Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 3.13

The energy of the forest is like a steady simmer, sleepy and hypnotic. It wraps around me like a blanket, enticing me to rest along with it. I remain alert despite its allure.

Teleporting to the forest doesn't take much out of me. Resisting the urge to settle into a steaming slumber requires a bit of energy, but it's a short teleport, and the whiplash isn't too bad.

The others are asleep with Emrys and his tribe. They don't know what I'm up to. They'd want to come along, and I can't put them in danger.

Onyx is also out of the question. Right now he's just a cat with magic tricks. He should be performing at children's parties, not trying to save the world.

Emrys is right that the forest should be left alone. The thing is, it will never be that way until I get Scion and his demon out of it. The skreevar will keep attacking until I do. Morning is too late. An attack could happen overnight.

I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt. It's my fault Scion escaped in the first place. I caused this problem, and I'm going to fix it.

The forest canopy is dark above me. Closer to the ground, the darkness is lit by bobbing white flowers that remind me of hats. The same flowers lit up the cave. With a start I realise that I've seen them before. When I was in the World Between Worlds, Rikamu showed me a vision of the Forest of Sorrows in ancient times. These same flowers were there.

It's hot even at this time of night, but I can't risk using my magic to cool down. In and out, quietly. That's still the way to do this.

I'll find Scion and his demon, then teleport us all out of the Laran Valley. We can battle somewhere where no one else can get hurt.

I know it's a trap. Scion wants me to set him free. That's why he had his accomplice take the Orb of Phaedra. I'm willing to give him what he wants. When he's out of the valley, the skreevar will no longer pose a threat to the Larans. Then I'll battle him. His freedom will be short-lived.

Still...the demon. Could I take a being like that? Probably not. But when I find Scion I'll also find the Orb of Phaedra, and Onyx will be able to take his true form. Together, we stand a chance.

I've had enough of being the bad guy. Tonight, I'm the hero. Tonight I save everyone.

I crouch down and close my eyes. As I expected, I can't sense Scion's energy, or the demon's. They'll be hiding behind the illyrite. But the illyrite? That I can find. I don't know what its energy feels like, but I search the forest for anything that could be the powdered form of an energy-blocking stone.

The energy here steams. It's hot, lazy, ancient. It wants me to join it, or leave. My energy doesn't belong here. It's too...awake. I have to fight to keep my eyelids open.

Blossoms smoulder in the undergrowth. Their energy is a sleepy hiss, a dream of colour beckoning to me. I can't join their dream, so I force myself away, through the sultry slumber of leaves.

There is something complex here too. Shadows of energy that are difficult to decipher. They dig into my mind with claws that they cannot have, leaving stinging marks. I stay far away from these shadows. Even with my physical body miles away, I feel that they can see me. It's not a good feeling.

Then I find it. Something different. Not ancient and sleepy like the rest of the forest, but curious and very awake. The energy is brittle, but interspersed with playful bubbles that pulse green and blue.

Is this illyrite? In its solid form the stone gives off squares of green and blue light. Ground into powder, would it pulse with bubbles?

There's only one way to find out.

I teleport to the spot.

Silence greets me. Where is the prison? I can't see any dwelling-like structures. I only see darkness. But wait - there are shapes in the darkness. Large oval shapes nestled into a cushion of shrubbery.

There are no bobbing flowers here to provide light. I allow a small flicker of magic to grow from my fingertips. My mouth opens with surprise.

They're eggs. Large off-white eggs the size of melons, with green and blue spots. Were they...bird eggs? But what kind of bird lays eggs that big?

There's a clicking noise from the shadows around me. I freeze. Yellow eyes blink open in the dark. A hiss, slow and threatening.

I back away from the eggs. Something knows I'm here, and it isn't happy.

I quickly disperse my particles just as something lunges with a glass-shattering screech. The last thing I see is yellow eyes, hostile and unforgiving, before I'm back in the cave, breathing heavily.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to get in and out quietly. I'll have to let things settle before I go into the forest again.

Frustration takes a bite out of me. Can't one thing go right? I'm going to have to delay things now. I can't have whatever's in that forest getting too agitated.

Sleep eludes me for hours. I'm too angry to rest. How could I be that stupid? Mistaking eggs for illyrite? The one thing you never do is go near an animal's young. Even the gentlest of mothers were willing to defend their infants.

When sleep does come, it's edged with black butterflies.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

A nightmare pulls at me. I let it carry me away. I belong in the embrace of these butterfly wings. I let them become my arms and legs, until I am fluttering through the darkness, untethered.

At the edges of the fading world, something I do not name disappears.

*

I wake to panicked shouts.

"What's going on?" I demand.

Onyx is crouched next to me with his tail raised.

"This is awful," Addy cries. "Lily, we have to do something!"

"What is going on?!" I holler.

There's a glass-shattering screech. Screams pierce the air.

I find Emrys's eyes. They're wild and haunted. He looks straight at me when he says it. "The skreevar are attacking."