Update: Nothing Much to Report

It has been a while since I've written anything here, mostly because I couldn't think of what else to add. After all, this blog is devoted entirely to my first book. So now that the whole thing is available, what else is there to add?

The truth: not much.

The only kind of update I can provide is that, after a bit of a hiatus, I have resumed my search for a literary agent, a process which is about as much fun as job hunting. For those of you who don't know, (and since most of the people who have read this blog are my friends on Facebook, this will be probably be old news because I've posted a few statuses on this very subject), I loathe the job application process. It's tedious and a bit soul-crushing, especially when I can't even get to the interview stage. I'd love just to get an interview at the moment, for a full-time job of course since I now have two part-time jobs.

Anyway, once again I'm starting to send out my query letters and hoping for the best. I'm only on my sixth letter, so I'm far behind the number many published writers had to send out. However, I'm a slow mover, a slow reader, a slow writer, and generally move a snail's pace for anything that absolutely must get done. I guess my sin is sloth.

I need to go through Guardians and Dreamers again and do some more editing, but I just haven't had the energy or the time lately. Hopefully, this renewed interest in finding a publisher will ignite my passion for the project, at least enough to open up the file and start working again.

For now, I'll continue working on the other projects on my desktop. Who knows, I may even start on the follow up to Guardians and Dreamers. The story's there, inside my head. It just needs an opening line, an opening image.

Until something more substantial can be posted here, I'll continue to update you all here on my search and how its progressing. Unfortunately, at my speed, the search is going to take a while. Hope you all have patience. :)

Review Time.... Can you hear the drums in the deep? I can.

Well, now that my entire book has been posted, I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about it. I'm aware that most of you probably haven't finished it yet, but when you do I'd like to know about your responses.

Are there any holes in the plot?
Were there any parts that were confusing or unclear?
What about the characters?
Was each character unique? Well-developed?

I'm still looking for an agent for my book, and I'd like for it to be in the best possible shape. So, any bit of advice would be beneficial. After all, I have fantastic reader-friends/family. :D

Of course, there is no pressure to say anything about it at all.

Thanks again for all who have taken the time to read this blog. I understand it's probably not the best place to read a book, but it's the best place to reach as many of my friends and family as I can. I'm still mulling over the idea to self-publish, but I'm scared about that prospect since I will not have had my manuscript professionally edited.

Anyway, enough rambling. I'll just end with another heartfelt thanks to all of my friends and family who have supported me while working on Guardians and Dreamers. You all are the best!

Tony

Changes and Such

It was brought to my attention that this blog was a little hard to read due to the white letters on a black background, which makes sense, so I changed the design and went with a template that's hopefully a little easier on the eyes.

Also, I removed the picture, not because someone said they didn't like it but because I didn't like it. I read somewhere that books with weather should be avoided, and that picture has been troubling me since I uploaded it. Actually, I read it in a very entertaining and informative article: "Ten Rules for Writing Fiction," which can be found here.

My favorite bits of advice from the article include:

"Never use an adverb to modify the verb 'said' ... he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances 'full of rape and adverbs'." Elmore Leonard

"Don't write in public places. In the early 1990s I went to live in Paris. The usual writerly reasons: back then, if you were caught writing in a pub in England, you could get your head kicked in, whereas in Paris, dans les cafés . . . Since then I've developed an aversion to writing in public. I now think it should be done only in private, like any other lavatorial activity." Geoff Dyer

Funny enough, I've never read either writer. I should pick up some of their work.

End of Part One

With the post of Chapter 8: At the Edge, the first part of Guardians and Dreamers has come to an end, and now I would like to know how you all think it's going so far. Honestly, I've considered stopping here, leaving you all hanging, but I don't think I'll be that cruel..... at least not yet.

One of the reasons I decided to post my book here was to get some friendly, constructive feedback from others. So in this post I'm asking for all of you taking the time to read what I've written to tell me what you think so far. Even pointing out some of my writing errors will be helpful. After all, nobody's perfect when it comes to writing.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you all, and in a day or two I'll post the first chapter of part two, Chapter 9: A Conversation.

Tony Buenning

Chapter 8: At the Edge

“Who are you?”  Jason asked again, his mouth running on autopilot, not realizing that he had already received an answer to his question.

Tara smiled, her teeth shining in the dim light cast by the moon.  “My name’s Tara, Jason. Are you okay?” She looked him up and down trying to see any signs of injuries but found none.

Jason shook his head as if trying to loosen his thoughts from their shocked positions, but his voice still sounded a million miles away.  “I’m fine.  Sorry, I just . . . never . . . met a . . . a…”

“A metamorph.” She answered for him.

“A meta-what?” 

“A metamorph. Surely you’ve heard of a metamorph before. It’s not the first time that anyone has imagined being able to turn into something they’re not.” Jason looked as though she were speaking in another language: eyes wide, mouth hanging open. Clearly, at the moment, he did not have the slightest conception of what Tara was talking about so she explained further, adopting the voice of a teacher explaining something simple to someone who found it hard to grasp simple things. “A metamorph is a person who can change their physical appearance into something completely different. Lucky for you and Eric here, the form that I can change into is a wolf.”

“Can you change into anything other than a wolf?”  Jason asked, finally getting over the shock of being attacked by a wolf, then saved by another wolf only to find out that the latter is really a teenage girl. It took him awhile before he could think properly.

“No. I only have two physical forms: what you see before you and what you saw before.  I’ve heard of some that can change into nearly anything they want, but I haven’t met one yet. Personally, I don’t think they exist. It’s getting cold.”  At these last words Jason shuddered and crossed his arms across his chest, rubbing his shoulders.

Tara moved to the pile of burnt wood that was the fire that Eric had started earlier in the night. She rearranged the wood, pulling out the charred pieces and replacing them with fresher ones. Jason saw her pull something from one of her pants pockets and heard the sound of two metal pieces being scraped together followed by sparks, and within a few minutes a small fire was beginning to take shape. Tara looked up from the growing fire and saw that Jason was still sitting next to the tree that the wolf had thrown him and Eric into.

“Here, let me help you carry him.” Tara said as she saw Jason slowly moving towards Eric. Together, them picked him up and pulled him closer to the fire.

“Lay him down here.” They gently set the slumbering Eric as close to the fire as they could without worry of him catching on fire. Jason grabbed a blanket out of his traveling pack (amazingly it was still in the same place he had left it before the attack) and covered Eric in an extra effort to keep him warm.

