The ground was littered with fallen leaves of gold and red that obscured the road which was by now little more than a faint path through the forest. The dried leaves crunched underfoot Rol led the way unerringly through the woods. They had walked in silence since leaving the town, and the shadows were beginning to grow long as the sun began to set.

“The days are short this far north,” Rol remarked and was surprised by how loud his voice sounded. “We’ll have to stop soon. The leaves will make it impossible to keep track of the road in the dark.”

“There aren’t many landmarks in here,” Colnus frowned as he studied the trees that seemed to go on forever. “It would be easy for one who is unfamiliar to get lost.”

“The point of the monastery was seclusion,” Kara explained. “Or so we were told.”

Clouds of condensation formed as she spoke, and she began to shiver. Confused she looked up at the sky. The sun was still out. “It’s strange, we haven’t heard a single bird call or seen any signs of life since we entered.”

“Perhaps that is what has the locals on edge,” Colnus remarked.

“We may be underprepared to spend a night out in the forest,” Rol said.

“It’s too late to turn back now,” Colnus pointed out. “But it is strange that it is getting cold so quickly. We should keep our guards up.”

“No argument there,” Rol remarked. “Let’s make camp now.”

“There are still a few minutes of daylight left,” Kara protested. “We should continue for as long as we can.”

“We will need time to gather firewood,” Rol pointed out. “Something tells me we will want to keep the fire going all night.”

“Fine, you big baby,” she sniffed.

The trio split up to gather fallen branches from the forest floor. They hadn’t been at it long when night and the temperature descended rapidly. Before they knew it, it was pitch dark.

“Kara?” Rol shouted into the night as he began to shiver uncontrollably. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

“I’m here!” her voice sounded distant even though Rol knew that they had been fewer than twenty paces apart when darkness fell. “Wait.”

Kara chanted quickly, and an orb of fire appeared in her hand, illuminating her face. Rol appeared at her side a moment later and used the orb to ignite one of the branches he had gathered. Working quickly, he soon had a small fire going. Its light was small and the darkness that surrounded them seemed to devour it.

“Are you sure you should have wasted a spell doing that?” Rol asked.

“I don’t trust this darkness,” she replied. “I can’t help but feel something is lurking out there.”

“Where’s Colnus?” Rol asked.

“I am here.”

The boy jumped when the hulking old man suddenly appeared behind him. He seemed confused as he looked around. Rol attempted to follow his gaze but all he could see was pitch darkness.

“It’s strange,” he said. “I can tell it is dark and yet I can see everything perfectly.”

A shudder went down Rol’s spine and his hand drifted towards the sword he wore at his hip. “Lord Colnus, what is the name of the ship that we arrived on?”

Colnus raised his bushy grey eyebrows in surprise. “The Fleeting Maiden, why?”

“I don’t trust anything about this darkness,” Rol said as turned his attention back to building the fire. “You disappeared from view for a moment.”

“So did you,” Kara pointed out.

“Be on guard,” Colnus said as he raised a finger. “Two men approach.”

“Hello?” A disembodied voice called out of the darkness. “We were lost in the darkness and saw your light.”

“Approach slowly,” Colnus ordered.

In the corner of his eye, Rol saw the fire grow dim. He glanced at Kara who gave him a look. The boy nodded and got to his feet as two men appeared out of the darkness. Their faces were haggard, and they looked terrified.

“Thank the Creator we found you,” one of them said. “We’ve been lost for days and feared we’d never get out.”

“Are you Lanus and Ferney?” Colnus asked.

The pair nodded.

Colnus smiled warmly and gestured them over. “Come closer to the fire, brothers. Your people are worried about you back in Goldleaf.”

“Thank you, sir,” one of them said as he stepped forward. “Are you headed to the monastery by any chance?”

