Chapter Eight
“Do you see the smoke?” Samuel said, squinting through the leaves. “I seem to have lost it.”
They had been walking for almost the whole day, and the sun had started go down. It was cooler now, which was easier for them, but it was also more difficult to see. Samuel had shifted into human form again so that he could easily communicate with Ammara. Kevin preferred to remain in his bear form to be ready for any attack that might be thrown that way. The time he had spent with Nina so far had made him very cautious and tense. He couldn’t afford to be unprepared and wanted to make sure he returned to her with their child in one piece.
“It went there,” Ammara called out, pointing at a narrow path paved smooth by someone or something that might have frequently taken it for their own purpose. It stood out and definitely did not blend in with the rest of the forest.
Samuel stopped short suddenly, and said, “Are you sure?”
Kevin grunted in agreement beside him as Ammara nodded. “Yes, I saw it,” she said. She caught sight of Samuel’s stunned expression, and asked, “Why? What’s wrong?”
Samuel shook his head, and said, “I just…I think I’ve been here before, but I’m not sure.”
Ammara shrugged, and said, “Let’s keep going. We don’t want to lose it now.”
Kevin nodded in agreement, and the three of them made their way past the thick trunks, where the smoke was drifting and snaking its way up the path. They followed, and when they passed by an old, ancient tree with its branches stretching out into the heavens, Samuel frowned to himself but said nothing.
The branches overhead were so thick that barely any light filtered in, and the dying golden glow of the day locked out, leaving a gloomy path of blue hue for them to follow. The light was the sort where you couldn’t distinguish dark from it, and they squinted their eyes, trying their best to make sure they didn’t lose sight of the magic guiding their way.
Treading carefully, the path trodden with stones and thorns seemed to be fading out into soft dirt. Kevin gave a small grunt and halted to shake his paw, then the next. Ammara bounced and jiggled on his back, teeth clattering together, and she hit and pinched the bear to get him to stop, clutching onto his fur to keep from falling. He didn’t pay much heed and continued to work on his hind legs. The stones and thorns came loose, and he hummed in satisfaction as he stretched each limb out. Ammara frowned and tugged at his fur sharply.
“Kevin, we’ll lose the wisp!” Ammara scolded, and Kevin mentally apologized to her as he picked up a brisk pace to catch up with Samuel.
The air smelled familiar. Too familiar. It was just a dying whiff of it, but the scent lay there in memory, still fading away with time. Samuel knew not even time could whisk away the marks left in his heart, like with the place itself. He’d been denying it, but it felt too obvious to dodge now.
Ammara and Kevin seemed unaware of Samuel’s discomfort. It was the kind of discomfort he welcomed without much difficulty because of the cherishment associated with it. But he knew he should not let it hinder him and his attentiveness. They were still out in the open, and he couldn’t let Ammara and Kevin be the only ones who were cautious and aware. Convincing himself to be alert was not too hard, and he noted the wisp growing smaller as they neared their destination. The scent was as fresh as ever in his heart, and he thought he might’ve been hallucinating. He looked around for the familiar, dense shrubbery that should so deliberately look out of place. He knew it should’ve been around here.
Nightfall had come way too quickly. It had gotten darker, and the wisp was dangerously invisible against the foliage. He, Kevin, and Ammara tried their best to focus and not let it out of their sight. Canopies of the forest high and stretching far, it did not spare the moonlight room to break through and allow for vision. Samuel knew shifting would make things all the more easier and quicker, but they didn’t want to draw too much attention to themselves. The smaller within the woods, the harder to come across to the eye. And Kevin was large enough and insisted on staying that way.
But as the ground became clearer with dirt and the trees grew scarce, Samuel’s beating hope faded. He found the shrubbery nowhere. Feeling rather disheartened, he scolded himself for having so much hope. Everything seemed so in place and well blended, it would’ve been impossible to miss anything that stood out even in the shadows of the trees.
“Well this looks out of place, don’t you think?” Ammara’s honey voice cut through his internal monologue as she slipped off of Kevin. “Although, I would reckon we’ve seen stranger things before, I’d…Samuel? Hey, Samuel.”
But he wasn’t listening past the blood rushing in his ears. His heart swelled in recognition, wide eyes following disbelievingly after the wisp as it disappeared into an all-too-familiar cottage placed so perfectly within a circle of moonlight, as if the moon was shining on it purposely for him to stumble across and gaze at. The lulled beating of his heart brought an onslaught of memories of how he first met Rowena all those decades ago.
It only felt like yesterday, really.
I wasn’t wrong, he thought, and the knowledge swept an odd calm through him which was soon tainted with confusion. But why here? Why would the baby be here?
The cottage did look worn down, though. It looked more ancient than it should have. The walls were webbed with vines snaking all over the place, reaching up toward the center of the roof that seemed to be crumbling inward. The edges had been blown blunt by the wind, rain, and dry weather it had endured all these years. The window he used to stand guard behind to keep Rowena from a hellhound’s line of sight – that was so viciously after her – held dusty, cracked panes. The garden around it had gone to waste, fed upon by passerby animals and grey matter the earth swallowed through proudly protruding fungi.
Ammara looked at him dubiously and tugged at his sleeve. She couldn’t understand what had gotten into him. She huffed softly, “What’s gotten into you?”
“Just tired.” Samuel forced past the dull ache in his chest. He felt like leaving as soon as they had arrived. This was as much as he was willing to take, but he understood he could not be selfish. It was not his nature. But she eyed him, confused out of her mind. Samuel did not tire easy. Closely looking at his face cleared up the fact that something important had happened here and she shouldn’t pry too much.
Ammara convinced herself not to worry too much about him. Members of the Council were well capable of defending themselves.
The air around Samuel shifted. He looked confused and bothered. Ammara tore her attention from her concern for him and attuned her senses to all that was around her. Even Kevin felt it and stood up on his hind limbs, sniffing the air. His nose froze and slowly came down to point where it was coming from. And it struck them like a brick and set their hearts racing.
They had another Other among them. And it traced right back to the cottage. There did not seem to be any danger in the air, but they had to be careful. Should the baby be in there, they did not want to provoke whoever was with it to bring any harm.
The trio looked at each other and knew they should scout the area for any possible hidden openings and to make sure there was no escape for anyone within the cottage’s premises. And that no one enters it, either. They had been too riled up and cautious ever since they left for the search, and their senses only heightened, adrenaline pumping.
Ammara’s hands clenched as she chanted calmly under her breath, bringing up a shield around the perimeter and leaving enough space between it and the cottage to allow room to fight. She couldn’t sense any beings nearby. At least, those that were awake. The forest was asleep, except for the crickets whose symphonies – a lullaby to the creatures – echoed throughout.
Kevin kept his eyes focused on the trees and beyond, taking up guard duty without being asked to, although his heart was palpating with anxiety for his child inside with whoever else was in there. He wished he could rush in to attack, but he had to hold back and trust the Council members with him. They would get his baby to him safe and sound.
Samuel circled the house, inspecting it for any weaknesses to break through and holes to enter from. He could not believe so many years had passed since he last came here. As if finding Nina wasn’t enough to make him aware of the time that had flitted past him, seeing where it all started in person after so long could not compare to what he felt then.
Stealthily and quietly, they scanned their surroundings and met again a few feet away from the door of the cottage.
“I’d say it’s safe enough,” Ammara spoke gently, “but the real problem is inside.”
Kevin was teetering a little at wits end, growing impatient. He emitted a low growl, and Samuel looked at him sympathetically. “I understand how worried you must be, Kevin, but–”
A shrill cry sliced through the air and straight into the hearts of the trio.