Jason sat next to Eric, staring into the fire. Tara sat opposite him and spoke in a calm, almost flat voice. “Get some sleep.  I’ll keep watch tonight.”

“Won’t you get tired?”  Jason murmured into the fire, not entirely sure he’d spoken out loud.

“I’ll be fine, besides there are only a couple of hours before daylight. We need to move quickly from now on. Until we reach the edge of the forest, we are not safe.  Mor may not come back tonight, but he will not stop until his job is finished.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Sleep.” Tara stood and walked to the edge of the clearing, stopped at a tree and sat on the ground, eyes darting from side to side.

Jason lay on the ground, using his pack as a pillow (which immediately grew softer than any pillow Jason had ever used), and he wondered how he could sleep after everything that had happened, but sleep was not that far off. As he lay there, it occurred to him that Tara’s motives may be less than helpful, but this objection was only fleeting for five minutes later he drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

After what seemed only a few minutes later, Tara awakened Jason. He opened his eyes, blinking away the crusty stuff, and saw that a blue-ish glow had filled the woods and the fire had burned itself out. Maybe he had slept longer than he thought.

“Jason, get up. It’s time to go,” said Tara. Jason turned towards her voice and noticed that Tara was shaking him.

“I’m up. I’m up. How long did I sleep?” He asked, rubbing his eyes with both hands.

“Only for a couple of hours. Get ready, we can eat on the way.” Tara helped him to his feet and pack up his things; both she and Eric were already packed.  Eric looked a little strange standing at a distance from the camp with his arms crossed over his chest, illuminated by the soft blue light. Jason couldn’t help but get the feeling that they had been talking about him while he was sleeping, but he didn’t ask.

Once again, they were on their way, trekking through the forest. Every once in a while a couple of trees would try and block them by closing in around them, but Jason warned them that Eric could light their branches on fire and the three of them would be released quickly—that is, as quick as a tree can move. Jason could almost swear that he heard them muttering through their leaves to themselves, but he dismissed it as being a little too strange even for this place. 

As they walked Jason kept silent and thought back to his childhood, hoping to remember anything he could about this place. Abby had said something about dreams, but then again she had said a lot that didn’t make very much sense to Jason. The only thing that kept going in and out of his head was the image of that odd old witch holding Aaron prisoner and what she could be doing to him.  Jason had always prided himself on having a wild imagination but at that moment it seemed more of a curse than a blessing.  Of course, Abby had said that someone else was behind all this but he couldn’t get the witch out of his head. And the only other image Jason’s mind seemed stuck on was thunder and lightning, or rather it was more of a feeling than a solid image.

He didn’t even notice Eric’s voice until he had placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder and said his name in a soft voice.

“Are you okay?” Jason looked up and noticed that they had stopped; both Tara and Eric were looking at him with worried expressions.

“I’m fine.” He answered, not really trying to mask the fact that he wasn’t.

“We have to keep moving.” Tara said.  Eric swallowed hard as Tara glared at him and he found a sudden interest in the plant life that covered the ground.

“Listen I understand that you’re worried, but you’re not going to save your brother by standing here.” Tara said. 

“It’s just . . . with everything that’s happened . . . I really haven’t had time to adjust.” As he spoke he noticed that there was something different about her eyes; they were slightly bigger and rounder than any he had seen before and he couldn’t help but think that for an instant her pupils had gone from being round to oval, almost like a cat’s eyes. They were fascinating.

“Sometimes we have to adapt to things a little faster than we would like. Makes life interesting, don’t you think?” Jason nodded. “Now do you think we can continue.  The sun’s already a quarter of the way up the sky. Let’s move.” Tara started walking at a fast pace with Eric turning to follow.

“Okay.” Jason said, looking forward to concentrate on navigating the forest rather than navigating the recesses of memory. He ran in order to catch up to them.

Both Eric and Tara seemed to have the ability to walk at an incredible pace without having to run. Then again, Eric was able to make fire appear out of thin air and Tara can turn into a wolf at will. 

The three of them continued to walk in silence, Tara in the lead followed by Eric with Jason straining to keep up. Eric looked behind and saw Jason getting further and further behind so he held back, letting Tara walk at a short distance ahead. She turned around and noticed the two boys walking behind her at a distance but kept to her own pace.

“Are you sure everything’s all right, Jason?” Eric asked, that worried look lingering from when they had stopped.

“I don’t know. I keep thinking about what that witch could be doing to Aaron right at this minute and I can’t do anything about it. And I keep trying to remember this place, but there’s nothing… nothing before…” Jason lowered his head incapable of going on, incapable of knowing why he’d said that particular phrase, and incapable of knowing why he’d almost said, “nothing before the storm.”

Eric gave him a curious look, “What do you see?”

Jason looked up and wondered whether he should tell him; his eyes watered a little, unsure where the tears came from. He quickly wiped his eyes as if it were only allergies. They walked on in silence for a few minutes, Jason thinking about his brother and Eric wondering how to help his friend.

“I think I have an idea.” Eric finally said with a little too much excitement. Jason was startled at his friend’s sudden out burst but could only nod his head. “Try and think of only the best memories from your life that involved your brother.” Jason looked a bit confused at the idea.

“The only memories that I can remember are ones were I was torturing him. We didn’t get along that well.” He was again seized by the memory of Aaron screaming in a darkened room. This time it was so loud in his ears that it stopped him in his tracks.

“What’s going on?  We can’t keep stopping like this.” Tara said as she walked back to meet them, her voice straining with an effort to keep from yelling. Both of them were startled by here sudden appearance and were fidgeting when she reached them (she could move remarkably fast for her size).

“I told you it’s nothing. I can handle it.”  Jason tried to make his voice sound stronger than he felt without much success. Though his voice gave him away, he made sure to meet Tara’s stare. “It’s nothing.” He repeated with a little more conviction. 

“Listen I don’t think what’s happening is nothing.”  Eric broke in hoping to convince them that there was something more to Jason’s memories than just guilt. 

“Whatever it is, it can wait. He said he could handle it.” Tara responded.

Eric looked frustrated as he said, “Okay.” Jason almost felt sorry for Eric because he was just trying to help, but Jason did think that he could handle what was going on in his head. 

“Then let’s go.” Tara gave Jason a small smile as she turned around and began to walk. Jason could only return a weak smile at best because his stomach had suddenly turned into a tight knot, and he didn’t think it was because of his brother.

