Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Sunlight filtered through the forest canopy, casting dappled shadows on the trio as they followed a faint trail away from the bookstore. Jamie led the way, the borrowed pack settled comfortably between his shoulders.
He'd never been much of an explorer, but what else was he to do?
As much as he wanted to stay inside the store and read all the strange new books… he had to know what was going on.
His new companions seemed to agree, though Corin's nervous energy manifested in constant chatter. He alternated between pointing out the bizarre flora they passed and shooting glances at Azelon, who maintained a stoic silence at the rear of their small procession.
"We should be cautious," Azelon finally said, interrupting Corin's rambling description of a flower that appeared to have tiny letters printed on its blossoms. "The disturbances have made the beasts unpredictable."
Jamie paused, taking in their surroundings more carefully. "What exactly are these disturbances you keep mentioning? When did they start?"
"About a week ago," Azelon said. "Around the time your store appeared."
Corin nodded. "The whole forest has been weird. Animals acting strange, plants taking on the color of ink."
Jamie frowned, turning to examine a nearby oak. Unlike the trees they'd passed closer to the bookstore, this one seemed... agitated. Its branches twisted oddly, leaves trembling despite the still air.
"Like this?" Jamie asked, reaching toward the distorted trunk.
The moment his fingers brushed the bark, the tree shuddered. Its branches relaxed slightly, settling into more natural positions. The trembling leaves stilled.
Corin's eyes widened. "What did you just do?"
Jamie pulled his hand back, and within seconds, the tree resumed its twisted posture.
"That's..." He trailed off, unable to articulate the strangeness of what he'd witnessed.
"Interesting," Azelon finished, moving closer to study the phenomenon. "Touch it again."
Jamie complied. Once more, the tree calmed at his touch. This time, he kept his palm against the rough bark, watching as the effect rippled outward. Nearby vegetation gradually settled into more natural patterns, as if exhaling after holding a painful position.
"It's responding to you," Corin breathed, his own excitement causing small stones near his feet to vibrate. "Just like the store."
"But I'm not doing anything," Jamie insisted.
"Perhaps not consciously." Azelon knelt to examine a patch of grass. "The nexus energy from your store seems to be leaking into the surrounding area, creating magical instability. But your presence mitigates the effect."
Jamie withdrew his hand, watching as the tree bent into an unnatural pose once again. "So my store is... what? Poisoning the forest?"
"Not poisoning," Azelon corrected. "Transforming. The store traveled between words. That creates ripples."
Jamie's jaw tightened. "And those ripples are upsetting the wildlife." It wasn't a question.
He sighed.
This was definitely not what he'd wanted when he'd opened his store.
Then again, he'd never meant for his store to be pulled into a different world either.
How had his life spiraled out of control so quickly?
And why wasn't there anything he could do about it?
No, there had to be something. He only needed to continue looking.
And so they continued their exploration.
Going on, Jamie paid special attention to how the environment changed around him.
Within a roughly twenty-foot radius of where he walked, the forest appeared normal—or what he assumed was normal for Veridia.
Beyond that boundary, distortions increased: trees growing in spirals, rocks floating inches above the ground, flowers that looked oddly translucent.
"How do we make things go back to normal?" Jamie wondered out loud.
"I'm not sure," Corin said, and he looked as if he wanted to say something else, but Azelon spoke up.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Jamie asked.
A guttural hiss cut through the air. Azelon's markings flashed bright blue in alarm. "Head back to the store!"
"What was that?" Jamie asked, already turning back the way they'd come.
"Shadow creature," Corin whispered, suddenly pale.
Another hiss, closer now. Through the trees, Jamie glimpsed something shifting and formless, darker than the shadows it moved through.
"Run," Azelon ordered, pushing Jamie ahead of him.
They sprinted through the forest, branches whipping past.
Behind them, a slithering sound grew louder.
"It's gaining!" Corin gasped, panic making the air around him shimmer visibly.
Jamie glanced back to see a dark mass flowing between the trees—not quite solid, its edges billowing like smoke but its core black as pitch. It moved with terrible purpose, gaining ground with each passing second.
"Corin, control yourself," Azelon snapped. "Your projection is making us easier to track."
"I can't help it!" Corin's voice cracked.
Azelon veered suddenly to the right. "This way!"
