Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
In the Dark Night
Creatures Roam
Bria stood perfectly still, every muscle tightening as the little creature trembled harder against her chest. The forest beyond the dying fire remained thick with darkness, the towering trunks allowing little moonlight to reach the ground, yet she knew she had seen movement.
Large movement.
“Kaelan?” she called again, softer this time, fear tightening her throat.
Still, no answer came.
The little fellow gave another low growl that ended in a frightened whimper before burying his face tightly beneath her arm.
Bria’s pulse pounded painfully now. She should remain where she was. Kaelan would expect that of her. And yet the thought of sitting alone beside the dying fire while something unseen moved through the darkness around her proved impossible to bear.
Carefully, she gathered her courage and took a slow step away from the sheltering roots.
The forest greeted her with silence that did not feel at all natural.
Bria moved cautiously between the trees, her eyes straining against the darkness while the little creature remained rigid in her arms. Every snapping twig beneath her boots sounded far too loud. Every shifting shadow made her heart lurch harder.
“Kaelan,” she called once more, barely above a whisper now.
Silence was the only response she got.
The little creature suddenly lifted his head, growled, and then whimpered softly in the same breath.
Bria stopped instantly. A strange sensation crawled slowly across the back of her neck.
She was no longer alone.
The realization struck so sharply she almost turned at once. Almost. Something stopped her. Instinct perhaps or fear.
Slowly, Bria looked over her shoulder and froze.
The beast stood only several feet behind her.
Massive white fur blended almost ghostlike into the darkness surrounding the trees, though its pale gold eyes remained fixed steadily upon her.
Even standing still, the creature radiated enormous strength, its great shoulders towering above her while its breath drifted visibly through the cold night air.
Bria could not move. Fear rooted her completely where she stood.
The little creature made a tiny, fearful sound and buried himself tighter against her.
Still, the beast did not attack. It simply watched her.
Bria scarcely dared breathe.
Slowly, the creature stepped closer. One heavy paw moved soundlessly across the forest floor. Then another.
Her heart pounded so violently she was certain the beast must hear it.
The creature lowered its massive head slightly. Sniffing her. Warm breath brushed softly across her face.
Bria shivered hard.
Its thick fur grazed lightly against her cheek as it moved nearer still, the strange softness of it startling against the terror racing through her body.
Yet even now… it did not harm her.
The beast paused suddenly. Its head lifted and a low growl rumbled deep within its chest.
Before Bria could even begin to understand what had changed, the beast spun sharply and vanished into the darkness between the trees with astonishing speed.
The forest fell silent once more.
Bria remained frozen where she stood, scarcely able to breathe.
Her heart pounded violently against her ribs while the little creature trembled hard enough in her arms that she feared the poor thing might leap free entirely.
Slowly, feeling returned to her legs.
The beast had stood close enough to tear her apart. Close enough that its breath had warmed her skin. And still…
It had not harmed her.
Why?
The question refused to loosen its grip on her thoughts.
Fear still lingered fiercely within her, yet beneath it stirred something else now, curiosity.
The creature had not looked at her with hunger. Nor rage. If anything, its strange eyes had held something far more unsettling.
Awareness.
Bria swallowed hard, her fingers tightening gently through the little creature’s soft fur.
If only she had possessed the courage to touch it.
The thought startled her even as it formed.
Had she touched the beast, perhaps she could have sensed what lay within it. Fear, rage, or possibly loneliness? Whatever emotions drove such a creature to roam Driochmor.
The possibility sent another shiver through her.
At last Bria forced herself to move, hurrying back through the dark forest toward the faint glow of dying embers still visible between the trees ahead.
Relief loosened slightly within her chest when the sheltering roots finally came into view. Then tightened again instantly.
Kaelan still was not there.
Bria stopped near the dying fire, her gaze searching the darkness surrounding their small camp while unease slowly settled over her once more. The little creature remained pressed tightly against her, though his trembling had eased some now that they had returned.
Where had Kaelan gone? Why hadn’t he woken her?
Her thoughts returned suddenly to something he had said earlier.
I lost the creature’s trail… but I picked up another.
