There was no doubt about it. The portal had gotten wider since the last time they were here. Before it was a mere crack in the air, splintering at its edges, but now it encompassed the entirety of Jasmine’s plane of view, stretching even beyond her peripheral vision. Inside it was black. It wasn’t a plain black though. It was a black that shifted and moved whose shadows had eyes and whose ill-intent could be felt twenty yards away.
“Whoa,” said Jasmine.
“We’re supposed to enter through there?” Said Prince Albert, gulping.
“It is the only way,” said Enkaiein, “But here.” He dipped his wing, molding his ink around them. “I will guide you safely to the other side.”
“Should we not ready our weapons?” The red knight asked, unnerved.
“Weapons do little in the place beyond that rift,” said Enkaiein, “Even those weapons forged from the artifacts of this realm.”
The red knight knocked an arrow anyway. Jasmine almost smirked. Some fearless knight he was.
“Let us go,” said Salina with conviction, and Jasmine gained the tiniest bit more respect for her.
The flight through the barrier wasn’t as bad as what they emerged from the darkness to find. A giant bird nearly took all of them off of Enkaiein’s back, cawing something that sounded distasteful as it flew away.
“Shit!” Jasmine said, gripping Enkaiein tighter, “That thing was like the size of you!”
Enkaiein laughed, “Is everyone still with us?”
“Y-yes,” said Prince Albert, who had flattened himself and Salina down further into Enkaiein’s ink. Salina made a squeaky noise that indicated her presence. The red knight grunted.
“Some ride,” said the knight.
Jasmine peeled herself out of Enkaiein’s neck, ink sliding down her arms. “Where are we, exactly? And don’t say Olden. I mean do you know where we are?”
“We are above Fowlina’s Forest,” said Enkaiein, “A treacherous territory on the safest days.”
“Perfect,” said Jasmine, and Salina made a face that reflected hers.
“Then, where shall we go from here?” Prince Albert called over the wind, “Is there something in this forest that can cure Kurventhor or must we travel even further into this hellish place?”
“Even if there were something here, it would not be something we could merely take.” Enkaiein flapped his wings. Droplets of ink dripped onto the treetops below. And then Jasmine saw how huge the trees were. What she had assumed were a cluster of trees growing into each other and up from the ground was actually one giant tree. Its branches curled up towards the black sky and its leaves glowed in a subtle but definite pattern. She saw a luminescent tendril waft out from the very edges of a colossal leaf Enkaiein passed. “We must look elsewhere. I will fly us out as swiftly as I can.”
“These trees,” said Salina, having noticed the same thing as Jasmine, “What are they? They look like the creatures who inhabit the Hall of Truth.”
“That is because they are one and the same,” said Enkaiein. “As I told you before, Veins are found in every crevice of every world. There is no escaping their presence.”
“I think they’re kinda cute,” said Jasmine.
“Speak for yourself,” said the red knight.
Prince Albert just looked like he was desperately trying not to hurl as Enkaiein sped faster through the sky, a dart of pitch black charging through the flickering glow of the Veins. The forest spanned as far as the eye could see. The red knight tried to get his bearings but simply couldn’t. This place was unlike any he had ever been and he, who was normally so good with directions, did not know which direction they were headed. Luckily Enkaiein did.
“This forest encompasses much of Olden,” said Enkaiein, “It will be a while before we reach its border no matter how fast I fly. And also, I would advise resting soon. There is a place of neutral territory not very far from where we are. Although, it has been known to move so there is no guarantee.”
“It’s been known to move?” Asked Salina. Prince Albert shoved his face into the blob of ink that constituted as Enkaiein’s shoulder blade. Jasmine felt sorry for the guy.
“Would that not indicate we might never find this neutral zone you speak of, Great Enkaiein?” The red knight gritted his teeth, squinted against the wind.
“I did not say that,” said Enkaiein.
Jasmine and Salina exchanged a look.
“You doing okay over there, Albert?” Jasmine poked him in the shoulder. He pried his face out of the ink.
“I am doing wonderful,” he said in the kind of voice that indicated it was very not the case.
“Enkaiein says we will probably land soon,” said Salina.
“Mmf,” said Albert. He put his head back down.