They followed him down a steep embankment toward a rocky outcropping. Azelon dropped to his knees, pointing to a narrow crevice between two boulders.
"In here. Quickly."
Jamie pushed Corin ahead of him, then squeezed into the tight space. Azelon slipped in last, his larger frame barely fitting through the opening.
The cave was little more than a crack in the rock, forcing them to press tightly together in near-darkness. Jamie found himself sandwiched between the two Veridians, Corin trembling against his chest, Azelon a solid presence at his back.
"Will it find us?" Jamie whispered.
"If we stay quiet and—" Azelon broke off as a red-tinged light filled the small space. Corin's emotional projection was manifesting visibly now, panic made luminous around them.
"Corin," Azelon hissed. "Control it."
"I'm trying," Corin gasped, but the glow intensified. Outside, they heard the shadow creature's movement change direction, heading toward their hiding place.
Jamie didn't think—he just acted. He wrapped his arms around Corin, pulling the fae against him in the confined space.
"Focus on me," he said, voice low but firm in Corin's ear. "Just me. Nothing else matters right now."
Corin's hands clutched at Jamie's shirt, his breathing erratic.
"I can't—it's going to find us?—"
"Look at me," Jamie commanded, tilting Corin's chin up. In the warm glow of Corin's projection, their faces were inches apart. "Breathe when I breathe. Feel my heartbeat. Match it."
Something in his voice cut through Corin's panic. The fae's eyes locked onto his, desperate for an anchor.
Jamie took a deliberate breath, then another. "That's it. Just focus on me."
Pressed against his back, Jamie felt Azelon go very still, watching them.
Gradually, the red glow dimmed. Outside, the shadow creature's movements grew less certain, its hissing more frustrated.
"It's working," Azelon murmured. "Keep going."
Jamie maintained his steady gaze on Corin, one hand moving to the back of the fae's neck in a grounding touch. "You're doing great," he murmured. "Stay with me."
The light faded further, leaving them in near-darkness. Corin's breathing synchronized with Jamie's, his trembling subsiding. Jamie felt an unexpected satisfaction at calming the chaotic fae, at being needed in this primal way.
They remained frozen in that position—Jamie holding Corin, Azelon pressed against Jamie's back—as minutes dragged by. Outside, the shadow creature prowled, searching, before eventually moving away.
"It's gone," Azelon finally said, his breath warm against Jamie's neck.
None of them moved immediately.
"That was..." Corin began, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
"Effective," Azelon finished, though Jamie sensed he'd been about to say something else.
"We should head back while it's safe," Jamie said, releasing Corin somewhat reluctantly.
His mind had been so much clearer when he could focus on fixing someone else's problem.
As they squeezed out of the crevice, Jamie noticed the forest immediately around them had settled—plants growing normally, stones resting firmly on the ground.
"The stabilizing effect is stronger," Azelon observed, looking around with newfound interest.
"What?" Jamie asked, not following.
"When you were calming Corin," Azelon explained, "the effect spread further than before. The distortions retreated completely from this area."
Jamie looked at Corin, who smiled at him. "Apparently the magic responds when you get all dominant and protective."
Jamie ignored the heat rising to his face. "Let's just get back before that thing returns."
They moved quickly through the forest, Jamie hyperaware of how both Veridians stayed close to him now, Corin to his right, Azelon to his left. And all around, the distortions faded.
The bookstore appeared ahead through the trees, seeming to welcome their return. As they approached, Jamie felt a tug in his chest—a recognition, as if the building itself was relieved to see them.
They hurried inside, Azelon securing the door behind them.
"The store feels different," Corin said, looking around. "More... settled."
Jamie nodded, sensing it too. The building had lost some of its frantic energy, as if their expedition had somehow helped it adjust to its new reality.
"We still need to understand what's happening," Jamie said, turning to face the others. "But at least we know more than we did this morning."
Azelon and Corin exchanged a glance, a silent communication that Jamie couldn't interpret.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Corin said quickly.
"You're adapting remarkably well," Azelon observed. "Most humans would be... overwhelmed."
Jamie shrugged. "Panic won't get my store or me back home." He moved past them toward the kitchen. "And apparently leaving the building isn't the answer. So let's regroup and think of another approach."
He had discovered quite a few things that he needed to stew over.