They continued walking with Tara in the lead, as she had the best idea of where they were supposed to be going. Jason only knew that he was supposed to follow and hope that she was leading him to Aaron and away from this forest. Tara didn’t stop until well past noon and that was only because both Jason and Eric’s backpacks started spitting food at them until they stopped to eat. They were forced to pick up their food off the ground: their bags would not produce any more food than they needed. It was discovered that the magic backpacks would also notice whenever someone else would enter the party because Jason’s had food in that he had never seen before and Tara immediately recognized it as her favorite. She explained that it was the meat of some animal that was native to her land, which had three heads and was the size of a small airplane.  Apparently one of these animals could feed an entire village for months at a time, due to the fact that they used every part of the animal. Eric and Tara laughed at the disgusted look on Jason’s face.

They sat down and ate; trying to use what little time they had to relax. After an hour, Tara reminded them that Mor would still be hunting them and that it was time to get moving, and she was right.

* * *

Mor was always sickened by the sound of children laughing, and pretty much the merriment of any kind. Each time that sound grated his ears and made him want to howl like the more primitive of his race, and each time his hatred and anger grew. Entering into his five-hundredth year he was always surprised at the new level of hate he felt, a festering rotten feeling that started at the center of his body and grew until it consumed the hair on his body, turning it from brown to black. Yes, he was once a normal wolf, no bigger and no meaner. That is until he was captured and forced into being the animal that was then sitting a hundred feet from his target, listening, waiting for them to sleep. The area of singed fur still burned.

Mor didn’t remember much of his early life, only that he hated being ripped away from his pack. And really, that was all that was left of that life, an emotion: pain. But there was nothing that he could do about it now, hate was at the core of his heart and he would do his mistress’ bidding until he could finally rid himself of the witch and be free once again.

The sudden quiet brought him back to his senses. His prey had stopped laughing, and was now packing up, getting ready to move once again. Not now, he thought. Mor wanted so desperately to crash through the trees and take all three them, each making quite the meal, but that was not the wisest thing to do. The metamorph was a fighter and the wizard had done magic that he had only seen the witch perform, on a much larger scale of course, but pretty much the same thing. And the third one, though he didn’t have any special abilities Mor was aware of had the courage of a hardened warrior, of which he knew something about for he had fought many great warriors, all of whom died in his jaws. 

Patience. Your time will come. And when it does they will scream for mercy. Mor smiled at the thought. Just don’t let them make it to the edge. Keep slowing them down until nighttime. Tonight I will make them pay. There’s more than one to cause pain. Mor once again focused his thoughts on the three teenagers as he followed them through the forest. The trees were as much afraid of him tearing them limb from limb as they were afraid of Eric’s fire, and so they gladly made a path for the giant). Jason was the only one she needed; the others were excess.

* * *

After lunch they had walked on for an hour when a soft white glow crept into their field of vision. Its light was minimal at first but grew as time passed, like the rising sun when you’re not paying attention the world goes from a dark blue to being filled with radiant light.  But there was something sinister about this light for it didn’t have the warmth of the sun, nor any warmth for that matter; in fact, the light that now shone through the trees had about as much warmth as being on the dark side of the moon. All three of them started rubbing their arms, signaling that each of them felt the same kind of cold overtaking them.

“What is that?” Jason asked. The other two didn’t responded immediately only staring straight ahead at the light.

Jason was about to ask again when they both said, “I don’t know.” Eric and Tara looked at each other, surprised at their sudden unity. Tara continued, “Whatever it is it’s right in our path.”

“Somehow I think that it’s a lot bigger than we think.” Eric added not even trying to hide the anxiety that had slipped into his voice. They all gazed at the light, cold and unknown. Their hearts beat faster, their ears listened harder, and their eyes strained for any sign of movement.

Jason was the first to speak, “Well, if that’s where we have to go then I guess we had better get moving.” Eric and Tara both blinked in slight surprise because up until that point Jason had been slowest of all three of them.

“You’re right.” Eric said. “Come on let’s go.” All three of them were once again on the move, but this time Tara hung back, allowing the two boys to walk in front. She was stuck in a tight spot, terrified of what was hunting them and terrified of what lie in their path. At least the monster behind them she could fight if and when he showed himself. The cold white glow in front of them might consume them all and not give them the chance to fight. Then again, of the three of them, she alone had heard rumors of what was happening to this dream world and did not like the idea of coming face to face with some of the things that she had heard.

“What do you think it is?” Jason asked, not directing the question at anyone specific.

“I don’t know. But I will say this: normally I hear news from the west through the people that go and seek Aunt Abby’s advice, but for the last few month’s not a single person has made it through the forest to tell of anything.” Eric took a deep breath and continued, “Part of the reason that I chose to help you with your brother was because I wanted to find out what had happened out here.”

“Me too,” Tara added, “The doorway to my home has disappeared.” Eric and Jason stopped walking and faced Tara. Eric’s face was more shocked than Jason’s, but the latter did not fully grasp the meaning of what Tara had said.

“What?” Eric asked.

Tara looked Eric straight in the face and repeated, “My doorway home has disappeared.”

“But what does that mean?” Jason asked as Eric clasped his hands to his mouth with a gasp, although something stirred in his mind, This is bad, very bad.

“It means I can’t go home.” Even though Tara’s voice sounded the same as ever, Jason did notice a slight pause before she said, “home.”

“Did Abby give you any idea of what’s happening?” Tara asked suddenly, and Jason was sure that she wanted to change the subject. Even so, he too was excited at having even the slightest clue as to what was giving off that glow, even if that clue was buried in rumor and speculation.

“Abby doesn’t guess.”  Eric responded. He sounded as if he’d heard Abby spout off the same response before. 

“But, if you have an idea of what’s ahead then you should tell us.” Jason pleaded.

“I will only tell you if any of them turn out to be true. So far I only see something giving off a tremendous amount of light, which is hardly evidence of anything.” Jason tried to persuade Eric to give them some tidbit of information, but the response was always the same, wait until we have more information.

They went on in relative silence for the next half hour until they came upon the next bit of evidence. Jason thought that it had started to snow because they suddenly found themselves surrounded by hundreds of tiny white flakes. Only they weren’t snowflakes, in that they each had their own unique shape. Every single one of them were little round balls of light, each a different color, rainbow colored snow. But they didn’t fall like snowflakes, anything in nature would fall to the earth, these little wonders traveled in a slow, semi-vertical path, floating in a suspended state. Although their pace was slow, Jason could tell that they were all travelling in the same direction the three of them were, west, but the balls of light were in a slight incline. All three of them stared at the marvel and cold beauty of the lights.