“It does not appear he is used to this kind of travel,” said the red knight, “I cannot say I am either, but you two seem to be doing just fine.”
“We both have experience flying,” said Salina. “In my country, it was commonplace to ride on clouds.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Jasmine. It was considered a rite of passage once one was able to stand straight up while flying.”
“Huh. Cool.”
“It was quite windy, yes.”
“Uh, that’s. Not exactly what I meant,” said Jasmine with a slight giggle. She forgot the terminology from her world wasn’t exactly commonplace in the lands surrounding Albreton. Come to think of it, she wondered about this world, this Olden they were flying around in. Aside from the massive forest below them, Jasmine couldn’t make out much else in the deep darkness that made up the sky. “How long until daybreak?” She asked Enkaiein, more because she was curious than for any actual reason.
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“Daybreak does not exist here,” said Enkaiein.
The red knight’s eyes bulged, “That does not bode well.”
“Stop being such a wuss,” said Jasmine. “That just means we have to travel in darkness, right?”
“But it seems the Veins remain aglow here,” said Salina, “It should not be too difficult.”
“Precisely,” said Enkaiein. And then they flew in silence for a time, the humans gawking at the scenery below even if it rarely changed and the blur of the Veins kept everything below the canopy hidden by glare. Jasmine closed her eyes, smelling pine and flowers and crisp air, but also rot and the scent of crusty blood and scabs. It took them only five hours to reach a small clearing, or a clearing that seemed small from their place in the sky. Enkaiein dropped down, landing lightly with a clop of his hooves against the hard dirt. He spread his ink and bent down, letting everyone off. “I am fatigued. We shall rest here.”
“Okay,” said Jasmine, stretching out her back. She leaned sideways and felt a good three or four pops go up and down her spine. “Ah… I needed that.”
The red knight and Salina were helping Prince Albert stand up. The poor guy looked so dizzy and disoriented even Jasmine thought it was a good idea for him to sit down for a while. But Prince Albert pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head and then stretched his arms overhead himself with a contented groan.
“Feeling better?” Salina asked.
“Yes, now that we are on solid ground,” said Albert. He missed Swift. Swift was a pleasure to ride, even if it ran off of every now and then. The horses had been sent back at the entrance to Olden for their safety on Enkaiein’s request though, so that meant everyone only had their own two feet to rely on for transportation. They were lucky Enkaiein could fly, in any case, and that he was large enough to carry all four of them.
“Quite the adventure so far,” said the red knight, hands on his hips with an impressed whistle.
Prince Albert sat down and sighed. Salina followed suit.
“How far did you say this forest went?” Jasmine asked.
“I did not say,” said Enkaiein.
“Fair enough.” Jasmine couldn’t bring herself to sit still after all that time in the air clutching Enkaiein’s slippery flesh. It was an odd sensation, being so sore from hanging on so tight yet simultaneously craving movement. She paced back and forth by the tree line. It felt nice getting her blood back into proper circulation. “So what’s with these trees anyway? And you say the Veins are everywhere, but I’ve never seen them where I come from. Seems like not many people know of them in Albreton either.”
“Ah,” said Enkaiein as he watched Jasmine pace, “Outside this forest, the Veins only reveal themselves to those individuals they deem worthy.”
“What makes someone worthy?”
Enkaiein sighed tiredly, “Jasmine, you ask enough questions to be compared with a curious child.”
“I for one don’t think that’s such a bad thing,” said the red knight, winking for good measure.
Jasmine rolled her eyes at him. “I’m just trying to figure this all out, is all. The more we know about how this place works, the easier it’ll be to find a cure for Kurventhor. And, well. I’ve never been somewhere like this before either. It’s normal to be curious, isn’t it?”
“I suppose it is,” said Enkaiein, “But for the moment, all of us need rest. We shall resume our search in a few hours when we are refreshed.”
Once everyone had settled down, each of them finding their own little place in the dirt to lie, they fell quickly asleep, none of them aware that something was watching from the shadows. The creature was impish, small as a human’s forearm and bony. Its skin glittered whitish at its large eyelids, the rest of its body a vibrant shade of green that blended with the light of the Veins. Its eyes pierced through the dark like a cat’s and its teeth were pointed. When it snickered, its voice was shrill as a banshee (not that banshees resided anywhere near this part of Olden).