Without warning, Rol grabbed the man from behind and buried his sword to the hilt into his back. The stench of sulphur permeated the air as the man writhed and twisted. The other man let out an inhuman hissed and lunged at Rol, who kicked the first man off his sword and hacked his head off in a clean strike. Colnus stormed over to Rol and floored him with a powerful blow from his meaty fist.

“What are you doing?” Rol demanded as he lay flat on his back.

“That’s what I should be asking,” Colnus roared. His nostrils flared and the skin around his neck had turned deep crimson. “You killed those two in cold blood!”

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

“Lord Colnus!” Kara said as she placed herself between the pair. “Those men were out to kill us.”

“Have you lost your senses as well?” the old man demanded.

“Look at them!” Kara cried. “Look at what is in their hands!”

Cautiously, Colnus turned around. He lowered his fists when he saw that they were holding cruel looking daggers etched with foul runes.

“I wouldn’t touch those weapons,” Kara warned.

Instead, Colnus touched their skin. “They’re ice cold.”

“They probably died days ago,” Kara said as she helped Rol to his feet. “They were possessed.”

Colnus frowned. “How did you know?”

“The drop in temperature,” Kara began.

“And the extremely suspicious circumstances of their arrival,” Rol added, rubbing his jaw as he moved over to examine their bodies.

Colnus frowned. “I thought I saw clouds over their heads but assumed it was part of the foul magic that brought on the darkness.”

“Sometimes we can delude ourselves into believing a comforting lie instead of facing up to a difficult truth,” Rol said.

“Perhaps I was wrong about you,” the old man blinked, visibly impressed. “That is remarkably profound, what you just said.”

“My father said it to us during the siege at Port Daralin,” Kara said. “We went through some dark times then.”

Colnus nodded grimly. “The pressed soldiers suffered most of all in that siege. I can’t imagine what it was like for you.”

“I think you loosened a tooth,” Rol groused as he touched the inside of his mouth and winced. He then pulled the tooth out of his mouth and sighed. “No, you knocked it clean out.”

“My apologies,” Colnus began. “I thought…”

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a spine chilling shriek that came from out of the darkness. Rol glanced at Colnus, who was peering out into the darkness. At length, the old man drew his sword. “They’re coming from above and below. Can you deal with the flyers, young lady?”

“I have one spell left,” Kara warned.

“Then keep it in reserve until we are desperate,” Colnus ordered. “Boy, protect her. I will deal with what I can.”

“I can help you,” Rol protested.

“And I don’t need protection,” Kara chimed in.

Colnus positioned himself on the opposite side of the fire to the pair and turned his head to face them. “How are you going to fight an opponent you can’t see until the last moment?”

“Look out!” Rol cried as he saw something swoop down from out of the darkness.

The old man whirled around and cut the creature in two with a savage blow. The fire hissed and spluttered as one half of the body crashed into it. Rol looked down and saw a creature that resembled an owl, but half its feathers were missing, exposing twisted skin that oozed with pus. Its eye that gazed lifelessly at him was unnaturally large, taking up most of its head, and were deep red, and its talons had been elongated into hooks that were as long as Rol’s hand.

Rol’s hackles stood on end when he heard a guttural growl come from behind them. Colnus whirled around and growled. “Watch out, boy!”

Rol whirled around and managed to shove Kara out of the way just as an enormous weight barrelled into him, knocking him off his feet. Thinking quickly, Colnus was able to use the momentum to roll backwards and kick the creature off him. He quickly found his sword as he scrambled his feet and looked up to see a beast that resembled a two headed wolf. Its skin was deep red and covered in patches of sickly fur, and its mouths were unnaturally large and filled with dozens of sharp teeth.

The creature shook its heads before leaping at Rol again. The boy was ready this time and buried his sword in the mouth of one of the snapping jaws. That head went limp, but the other head and the body didn’t. However, the surviving head’s jaws snapped air as Rol used his sword to hold the creature at bay before drawing his knife and burying it in the other head.

As the creature went limp, Rol looked up to see Colnus giving him an approving look with another of the wolf beasts dead at his feet. “These ones crept up on us. It won’t happen again.”

