Milo turned around in his bed more than he had done the night before. He could feel himself fall asleep but never quite reaching his promising dreams. Noises in his brother’s room shot him awake. He knew them too well. Milanko was filling up his bags. Milo looked outside and stopped as he saw the stars still hanging up in the night sky. He wouldn’t dare, not after the conversation he had with their mother last night, would he? In a flash, Milo put on his compressing garment, his clothes, and his worn-out shoes. Right as he finished putting the latter on, he heard Milanko’s door softly open and close behind him. Milo waited for a few seconds before he too slipped out of his bedroom and swiftly followed his brother. As he softly stepped downstairs, Milo stopped for a moment. His mother had fallen asleep on the table, clutching the last garment she had knitted for her husband. Milo didn’t need to see his mother’s face to know that tears had run down her cheeks and pooled on the table. He quickly took his mother’s shawl that she had put near the door and covered her shoulders with it. The night was chilly and she could very well catch a cold if she wasn’t properly covered. With swift steps, Milo walked out the front door and followed his brother from a distance. The town was lit with a few torches and lanterns, giving some shelter from the darkness engulfing the empty streets. Milo hid behind buildings and unused market stalls to better observe Milanko. He didn’t know why he was following him yet. To say goodbye? To follow him on the Loyal? To prevent him from stepping foot on the ship? Any of these would be anyone's guess but his heart didn’t let him make a choice, he only had to follow, and then would he feel like he could do either of these three options. As Milo hid behind another empty market stand, something caught his eye. Even in the dimly lit town, he could recognize the vibrant colors the eastern merchant had on their jackets. In an alleyway near him, he saw her. The girl he had bumped into the day before. The lighter diamond shaped spots on her skin came down the back of her arms like it seemed to do on her face. Only she wasn’t alone. She seemed to follow something. Something that took all of her attention away from the cloaked form that followed her close. Right as the form lifted its arms and the thing in his hand glinted in the lantern’s light, Milo's feet had a mind of their own. With all his energy, he sprinted toward the figure and shouldered him in the side, shoving him hard into the wall next to him. The girl turned around, a look of surprise on her face as she saw Milo stand there, looking at the fallen object. She followed his stare and a needle adorned with engraved crows rested on the floor, its glass compartment broken, and the contents spilling on the ground. Suddenly, the form stood back up and shoved Milo against the other wall, taking his breath away. The man in the cloak brought his hand to Milo’s neck and held it tight. The girl screamed in fear, drowning the choked gurgles that came from Milo. In his attempt to take the man’s hand off of his neck, Milo took the man’s hood off. His eyes widened in fear.

“Mo-”

“You really couldn’t fucking help yourself!” he shouted, tightening his grip on Milo’s neck.

Right as he was about to pass out, Milo saw two arms wrap around Morris’s neck and take him away.

“Go back to the house!” Milanko screamed at Milo.

Milo stood up with difficulty, coughing as he did so.

“You little shits!” the man cursed as he took out a knife and stabbed Milanko in the side.

In a scream of pain, Milanko loosened his grip, letting the man go. Morris’s eyes directly went to the girl, like he had his eyes on the winning prize.

“Guess I’m doing this the old way.” he said as he prepared to hit her with the pommel of his knife.

As he was about to hit her, he screamed in pain. Milo had grabbed the broken syringe and had stabbed the man with it. Something in him had pushed him to do it, something he had never felt before, something that didn’t feel like him. He immediately pulled out the syringe and let it fall on the ground.

“Go! Now!” screamed Milanko as he held his bleeding side.

Milo couldn’t stop looking at it. Blood was pouring out of his brother's side and he couldn’t think of anything else. Until the girl took his hand, he couldn’t snap out of it.

“Go!” he screamed once more

Milo gripped the girl’s hand back and ran. He ran so fast he thought his legs would fall off. Behind them, he could hear Milanko’s screams as more footsteps approached him. Some people yelled things that Milo couldn’t register, and ran after them. After what felt like an eternity, Milo arrived home. He kicked the door open, waking up his mother and quickly closed it behind them.

“Milo, what is happen-”

“It’s Milanko,” his voice broke Vesna’s heart in a way it had only done once before. “They’re after us,”

“Who is after you?”

“C-crows,” was all he could get out.

“What have you done?” she whispered as she saw Milo’s blood-covered hands.

Sudden yells sifted through the door. Vesna’s instinct took over, she grabbed the heavy wooden table, and slid it to block the door. She ran to grab a kitchen knife and ran back to the table as the men tried to hit the door open.

“They’re in here!”

“Go through your bedroom and get out by the window. I’ll buy you some time.”

“But mom-”

“I love you sweetie,” she said to Milo, “take care of him for me would you?” the girl nodded back, unsure of what to really say.

“Now go.” she said as she held in another hit.

“But-”

“Go!” she screamed.

