“Hello?” Kylara said. “Is someone there?”

The forest echoed with silence, and Kylara didn't hear a single bird or a rustle of leaves. There was no wind to blow through the stiff leaves of the eucalyptus.

Kylara walked closer, and something moved again. A shadow in the trees. Her heart jumped into her throat.

“Is someone there?” she called. After a seconds hesitation, Kylara kept walking through the passing shadows.

The leaves crunched below her feet.

She took a step and there was another movement, this time further back in woods. She relaxed a bit. Whatever or whoever it was, it was running away. Kylara let out a breath. Probably an animal then. Animals always acted a bit mad when both moons were full in the sky. The Grandmother Moon was almost completely full and the Grace Moon would be full by the end of the week.

Kylara was about to turn back when she heard a voice. She looked back to see Glob-glob, but the gwiyala seemed to have disappeared back into the house. The voice wasn’t him then.

“Hello?” she called again.

Perhaps another gwiyala then. With how common they were, anything could conceivably be a gwiyala.

A groan.

Kylara hated the fact that gwiyalas sometimes sounded human. It was like someone had designed the things to be as creepy as possible, added all the right elements, and then completely failed to put them together right. Gwiyalas weren’t creepy. They were ugly children’s pets at best, but mostly just pathetic.

More movement.

Creepy movement.

Creepy in a way Kylara didn’t think a gwiyala was capable of.

She strained to hear. The motion didn’t happen again, but there was something else in a slightly different direction. She could just make it out. A sound.

It was faint, but it sounded almost like a woman’s voice.

“Who’s there?” Kylara said, a little louder than before. It took effort to speak. The silence still didn’t like being broken.

And the silence continued to speak for itself.

Kylara shook her head. It was probably nothing, just an animal who had wandered too close to the town. But it seemed best to make sure.

Even if it was a woman, Kylara thought, it is probably still nothing. Just someone looking up at the stars. It wasn’t the best night for it considering how bright the moons were, but this was also the only time of the annual cycle to see the Shimmering Sapphires in the sky.

Or perhaps it was Billy. Joontah had told her that he hadn’t been sleeping through the night, and Yalmay had brought it up recently on one of her rants. Or maybe Janeyca was back on her weird night routines. That seemed… strangely likely. It was exactly the kind of thing she would do.

“Janes?” Kylara asked.

She frowned. Well, it was also just like Janeyca to not answer when called. It didn’t mean anything.

Making a ward to search for a person was a bit complex. You could not key a ward directly to human flesh (at least not living flesh) for good reason. That didn’t mean you couldn’t use warding to find a person, however. You just had to work around it. If Kylara was creative about it, she could nearly always find a person with warding, even if she had to ward for the echoes of the person instead of the person themselves.

For example, people tended to wear clothes. You could key a ward to that. Shoes were also a good bet–most shoes in Kookaburra Creek were made by the same cobbler and out of the same few materials, so it was easy to key a ward to. But Kylara was not wearing shoes at the moment, and it seemed like a higher likelihood that the theoretical person present was wearing clothes without shoes than shoes without clothes.

…

Although them not wearing clothes is also a distinct possibility, she thought. She was convinced Joontah and Yalmay were regular doggers. Joontah slept in the same room as his twin sister and Yalmay roomed with Kylara, so they had to be going somewhere else. The woods seemed like a decent bet. Kylara had never really asked (although Yalmay had a habit of oversharing), but it wasn’t like they had anywhere else to go.

Still, Yalmay is asleep and…

Kylara cast the ward. She stuck with her original choice: wool. Nearly all clothes in this area of the Network were made of wool, so it was as good a bet as any.

Lazily, Kylara shaped the ward as a basic ring–she was too tired to calculate any of the more complex shapes, even though more surface area (and thus, more places to trigger on) made them better at finding things. She could just translate the thing horizontally a few times if she needed to. Ring and sheet equations were how Kylara had used to do trigger wards before she had invented better ways. They could work, they were just annoying.

She threw up the basic definitions, anchor points, and keyed it to her current coordinates.

5 cosφ + 5 cosθ cosφ + 4689

5 sinφ + 5 cosθ sinφ + 843

5 sinθ + 3.1

The ward failed.

That meant it had found wool somewhere nearby–between five and ten metres from her person.

“I know you’re there,” Kylara said to the empty air. The wind swept through the branches and blew her hair into disarray. Kylara shivered. The woods remained eerily silent.

Huh.

Whoever it was was hiding, apparently.

Kylara turned around carefully, looking for any signs of a person. She saw nothing but shadows and low-hanging branches. The only place someone could be hiding was the rock outcrop to her left, which was just within hitting radius of the ward.