“Frock has found a cluster of humans,” giggled the thing as it referred to itself in third person, cupping its hands over its mouth to muffle the noise. “Frock will be paid lots more than normal for this! Frock will be rich!”
Salina stirred in her sleep, grabbing tighter onto Prince Albert. In her dreams she was being taken. Perhaps she knew, because Frock locked his reflective eyes right onto her.
“But one at a time makes it easier, yes. She is prettiest. I will take her first, yes!”
Jasmine rolled over, grumbling something about noise. Enkaiein was in deep slumber, as were Prince Albert and the red knight. Frock crept closer, into the half circle they all had made when they sprawled to sleep, most of them resting directly against Enkaiein. All but the red knight leaned their torsos against the great horse. The knight had only his feet propped up and crossed atop one of Enkaiein’s back ankles, his face hidden under his helmet.
“Quietly now, quietly,” Frock hissed to himself, tip-toeing the rest of the way until he reached Salina. He extended a hand with fingers so sunken and slender they were like twigs. His nails grew to half the length of his arm now, as he extended them from his fingers, and came to a sharp point against Salina’s neck. They glistened in the Vein-light with a poisonous gleam. “Wakey-wakey! Wakey-wakey!”
Salina opened her eyes, rolled to face Frock with a deadened face.
“Come, come! Follow Frock! Follow Frock,” Frock inched backwards, beckoning.
And Salina got up and followed him like a zombie. Prince Albert awoke some time later mainly because he could no longer feel Salina leaning on him. Groggily, he rolled onto his side, his back sticky with Enkaiein’s ink, and peered into the dark, trying to see if she had just repositioned herself. But she was gone, long gone by then, and once Albert realized that he stood straight up and yelled for everyone else to wake too.
The red knight awoke immediately and rolled straight up to his feet, arrow knocked and drawn like a warrior. Enkaiein slid up to his own feet and Jasmine, groggy and not entirely awake slipped off of Enkaiein and landed hard on her side in the dirt.
“Ow, geez,” said Jasmine rubbing her head. But then she saw the panicked look on Albert’s face and stood straight up. Someone was missing. Salina was missing. “What happened?”
“It would appear one of our own has vanished,” said Enkaiein. “This forest is dangerous. We should not have rested so easily. I am sorry.”
“We have to find her! We have to save her!” Prince Albert drew his sword, pacing back and forth in a panic because he didn’t know which direction to take and the forest was black and foreboding and there could be something tearing Salina limb from limb while he and the others had not a clue as to her whereabouts.
“Albert, calm down,” Jasmine said, gripping his shoulders. She forced him to look in her eyes, “We will find her. What woke you?”
“I…” Prince Albert took a deep breath, tightened the grip on his hilt and let it out slowly, “I awoke because I could no longer feel her by my side.”
“Maybe she ran off on her own,” said the red knight.
Jasmine didn’t even acknowledge that comment, but Albert tensed and glared like he’d slash the guy right in half for saying such a thing. “Keep going,” said Jasmine, “Think back. Was there anything else?”
“It is said humans can still hear while they sleep,” said Enkaiein, “Prince Albert, you may remember more than you first assume.”
Albert stared at the ground. Then he closed his eyes. Something came to him. “Frock,” he said, “I remember a voice. It called itself Frock. It said, ‘wakey-wakey’ and ‘follow Frock’ and something else I can’t remember.”
“Frock,” said Enkaiein.
“What? You know him?” Jasmine asked.
Enkaiein spread his wings wide, “Everyone knows of him in this forest. If he is really who took Salina, we must make haste. Her life is in immediate danger.”
“I assume this means you know where he is,” said the red knight, putting the arrow he had drawn back into the quiver at his belt.
“I know the places he frequents,” said Enkaiein, “But not where he currently is.” He dipped his wing and Jasmine climbed on willingly, Prince Albert following right behind. The red knight hesitated for a moment, sighed and then got onto Enkaiein’s back himself as well.
Enkaiein didn’t wait for them to be situated before he launched toward the canopy and out into the perpetual night sky.