“They look like fireflies.” Jason goggled.

Tara looked at him, puzzled. “What’re fireflies?”

Eric answered before Jason could even open his mouth. “They’re little flies that give off the tiniest bit of light, probably some kind of defense mechanism.” Tara looked amused at the idea that little bugs could produce the same effect as these lights. 

Eric looked worried. “However, the light they give off doesn’t last that long.” 

Jason reached out to touch the light that was closest to him.

“Don’t!” Eric shouted. Jason pulled back his hand as if the light had burned him.

“Why?” Jason said, “They look so beautiful.” He was about to disregard what Jason had said and touch the tiny ball anyway when he was forced to the ground by the sound of screams, his vision clouded by darkness. He covered his ears and cried out in pain, trying to force the image out his head, but relief didn’t come. His own screams mingled together with the screaming in his head, creating some kind of horrible choir.  The pain moved from his ears all the way to his body. Jason twisted and writhed on the ground as if some unseen torturer was thrashing him with an invisible whip. And beneath the screaming, beneath that horrible choir of pain, Jason heard a deep-throated laughter.

Tara and Eric ran to Jason the second his body fell to the ground. They both reached to help him but he kept pushing them away as if he were fighting off the invisible phantoms that were attacking him.

“What’s going on?!” Tara shouted over Jason’s screams. 

Eric shook his head as if to say that he didn’t know, but he said, “Try to hold him down.”

“What?”

“Hold him down! Quick!” Tara gabbed Jason around the shoulders from behind and Jason tried to hit her and escape from her grip, but Tara was a lot stronger than she looked and she held him tight. The moment Eric saw that Tara had a hold of Jason he knelt down on the ground and brought his hands up to Jason’s head and held it. Eric closed his eyes and began to hum quietly, like he was trying to sing to whatever was holding Jason prisoner. 

Jason, his entire mind blanketed in darkness and his ears ringing with screaming, saw a sudden burst of light in the darkness. This light was not like what was currently floating around them but was like the sun peeking through the clouds after a terrible thunderstorm, its shafts of light breaking through the black clouds. The screams subsided and after another minute quit altogether, but he did feel that whatever was making him see these horrible visions was trying desperately to hold on to his mind. However, someone else was also fighting for Jason’s mind. The light increased in its intensity pushing away the dark and he felt calm and peaceful, the warmth filling his entire body from the inside out. 

After what seemed an eternity Jason opened his eyes and saw Eric standing over him with a smile on his face. Tara was still holding tightly onto his shoulders and he reached with his right hand to indicate he was okay. Tara eased up on the pressure and helped Jason to stand up. Jason gave her a weak smile and said, “Thank you.” 

He looked to Eric and smiled, thanking him too, but Eric was looking over Jason’s shoulder at something in the woods. His face a study in terror, his breathing becoming more rapid with each breath and his mouth moving without saying anything, scared beyond speech.

 “What is it?!”  Jason asked. 

Eric pointed to something behind them and muttered something that neither Jason nor Tara heard. They turned to look in the direction of Eric’s finger and were petrified with terror as they saw a familiar pair of huge green eyes staring at them through the dense wood, yellow teeth gleaming, dripping with spit.

Eric found his voice, “Run!” Tara and Jason didn’t need to be told twice as all of them turned and ran as fast as they could with Tara almost carrying a weak Jason. 

“Eric, help him!” Tara handed off Jason to Eric and immediately turned into the huge gray wolf. “Wait for me at the edge of the forest!”

“I can help.” 

“Help him.” Tara nodded to Jason with her snout and ran to meet Mor.

“Come on, Jason. I can’t carry you and run at the same time.” Eric breathed heavily with the effort to support Jason and move as fast as they could. 

“Let go. I can run on my own.” Eric gave him a questioning look and heard the sounds of Tara and Mor fighting getting closer, the ground shook beneath them, and decided to let Jason run on his own. As he let go Jason’s face grew determined to make it to the edge of the forest as fast as they could. His entire body felt weak from the images that flooded his mind, yet he hoped that his body could make the extra effort of running.  Eric gave Jason one last look before another crash in the forest startled them into sprinting. 

However, they encountered a problem the closer to the edge that they got. The faster they tried to run the more they realized that what used to be hundreds of tiny little balls of light turned into thousands of tiny little balls of lights. Heading Eric’s advise, both had to worry about not tripping over the roots and plants on the forest floor as well as dodge the lights. 

As the lights grew more and more dense, Eric and Jason found it harder and harder to move with any speed at all. The balls of light zoomed past them at faster speeds creating a whistling sound as they flew through the air. The culminating sound was so deafening both of them had to put their hands to their ears as they ran. Soon the cloud of lights became so thick that Jason and Eric had crawl on the ground in an effort to avoid the lights.  The lights sped through the air, faster and faster, creating a kaleidoscopic rainbow of colors. They crawled over and under the roots of the forest trying desperately to move away from their pursuer, that is until they came upon something that they couldn’t crawl over, or under, or even go around. All they could do was stand and stare.

Ahead of Eric and Jason was a wall of white light. The surface, which at first seemed solid, was more liquid in look; the wall’s surface shimmered and seemed to move like the surface of a lake. It reminded Jason of the tile that had brought both him and Aaron. Jason knew this wall of liquid light would take them somewhere, but where was the question, and at that moment Jason was not sure which was worse: the known danger that lay behind or the unknown world on the other side of that wall of light.

Jason turned and looked back towards the forest and saw no sign of Tara and Mor; he could only hear the distant sounds of a fierce fight. Yet, the sounds were distant in both his ears and his in his mind for something else had drawn his eyes up away from the forest. The tiny balls of light were still floating towards them, but instead of continuing on their vertical path they took a steep curve upwards and floated away, disappearing into the sky. Something clicked in Jason’s mind: The wall of light was created from the same type of power and magic as the thousands of lights they had just crawled under and it produced the same kind of cold light, just on a much larger scale. All the warmth Jason had felt from Eric’s own brand of magic was now gone and in its place, emptiness.

Jason slowly drifted towards the wall of light, pulled by an unseen force, but a voice in the back of his mind told him to wait. Wait for what?

Suddenly, Jason felt his left arm jerk behind him as his body lost its balance and fell to the ground. He looked violently around and saw Eric lying on the ground, his right hand held Jason’s left arm in a tight, firm grip. Eric’s face was filled with terror as he met Jason’s eyes.?

