After a fair few rest stops, fuelings, and a short shopping trip to pick up provisions for the week, we arrived eight hours later at a fork in the road about ten minutes outside Newark, WV. Joaquin had actually spent most of the trip learning whatever English he could from the rest of us, instead of playing video games like I’d expected.

We all emerged from the car, stretched and looked around. Aside from the smattering of homes we had seen on the way, this place was about as empty of people as it could get.

Katira, clad in her usual baggy shorts, and even baggier T-shirt, took in her surroundings, closed her eyes and oriented herself to the southeast. “Over there a few hundred yards. There is a cave hidden there. I think the wards still hold, but this is the place we were,” she said confidently.

“Cool. What do we do about the car? Can’t leave it here. It needs to be off the road, and preferably hidden from view,” I said, looking around.

“I can take care of that, Master. Let’s find a level place to park it, and I will take care of the car,” she said with a nod.

“Okay. Back in, everyone. We will park, then lug everything to our home for the next week,” I said, clapping my hands.

With some groans, the rest of our troupe piled in, and I found a place to park about a quarter-mile away, a few hundred yards off the road. I snugged the car into a niche in a thicket, and we all got back out, removing our gear. I took the moment to affix my hunting knife to my belt. Spying some fallen branches and detritus, we hastily began to cover the car, hoping to add a little camouflage to the silver vehicle.

Katira took a good look over the car, and nodded her head, adjusting a limb or two here, a leaf there, adding some dirt over here, and stepped back.

“This is good. Is everything out? Once I create the ward, it will last for a maximum of ten days. Until we leave, none of us can touch it, or it will be dispelled. It will keep the local wildlife away, and discourage any investigation. The materials on it will stay put, unless there is an extremely strong storm, which the forecast has said are non-existent. Are we ready?” she asked. We all agreed, and she began casting the ward.

Watching a spell be cast was an extremely interesting thing. Katira stood still for a moment, then extended her hands, murmuring something in a language I couldn’t comprehend. She walked what looked like an erratic path around the thicket, but as she repeated it, I saw that she was stepping exactly in her previous footprints. To the millimeter. As she walked, I saw columns of light sprouting from the ground at five points, all curving inwards, converging in the center of the thicket.

After completing five complete revolutions, she stopped and faced the thicket, pulling her hands toward her body. She sliced a gouge into the back of her left arm with a fingernail, and scattered the blood into the area of the ward. The air shimmered, as if it were a mirage, and suddenly we simply couldn’t see the car anymore. Even though we were staring right at where it was.

Katira stepped back, panting. “There. That’s done. Master, I need a rest. Let’s get everyone loaded up, and I’ll take my place on your shoulder, okay?” she asked tiredly.

I nodded, and we began divvying everything up, giving myself and Robert the bulk of the heavy items. Once we were situated, Katira took her spot on my shoulder, and found it a safe place to simply sit and recover.

Together, the four of us Initiates walked off into a heavily wooded mountainside, following directions from my miniature familiar. Eventually, after navigating some tricky terrain, we came to a broad, flat area, with several spruce trees and a few fallen logs.

“This is it, Master. The cave is in the face of the rock there. Ten steps forward. Okay, reach out with your right hand, and feel around. It’s the best way I can describe what you’re going to be doing,” she said in my ear.

I stuck my arm out, placing my hand flat on the rock in front of me. Slowly, I dragged it across the rock face, finding nothing. I rubbed it up and down as high and low as I could, until I felt a kind of click inside me, and stopped my hand.

“That’s it, Master! Good job finding the right strand of the ward. Now, I want you to kind of ‘suck’ with your hand. Trust me. I know it sounds weird, but imagine you’re sucking in a super long spaghetto,” she said.

I shrugged and visualized a mouth in my hand, slurping up a giant sheet of…something. As soon as I began, I felt an odd creeping feeling crawl up my arm, winding around my bicep, then curling around my chest. As I continued, the feeling wound its way down my leg and, once it found the ground, I felt a thump within me as a cave was revealed right in front of my face.

“Excellent job, Master. I knew you could do it. Especially after seeing what you did at the Guildhall and learning what you did for Drake, I knew you could do the visualizations. Now, it’s just a matter of setting up the tents. You will find that the floor is firm soil, and as long as the mountain hasn’t shifted in the last several hundred years, there are some niches in the walls for our things,” she advised.

“Okay guys. Let’s go and get our camp set up. It’s wide enough for two tents abreast with plenty of room to get between them. Katira says there should be some niches in the walls for our things. Are you guys ready to start?” I said excitedly.

Three smiling faces met mine, and we all set up our tents. I placed myself in the rear of the cave, as I liked the cool and damp air. We stowed our various equipment in the niches, and looked around.

“Now what? Do you want to start tonight, or are we going to rest from the trip?” I asked Katira, who had resumed her size, and was sitting in a hollow in the wall, as if it were made for her, which, in all reality, it probably was.

“I think we should wait until the morning. This will be difficult enough without adding in the stress of a long journey. Also, Stu? Why don’t you take this time to familiarize everyone with Appalachian rules?” she suggested. Everyone turned to face me, curiosity etched across every face.

