The creatures that live in liminal spaces are dangerous indeed, feeding off of wild magic and lost wanderers from the worlds on either side. The stronger of these creatures can use the magic of the in-between space without drawing attention from those that guard it, adapting to the ever-changing environment with ease. Their hunting tactics are varied, but most that live between our world and the fae use enchantment or charm to lure their prey to their lair to feast. They are masters of hiding themselves from both their prey, and those who exist to protect against them.

Cora was at a loss for words as she stared at her phone, her roommates name in the 'to:' column and the message bubble blank as she struggled to find an excuse for what she was about to do. She couldn't tell her the truth, but she was such a terrible liar. She decided to just be vague, a mundane excuse that wouldn't arouse suspicion.

  "Hey Chloe! After last night I needed a little break, I am going to go visit my hometown for a bit. I'll see you when I get back!" she hit send on the text and fought off the guilt that was rising in her stomach. She hated to do anything that would make Chloe worry, but she had no good excuse to take Rascal with her, so she did what she had to do. She finished loading up her bags in her car, then went back upstairs and opened a window in the living room, not enough for a burglar to get in, but enough for a cat to get out. Chloe was going to freak. Cora went back down to her car and started the engine, Rascal, who was licking himself in the passenger seat, piped up,

“Aren’t you bringing anything for me? Cat food? My bed?”

“If I take anything of yours Chloe will know I took you, and I have no way of explaining that to her.”

“I see, so you set it up to look like I ran away, she’ll be devastated.” He seemed so unbothered by the idea. Cora felt her guilt bubbling back up at the thought. She could practically see Chloe scouring the neighborhood for hours, calling his name, setting his food outside on the fire escape hoping he would come eat it, crying on the couch for hours when she couldn’t find him. She groaned in frustration.

“How long is all of this going to take exactly?” Cora asked, hoping to relieve her roommates suffering quickly.

“Difficult to say, getting to The Favored Wood shouldn’t take more than a few hours, but the trials themselves are,” he paused, “unpredictable.”

“Unpredictable how?”

“Well in order to tell you that, my dear, I would need to be able to predict it.” With that he yawned, stretched out, then curled up in a ball to sleep for the drive.

“Perfect.” Cora muttered sarcastically.

The drive took about three hours, most of it spent uneventfully listening to the radio as her GPS occasionally chimed in to give direction. Rascal slept for the entire drive, the sunlight streaming through the car windows seeming to keep him in a state of tired contentment. By sundown, they had made it back to her hometown of Fairview Texas.

“Rascal, we’re here.” Cora reached over to gently shake the cat as she drove past the city limits sign. “Now what?” Rascal awoke with a yawn and another long stretch.

“Head to the playground, that's the one I used.” He then got up and spun around a few times before curling back up.

“Don’t go back to sleep, the playground is only a few minutes' drive from here.” Cora warned.

“Mmmhmm.” Rascal hummed softly in agreement before going back to sleep.

“Obstinate cat.” Cora muttered, turning her GPS off and taking the first left towards the elementary school. She pulled into the old, abandoned lot across the street from the school, not wanting to alarm anyone by leaving a car next to the school playground for days on end, and once again woke Rascal. She grabbed her backpack full of food and water as well as some basic hiking gear and helped him out of the car, following him as he crossed the road, ignoring the blacktop and the old equipment and heading towards the edge of the woods at the end of the school's property line.

“Ah, here is the site, do you recall more clearly now?” Rascal said, stopping to sit just outside a circle of mushrooms a few feet away from the tree line. Again, Cora’s mind fills with memories of a green-eyed boy, a faint dusting of freckles on his face, and dark hair like the bark of a birch tree. This was where they played that day, she felt certain.

“This is the place then?” she asked, prepared to step inside and be instantly transported.

“Oh heavens no, the ground inside a fairy ring is under the jurisdiction of the courts, but it is by no means a teleporter, the veil is thin here but not thin enough to pass through. Just thin enough to cause some trouble if one were so inclined.” Rascal stood and entered the circle, his tail flicking behind him and his eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Rascal, are you sure this is a good time to be causing trouble?” Cora asked, feeling a sense of foreboding pass over her as he approached the center.