“What’re you doing!?”  Eric yelled, for the sound emanating from the wall of light in front of them was as deafening as that of the smaller balls of light behind them. The sound was at once beautiful and terrifying, deceptively beautiful. “Tara said to wait for her. We can’t leave her behind.” At the mention of Tara’s name Jason was suddenly brought back to the reality of his situation. He turned his head around, craning to see any sign, any evidence that Tara was behind them. Jason’s eyes searched the forest floor that he and Eric had just crawled through. 

Frantically both of them kept close to the ground as a minute passed and no sign of Tara was seen. Another loud crash, closer this time, shook the earth. Jason held his breath and from the strained look on Eric’s face he was doing the same.

A wolf’s cry reached through the dense fog of the swirling balls of light and pulled on Jason’s stomach. He feared the worst. He imagined Tara in the jaws of that monstrous wolf and shuddered. 

Jason hadn’t realized that he was crawling towards the forest, towards Tara and Mor, until he felt a tugging at his pants. He turned to look and saw Eric once again holding him back. Eric mouthed something that Jason didn’t catch at first. He watched as Eric moved his lips slower and caught a single word, Wait. And then he caught something else as well but it didn’t come from Eric’s lips; it came out of the forest. Jason hadn’t heard satisfaction in the wolf’s cry; he heard frustration. Tara had escaped and she was on her way towards them. All they had to do was be ready when Tara came out of the forest. 

Jason stood up and turned to look at the wall of light behind him and knew that they must go in at the same time, the same second, or they may never find each other on the other side. How he knew that Jason couldn’t say but that’s what his heart told him. 

Eric stood up beside him and together they turned to face the wall of light. They needed to be ready and perhaps it would be better if neither of them saw what was following Tara through the woods, because if they did it might be too late. Both of them might be frozen in fear or by some trick of Mor’s. Eric reached for Jason’s hand and grabbed hold. They stood there hand-in-hand waiting for Tara. They only had to wait five seconds.

One.

The ground shook once again, more violently then before.

Two.

A terrifying growl made the hair on both boys’ arms stand on end.

Three.

They felt air behind them stir and a rotten smell drifted towards them. They didn’t turn around.

Four.

Rhythmic pounding beat the ground beneath their feet.

Five.

Tara crawled out from the forest, in human form, and grabbed Jason’s free hand.  All three of them felt the breath of Mor and smelt his rotten breath as he lunged through the swirling balls of light, jaws opened to their fullest extent, hungry for flesh.

“Now!” Tara yelled the second she had hold of Jason’s hand. The command wasn’t necessary because the moment Jason felt her touch all three of them jumped into the wall of light. The last thing they felt was the rush of air as Mor snapped his jaws and missed.

Chapter 7: To the Forest!... again

“We have to go through this again?”  Jason asked as they neared the forest.

“Unfortunately, yes. Abby said to go south and that means the forest is our first destination.” Eric looked at Jason and then at the forest with a defiant look in his eyes.  “However, the forest will be a piece of cake. You’ve proven good with ordering trees around, so that should help. I’m more worried about the other stuff we’ll have to deal with.”  Jason gave his companion a questioning look.  “What? You didn’t think we’d jut walk up to the witch’s castle and ring a bell, did you?”

“I thought…” Jason didn’t know what he was going to say. Of course, there would be other dangers. Hadn’t he witnessed a swirling black mass appear out of nothing, there in the clearing among the Sleeping Lilies? But what other dangers could there be? This world is nothing but a collection of fantasies, right? Nothing to worry about… at least that’s what Jason told himself.

He was about to ask Eric what kind of dangers they might come across when a loud rumbling sound crashed through the silence. The sound came from the forest.  Jason and Eric saw a path laid out before them when only a moment before nothing but a thick forest had been there.

“Looks like you’ve made some friends.”  And with a smile, Eric moved into the forest, following the path.

“Friends? Are you sure?” Jason asked, wary, eyeing the trees for any kind of suspicious behavior, although Jason was not sure what constituted suspicious behavior in trees.

“If I knew the minds of trees I could tell you. The only answer I can offer is that they can be quite fickle in their motives. But they seem to like you.”  Eric smiled which seemed to comfort Jason a little, though he was still wary.

“I don’t understand.” Jason moved onto the path.

“Everything’ll come back to you. Remember, you created this world. Or rather, left your mark. Just give it time. Worrying about trees won’t help you save your brother.  Come on. It won’t take too long to cross the forest.”

The ground was soft beneath their feet, soft enough that deep footprints were left in the black soil. As they walked Jason took note of the trees that made up the forest and discovered something rather interesting: they were all the same. That’s not to say that every single tree was a pine or an oak, but they were all a type of tree that Jason had never seen before.

“What kind of trees are these?”  Jason said breaking the silence, his voice sounding louder than he intended.

“What do you mean?” Eric’s voice was a near whisper, yet clear.

“Well, in my world there are different types of trees.” Jason did his best to copy Eric’s volume. “I’ve never seen these before, and seeing as how I created this world…” Jason still couldn’t wrap his head around that thought though he was standing in the middle of a forest populated by fickle trees, “…I don’t see how I would have put something here that I had never seen before.”

Eric thought about this for a minute, or at least that’s what Jason thought he was doing, before responding. “I guess you didn’t like any of the trees that you had seen.”

Jason had nothing to say to this. He tried to call up memories of his past and found that very few of them, if any, had occurred in a forest, or any place that contained a large amount of vegetation (the dry, dead brush of his hometown didn’t count). The only memory that came close was the time that his family had taken a road trip through Ruidoso, to see some distant relatives that Jason had only met once. Jason had never seen anything so beautiful in his life; he remembered fantasizing about living there, or anywhere with an abundance of trees, when he grew up.

“Anything coming back to you?” Eric asked, breaking through the memory.

Jason took a moment before responding, “No.” He pointed to the surrounding forest, “I think I would have remembered seeing these before.” He stretched out a hand towards the nearest tree and touched its bark, expecting to feel the familiar rough and cracked bark of the trees from Ruidoso, and was surprised to feel nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true, because Jason did feel something, a pressure that told his fingers he was indeed touching something, but that something felt like nothing he’d ever felt before. It was insubstantial, weak, and now that Jason was looking at the trees properly, they looked weak, blurred, as if he were looking through a camera lens that was slightly out of focus.

“Maybe you couldn’t remember exactly what they were supposed to look like and filled in the gaps yourself. You do have an imagination after all.”