I shudder ran through me. I knew all the rules and the reasons behind them. They had been instilled within me at a very early age.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Somberly, I began, “Okay, everyone. I want you to listen carefully. The Appalachians are the oldest mountains in the world. They are older than bones. Literally. They are steeped in thousands and thousands of years of legends and lore, some of which is probably true. There is much more that we have simply lost to time. What I will tell you are the rules passed down to me from my mother’s family. They were all close to the land, going back generations. Here they are:

“Number one. If you hear something whistling in the woods at night, No you didn’t. There are things out there that will attract your attention by whistling. Do not acknowledge them. If you hear it, return to camp immediately. Do not run. Turn around, and come back at a calm pace.

“Number two. Do not under any circumstances whistle in the woods at night. This will attract things that we do not want to deal with. Drake? This concerns you, also. At night, do not whistle. Chirp if you must, growling is preferred, but do not whistle.

“Number three. If you see something moving in the trees, No you didn’t. As with rule one, turn around and walk back. Do not acknowledge it. Do not look at it. Come back.

“Number four. Don’t go alone. While we will probably have our familiars with us, this rule is serious. Do not be alone. That invites things and wild animals. Safety in numbers and all that.

“Number five. If you hear someone calling your name, No you didn’t. Those things I was talking about? They can mimic human speech. Not perfectly, though. There is always something that gives it away. You’ll just know. Trust me on that.

“Number six. This is a modifier for anything you hear. If it sounds close? It’s far off. If it sounds far away? It’s very close. It can see you, and is tracking you. They do this to either frighten you to run to them, or to entice you to follow the sound. I know it’s counterintuitive, but that’s how they work.

“Number seven. That deer you saw? Might not have been a deer. Do not go near it. If it is watching you, look elsewhere. Turn around and come back to camp.

“Number eight. Those aren’t lights. Stay away from them.

“Any questions? I will answer what I can.”

Joaquin raised his hand nervously. “What happen if I answer?”

“Good question. You will likely die,” I said bluntly. “By answering, you have alerted the thing to your presence, and it will hunt you. And by extension, all of us. There is no known way of hiding, no known way of warding these things off. Follow the rules. Especially if you hear someone speaking your language. I guarantee you that nobody here knows Portuguese or Japanese. Nobody,” I concluded.

“Okay, Stuart-senpai. I will not respond to voices in the woods. If I hear them, I will return. I will have my Oiwa with me at all times. I am ready,” Morita-san said confidently.

“Good! I’m glad to hear that. Robert? Any questions or concerns?” I asked the younger man.

“Do you really believe in all that old superstition stuff? I mean, none of it’s real. Right?” he asked.

“Not real, huh? You’re saying this while you’re standing in a cave with three other people -strangers, even- a total of four beings who can change their shape upon contact with a new Master, and a literal dragon. You want to maybe rethink that?” I asked.

“Well…”

“Not to mention you’ve already seen two examples of magic, Robert. You’re about to enter a world filled with crazier things than what you’ve seen so far. Open your mind a bit wider,” I said.

“Yeah. I suppose you’re right. But, do any of those things actually exist?” He asked.

I sighed softly. “Yeah, man. They do. I’ve heard my father calling for me out in the woods when he was asleep in the cabin next to me. His snoring was distinctive. When I said something about it the next morning, he was just glad I’d stayed put. Mom, however? She was extremely concerned, and had us leave that day. Since then, I’ve followed those rules to the letter. Please. Follow those rules. The mountains are ancient, and there are creatures, spirits and haints that have taken up residence here for eons. Things exist here, man. We do not want to run afoul of them. Treat the cave and the surrounding woods with respect,” I said.

Robert nodded, contemplative. “I think I understand. I’ll be careful, and won’t go anywhere without Yin,” he said.

“Damn right you won’t. I won’t let you out of my sight,” groused Yin.

I smiled and retrieved the food and small gas grill. “I may as well cook some food for tonight and tomorrow morning. I think we will have a difficult week ahead of us,” I said.

I cooked some hot dogs and all the hamburgers we had bought, as well as some sausages. The cooked burgers would keep better than the raw meat would, and they would be a quick and easy food. We had bought plenty of cold cuts and cheese, several loaves of bread and a couple packs of tortillas for variety. Twelve bags of different chips rounded out the food, and we had each gotten a case of bottled water. Katira had confirmed that all these would be good foods to have. Easy and quick to cook and reheat, plus eating them cold wouldn’t hurt.

While I was cooking, Drake took the opportunity to learn to fly, and then to hunt on the wing. He returned excited and bouncy, and his enthusiasm was difficult to ignore.

We ate and talked for several hours, until nightfall, when it got much colder, and we began to be serenaded by the crickets. Drake went out to hunt the chirping insects, and we all left the cave to look at the night sky, which was beautifully clear.

It was while we were outside staring at the sky that we heard it.

[Hey!]

It was clear as a bell, but sounded somewhat…off. We all looked at one another, nodded, then walked back into the cave.

“Congratulations, Initiates. You have passed the first test. Following instructions. That is what will help keep you alive for the rest of your hopefully long lives. Yes, it was real; no, it was not a spell or anything from any of us familiars or Drake. My Master is correct. There are, indeed, things that live in these mountains. As long as you follow the rules, you will be fine. There will be no hiding or cowering in your workshops. You will conduct all experiments and tests out here.

“Welcome to your training, Initiates,” Katira said.