“Oh my dear, there's never a bad time for a bit of trouble.” Rascal purred as he reached the center and sat once again, closing his eyes with what seemed to be intense focus. Around him the mushrooms began to glow a soft bluish hue.

“Uhm, Rascal, I don’t remember these mushrooms being bioluminescent.” Cora said, her nerves beginning to shoot through her body giving her goosebumps.

“They are not my dear, just accumulating magic.” Rascal responded.

Cora stepped back instinctively as the glow got brighter, the energy coming off the circle was now palpable, and it was sending chills down her spine. As the glow continued to increase, she was forced to shield her eyes from the brightness of the light.

“Rascal, I think someone is going to see this!” Cora objected, the light was practically bright as day at this point, and there were houses nearby that were bound to see it flooding in through their windows. Just after she voiced her objection, everything went dark once more. She looked back towards the circle to find that where Rascal once sat, there was now a much larger figure. Staring back at her through the darkness with piercing green eyes, was a black panther. Cora froze under its gaze, unable to move or speak as it rose and began stalking towards her. She fights against her fear to break her paralysis and manages to take a shaky step backwards away from the beast, knowing better than to expose her back to it from an old documentary on animal channel that she recalled from a few months back. The creature remains laser focused on her, its slow, deliberate pace still faster than she can manage to backup. She feels her chest tighten around her every desperate breath, her adrenaline causing her body to shake as she continues her retreat as slowly as she can manage, trying not to trip when she can’t bring herself to look back at where she is going. Her mind is racing, grasping for any course of action that could get her out of this predicament, if she’s lucky someone who saw the lights might come out with a gun and shoot the panther, but she knows that’s a long shot with how far they are from the road. If only she had brought a weapon she could try to fish it out of her backpack, it wouldn’t be ideal but at least she would have something to threaten the beast with. The gap between them is closing quickly, the creature notices as well, lowering its front end in preparation to pounce. Funny how Cora had always found it so cute when small cats did this, it wasn't as adorable from this angle.

Realizing she is out of time to think of a better plan, she slides her heavy backpack off one shoulder, swinging it around just as the panther springs towards her, hitting the beast square in the jaw as it flies her way. It makes a solid impact but not enough to counteract the panthers forward momentum, and the beast comes toppling down on top of her anyways, leaving her pinning underneath it. The force knocks the air out of her lungs and leaves her gasping as she struggles to free herself from the momentarily stunned panther. She manages to wriggle her left arm free, but her right is still firmly stuck under the beast, her right hand stuck firmly wrapped around the strap of her backpack. The beast shakes off the blow to its head, its eyes refocus on Cora, and a soft growl emits from the depths of its throat causing its chest to vibrate against her. She shoves her left arm up and grabs it by the throat, gripping her thumb and pointer finger under its jaw and pushing up with all her might in a desperate effort to keep its teeth off her throat. It shakes its head loose from her grip and swings it back around under her arm, bringing its face back down so close she can feel its whiskers tickling her cheeks. She winces, bracing for its teeth to latch on to her neck and bite down as she feels its hot breath on her face.

“Gotcha.” a rough, sandpaper tongue licks up the side of her face and suddenly the crushing weight on her chest and legs is gone. The panther rises to its feet and shakes off as if it had just gotten wet and takes a seat facing Cora, its shoulders bouncing a little as it breathes. Was it laughing at her?

“Rascal?” she manages to ask as she struggles to catch her breath.

“The very same.” The panther replied, looking quite pleased with himself. “You put up quite the fight there my dear, that tenacious spirit will serve you well.”

“You are an asshole.” she hissed through her teeth.

“I am a cat.” he replied dismissively, “Come along.” The panther stood and began to head into the woods. It took Cora a few moments and several gasping breaths to push herself to her feet. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was beginning to feel the aching of her body from being slammed against the ground and crushed under the panther's weight. She smeared Rascals saliva onto the elbow of her right sleeve. She was much slower than the large cat, and the added pain and exhaustion did not serve to help her keep it’s pace, by the time he had reached the tree line she had hardly moved.

