water before disappearing again.

  He frowned as he descended the last few steps into the cavernous gallery, his eyes landing on the foam of the spring broken through the rock, feeding into a deep blue. “You know I have not gone by the name for a millennium. I am Silvas now, as I keep telling you.”

  The feminine voiced chuckled, disregard
ing him. “I knew you would come.”

  “Is that so?” he murmured, his eyes searching through the gloom. “Did you foresee it?”

  Laughter echoed around him from all directions, and Silvas’s jaw tightened with frustration.

  “I did,” the oracle hissed, drawing out the vowel in a long singing fashion. “I knew that eventually you would seek my council, golden lucomo of the wood.”

  “Then why do you hide yourself from me now?” he demanded.

  “For what cause do I have to help you?” the voice sneered. “You who trapped me in the darkness.”

  “To protect your power.”

  “You lie,” she breathed slowly as if savoring the accusation. The fountain surged, water spraying as spout widened, allowing a sinewy body to slip through into the pool.

  He saw little more than a flash of pale locks of hair, white arms, and pearly blue scales of a serpentine tail before she became a coiled black shadow within the heart of the water. The top of her head surfaced, revealing her crimson eyes. Gray locks of hair floated around her shoulders as she regarded him.

  “Dorinda, come forth and speak with me,” he growled impatiently as he prowled back and forth at the side of the pool.

  Her raspy laugh filled the cave as she pulled herself up the rocky slope of her fountainhead, her long serpentine tail looping around it possessively. Her eyes narrowed on him as she sneered.