With teary eyes, Milo ran up to his mother to hug her one last time before he took the girl’s hand again and ran away. Right as Milo disappeared up the staircase, Vesna smiled. At least she’d get to put her rusty skills back to work one last time.

Milo ran upstairs, still holding the girl by the hand. By the time they got to his bedroom, they could hear the door swing open, sliding the kitchen table and his mother’s grunts as she fought against the cloaked men. Milo kicked his door open and once inside, ran to his window and tried to open it. His window had always been hard to open but this time, it just wouldn’t budge. The eastern girl wrapped her hands around his and pulled on the window as hard as she could.

“Search the house!”

“Come on, come on, come on,” Milo said under his breath, praying the window would open.

In a sudden crack, the window finally opened. He told the girl to go, and she climbed out the window first, falling on the grass with a thump.

“Here!”

“Fuck!”

With the adrenaline coursing through his veins and shaking arms, Milo climbed up his window and passed his legs through it. He fell down on the grass, unable to catch himself.

“Go get them! We’re not leaving without the girl!”

“Are you okay?” she asked Milo as she helped him up.

“Yeah, I’m alright. We can lose them in the forest, follow me.”

Milo took her hand and ran with her once more. He was sure his legs would give out any minute now, and he kept his other hand clutched on his left side. In a few moments, they arrived at the forest, his favorite aspen tree defined its limit. They ran past it and entered the dense forest which comprised alder, aspen and oak trees. The ground was uneven, but Milo was far too used to running after the neighborhood children around it during tag to get his feet tangled in anything. The girl did her best to not trip but keeping her eyes on the ground made her slower. Even through the sound of their hearts beating in their ears, they could hear the men running after them. Although the night was dark and the forest darker, it felt like these men could see them. They needed to do something. Suddenly, an idea popped in Milo’s head. The dead man’s tree. It was a dead oak tree whose inside was hollow. Stories told about a man being buried in it and cursing anyone who dared to enter its trunk. It was scary and further in the forest than he had ever been allowed to go, but their only option. Milo swerved left, trying to find the dead tree, his path only lit up by the moonlight. After a few seconds, he found it. There it stood, tall and menacing, and its roots covered in ivy, while wild and tall ferns grew around it.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“In there.”

He led her to the foot of the tree, he frantically searched around the trunk and finally found the entrance. The ivy and the ferns had covered it, but it was still big enough for the both of them. Milo crawled inside it and the girl followed right after. The space was tight, but it was enough space to move and get out easily. The heavy steps of the men shook the ground. The girl put a hand on her mouth, trying to keep in her anguish.

“Where did they go?”

“What makes you think I know more than you?”

“You know this forest, I don’t.”

“Guys, shut up.”

Milo and the girl held their breath. Only the sounds of rustling leaves and owls echoed throughout the forest.

“They’re not running anymore.”

“Where are you?” sing-sang one of them.

“We only want the girl, not you little man, just give her to us and all of this will be over.”

“Peter? Is that you?”

The girl closed her eyes tight as the gurgles of one man got to her ears. The cloaked men shouted and sparred but more and more gurgles and screams of pain echoed through the forest. One last scream died out before silence fell on the forest. Tears flooded their cheeks as they tried their best to keep quiet.

“You can come out, they’re dead.”

For a moment, they locked eyes, silently debating over actually coming out.

“You’re hurt aren’t you, boy?” Milo took his hand off of his side, a dark and warm liquid covered it. Only then did they realize how strong the smell of blood was in the trunk. “They’re not alone. More will come and I can get you to a safe place.”

Milo shook his head at the girl as she moved to get out of the trunk. He mouthed a no, but she still crawled out of it. Milo held in a breath, waiting for a scream or a plea to flee once more for the night, but nothing came. Only the owls and the rustling of the wind in the trees came to his ears.

“You can come out.” she said to Milo with her thick accent.

Milo hesitantly came out of the trunk, his side bleeding and hurting much more than it had done until now. The stranger stood in front of them. He wore a rugged long black cloak; the hood placed on his head. It obscured his face and the small amount of moonlight made it difficult for him to know what the stranger’s face actually looked like. Milo could’ve sworn the stranger had horns that curled all the way to the back of his head, piercing through the hood, making him look like an eerie figure he had only heard rumors of.

“Keep close.”

After this, the man said nothing. He led them quickly and swiftly to another part of the forest where the trees were sparser and ferns had more room to grow. Milo pushed on although his side was hurting him and the blood trickled on his leg down to his foot. The stranger led them near a camp lit by lanterns and where the people that didn’t get to sleep yet were still talking to each other.

“You’ll be safe here,” said the stranger.

“It’s-”

“Yes. She’ll help you with that.” he cut the girl as he pointed at Milo’s wound.

“Thank you,” said Milo.