“Come now Cora, we cannot afford to dawdle.” Rascal scolded as he turned to wait for her.

“I’m trying,” Cora began, her breathing still quite heavy. A look of concern flashed in the panthers' eyes.

“Perhaps I can be of service.” He returned to her side in a leap. “Here, I will carry you for now as you rest.” He took the carrying straps of her backpack in his mouth and crouched to allow her onto his back more easily. She obliged, dropping her hold on the pack and throwing one leg over him. He dropped the straps to instruct her further, “Lay down on my back and put your arms around my neck and take care not to doze off and release me or you will fall.” Cora did as he instructed, laying forward and hugging his neck, squeezing her thighs tight on his hind legs for good measure. He takes the straps back in his mouth and heads once more towards the edge of the woods. They traveled this way for an hour or so, Cora clinging to Rascals neck as he gained speed, running through the forest that seemed, at this point, to go on forever.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I never knew the forest was this big.” Cora said with wonder “It seems much smaller from the outside.” Rascal remained silent, still gripping the backpack in his mouth. “I can take that back if you want.” He glanced back at her, slowing down to a saunter before stopping entirely and opening his jaw to allow the pack to fall to the forest floor. Cora leaned over to pick it up, sitting up once she got ahold of it so she could more easily maneuver her arms through the straps, and took the opportunity to look around. The trees were so dense here, and so tall, this couldn’t be the same forest they entered. “Rascal, where are we?” she asked, transfixed by the scenery.

“ We are in between your home and mine,” Rascal replied, “A flimsy sort of place, quite fragile.”

“What do you mean fragile?” Cora asked, confused.

“Magic here is unstable, but it is also the only way this place can exist. The in between places are built on magic, it is the very foundation of this forest, but it is volatile and unpredictable, best to pass through quickly and watch where you step.” Cora took a look at the ground below them, only to see it shimmering and shifting under Rascals feet, changing from soft grass, to dirt, to shrubbery, as if the forest couldn’t decide what the ground should look like. Watching it began to make her dizzy and a bit nauseous, “That was not meant quite so literally my dear, you are not the one choosing our path, so you needn’t stare so long at the ground.” Rascal interrupted her train of thought, and she was able to pull her gaze up from the ever changing forest floor and back to him. His form may have changed, but his eyes had not, they blinked back at her the same almost glowing green that they had always been. Thinking back, Mascot had the same green eyes as well, and so did Tabby, she could not quite remember what Mittens' eyes looked like but she was willing to bet that they too, were green.

“Rascal can you not change your eyes?” she queried, it was an unusual eye color for a cat, but it was more than just their color, the eyes themselves were exactly the same. He seemed to cock his brow at the question.

“What a strange thing to wonder,” he muttered, “but no I cannot.”

“Why not?”

“I do not often choose my appearance Cora, when I die I am born into a new body at random somewhere near where I am needed, but my eyes are always the same, and when I change my form by magic they are immutable.” He explained, “You have heard the old adage that the eyes are the windows to the soul, have you not?”

Cora nodded.

“Well, there is some truth to it, a person's eyes are unable to be changed or disguised by magic because they are in some way connected to the core of who that person is, and that is unalterable by magical means.”

“So that people can’t hide who they are?” Cora reasoned.

“Oh no, people can still hide who they are with ease, you cannot tell what kind of person someone is from their eyes after all, and if they need to hide their identity, there are other ways to shield your eyes from view.” With that Rascal stretched, carefully so that Cora would not fall, “We should resume our journey, it is not wise to remain still here for too long.” Cora leaned forward, wrapping her arms back around his neck and he took off once again.

As Rascal continued to run through the forest, Cora began to notice little glimpses of light peeking through the trees. Not in the way that sun and moonlight falls through the boughs and shines in from the outside through the spaces between trunks, but floating little orbs that danced through the forest, hovering just a few feet above the ground. As the minutes passed, the little orbs became more frequent, always off to the side of their path hiding between the trees.

“Rascal, what are those?” Cora asked

“So many questions today,” Rascal teased, “do you not know that curiosity killed the cat?”

