5. The Never Ending Forrest
Kyla knew the forest. She could follow the path on the darkest night, in the greatest storm, through the thickest fog. If a tree fell she noticed. If the rain fell she could avoid the puddles with precision. She navigated the trees her entire life and learned every shortcut, every boulder, and every stump. Kyla knew the woods, but this was not her forest.
Each breath was stunted as if the air could not reach her lungs. Every muscle tensed as panic slithered down her spine spreading through every crevice on the way. Everything was familiar but nothing was right. Something was off about the trees. They were the right trees, but in the wrong spots.
“Raff!” She yelled but only the wind responded in its methodic gusts.
She pulled her cloak closer. The sun drifted lower with each moment taking its warmth for the next day. A full moon should have risen to replace it by now, but the sky was dark and empty as the last few rays drifted past the horizon. She stepped forward. Where her footprint should have been there was nothing but smooth dirt. She dug her foot deep into the ground before taking her next step. Again the print disappeared. Kyla looked more closely at her surroundings as she tried to reign in her fear. The rocks were all an equal distance from each other and the tree roots were buried deep below the surface. Kyla strained he ears but heard nothing. No Animals, no people. Not even the rush of the stream that should have been nearby.
She knew an incident like this required extremely powerful magic, dark magic. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and swallowed the lump forming in the throat. Every spell from every book she read passed through her mind. None explained this phenomenon though she thought of several possible counter spells. She opened her eyes.
“There has to be something else” she whispered to herself.
The idea of attempting a spell filled Kyla with as much panic as the thought of wandering the woods alone. What if she hurt someone by accident? What she mixed up the spell and the whole forest burned down? What if she only made the enchantment worse? What if someone saw her? These were questions she did not want answered.
A gust of wind wrapped itself around her bringing cold air that seeped into her bones. She decided to keep walking in the hopes that the enchantment did not spread through the entire forest. She walked for what felt like hours and stopped in a clearing identical to the one where she began. Exhaustion took over and she slumped against a tree and considered possible counter spells.
Crunch. Kyla froze. It was the first noise she heard since entering the woods. Crunch. Her ears perked up the second time though she did not turn around to investigate the source of the noise. Instead she pressed her back against the tree to hide her figure from whatever was approaching. As the sound grew closer she realized it was footsteps. Her eyes darted across the clearing searching for a possible defense. The ground was clear of loose branches and rocks.
She decided it was time to take a look. Gravity was not her companion in that moment. Her foot slipped as she side stepped around the tree trunk and fell face first at the feet of a young nobleman. Unprepared for a woman to fall in front of his legs the man tripped and fell to his own hands and knees.
“I am terribly sorry”
The man clumsily rose to his feet and offered Kyla his hand. She let out a laugh of relief.
“Miss, are you alright?”
“Yes” she sighed “Just a tad clumsy. Good thing you were not some wild hungry animal.”
She took his hand and rose to her feet. He held her hand for a moment and smiled.
“Hungry, yes. Wild, no” He responded as he bowed his head. “I am Lord Dillon of the South.”
He had short brown hair and big cheeks that blushed when he smiled. His green eyes matched the leaves so perfectly they could have been made of pine needles.
“I am Kyla of” she swept her arm in a circular motion. “This forest”
“Well Kyla of this forest, I am heading towards town would you care to join me. I promise I shall not trip over you, again.”
Kyla stared at the man. Did he notice that the path was gone?
“Of course” she replied.
“Excellent would you like to lead the way?”
Kyla looked around the clearing for any recognizable marking.
“Is everything all right, Miss?” He stared at her with his brow furrowed with concern. “Are you dizzy from the fall at all? We could sit for a moment.”
“No No I am quite alright.” She answered curtly without looking at him.
“I believe this is the correct path”
He pointed just over her left shoulder.
“I have travelled many of the forests in the land and if I recall correctly the town should just be a short ways down that hill.”
She turned and looked where he was pointing. There was no hill. Only rows of trees. Her heart rapped against the inside of her chest. Did this stranger know something she did not? Could he be trusted? She did not have an option. She followed as he led her into the dense foliage.
“It is okay to admit you were lost back there” He teased “All the best explorers get lost one time or another”
“I was not lost. I was merely, distracted” She answered defiantly.
She began to fear he was leading her to a trap, when suddenly she heard a familiar sound. A faint howl drifted with the wind and then the town materialized before her eyes.
As they reached the warm glow from the lights of the town below, Kyla could not shake the eerie feeling she had. At the edge of town sat a brown wolf howling at the trees. Raff cheerfully ran to Kyla as she emerged from the trees and almost knocked her over from his excitement. After thanking Lord Dillon for his assistance she departed for home with Raff by her side. She decided to travel through a different lesser known path.
When she arrived home, Kyla explained what happened to Gran and Gramps.
“That is an ancient spell” Gran explained.
The lines on her face deepened.
“It was used by Witched and Warlocks to trap and confuse their enemies and discover others with magic. We must all be on our guard. It seems there is a Seeker in our midst.”
Kyla read about Seekers. They were power hungry witches and warlocks, who sought out others with power and stole it from them. She did not sleep well that night as the faces of everyone in town ran through her mind. Only one face did not fit. Her dreams were filled with trees, clouds, and a pair of green eyes.