And later…
I can sense them.
Bria looked uneasily toward the forest.
Perhaps he had caught the beast’s scent again and gone after it. The thought alone made her stomach tighten. She had seen the creature up close twice now, had felt the sheer size and power of it standing near enough that its breath warmed her skin.
Yet still she could not shake the strange certainty that it had never intended her harm.
The little creature’s ears suddenly twitched.
A moment later, footsteps approached quickly through the trees and Kaelan emerged from the darkness.
The instant he spotted her standing there, his expression sharpened. He crossed the clearing swiftly and stopped directly before her, his eyes searching her face.
“What happened?”
The urgency in his voice startled her.
Bria barely spoke above a whisper. “The beast was here.”
His jaw tightened instantly. “In camp.”
“Nay, I woke to find you gone—”
“So, you foolishly searched for me?” He gave her no time to answer. “You do not wander in Driochmor alone in the middle of the night.” Irritation roughened his voice. “Anything could have found you.”
“But it did not.”
Kaelan went still.
Bria held his gaze despite the lingering fear still twisting through her. “This is the second time I have stood face-to-face with the beast, and neither time has it harmed me.”
“It approached you?”
She nodded slowly. “Close enough that I could feel its breath.”
Kaelan’s expression hardened further, though not in the way she expected. Not fear for himself, fear for her. The realization touched her heart in a strange way.
“He could have killed you.”
“But it did not,” she repeated softly and turned quiet for only a moment, before admitting, “I almost touched him.”
Kaelan’s head lifted sharply.
Bria frowned softly, her thoughts drifting once more to the beast standing so close beside her in the darkness. “I wished to know what he felt.”
Alarm flashed openly across Kaelan’s face now. “You must never do that.”
His sharp warning startled her and had her asking, “Why?”
“Because you do not know what waits inside another creature’s mind.”
Bria watched him carefully. “A comfort healer sometimes must look deeper to understand pain.”
His gaze narrowed instantly. “You enter people’s feelings that way?”
“Not always,” she said quickly, suddenly realizing she had revealed more than she intended. “Only when necessary. Sometimes pain hides itself too deeply for simple comfort alone to reach it.”
Kaelan remained disturbingly still.
“And when you touched me?” he asked quietly. “Did you look deeply there as well?”
The question unsettled her far more than it should have.
Bria looked away briefly toward the fire. “Nay.”
“Why not?”
Because something about him frightened her. Because something about him tempted her. Because every touch already affected her too deeply. But she could hardly speak those truths aloud.
“I did not feel the need,” she said and caught a hint of relief in his eyes.
Kaelan turned to kick loose dirt over the last of the dying flames as he continued to talk with her.
“As a healer, you should understand that some things are kept buried deeply for good reason.”
His words were not sharp nor did they warn. They seemed more personal. And suddenly Bria found herself wondering not what Kaelan hid from the world… but what part of himself he feared she might someday uncover.
The little creature barked, drawing their attention.
Bria smiled. “He is impatient to leave.”
“As am I,” Kaelan said and placed a gentle hand at her back for her go, then he followed behind her.
Morning light spread more easily through this part of Driochmor, though the forest still carried an otherworldly feel that kept Bria glancing uneasily around as they traveled.
The strange silver trees slowly gave way to greener growth, and while unfamiliar plants still crowded the forest floor, more ordinary signs of life appeared the farther they walked. Birds called softly overhead. Narrow paths wound between the trees, worn not by animals but by frequent use.
Signs of people.
Even so, Bria could not shake the feeling that Driochmor remained unpredictable and dangerous.
The little creature trotted happily ahead now, his long ears bouncing with each step while Kaelan followed at an easy pace beside her. From time to time the small fellow would stop and look back at them impatiently, as though making certain they continued behind him.
Bria found herself strangely comforted by the little fellow’s excitement.
After midday, the trees finally began thinning ahead, allowing sunlight to spill more freely across the ground. A moment later the forest opened entirely, and Bria slowed in surprise.
A village stood nestled within the clearing. Not ruins, nor strange crumbling remains swallowed by the forbidden land. Nay, it was a true village.