“I just want to know what the little lights are between the trees.” Cora replied, pouting back at his mocking tone. Rascal stopped dead in his tracks, causing Cora to jolt forward on his back, unfortunately she had not been gripping with her thighs at that precise moment, so despite her hold on his neck she was flipped overtop of his head, causing her to release him entirely in order to brace herself as she crashed into the ground in front of him.

“Cora, keep your eyes shut, do not look at the lights, tell me where you saw them last.” Rascals' tone had become very serious, and Cora wanted to listen, but she could not quite remember where they had last been and instinctively she opened her eyes to look for them. A quick glance was all it required, immediately a small blue orb of floating light caught her eye a few feet away. Once she saw it, she could not recall why her heart was pounding so, the pretty ball of light was near, so nothing could truly be amiss. She stood and began to move towards it, reaching out to see if she could touch it.

“Cora.” Rascal was shouting at her, he seemed so distressed, if only he had a little light of his own to soothe him. Perhaps when she caught hers, she could find another one for him, then he would feel better, what a good friend she was. She continued advancing towards the light, it seemed excited to meet her, the way it was bouncing and pulsing, how adorable, just a few steps more. She felt a harsh pull on her backpack, it seems to be stuck on something, how inconvenient. She could not bring herself to look away from her new little friend, so instead she simply slipped her arms out of the straps and continued forward. That old thing was so heavy anyways, she doesn’t really need it, it’s just slowing her down. Her little friend is moving now, it must want to show her something, maybe more little friends, how wonderful. She followed it forward, happy to go wherever it wanted to lead her.

Rascal thrashed around in a panic, eyes firmly shut. He had seen Cora open her eyes and the look that came over her was unmistakable. There were wisps nearby. He tried to snap her out of it, he even tried to catch her but she abandoned her backpack when he had clasped it between his teeth, and he couldn't risk biting at her blindly or he may badly harm her. If he opened his eyes he would become entranced himself and be unable to help her, but if he didn’t open them he couldn’t see to stop her. In one last, desperate effort, he lunged forward towards where she had been moments ago, hoping to pin her down again as he had done outside the wood, knowing she wasn’t strong enough to free herself to follow the wisps. His heart leapt as he felt himself hit someone, bringing their form to the ground beneath him. He opened his eyes, prepared to see Cora pinned down, but instead of her blondish hair he was met with hair like dripping ink and a pair of horrible, oozing eyes.

“Hello cat, having trouble?” The feminine figure below him grinned maliciously, her long, sharp teeth peeking through her soft pink lips. He snarled back at the creature he had caught.

“What are you doing here?” He demanded.

“I am hungry, little cat, I send my lights out for some food, make them lead it to my mouth, clever kitty knows better than to look at my lights, but the pretty girl does not, did kitty not warn her?” The thing below him laughs, a twisted, gurgling sound, some of the dripping darkness that fell from her eyes and scalp getting coughed up like phlegm from her mouth “the pretty girl follows my lights, that makes her mine now kitty, so sorry.” It taunted him. He snarled again and bit into her neck, his fangs drawing blood and the force of his jaws crushing its throat, threatening to snap its neck. The creature writhed below him, wheezing as the black blood dripped down its clammy white skin, “You cannot kill me this way kitty.” It hissed, “You know this, breaking this body will not harm me.” Rascal clamped down harder and shook his head, snapping its neck and leaving it motionless beneath him. There was a pause, a moment of silence filling the air before its voice broke through once more, “Such a mean little kitty,” it spoke from above this time. He looked upwards and found another of the same feminine form lurking in the trees, the same dark, viscous liquid dripping from it’s scalp like hair, pale clammy skin illuminated by the little bits of moonlight that make it through the canopy.

“Where are you taking her?” he lunged towards its roost, slamming his front paws against the tree to give it a jolt.

“I told you kitty, she follows my lights to my mouth, you want to find her? My lights will show you.” The creature grins again, beckoning him to glance down. He can see in the corners of his vision the wisps dancing all around him, if he breaks his gaze off the creature, he will certainly find himself staring directly into one, entranced to follow it as it leads him to his death. He growls in frustration. “You do not scare me kitty cat, you cannot hurt me here, good luck finding your girl.” and with that, the creature vanishes into the shadows, the lights around him bouncing and flashing and moving closer, beckoning him to look. It seems he is left with no other options. He gives a defeated sigh and lowers his gaze, finding himself staring directly into one of the wisps.

