Chapter 2 #2
There wasn't a rational reason not to take the photograph. Still, something about the clearing made me reluctant to bring the camera to my face. Maybe it was the absence of human tracks, or the strange quiet, or simply the fact that I hadn't expected to find anything like this.
Whatever the reason, I lowered it again.
“What is this place?” I whispered to myself, turning slowly enough to take in the tree, the flowers, and the clear water.
The injured tayra walked toward the pool. I noticed the bandage approaching the water.
“Careful,” I warned the creature, following several steps behind. “That wrap isn't waterproof.”
Its injured paw touched the edge of the pool. A faint golden light appeared beneath it.
I stopped.
For a moment, I thought the light was a reflection. Then it moved through the water. It spread outward beneath the surface before curling back toward the tayra's leg and traveling upward.
“What the hell?” I whispered, backing away a step while keeping my attention fixed on the impossible glow.
The light became brighter. Within seconds, it surrounded the tayra completely.
I could still see the general outline of its body inside, but that shape was changing.
Its legs lengthened.
Its back shifted.
The dark fur disappeared beneath the brightness.
“This isn't happening,” I muttered to myself, gripping the strap across my chest as I tried to understand what I was seeing.
The glow suddenly intensified.
I threw one arm over my eyes.
For several seconds, warm gold showed through my closed eyelids.
Then it faded.
I lowered my arm carefully.
Someone stood beside the pool.
At first, I thought the figure was a woman. Looking again didn't make me as certain.
The being had a human shape and warm brown skin, but there was something unfamiliar about its appearance that made assigning anything else difficult. Long dark hair fell nearly to the ground, tangled with green leaves, small white flowers, and several iridescent feathers.
Then my attention dropped toward its feet.
The white bandage I'd wrapped around the tayra's leg was still there.
Now it circled a human ankle.
I lifted my gaze to the stranger's face. The eyes were the same.
Bright gold.
“No,” I whispered to the being, taking one involuntary step backward while my brain tried and failed to come up with a reasonable explanation.
The stranger smiled.
“No. Absolutely not,” I told the being, shaking my head as I lifted one hand between us. “I am not dealing with this today.”
The stranger's smile widened, but it made no move toward me.
“This is heatstroke,” I continued, pressing my fingers against my forehead while trying to assemble an explanation that belonged in the real world. “I'm overheated, probably dehydrated, and hallucinating because I ignored the woman who specifically told me not to wander off alone.”
“You aren't dehydrated,” the stranger said, its calm voice carrying through the clearing as quiet amusement appeared on its face.
I stopped.
It had spoken.
“You talk,” I said to the being, lowering my hand slowly as the obvious inadequacy of those words registered somewhere in the back of my mind.
“You watched me change shape, and that is what surprises you?” the stranger asked, tilting its head while a small smile lingered at the corners of its mouth.
I opened my mouth, but nothing useful came immediately.
“I'm having a difficult afternoon,” I finally admitted to the stranger, rubbing one hand over my face as my thoughts struggled to catch up.
The being laughed softly. The sound was warm and ordinary enough that it somehow made the situation stranger.
“What are you?” I asked the stranger, keeping several feet between us even though my curiosity was beginning to outweigh the impulse to retreat.
“That is a complicated question,” the being answered, studying me for a moment before glancing toward the tree.
“Can I have the uncomplicated answer?” I asked, motioning vaguely between the stranger and the pool.
“A spirit is probably the easiest word for you,” the being explained, stepping out of the shallow water onto the moss beside it.
“A nature spirit?” I asked, looking around the clearing again now that I had something—however impossible—to call the creature.
“If you like,” the spirit replied, brushing a damp section of hair away from one shoulder.
I released the breath I'd been holding.
“Okay,” I murmured to the spirit, because my brain had apparently decided that was an acceptable response to discovering nature spirits existed.
“You believe me rather quickly,” the spirit observed, watching my face with open curiosity.
“I watched a tayra turn into you,” I reminded the spirit, gesturing toward the pool behind it. “I don't think denying what's happening is going to improve the situation.”
The spirit glanced down at the bandage around its ankle.
“You helped me,” the spirit said, lightly touching the edge of the white wrap with its fingertips.
“You were trapped,” I answered the spirit, unable to see what part of that required explanation.
“You didn't know what I was,” the spirit pointed out, raising those strange eyes toward me again.
“No,” I replied to the spirit, wiping my damp palms against the sides of my pants.
“You were afraid,” the spirit continued, its attention remaining on me.
“A little,” I admitted to the spirit with a small shrug. “You had teeth.”
The spirit smiled.
“That didn't stop you,” the spirit said, its expression softening as it waited for my answer.
“You were hurt,” I replied to the spirit, the words coming easily because there really wasn't anything more complicated behind what I'd done.
The amusement disappeared from its face.
“You didn't ask for anything,” the spirit said quietly, glancing once more at the bandage.
“Why would I?” I asked the spirit, genuinely confused by the question.
“Many do,” the spirit answered, and there was something tired in its voice that hadn't been there before.
“For helping an injured tayra?” I asked the spirit, my brow furrowing as I tried to imagine what sort of person would bargain over something like that.
“For kindness,” the spirit clarified, lowering its hand from its ankle.
I considered that for a moment.
“Then maybe you've been meeting the wrong people,” I told the spirit, glancing toward the forest where the snare remained somewhere beyond the vines.
The spirit didn't answer immediately. Instead, it raised one hand. A soft golden light appeared above its palm.
I stepped back.
“Nope,” I told the spirit, holding one hand up when it started toward me.
“You don't know what I'm doing,” the spirit pointed out, amusement returning to its expression.
“That's exactly why I'm saying no,” I replied to the spirit, keeping my attention on the glowing light rather than its face.
“I won't hurt you,” the spirit promised, stopping several feet away.
“I feel like that sentence should be reassuring, but it really isn't,” I told the spirit, shifting my weight as I considered whether running would accomplish anything.
“You are very suspicious,” the spirit said, the edge of a smile appearing again.
“I found out magic exists about five minutes ago,” I reminded the spirit, gesturing toward the clearing around us. “I think I'm handling it pretty well.”
The spirit took another step.