Kylara stepped forward carefully. She wished she had brought shoes. The grass and dirt gave way to dried detritus, leaves, and rocks the further she walked into the rocks. It hurt her feet. She ignored it.

“Hello?” she said. Nothing.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She cast a quick radial ward in front of her.

It hit again.

Well. Something was definitely there.

Kylara walked forward and climbed up the nearby rocky outcrop. Skull Rock, the kids called it. It looked a bit like a skull, with eye sockets, a round top, and a little enclave near the ground that looked a bit like a mouth and chin if you squinted. It usually had a good view of the lower half of the valley, but despite the moons’ light, it was still too dark for Kylara to see far.

The loose gravel shifted under her feet, too sharp to properly climb on. She took careful steps, trying to not to lose balance or slip in the shadows. It wasn’t like she was in a rush.

She reached the top of the rock and looked out. Nothing. Puzzled, she cast another few trigger wards around her. Someone could not have moved that fast. It was impossible. Could she have missed someone? She turned back around and cast a smaller ward the way she came. Still nothing.

She was probably just imagining things. The fucking koel had broken her brain. She was tired, and combined with a bit of worry and restlessness, anyone could imagine things.

Frustrated, she cast one right below her.

It hit.

Ah, found you, Kylara thought. Of course they were hiding right below her feet. There was a little cave under there, wasn’t there?

“Can I come down?” Kylara asked, stomping her foot a bit on the rock.

No answer.

“Please?” she tried.

She waited a second for a response, but heard nothing.

Maybe it isn’t a person at all, Kylara contemplated. It could be a dead sheep. A living sheep wouldn’t trigger a wool ward, but a dead one certainly would. That would explain the frankly, rude, behaviour of not answering her.

“I’m coming down,” Kylara said. Then, because she felt like she needed to, added, “please be decent.”

The rocks weren’t as jagged on this side and she climbed down a bit quicker. About halfway down, she heard a cough.

“Glob-glob?” she asked, even when she knew it was not true. That was not the cough of a gwiyala. That was a person. And not a healthy person.

Kylara jumped off the rock as fast as she could, heading in the direction of the noise–the mouth of Skull Rock.

It took a second for Kylara to register what she was seeing, and not just because of the roof of the cavern was blocking the light of the moons.

It took a second to register because what she was seeing was... horrific. She didn't know another word to describe it.

It was a woman, curled up in an odd angle underneath a rock. The woman was perhaps mid-thirties, with long straight hair and a wide face. Or what was left of a wide face.

Most of her jaw was torn off.

Her woollen sweater was torn away from her body, exposing her belly and most of her breasts. She was wrapped in a white woollen blanket, which was dirty and brown where fallen leaves had gotten stuck on the fabric. One side was coated in blood.

It took Kylara a moment to realise that she was still moving. The world around her, which had just a second ago seemed so far away, closed in.

Kylara raced to action, frantically crawling over the rocks to where the woman lay inside.

With a horrifying realisation, Kylara’s breath caught in her throat as she recognised the woman.

Ulinda.

The pushball coach. The one who had been honest with her.

She knelt down by her side.

“Hey, hey,” she said, when Ulinda tried to move away. “I’m here, I’m here. Can you hear me?”

The woman's eyes opened just enough for Kylara to see that there was fear still in them. But fear meant life, and that was all that mattered.

“Can you hear me?” Kylara repeated.

“Yes,” Ulinda whispered after a moment. “I c–”

“Good, good,” Kylara interrupted. She didn’t want Ulinda to talk too much. It looked too painful.

It was taking everything Kylara had to maintain eye contact with her. What had been done to her shoulder… to her jaw…

It was bad. Kylara did not know much about healing, but there was no doubt in her mind that Ulinda wouldn’t make it. She was losing too much blood. And, if on some miracle she did–Kylara swallowed just thinking about it–the woman would only have half a face. Too much of it was on the ground.

She felt tasted sick in the back of her throat and swallowed thickly to keep it down.

“What’s your name?” Kylara asked. “Ulinda, right?”

“Y– yes…”

“Hi Ulinda,” Kylara said, “I’m Kylara.”

“I… know who you are. Every… one… does.”

“And I know who you are too, remember? I was watching your practice just a few days ago. I was so impressed.”

Damn it, Kylara, say something better. Think of something. Think, think, think…

“The kids looked like they loved you–” Kylara cut herself off.

Fucking hell, Kylara. Stop talking like a warder. If it’s her last moments, do better.