An imagination that has faded, become unfocused, Jason thought.

They continued to walk in silence.

Night fell fast across the forest due to the thickness of the trees. Jason didn’t think that it could get much darker, but he was wrong. Soon after the sky swept away the last rays of sunlight, Jason could only see a thin outline of his companion’s body. Every couple of seconds Jason lost sight of his friend and found himself quickening his step just to keep Eric visible, vague though he was. 

About an hour after darkness had masked Jason’s vision, Eric stopped, almost causing a collision, “I think we had better stop for the night.” Jason nodded in agreement, glad for the rest; his feet were tired and sore as he had never walked so far in his life, and blisters were beginning to form on his toes.

Jason followed Eric off the path and into the forest. They had only walked a few feet when they found a small area, big enough for the two of them to lay down without having to bend their bodies around the surrounding trees, something that would have caused a few sore muscles in the morning. Jason was startled by the loud gurgling sound that came from his stomach, begging for food. The sound of Eric’s muffled laughter was not as easily concealed from Jason’s ears as Eric’s physical frame. His face reddened with embarrassment.

“Food sounds like a good idea.”  Eric removed his backpack and sat with his legs crossed on the ground. Jason followed suit, wondering how they were going to see what they were eating. A bright flash of light gave him the answer.

“What was that?”  Jason shielded his eyes from the sudden change in light.

“It’s a trick I learned from Abigail. Simply put your hands together and imagine the space in between your hands gradually getting hotter until you can’t bare the heat anymore. A ball of heat should’ve been created in the palms of your hands, simply drop it over a bundle of sticks and presto, light.  It’s not hot so you can’t cook anything, but at least you can see what you’re eating.” Eric seemed to be rehearsing instructions rather than actually telling Jason how to create a ball of light in the palm of his hands.

Jason was transfixed by the glowing light and reached out his hand to touch it.  “Don’t touch it!”  Eric said, startling Jason. “The flame is very unpredictable. I haven’t perfected how to keep it shielded yet. Touching it could just cause it to evaporate but it could also explode. I didn’t use that much energy so I don’t think it would explode but I can’t tell how much energy was put into a flame.” Jason looked at the light as if it were going to burst that very instant. “Sorry if I scared you.”

“That’s okay. I was just curious that’s all.” 

They both opened their backpacks and looked inside to see what Abigail had given them. Jason wondered if it was going to be anything good.  He was surprised to find a toasted ham and Swiss cheese sandwich, neatly wrapped in plastic wrap, along with a canteen of water and a fresh red apple. Eric was already eating something that looked unfamiliar to Jason and he wasn’t about to ask what it was; besides his attention was now entirely focused on filling his stomach.

“I don’t remember Abigail packing these with anything before she gave them to us.” Jason mumbled, trying not to open his mouth too wide as it was full of ham, Swiss cheese, and bread.

“She gave us Traveling Packs. They’re used on long journeys for sustenance and slight protection. Whenever you stop, the pack is filled with food and water provided that you do two things.” Eric paused to take another bite of whatever he was eating—in which time Jason noticed that Eric’s food came in plastic containers, and his pack had also given him a set of plastic utensils. “One: eat and drink everything the pack provides and two: put anything that’s left over back into the pack, including the empty canteen.”

“Why?”  Jason asked.

“Because you’ll insult the Traveling Pack, of course. That’s the last thing you want to do when going on an adventure.”  Eric said this with the air of talking to someone who should know better. Jason looked at his pack and back at his food and started to eat everything in sight, beginning with the apple. 

As Jason took his first bite of the apple he realized that he just had to ask Eric something that had been swimming around his head since he had first seen the boy, especially now that Eric appeared to have special abilities. After swallowing his first bite, he decided to ask his first question, his eyes cast downwards, “Eric,” a slight pause, “I hope you won’t think I’m rude, but are you human?”

Eric stopped chewing for the briefest of moments, his unblinking eyes staring directly at Jason. “Are you asking if I’m an alien or something?” Eric asked with a mouthful of food. 

Jason didn’t really know how to respond; was Eric trying to be funny or was he being serious?  It was hard to tell. “It’s not that. It’s just . . . well, you’re different.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I just wanted to know. I mean, you look human; there’s just something a little different about you.” Jason’s eyes darted to the ball of light hovering between them. Eric flushed a little. “With the magic and all, I just don’t think any human could do things like that.”

It was Eric’s turn to look at the ground, the sandwich in his hands dangerously close to falling to the ground. “Usually, anytime anyone . . .”

“Anyone what?”

“Well, the truth is I don’t know. I think I am, but…” Eric’s voice was barely audible.  Jason couldn’t believe what he heard.

“What’d you mean you don’t know? Surely you know who you’re parents are, right?” Jason was saddened by his friend’s revelation. How was it that he didn’t know where he came from? That would drive me mad, Jason thought.

Eric just shook his head, “That’s part of the reason I want to help you find your brother. If I can get to the castle, maybe someone there can give me some answers.  It’s a long shot, but right now it’s my only chance. See there’s only supposed to be one human Guardian at a time. Other humans are not supposed to know about this place. They can stumble across it in their dreams. We would be able to see them, but they would be nothing more than a ghost to us, a slight shift in the air, a pale reflection of their real selves.”

There was a long moment of silence before Jason responded; his head was swimming, trying to understand what Eric had just said. “Guardian? What did you mean by Guardian?”

“Oh, um, well… I shouldn’t have said that. Abigail told me that you must figure things out on your own, that I must not tell you anything. I’m sorry.” He paused, “But since I already told you… You were… are a Guardian. That’s why this place seems so familiar to you. Aaron is kind of Guardian, too, but somehow he missed his opportunity to officially take the job, so to speak. So, it looks like all three of us have something unique about us.”

Jason could think of nothing more to say, or even ask. It seemed answers would have to wait. Plus, something Eric had said troubled his mind: somehow he missed his opportunity. Thunder and lightning. A memory stirred, locked away, forgotten. 

Jason took a moment to decide if swallowing the core of the apple hurt his Traveling Pack’s feelings, but decided that his backpack would probably not be offended, so he just threw the core into his pack.  Nothing happened. The bag was content. 

After dinner was finished Eric placed everything that was left of his meal into his pack and closed it tight, Jason did the same, almost mirroring Eric’s movements in fear of incurring the Traveling Pack’s wrath. “We should get some rest.” Eric’s voice broke the silence, tentative. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” Jason nodded and placed his pack at the foot of a tree and laid his head on it. He was surprised to find that it was as comfortable as any pillow he had ever slept on. Within minutes he was yawning, fighting the heaviness of his eyes. Eric lay down near Jason using his own pack as a pillow. 

