Chapter 1 #2
Unable to detect any injury, I let out a sigh of relief.
Bless the Mothers. I gently pushed them to the side so I could see what they were standing over.
I lowered myself to get a closer look and discerned a small red fox lying still on its side, bound in mysterious chains.
I reached down to touch the small creature’s neck, trying to find a heartbeat.
Its pulse murmured faintly. I gently ran my hand down the side of the motionless animal, my magic recognizing the chilling sensation of pain.
My hands became coated in a warm, viscous fluid.
The poor thing was covered in blood. Whatever had happened to it had been done recently.
Despite my assessing touch, the small animal did not stir.
I liked to think that I had a special connection with animals.
I had domesticated two wild mountain cats, after all.
But that said, this little one’s survival instincts should have kicked in.
I should not be kneeling here, running my hands over it.
It should be attacking me or attempting to flee. My heart sank.
I reached back to grab the lantern so I could examine the fox more thoroughly.
The animal’s chest was slowly rising and falling, another positive sign.
There was also a large, gruesome wound on its head.
It had unusually shaped chains tightly wound around its limbs, digging deeply into its flesh.
A sudden rustle in the woods broke my concentration and sent my heart right up into my throat.
Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm my nerves, I carefully looked around the clearing.
I was unable to make out anything aside from the two motionless mountain cats at my side.
“It’s nothing. Probably just a deer. Right?
” The pitch of my voice rose slightly as I turned to my feline companions for reassurance.
Nocturna yawned and tilted her head, side-eyeing me with casual indifference, while Astra kept her focus on the fox.
I let loose a deep sigh, comforted by the lack of reaction from the mountain cats.
When I turned back to the fox, my attention was caught by the oddly shaped tree looming behind it.
From this vantage point, it didn’t appear to be a tree at all.
It looked to be a collection of vines I had never seen in these woods and brambles that formed a large tunnel.
Narrowing my eyes, I stared into the confusing mass of vegetation.
The dangling vines shifted and swayed in the misty breeze, their leaves gathering into a collection of foliage.
The swirling mass darkened and formed into a most unusual shape.
Wait. What is that? For a moment, I swore I had seen a shadowy, two-legged figure moving at the end of the tunnel.
I blinked and tried to refocus my eyes. Whatever had been back there had now vanished.
The breeze quieted, allowing the vines to return to their previous undisturbed state.
“Get a grip, Aurelia,” I hissed to myself as I brought my attention back to the injured fox. Had there been anyone there, Nocturna and Astra would have reacted.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts so I could continue with the task at hand.
I took off my cloak and gently wrapped it around the poor creature, picking it up and cradling it in my arms. A violent chill rocked through me as the icy night air hit my bare arms. My chattering teeth echoed throughout the soundless clearing.
As I gingerly made my way toward the edge of the clearing, it dawned on me that I had no idea where we were.
I had been so concerned about finding Nocturna and Astra that I had neglected to pay attention to where I was going.
I dropped my head back, staring up into the canopy and wishing this increasingly annoying and exhausting night would just be over.
Nocturna chirruped, bringing me out of my wallowing, and started to saunter out of the clearing.
As if she understood my lament, her body language was clear: Follow me.
Astra stood by my side, forcefully nudging me.
A comforting thought came to me as I was escorted out of the clearing by Astra—if anyone knew their way around this forest, it would be these two.
Nocturna and Astra, who had both spent goddesses knew how much time terrorizing the small creatures of the Nightwood.
There was nothing to fear. My new little friend and I were in the most capable hands.
Nocturna, Astra, the fox, and I managed to make it out of the Nightwood without further incident.
As confident and comfortable as I normally felt about venturing to the edge of the Nightwood, I wouldn’t have been able to handle any more unexpected surprises.
My small stone cottage stood only yards away from the trees, backing onto the Nightwood.
The muscles in my legs were stiff and heavy as I shuffled toward my home.
The throbbing in my ankle was so bad I thought it would bust right through my boot.
My arms were like solid ice as I carried the cloak-swaddled fox in one arm and the lantern in the other.
My first priority was getting this fox inside and comfortable.
My second priority would be soaking my entire body in a scalding bath.
I needed to calm my nerves and wash this weird day off me.
Entering the cottage, I was greeted with the smoky scent of a smouldering fire in the fireplace. The warmth enveloped me like a comforting hug. The pins-and-needles sensation of my body thawing spread through me as I made my way further inside.
As was the case whenever I was treating someone, an air of calm came over me as I placed the fox down in front of the fireplace to warm.
My body obediently obeyed the checklist I was forming in my head: clean towels, cloths, pillows, and blankets from the spare bedroom, two small basins with warm water, and my homemade antiseptic to cleanse the wounds.
I also gathered some scraps from dinner and water, should the creature awaken and decide it was hungry.
Once I had everything collected, I put on my apron and knelt down to inspect the animal in more detail. “All right, little love. Let’s see what’s going on with you,” I whispered to the frail creature.
Nocturna and Astra sat on either side of me, watching intently as I dipped one of the cloths into a basin of warm water and started to wash away the matted blood on the fox’s face and head.
As I washed away more of the blood and dirt, the size of the head wound became more apparent.
The fox had been hit brutally hard. It was difficult to make out what specifically could have caused this injury, but whatever it was, it was heavy and blunt.
I continued my way down, cleaning congealed blood and dirt from various other small wounds scattered over the creature’s limp, cold body and applying liberal amounts of antiseptic to clean them.
By the time I got down to its paws, both basins were filled with murky brown water.
Now to tackle the dilemma of these chains.
The links had sharp, geometric edges to them, each resembling a hexagon, unlike normal chain links, which were more oval-shaped and rounded.
They also seemed to be all linked together with no visible weakness or lock.
They were made of an oddly dark metal, not one I was familiar with.
I looked down at the animal’s paws and cringed at the wounds that this chain had inflicted on them.
The chain was wrapped so tightly around the animal’s limbs that it was causing deep, painful lacerations.
I grabbed the chain to see if there was any give or way to gently remove the paws, but as soon as I touched the metal, I felt a deep vibration in my bones and a burning on my hands.
“Ow! What the fuck?” I yanked back my hands to inspect them, expecting to see burn marks on my bare skin. Not a scratch.
While inspecting my hands, I experienced a sluggish, draining feeling—as if my magic was being smothered. The sensation lasted only a few seconds, but it was unnerving enough to make me wary of touching the strange chains unprotected.
I grabbed a few of the soiled cloths and used them as a barrier between the chains and my hands while I attempted to remove them from the animal again.
I tightened the chains around the fox’s limbs, profusely apologizing for the unnecessary pain I was causing.
I thought that if I could tighten them up at the base a bit more, then I could gain a little give in the outer loops to unwrap them.
Doing my best not to cause any further injury to the animal, I was able to get just enough give to pull one of its limbs out of the bindings.
With one limb removed, the chains were now loosened enough that I could safely remove the remaining limbs from their painful restraints.
I threw the soiled cloths down onto the chains and furiously rubbed my hands together.
The cloths had held off the burning sensation, but they were useless against the unwelcome vibrating, magic-smothering feeling.
What in the Eternal Night kind of chains were these?
The only logical explanation was that they were infused with magic I had never encountered.
Even that logic had flaws to it. Whoever had used these, where would they have gotten them?
And why use them on a small forest animal?
Too tired to wonder about this any further, I wrapped the chains in a towel and put them aside to deal with later.