“The kids do love you,” Kylara corrected. Tears formed in her eyes. She doubted Ulinda could see them. She doubted Ulinda could see much at all anymore. “They really do. I could tell. You are an excellent coach.”

“Thanks,” Ulinda muttered.

Her eyes rolled back in her skull and Kylara shook her back awake.

“I need you to stay awake for me,” she said.

Gods, I can’t do this.

“A–awake?”

“Yes, awake,” Kylara viciously nodded.

“I’ll be okay?”

“I–” Kylara looked down at the blood. It was the worst sight she had ever seen. She shoulder was crushed so badly Kylara was not sure if her arm was still attached. And her jaw was in two pieces. She could not lie to Ulinda and tell her it would be okay. Even if she was in the house of a trained healer, she would not survive.

“Who did this to you?” Kylara tried instead. “Was it a person? Did you recognise them?”

Ulinda nodded slightly.

“It was a person?” Kylara said. “Who?”

“My br–” Ulinda’s eyes glazed over again, and Kylara shook her again. It took longer than before for Ulinda to move again.

“Was it your brother who did this?” Kylara asked desperately. “Who’s your brother, Ulinda? Tell me who he is.”

“No,” Ulinda muttered. “I wan–” she sputtered a bit, “I… want him,” she said more clearly. “I want him.”

She’s not thinking straight, Kylara thought. Ulinda recognised whoever did this, but she either won’t say or can’t. All she wants is her brother.

And could she really blame her?

“I have a brother too,” Kylara said. “I have two brothers, actually. Their names are Toba and Jack. They’re still pretty young and–” her voice broke off. She could not do this. She sounded like a kid. Ulinda deserved better.

“Tell me I’ll be okay.”

“Ulinda–”

“Please. I want… to be okay.” There were tears in her eyes now. Kylara gently wiped one away. “My brother, he needs to know–” she paused, and for a horrible second, Kylara thought she was gone. But then Ulinda’s finger moved. It took Kylara a second to realise that she was trying to hold her hand tighter, but her muscles were failing her. She was not strong enough. Kylara squeezed her hand instead. There was no warmth to it.

“I’ll be fine,” Ulinda said to the distance. It was almost too quiet for Kylara to hear. “Just tell me I’ll be fine.”

“Who did this, Ulinda?” Kylara asked again. But Ulinda did not seem to hear.

“You can’t say, can you?” Ulinda whispered. “You’re the warder… you can’t… lie. Say I’m fine.”

Kylara squeezed Ulinda’s hand tighter but said nothing.

She felt numb. A small part of her realised that Ulinda was right. She couldn’t even grant the woman her last wishes.

Another part of her was thinking of the noises in the forest. What she had thought was a kangaroo must have been the person who did this.

Perhaps they were still here. She threw up several trigger wards. If they came back, at least she would have warning.

“I want help,” Ulinda said. “Please. I want you–”

“I’m here,” Kylara said, “I can help.”

Ulinda shook her head, nearly imperceptibly. “No,” she said. Her voice was fading fast. “Leave. I want– please. Leave.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please. Help.”

“Ulinda–”

Gods, I don’t know how to say this. How do you tell someone that help is never coming? How do you possibly break that news?

If Kylara left, Ulinda would die alone. There was no chance she could get to the Imla’s house in time. And even if she did, what would the healer even do? Ulinda was already gone.

If she stayed… well. She would be disrespecting the woman’s last wishes.

“Please.”

Kylara looked at her. What she saw there disturbed her. Ulinda looked nothing like the proud pushball captain she had met a few days ago. She was trembling. Her eyes were wide and unseeing. The blood from her missing jaw dripped in disturbing shapes to the ground. What was left of her features seemed too large for the rest of her face.

Kylara couldn’t look away.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly.

“Please.”

And that did it. Uncertain, Kylara got up. Ulinda said nothing, but smiled faintly. Then she made a kind of gasping laugh, or maybe a sob. Kylara didn’t know.

A nightjar called, and its weird purring cry meandered through the space.

It was strange, saying that last goodbye. Kylara couldn’t think of anything to say. As she pulled her hand away, Ulinda’s fingers twitched, grasping like a child did. Kylara grabbed a nearby rock and placed it gently in her palm, closing her fingers around it. Her grip tightened around it.

“I’ll try to find who did this to you,” Kylara said. She hoped she sounded as assured as she felt.

She waited for a second to make sure Ulinda didn’t say anything back, but she wasn’t even sure if the woman could speak anymore even if she wanted to volunteer information.

Kylara ran as fast as she could. She was exactly twenty metres from the healer’s house when Ulinda died.

Wards could not detect the living, only the dead.