Chapter 5

I rushed forward, too fast to make out the images flickering in the darkness as the spell hauled me along. The vision of Auntie’s lifeless body dropping to the ground kept playing out in front of me until I could no longer see through the tears. How…? I knew I should think about the Council and what they had done, but all I could see was her and… Aase… I sobbed. Was she safe…?

The spell tugged at me, increasing the speed. Why did I have to leave her…? I thought back on our time harvesting Nuru, swimming in the stream, combing her tail… The nights spent together huddling up in our room in Naria. We… shouldn’t have gone. We should have stayed in our village.

The last image flickered, and in its place, a white dot appeared far in front of me. Something pulled in my chest as the dot grew larger and I squinted, trying to make out what it was. I lurched forward, and I was suddenly soaring over the jungle I remembered from my childhood. The green canopy stretched out as far as the eye could see. Auntie… sent me home? I peered around, trying to find anything I recognised, but neither the village nor anything else could be seen. Where had she taken me?

Then, I heard it. Clashes of metal far below. I stared at the green mat, trying to make out what it was when the Flow suddenly took a steep dive, and I dropped below the crowns of the trees. The foliage rushed past me, and the sound grew stronger until I could see the movement between the leaves.

A group of people, fighting, and as the Flow brought me closer, I began to see them clearly. Some had spears, others long knives. A woman with a fluffy tail turned, holding a strange-looking weapon made from bronze and wood, and stared right at me. I froze. Aase…? She looked older, her left eye covered with a leather patch, and a scar ran across her cheek, but I was sure it was her.

“Aase!”

The sound had barely left my mouth when the spell suddenly broke, and I was thrown to the ground.

“Aase!”

I tumbled into the thick vegetation, only stopping as I came up against a boulder. The clash of metal stopped, and I scrambled up and pulled the foliage aside. Some of them wore a bronze helmet with red feathers, while the others wore the clothes I remembered from home. I stared around, and my eyes found the woman. She was staring back at me, holding the strange weapon in her hand. She looked older but…it was her… It was Aase. I stumbled forward, and the people in the helmets turned and fled into the jungle.

I didn’t have time to react when she rushed forward, covering my mouth with her hand. I pulled at it, but her hiss was drowned in a hideous shriek erupting from the trees.

I stared as the foliage snapped and a beast, covered in spikes and a Trax’s head sticking from it at the wrong angle, burst out. Its decaying flesh hung in strips from its body, and as it turned to us, its sick red eyes looked directly at us. I wanted to scream, but Aase’s hand was still covering my mouth, and I heard a sharp whistle cut through the air, and Aase quickly pulled me to a tree.

“Climb!” she hissed, raising her strange-looking weapon to her cheek.

Before I could say anything, I heard a pop and the beast roared in pain. A tall Lycan rushed from the fern, burying a spear inside it. I stared at her. Tore…? The woman who had told me about the Spectres in Naria. Was that really her?

“Climb!” Aase hissed again and took another aim.

I put my hand on the tree and then hesitated. No… I couldn’t lose her again. I turned back, staring at the beast roaring in pain. The Flow rose within me, and I took aim, shooting a flash of light at it. It howled and fled into the trees.

“No!” Aase screamed. “Don’t…”

She stepped in front of me as the air began to shimmer, and I stared as a translucent Worm materialised in the air. Its internal organs, clearly visible through its skin, pulsated in a steady rhythm, and it turned to look at us with a multitude of tiny, red eyes.

I could almost see the fear rippling through the air as it turned toward us, but as its waves reached me, it swept past, and I felt my heart calm.

"T-take me, not her…” Aase whispered.

It opened its mouth, revealing a toothless gape, and a long tentacle shot from its void at Aase.

“Aase! No!”

It came to a halt just as it reached her, as if forced back by an invisible shield.

“How…?” I heard her murmur.

“No…”

Fear gripped my heart, and the shield broke, and the tentacle shot forward, piercing Aase’s chest. She twitched, and her lifeless body dropped to the ground. I wanted to scream, but the Worm turned to me, and a surge of fear took hold of my heart as it spoke.

You will watch her die. You cannot save her.

"N-no…"

Give me your Crystal, and I will spare her…

Something tugged at my chest, and the image of the Crystal, bathed in its soft light, appeared in front of me. I…carried it?

Yes, you do…

“Auntie…”

Auntie is gone… and your friend will soon die too…

Its tiny eyes glanced at Aase, crying in pain on the ground.

Obey me, and she will live…

I dared to glance at her. Black goo was pouring from her wound, covering her body. I knelt, trying to touch her, but she shook her head.

“Kill me…”

The Worm's tentacles shot at me, and the Crystal’s light flared up, enveloping me in a shroud of light, and a strange calmness filled my mind. I got up, and the Worm hissed at me in fear. I took a deep breath and wove the Flow. It enveloped it, consuming its translucent body until nothing remained, and we were alone.

Aase… I knelt next to her and poured the Crystal’s light into her, reaching deeper than I’d ever done before until the ever-changing weave of the Flow filled my vision. A dark shape clung to her insides, a parasite that had taken her as its host. I took hold of it and ripped it out before letting go of the Flow, and I collapsed on the ground.

Someone was shaking me gently, whispering my name, and for a moment I thought I was back in my village, waking up from a bad dream. I stirred and slowly opened my eyes. Tore’s tired face looked back at me. She looked older than I remembered, just like Aase, but before I could speak, she covered my mouth and whispered,

“You need to be quiet. Sounds attract the Monsters, and no matter what, don’t touch the Flow."