A few seconds after the stranger nodded and turned around, Milo’s vision went dark and felt himself fall to the ground. The girl quickly grabbed him, checked if he didn’t hit his head and screamed for help as she tried to drag him closer to the camp. In a few minutes, people from the camp also grabbed him and led him to a large tent full of a couple other wounded people laid out on stretchers and sleeping soundly.

“What happened to him?” asked a ttac man who was preparing a clean rag to clean the blood off of Milo’s body.

“We-” the girl took a deep breath in, calming her breathing for the first time that night. “Crow people chased us. He got hurt when we were escaping.” she let out through her thick accent.

“It’s okay, she will fix him up, alright?” he reassured her by trying to meet the girl’s small brown eyes.

She nodded, her brows knotted with worry and her eyes not leaving Milo’s pale face. If it hadn’t been for this, she could never see that Milo actually had small freckles that lightly peppered his nose and cheeks. To soothe herself and the boy, she took his arm and hand stroked it gently with her thumbs. The ttac man lifted Milo’s bloody shirt, revealing a long gash on his side. It was deep but not enough to be fatal. The man brought his rag to the skin around it and gently washed the blood off of him.

“What’s the situation Cemnas?”

“Blade wound, pretty deep but not fatal.” replied the ttac man.

“Kurzol, bring me the surgical kit.”

The girl finally tore her eyes from Milo and observed the woman. She had long blond hair that she had braided in multiple places and she had tied out of her face in a low ponytail. Freckles peppered her face and complemented her olive green eyes, and crows feet decorated the corners of her eyes. She wore a deep green skirt and a light blouse under the same type of sleeveless vest the girl was wearing. Colorful stones dangled from her ears and neck, and ribbons adorned her braids. Long leather gloves covered her hands up to the middle of her arms. She sat down in place of Cemnas, the ttac man, and observed the wound.

“What’s your name?” she asked the girl as she took the surgical kit from the troll woman that had come back.

“Elm.”

“Well Elm, you did well to bring him to us now.”

“Will he be okay?” Elm asked, her voice laced with worry.

“He will survive, he probably fainted because his stress was gone.”

The woman took a bottle and opened it. A strong smell of alcohol and plants came out of it. She doused her gloved hands with it then took a curved needle from her kit and a thick thread and doused them in the liquid too.

“My name is Darya, but people call me Teach here.” Darya let out a small chuckle at the nickname her students called her.

Darya threaded her needle and stopped.

“What I’m going to do is going to look awful, but it’s the only way to make your friend feel better.”

Elm nodded, taking a deep breath in and out as Darya put the needle through Milo’s skin and closed the wound, earning some groans of pain from the unconscious boy.

“So you’re from the North East, right?”

“Yes,” Elm struggled to get out. “I’m from Ektan.”

“That’s a pleasant town, near the Cursed Forest and on the Nipaston river, right?”

“Yes.”

"It must've been hard for you, people there aren't used to seeing humans like you."

Elm furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Your skin, it's pixie skin isn't it?"

Elm looked down at her skin, observing the diamond shaped spots on it. She nodded, thinking about how many times children had pointed fingers at her and adults had looked at her the wrong way because of it.

"People think it's a curse but as we’ve found out, it isn't."

Elm lifted her eyes to meet Darya's.

"It just means someone in your family was a naëdre, you know, the snake-people," Darya chuckled as she tied the thread, finally finishing sewing up Milo's injury.

Darya bent over and grabbed a jar filled with a dark green ointment. She took some and covered Milo's injury with it. She wiped her gloved hands on a clean rag and took some bandages to cover Milo's wound.

"He'll be all good now. You can rest, it's okay."

Elm nodded and Darya walked away, leaving the young girl to rest for what little of the night there was left. As Darya stood outside, taking in the cool breeze, Cemnas came up to her.

"She talked about crows."

"They've been more daring lately, they probably thought she was a naëdre."

"Luna went to the town, and they apparently raided a house; she found two people inside and she has taken care of them. She also found corpses around the Dead Man's tree. All crows."

Darya deeply sighed. Not only did the number of people from the Order had gone up, they grew more daring with each passing day.

“We’ll have a meeting at dawn, I need everyone.”

She thought about the possibility of the person who had killed the crows to be a threat to them but it somehow felt wrong to her. After sending Cemnas on his way, Darya walked back to her tent. It was small and isolated from the rest of the camp. She liked the quiet and the little rest it gave her. She sat on her camp bed, her day weighing on her shoulders like lead. Ironically enough, even when she knew how to cure most wounds and illnesses, she couldn't cure her own insomnia, even the valerian and lavender concoctions she made were never enough. She laid on her bed, thinking. It had been 10 years since Ravenwood and she had traveled the world, and had never seen either Jesse or Leo. A little voice in her head told her that, maybe, the person who had taken down those men was Jesse. She refused to listen to it for longer; the hope that he was still alive and well making her heart ache. Jesse's image was burned in her mind. His disheveled and tortured state had plagued her nightmares for a year or two. She could only hope he was doing alright.