Spekter

We had spent hours on foot. I hadn't slept at all the night before when we slept at the edge of The Shadow Woods. I was startled by the snarls, growls, and howls that reverberated through the forest. I fervently hoped Nyla Taylor would keep the flames blazing brightly for us, but she failed to do so. It was completely dark, oppressively black. I held my hand about half an inch from my face, so I couldn't even see it. However, I could see the eyes—those bright, unblinking eyes looking down at me through the trees. It had been impossible to sleep.

We were now strolling through broad daylight, or as much of it as this forest permitted, which wasn't much. Here, the brightest part of the day was obscured by the thick canopy overhead and as gloomy as the sun rising early.

"When will we arrive at The Shadow Woods' center?" I asked, my question hardly audible above a whisper.

"Be quiet! You have to mutter," Nyla Taylor warned in a sharp but quiet voice. "The woodsmen—they'll hear us."

"The woodsmen are who?" I inquired, stepping gingerly over a sharp rock.

Nyla continued to walk, but she cocked her head just enough for me to hear her quiet response. "The inhabitants of the forest," she replied quietly. "They own this land."

"Where are their residences?" I asked, looking through the trees and seeing nothing that looked like walls or a roof.

Nyla Taylor let out a low giggle that was slightly amused. "Homes!" she scoffed slightly. "That would be equivalent to calling out to all the monsters, 'Come get me!'" She shook her head and laughed again. "They do not reside in homes, to be clear. They reside in The Woodsmen's Warren, which is underground! Under our feet, there are tunnels that extend to the forest's edge and beyond."

"So why don't we make use of them?" I asked, looking anxiously at the earth below.

Nyla Taylor spoke in a low, solemn voice, "The woodsmen would kill us. They like the monsters—the animals. Since humans are their adversaries, we should handle them the same way we would a wolf or a Spekter: ignore them and keep a safe distance."

"What makes them reside here?" I pushed, more curious than afraid.

Nyla Taylor sighed, her face growing serious as she related the story. "Oh, a man who was believed to be evil was exiled here years ago," she began. "He discovered a woman in the forest and fell in love with her. After getting married, they had two kids. The male was unaware of the woman's Spryte identity. There was a Spryte child and a human child. The father retained the human child, but the Spryte youngster returned to the water with the mother. This eventually resulted in a tribe of people—I guess his descendants—living in the woods. Since then, they and their kids have resided here."

"So, we have to be afraid of them?" I inquired, attempting to piece together the peculiar past.

Nyla Taylor gave a solid "Yes."

We kept walking. "We've reached five miles," Nyla Taylor had just muttered, when I heard a sound—something or someone moving through the woods. Nyla paused, then raised a hand. “Hold on a minute,” Nyla whispered.

After I gave her a nod, she left and vanished into the woods. Nyla called out, "Come here, it's safe," after what seemed like an eternity of waiting—nearly ten minutes. "We will take a slight detour in this direction."

“All right,” I said, getting up and approaching her voice. Nyla Taylor was waiting for me, a small smile on her lips, as I forced my way through the trees. "Hurry up, please," Nyla urged.

We soon found ourselves walking through the woods once more as I accelerated our pace. Nyla Taylor turned to face me with excited eyes after we had gone another mile. "I want to show you something right here," she announced excitedly. "This flower patch is the most beautiful! Just beyond that hill is where it is. Go have a look."

"This is wasting time, isn't it?" I asked as we stopped.

"It will only take five minutes," Nyla insisted.

"All right," I agreed cautiously. I pointed to the flower patch up ahead. "You set the example."

"Excellent." Nyla took off, and I followed in her wake. "You have to visit and take in these blooms!" she called back. "They are really lovely."

"Show me your hand!" I demanded. She turned and looked at me questioningly.

"Why?" the Spekter-Nyla asked.

"Oh, I just have to make sure of something," I replied evasively. After a little delay, she held out her hand. I took her hand in mine, gripped it tightly, stooped, and picked up a stone. I pressed it in and cut down her palm with the stone's sharp edge. The Spekter-Nyla shouted out, "What are you doing?" and tried to tear her hand away, but I held it firmly. "Give me up!" she shrieked. "You cut me, but why?"

My response was internal: no blood. I hadn't forgotten what Prince Jase had taught me. I pulled out my sword because it made me appear more menacing, not because I planned to use it. "I take it you're a Spekter?" I insisted. "If Prince Jase is still alive, please let me know!"

The Spekter gazed at me, a translucent sheen enveloping her as her countenance changed. It then let forth a high-pitched, loud cackle of laughing. "He's still alive!" it shrieked with laughter. "Ha, ha, ha! He certainly is, but not for long! Ha, ha, ha!"

As I stabbed at her with my sword, hitting nothing but air, her laughing started to fade. As the laughter subsided into quiet, I looked around to find the actual Nyla Taylor. Before I eventually located her in The Dragon's Clearing, I searched for a long time.

She was anticipating my arrival. "Where were you?" the real Nyla Taylor asked, seeming more interested than worried.

"I sincerely apologize," I explained breathlessly, "but I followed a Spekter that manifested as you. But I found it out at last. We have to move quickly! It informed me that Prince Jase wouldn't have much longer to live when I enquired how he was doing."

With a tone of amazement, Nyla questioned, "You defeated a Spekter?"

"Yes, but we have to move quickly!" I pleaded desperately.

Nyla appeared in disbelief. "Was this your very first?" she asked.

"Yes, but come on, we have to leave!" I urged. Nyla groaned and shook her head. "Wow! Camryn, I'm really amazed," she admitted. "I went off a cliff, fell into a river, and swam to the shore the first time I saw one. I felt like a complete idiot."

We resumed our stroll. "Mine looked like a woodsman," Nyla continued her story. "Told me it would show me a Drakon's scale."

"So why did you have faith in it?" I asked.

"It appeared that he was a woodsman," Nyla explained. "Well, I guess, woman. That was so long ago. They haven't forgotten, though. In any case, I lost my brother. Where did yours take you?"

"A patch of flowers," I replied. "I knew it wasn't you because of it. I assume that you wouldn't deviate from the path in search of flowers."

"You're right to suppose!" Nyla confirmed. "Flowers are useless. What did you ask it?"

"How Jase was," I corrected.

Nyla laughed lightly. "What was the response to that?" she prompted.

"That, for the time being, he was fine," I answered.

"They can irritate you, but they can't lie!" Nyla exclaimed. "Once, I captured one and asked it for guidance. It provided me with all of this pointless information before revealing the truth. I wasted over half an hour of my time. It laughed and then gave me its response when I finally threatened it with my sword."

"I assumed you couldn't kill them with a sword," I commented.

"Oh, you can't!" Nyla agreed. "However, you can stab them if you want to when they're in another state."

"So the Spekter Nyla Taylor would have died if I had stabbed it?" I clarified.

"Yes," Nyla confirmed.

"Interesting," I mused. "How did you find out about this?"

Nyla gazed at me. "Remember that I was a woodsman?" she reminded me pointedly.

"Oh, I see," I said, understanding dawning. Nyla chuckled and continued walking. Suddenly, she stopped. "What did you just hear?" she whispered.

"Oh," I whispered back after a moment. "It was only a baby bear walking past, I see now."

"Did you kill it?" Nyla demanded.

"Oh no!" I replied quickly.

"It was a bear!" Nyla hissed.

"It was a baby!" I insisted. Nyla paused and gave me a direct look. "Anything that does not attack me first will never, ever be killed by me," she stated firmly. "Recognize?"

I gave a nod. I suppose she had remained a woodsman, I thought.