Cora continues to chase the little light through the trees, giggling and prancing along behind it feeling giddier with each step.

“Where are we going little friend?” she asks it as it bobs and weaves through the trees. It has no answer for her but to keep bouncing along, never out of sight but always out of reach. She laughs and ducks under another low hanging branch, feeling a warm, humid wind blow past her, gone in an instant. “That was strange, where did the wind go little friend, did you feel it?” As she finishes asking, she feels it once more, another gust of warm, moist air, gone as soon as it came. This time she catches a whiff of a smell, something rotting and fishy. “Little friend is that you? Why do you smell so terrible?”

“Cora?” Rascals voice comes from behind her, she turns to face him and sees him surrounded by little lights, bouncing and swaying and twirling all around him. His eyes were as big as saucers, the green in them barely visible with how blown out his pupils had become.

“Rascal, hello, I see you found some friends for yourself, that's so nice.” The air once more becomes warm and humid around them, and the smell is stronger this time, it smells of death and fish. “Oh Rascal, that smells horrible! Wherever is that smell coming from?” Cora asked.

A confused look falls over Rascals face, “I cannot recall, how very strange.”

“Very strange indeed.” Cora echos, a bit puzzled suddenly as she tries to remember what it is they were supposed to be doing. The lights around the two begin bouncing and pulsing with more fervor, vying for their attention as they ponder their surroundings. “Rascal,” she begins “I feel as if we are not supposed to look at these lights, but for the life of me I do not remember why.”

Rascals brow furrows deeper in thought, “Cora, I think I need to do something, but it’s so terribly dangerous and very against the rules, I can’t imagine why I must do it.” The air once again filled with the foul stench, mixed with the hot humid air. It seemed to be getting more frequent.

“Oh but Rascal, you don’t care about rules!” Cora encouraged.

“You are right of course,” replied Rascal, his face lighting up, “I do detest rules, very well.” With that Rascal held his eyes shut very firmly and made a very funny face. Cora laughed, her gaze beginning to wander back to the very distracting lights. Just then, a very large sound filled the air, and a shower of red sparks rained down all around them.

“Rascal what was that?” Cora asked excitedly, wondering if their little friends were putting on a fireworks show. Rascal kept his eyes closed, no longer smiling.

“It was a flare Cora, we are in terrible danger and I am so sorry…” A shrill shrieking sound comes from behind her where she last saw the light she had followed here, and then in turn each of the other lights follows suit, letting out a truly horrible cacophony of high pitched shrieks that had both Cora and Rascal scrambling to cover their ears.

“NO, THEY ARE MINE, THEY FOLLOW MY LIGHTS TO MY MOUTH, YOU CAN NOT HAVE THEM!” An earth shakingly loud woman's voice breaks through the shrieking, the same hot wet wind rushes out over them as they cower to the ground, hands and paws over their ears.

‘WHAT'S HAPPENING?” Cora yells to Rascal. She receives no reply. Then, another scream pierces the air, the lights are in a blur of motion, swirling around from high to low, bashing into trees, slamming into the ground in a frenzy until it all just stops. No more woman's voice, no more wind, no more lights, everything is still and silent. The pair take a moment to breathe, Cora shaking from the sheer force of all the noise that filled the air moments ago. They rise to a seated position, Rascal opens his mouth as if to speak.

“You let your charge get led astray by an angler's wisp.” Rascal shuts his mouth at the sound of the soft, sweet voice that fills the air around them. “Did you not prepare her for this danger?” Rascal bows his head in shame. Cora raises her head to search for the source of this new voice. Her eyes land on something she cannot at first comprehend, but then slowly, it begins to form into a shape her mind can process. An impossibly tall, beautiful man, with long white hair that cascades down his form pooling around his bare feet, glowing antlers that dwarf some of the trees sprouting from the sides of his head, and empty, hollow eyes that somehow still stared down into her.