“Till morning,” Eric said closing his eyes.

Jason could only manage an inaudible, “till morning,” before drifting off into sleep.



* * *

The world dropped beneath him as he gazed over the edge of the cliff.  Something wasn’t right. A feeling of dread crept up from within him telling him not to turn around. Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that someone, or something, was boring into his back with their eyes. Curiosity is what did it. It forced him to turn and look at that unseen force behind him. As he turned he saw, out of the corner of his eye a black monolith rising out of the ground; a castle of some kind, with no windows, balconies, spires or anything that resembled any known castle, but Jason knew that it was a castle all the same for no other word fit.

A deep rumble escaped its black walls, a sound that seemed desperate to escape. Jason couldn’t feel a breeze but that didn’t stop him from shivering. The monolith grew larger before him as if it were coming alive. If it could it would grow arms to grab me, Jason thought to himself. And he wasn’t far from the truth.

He was standing at the front entrance, or what he could only guess was the front entrance. The only thing signifying it so was a symbol, unrecognizable, that rested at eye level. Jason had no idea what the symbol meant or why it graced that terrifying castle, even its image was hard to see, blurred. He reached out his hand to touch it, instinctively knowing that Aaron was on the other side of that door.

With his fingers only inches away from the symbol, Jason was startled to hear voices coming from inside. Instead of the deep rumbling he had heard earlier these were two distinct voices having a heated conversation, one belonging to an elderly woman and the other . . . Jason couldn’t say whether the speaker was a man or woman. The voice seemed to be both but at the same time neither, and it was old, very old.

Placing his ear on the black material he felt a numbing cold surge through his skin; the voices became clearer but only clear enough to hear pieces of the conversation. 

“Blood . . . needed.  From . . . of them,” the androgynous voice said. “The potion . . . ready. . . little time. . . I can’t. . . forever. . .” A string of coughs broke out.

The woman’s voice responded once the coughing subsided, “Surely. . .boy’s. . .sufficient,” she continued.

“No!” the other yelled clear enough that Jason pulled away for a moment, frightened, “. . . his. . . as well. . .If speed. . . want. . .send. . .Mor. . .He will. . .you want.”  There was a long stretch of silence before Jason heard anything else.  “. . .brother needed. . .kill. . .others.”

Jason didn’t know who said that but he got the idea. He jerked his head away from the door and was about to run away from the castle when a deep growl came from inside; the hair on Jason’s neck stood as he turned to look again at the symbol on the entrance. Judging from the loudness of the growl Jason could guess that was inches from the other side of the door. His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to escape if his feet didn’t start moving. But his feet were lead, firmly holding him in place. Jason held his breath as the symbol started to glow blood red. A line that ran from the base of the castle to a point ten feet taller than Jason appeared on the monolith. Jason held his ears as screaming broke the silence of the night. It was so loud that the sheer force of it buckled his knees causing him to fall to the ground. He closed his eyes praying that it would stop, willing to give anything. The screaming echoed off into the distance. Jason opened his eyes and suddenly wished that he hadn’t.

Standing before him was the largest dog that he had ever seen. Describing its fur as black would be an understatement; the color was so dark that Jason would not have seen the animal against a moonless, starless night sky. At that point his heart stopped as his eyes met with a pair of yellow eyes with black slits as pupils. The animal’s teeth shown in a sinister grin as another deep growl escaped from its throat. Jason shielded himself as the black wolf lunged at him teeth snapping.



* * *

Jason awoke in the darkness screaming, but the only sound that escaped his lips was a muffled yelp; something was covering his mouth. His eyes looked down and saw that the outline of a hand had prevented him from screaming. Something hot brushed up against his cheek and then realized that Eric’s face was within inches of his own. Eric shook his head signaling Jason to be quiet, which immediately required the response, why? But the answer was provided before he could form the word in his mouth.

A low, rhythmic, rumble emerged from the darkness of the forest. The sound grew and lessened, much like breathing, but Jason did not think that that sound could come from something living, however, the realization that it might be something unnatural came to mind. Jason realized that the fire that was still burning as he fell asleep had been extinguished. He turned to face the source of the sound and only saw darkness. Eric removed his hand from Jason’s mouth and slowly moved away from him. Jason’s own breathing became a battle, the need for oxygen weighing against the need for silence. 

A soft white illumination blanketed the camp. Jason looked for the source and found a soft ball of white light floating in front of Eric’s left hand. His right hand was stretched out in front of him with his palm facing the darkness of the forest.

“What’re you doing?!” Jason whispered.

“He knows we’re here. Be quiet.” Eric said, his voice strained, yet calm, like he was concentrating hard on something other than Jason’s questions. The ball of light started to pulse, the soft glow fluctuating, but growing more and more intense. Jason could now feel the heat, though it might have been the fact that his heart was pushing the blood through his veins at rate beyond normal. Moving instinctually, the small sword that Aunt Abby had given him was unsheathed and shivering in Jason’s hand. Of course, he knew how to handle a blade; he had taken fencing lessons since the age of five, at his father’s request.  But the sword was shaking nonetheless.

The rhythmic growling, for that is what Jason decided it was, was replaced by another sound: the rapid pounding of something running through the forest. Running very fast. Jason’s heart threatened to shoot out of his chest in an attempt to escape. His palms grew slick with sweat, so much so that he was unconsciously wiping them on the seat of his pants every couple of seconds. Eric maintained his strained clam, even when the pounding grew to a thunderous sound crashing through the forest. He seemed to be locked in some kind of meditative state. A state Jason envied very much.

Jason could not believe the size of the monster that crashed through the trees, splintering them into toothpicks. The creature had to be ten feet tall and covered in pitch-black fur. But, before he could see anything else the clearing exploded into clarity as Eric brought his hands together in front of his chest creating a bar of fire that erupted from his hands. The fire raced along an invisible path and struck the beast in its chest. An explosion of light and heat erupted beneath the animal as it stood on its hind legs, waving its front paws, beating at the consuming fire. But the beast did not scream in pain, instead it roared with laughter. Jason’s bones chilled beneath his skin despite the increasing heat.