I nodded, staring into her eyes, and she let me go. Aase…? I struggled up to sitting. She was still lying next to me, her tunic cut open, but there was no wound on her chest where the Worm’s tentacle had struck her, and her breathing was slow and steady. I reached out and touched the patch on her eye. What had happened to her? I wanted to ask Tore, but then I remembered that I wasn’t allowed to speak.

I glanced at Tore, but she pointed at a rope hanging from a nearby Asari tree. I didn’t want to leave Aase, but Tore gestured at me, and I glanced at Aase one last time before struggling up. I swayed on the spot before I found my footing and carefully made my way over.

Tore picked up Aase and carried her over and then tied the rope around her. When she was securely strapped, she tugged on the rope, and Aase’s unconscious body began to ascend. I gave her a curious look, but she just smiled and pointed up at the tree.

I didn’t want Aase to be alone, so I took hold of the thick vines covering its trunk and hauled myself up. It didn’t have any low-hanging branches I could use, but the vines were enough, and I soon made my way to the top. A camp had been made in the large tree crown, with hammocks hanging between the thick branches and a few sacks tied to another branch higher up.

I peered around when I heard a soft whistle and looked up. Kine’s smiling face was looking back at me from between the branches. He looked tired and older than I remembered, just like the others. He lowered himself down and pointed at a hammock. Aase… I had so many questions, and he must have noticed my confused look, but he only ruffled my hair and went to check on the sacks hanging above us.

I stared around. What had happened when I was gone? I didn’t dare to ask, and moments later, Tore joined us, handing me a piece of dry meat before turning to Kine and starting to gesture rapidly. Lycans were proud of the sign language they used during their hunts, but except for a few greetings I’d learnt in Naria, I couldn’t understand it.

Naria… I sniffled. What had happened to it? Auntie, Mom, Dad… Everyone... Were they all gone? I sobbed, and Tore rushed over to me, putting her hand over my mouth. I choked down the sob. I shouldn’t have made noise. I’d put them in danger again. It was my fault that Aase got hurt. I forced back another sob, and Tore wrapped her arms around me and carried me to an empty hammock. I lay down next to her, and she pulled me close, letting me bury my face into her shoulder and sob quietly.

The night fell silently, without the usual sounds that I remembered from my childhood. Had the night birds and insects also learnt to be quiet? I let out a sigh and instantly regretted making noise.

I stared up at the dark branches above me. What had happened when I was gone? I’d noticed my hands still looked the same, and I hadn’t aged a year, but guessing by the looks of the others, I must have leapt 8-10 years into the future. I didn’t know such a thing was even possible.

That kind of magic was rare and difficult to master, and even the stories about Grandma Elin, who lived a long time ago, said she couldn’t leap farther than a day or two. I shook my head and sat up. It was no use thinking about home. Tore put a hand on me, and I tried to smile to show her I was fine.

She pointed at Aase’s hammock, and I clambered out and lay next to her, listening to her breathing. It almost felt like being back in Naria. Even if those times hadn’t been really happy, at least we’d had each other. I reached out and touched the scar on her face, and tears filled my eyes. I had to be strong. I shook my head, not wanting to think about what she must have gone through. She was alive, and I would not let anything bad happen to her ever again. I would protect her, no matter what.

I woke up the next morning to Kine gently rocking our hammock. Aase stirred next to me and opened her eyes. Her mouth dropped open as she saw me, and she hesitantly reached out and touched my face. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks, and she held back a sob as she threw her arms around me.

When she let go, she turned to Tore and Kine and gestured something. I wish I could understand what they talked about, but only their faces told me it was a serious matter. We shared a light breakfast after that and then packed up camp. I peered into the forest as my foot touched the ground, waiting for a Monster to burst from the trees, but the jungle was still. Tore gestured for us, and we started walking south.

They stayed closed, with Kine and Aase walking by my side and Tore leading the way with a spear in her hand. It was slow-moving, trying to make our way through the jungle without any sound, and I couldn’t stop peering into the thick vegetation, waiting for a branch to snap at any moment.

The day grew hotter as we continued, and the plants were blooming, so I assumed it must be springtime, and I’d missed the Rains. I almost chuckled at that thought but stopped myself in time and glanced at Aase, but she just smiled and pointed ahead.

Both she and Kine carried long knives at their belts, and those strange-looking weapons, decorated with bronze, and I remembered the fight I’d seen. Who were those people? Why had they attacked my friends when those terrible beasts roamed our land? I wished I could ask the others, but instead, I just had to follow as we continued through the jungle.

Later that day, we stopped at a small stream and took turns cooling ourselves in the water while the others kept watch. When it was Aase’s turn, she put a hand on my shoulder and pointed to a small cascade, gesturing for me to follow her. My eyes lingered on the long scar on her back as I stepped into the stream.

The water was cold, but it felt so good to sink my tired feet into the stream as I followed her to the cascade and slipped down beneath the surface.

"Silje," she whispered.

I smiled, realising the sound of the water would hide our voices.

“Aase…” I managed to whisper before the tears drowned my voice.

“Silje …”

She reached out and touched my cheek.

“We don’t have much time, we need to continue soon. We will reach safety before nightfall, but remember, no matter what, don't touch the Flow…”

“Why…?”

She lowered her voice as if afraid of even saying it out loud.

“It attracts the Worms…”

I wanted to ask her what it was those things were, but I didn’t want to destroy the only moment we had, and instead, I took her hand. We lay there until the chill forced us out and we joined the others.

They gestured to each other, and I wondered what they were talking about, but I didn’t dare ask, and soon after, we set out again.