His eyes widened as he looked up. “Girl, from above! At least a dozen of them.”

Kara began chanting as Rol looked to the air with his sword, but the boy could make nothing out in the darkness. Then, the light from the fire illuminated something gliding above them as quietly as a ghost. Then, it folded its wings like a falcon and plummeted to the ground. Rol gritted his teeth and held his sword up above him, knowing that he could do little if it was aiming for Kara.

When it was almost upon them, Kara completed her incantation. The fire at their feet flared into life before exploding upwards in a massive conflagration that temporarily turned night into day. Disfigured birds fell to the ground shrieking as they burned. Kara staggered, and Rol caught her before she fell. As he held her, he looked around worriedly. The fire had ignited the lower branches above them, illuminating the surrounding area.

“What are these things?” Colnus frowned as he examined one of the fallen creatures.

Rol’s reply was interrupted by more shrieks in the distance. Then, there was a loud crack as a flaming branch fell, landing just feet away from them and sending burning leaves flying in all directions.

“We can’t stay here,” Colnus said. “These things are being drawn by the fire.”

“How, when we can’t see?” Rol asked.

Colnus tapped the side of his head. “I don’t know how, but I can see as clear as day.”

“We should head back to town,” Rol said as he hoisted Kara onto his back. “And report this to the boss.”

The old man shook his head. “We should head for the monastery. I fear these may be the forces of the Dark One attempting an attack on the Vessel.”

“They will be coming this way in a few days,” Rol protested. “We can’t let them enter these forests unprepared.”

“Your crew seem a resourceful bunch,” Colnus pointed out. “I am sure they will manage. Which way to the monastery?”

“He’s right, Rol,” Kara murmured when he was about to object. “Follow the road… We should arrive at a clearing where it ends and from there…”

“Will she be alright?” Colnus asked worriedly when Kara slipped out of consciousness.

“She just needs some rest,” Rol replied. “She will be fine.”

“That’s a relief,” Colnus breathed before setting off into the night.

“We didn’t speak much on the voyage over here, did we?” The old man ventured when Rol caught up with him.

“No, we didn’t,” the boy said. “I got the distinct impression you didn’t like me.”

“I’m sorry you felt that way,” Colnus said. “But I had a lot on my mind.”

“I can imagine,” Rol allowed.

They walked briskly, and soon, it was too dark for Rol to see his hand in front of his face and could only tell where Colnus was from the rustling of leaves underfoot as they walked.

“Most men would have fled at the sight of those horrors,” Colnus remarked. “Your bravery is commendable.”

Rol felt his cheeks colour and was glad for the dark. “Thank you, but we saw worse at Port Daralin.”

“And you fight well,” the old man continued. “Who taught you?”

“No one, really,” Rol replied, thrilled to finally be having a conversation with his hero. “Everyone learned to fight quickly during the siege… Everyone who lived, that is.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Colnus sighed. “How did you fall in with the likes of Steven and his crew?”

“I’m from Port Daralin… and I happened to be pressed into the same group as he and his men,” Rol said. “I lost everything in that battle, my family, my home… I lived in the Garment District, you see…”

“Ah,” Colnus said sadly.

“Well, I impressed him in the fighting, and he offered me a place on his crew when it was over,” Rol continued. “There was nothing left for me in Port Daralin, and it was a good opportunity to see the world, so I took it.”

The pair fell silent when they heard shrieks behind them. They were closer now. Rol turned around and saw a pinprick of light in the distance from where the fire still burned. Every now and then, a shadow passed as something flew by.

“It looks like leaving was the right decision,” Colnus remarked.

“Should we be talking?” Rol whispered. “What if they hear us?”

Colnus chuckled and tapped Rol on the shoulder as he began walking again. “We’re making plenty of noise just walking. If they’re going to hear us, it won’t be because of a little conversation. Now, where were we?”