As suddenly as the bar of fire had illuminated the forest it was gone, vanishing, letting the night enclose them in darkness once again. Jason could still see the outlines of both the beast and Eric, who was now so weakened by his efforts that he had collapsed as soon as the bar of fire had vanished. The creature grinned in the darkness, its yellow-green teeth creating a sickening light all their own. Jason could now see that the animal was indeed a wolf. And not just any wolf but the Wolf. The wolf from his nightmare.

It lunged for Eric; its mouth opened, preparing for a late-night snack. Jason snapped out of his paralyzed state and leaped toward the charging animal raising his right arm, hoping to sink his sword into the thing’s flesh before it could reach Eric. The sickening yellow-green light was just enough light to see the Wolf’s head lean down towards Eric’s weakened frame, jaws opening wide as it closed the distance between hunter and prey. 

“Leave him alone!” Jason screamed at the creature. There was only a slight hesitation at the strength in Jason’s voice, but it was enough. Jason reached within a foot of the animal’s huge head, looking directly into its right eye, and brought down the sword with all his strength. Its blade sliced the Wolf’s right eye as it came down. The Wolf reared again towering over the two of them as it screamed in anger. Jason quickly turned to Eric, standing between him and the howling beast, grabbed him under the arm and lifted him. He flung Eric’s arm over his left shoulder and wrapped his arm around Eric’s waist, supporting his weight. 

The ground shook beneath them as the Wolf wildly flung itself around the clearing, slamming its massive body into the surrounding trees and then onto the forest floor.  Jason tried to pull away from the thrashing giant, carrying Eric on his shoulder, but he did not get very far. In its attempts to shake the pain and frustration of losing an eye, the Wolf fell to the ground only two feet away from them, those disgusting yellow-green teeth once again glowing in the darkness.

In a swift violent motion the Wolf lifted its head and swung it towards them. The air was forced out of Jason’s lungs as he and Eric were lifted into the air. 

Eric landed on the ground in-between two trees while Jason struck the one on Eric’s left. Stars filled Jason’s vision as the forest itself began to drift in and out of focus.  As he struggled to regain clarity Jason realized in horror that the screaming of the Wolf had stopped and changed to a thunderous growl. He tried to stand but his legs would not allow it. Jason fell to the ground holding his sword out in front of him, determined to protect Eric in what was most assuredly the last thing he was going to do. And, exactly how he was supposed to protect Eric when he could not stand was a question he did not want to answer.

“Don’t make me kill you, boy.” The beast said without moving its mouth, its voice a mingled montage of other voices speaking in broken unison, a chaotic jumble that somehow managed to make its words heard. “I have a job to do and I plan on doing it.”  The Wolf grinned in the darkness moving to within inches of Jason’s face. Jason winced as its decaying breath reached his nostrils. The smell made his stomach heave into his chest, threatening to send the previous night’s dinner back out into the night.

“I don’t care what you have to do. You’re not going to hurt either one of us.” Jason tried to sound calm and he would have achieved this if his voice did not break near the end. Sick laughter burst from the Wolf’s throat, a deep throaty laugh that shook the earth. 

“Don’t be foolish, boy. The only reason I won’t kill you is because I was told to bring you alive. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t hurt you.” Jason swallowed hard.  “And as for your friend. Well, let’s just say that he’s not needed.” His vision was returning slowly and he was able to stand without feeling as if the world was tipping.  Jason’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sword, and stood ready for the next attack.  Somehow, he hoped to take something, anything, of the Wolf’s before it killed Eric.  Either way he was going to fight. If this animal could not kill him then he would make the creature break his promise. Jason dug in his heels and stood firm, holding the sword out in front of him, aiming for the Wolf’s working eye.

The Wolf threw back its head and laughed, “So be it.” Its claws tore the earth as it leaped forward, jaws opening for the kill. All the muscles in Jason’s body tensed; everything moved in slow motion. Through the darkness he could see the huge body of the Wolf flying through the air and all Jason could think was I hope it’s quick. But the Wolf never reached its target.

Out of the corner of his eye Jason saw a gray blur burst through the trees, catching the Wolf in the torso just as it was about to land on top of them. Wide-eyed, Jason watched as two giant animals rolled on the earth clawing and snapping at each other as they fought, grass and mud flying up creating a cloud that surrounded the fighting animals. Jason was reminded of those shows on The Discovery Channel or Animal Planet when they showed two lions fighting on the plains of Africa. He could do nothing but watch in awe.

After what seemed an eternity, they broke apart and stood on all fours, both growling and snapping their blood stained teeth, hair standing straight up along their backs. Jason now saw that the gray animal that had saved his and Eric’s lives was a second giant wolf, only slightly shorter, and for an instance Jason caught a glimpse of the wolf’s eyes: a dazzling blue.

Eric finally moved out from between the two trees and shakily stood beside Jason, eyeing the standoff between the two wolves with a curious expression. He closed his eyes and brought his hands in a prayer-like position in front of his chest, only instead of being palm to palm there were about five inches of space between each palm. Jason turned back towards the fighting wolves.

“Out of my way woman! Or I’ll tear you to pieces!” Yelled the black wolf, speaking in that chaotic but discernable voice. The only response that the gray wolf gave was an even deeper growl, inching forward a little. Her blue eyes burned, casting an illumination, much like the Wolf’s teeth but somehow different, warmer. “You want to die tonight. Well I won’t disappoint you!” It lunged for the gray wolf, bearing all of its teeth.

An explosion of white light lit up of the night as another bar of fire cut through the air and struck the Wolf once again but this time on its left side. Unprepared for this attack the animal screamed in pain and turned away running deeper into the forest. The fire disappeared and Jason saw Eric collapse once again.

“Eric!” Jason knelt down beside his friend and grabbed his shoulders. “Are you okay?!  Come on, speak to me!”

“He’s going to be fine. His body’s exhausted. Magic is a lot of work,” said a calm, soft voice only an inch from Jason’s ear. He screamed, startled, and jumped back hitting his head on a branch. Someone laughed.

“Who’s there?!” Jason demanded holding out his sword.

“It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” A hand reached out and touched Jason’s right shoulder, soothing. Jason tried again to get an answer from this strange person but was stopped by something intriguing. Bright blue eyes glowed in the dark just a foot in front of him. He had seen those eyes only moments before, but that was impossible. Surely they could not be the same eyes. However, he already knew that he was wrong. The bright blue eyes of the gray wolf belonged to the young girl, no older than he or Eric, now standing before him. 

“Who are you?” Jason said in complete awe, his voice never registering above a whisper.

She smiled as she said, “I’m Tara. It’s nice to finally meet you, Jason.”