Authors: Blair Aaron
“No,” Humburt said.
“--that the dreams, the nightmares, were real. His life during the day--normal, quiet, calm--was the opposite of his life at night. The more good and decent of a man he tried to be, the worse he became at night, when he transformed into a wolf. He told me the forest drew him back into its clutches farther and farther into the untouched parts.”
In one dream, Kirbleitz said, Zamir was prowling around the heart of this black forest, and he could sense a sharp hatred emanating from a white cottage. The cottage had red shutters, broken windows, and a pale white color. There was a small lake in the front yard, full of black and shiny oil, with a little scarlet wind mill, which creaked sadly in the soft yet toxic wind. The whole place seemed plucked out of a sunny, beautiful place, and plopped right into the middle of these shadows. When he was sure the cottage was empty, he sniffed through all the whole place using a heightened shifter sense. Objectively there was not anything he could point toward as being the cause of his anxiousness. The place clearly had been abandoned long ago, and yet there was a demonic presence which weighed down on his chest. He compared the feeling of being near the cottage to being near a town recently destroyed by some strange, deadly electricity. The magic of place had an effect on him with ever increasing intensity the longer he stayed. But there was something he was searching for, despite the danger and irreversible damage being in the cottage was doing to him. He didn't know what it was that he was looking for, but the hunger to discover it compelled him onward, using his powerful black nose and box-like paws to search under dilapidated desk drawers, decrepit hallways, and incommodious rooms, long locked away by some feeble spirit, which had now left the place. In one room in particular, on the far side of the kitchen, the moonlight shot through a broken and dusty window, illuminating a small square box that called to Zamir. He transformed himself into human form as he approached the box and lifted the lid a tiny space, where he found a glowing rock, a concentrated form of the forest's evil waiting for him.
Elsa's ears shot up when the doctor mentioned an evil rock, and her cheeks flushed hot and red at what it meant about her own situation. Freja had the glowing rock, to indicate Elsa's own innate evil. The idea made her so angry, to think how unfair it was for Freja to trick Elsa into making a mistake and capitalizing on it. Elsa was just trying to do anything to save the person she loved. There was nothing evil about Elsa's trying to find and save Theo. She didn't know exactly what Freja needed from a rock that would glow red when someone committed an evil act, but obviously it had something to do with Theo. That was when Elsa finally realized that Freja almost certainly had something to do with Theo's disappearance. She must have been involved, along with Dorien. And that also meant the Forbidden Forest never drew Theo back from where he came. When she knew Theo, Elsa never once got any indication he struggled to stay out of the Forbidden Forest, or even in his human form. That meant this Doctor Kirbleitz must have dubious motives. Elsa was fairly certain that, as long as she could somehow get past Dorien's fiery spit, she could simply walk out of the Forbidden Forest without any consequence, and she should find a way to get out as fast as possible, in order to figure out what Freja had planned for Theo. Then Elsa remembered how much time had passed simply just traveling alongside the Forest on the way to Dorien's hidden cave. She could only imagine therefore how much time had passed since she had actually entered the Forest. Maybe Theo was married to Freja and they already had kids, or maybe even grandkids. Maybe he was gone, dead, and buried, and the closest Elsa would ever get to Theo would be his great grandchildren--all because of a mistake that was not her fault. She was tricked into kissing Dorien; she had no feelings for him. Why would the crystal glow, then?
Little Niklas sat up near Doctor Kirbleitz. “Well what happened to him, where did he go?” Niklas looked up at Dr. Kirbleitz as if he were a child listening to a story in kindergarten, only this story was no fairy tale, but a horrific warning about what might happen to anyone who dare leave the Forbidden Forest.
Doctor Kirbleitz stroked his beard, thinking about his experience with Zamir, afraid how the rest of the boys will react to the story's conclusion. “One day I woke up in camp to find that Zamir was nowhere to be found. Later that day, and for some time afterward, he came to me in my sleep--he featured in my own nightmares, transformed into a ghoulish, monstrous version of the beautiful, though volatile, wolf I knew. That's when I knew the Daevan God came and got him in the night.”
“And you never heard from him again?” Humburt asked.
“I have. He comes out of the darkest parts of the Forest occasionally at night, when you all are asleep. But I cannot approach him the way I used to, because he's not the same person.”
“Why didn't you tell us?” Niklas said, betrayed.
“Yeah, and why didn't you show us, if you want me to believe so bad about what you say?” said Augustus.
“Because he's dangerous, evil, and he will destroy you, son. I promise you.”
“I'll take him, especially if he attacks my brother.” Humburt said, getting defensive.
“No you won't, Humby. He'll tear you to shreds without even trying. He's much too powerful. This why I have kept my history as his friend from all of you, in the hopes I could convince you to follow my guidance. And this is also why I don't want you leaving the Forest, because you will suffer the same fate as Zamir. The Daevan God will come for you, if Zamir doesn't first.” Kirbleitz continued rubbing his chin, thinking about how best to deal with the rift that had occurred in the pack. Augustus, in the short time Elsa had watched him interact with the other shifters, seemed the most skeptical and least prone to superstition than the other boys. He loved Kirbleitz, that much was obvious, otherwise he would not fought so hard to get the truth from Kirbleitz. Whether this was a good thing or not remained to be seen.
Elsa panicked when she overheard this conversation, because although the Forbidden Forest initially made her think Theo was somewhere in the vague shadows of the trees, the rest of the pack, including Doctor Kirbleitz, made it clear Theo had voluntarily left the Forest of his own accord. This must have been when Elsa met him at the tavern that day, when she so callously dismissed him as an irrelevant vagabond. But if what the doctor said was true, still, there was a possibility that the Forest drew Theo back during his sleep, into the deeper parts of the woods, where Humburt, Augustus, and Niklas never went and where Kirbleitz never allowed them to go. On the other hand, add to this the fact that Freja Stein had every motive Elsa could think of, and more, to keep Theo alive and healthy in the towns. Otherwise, she would never have taken the time to get Elsa's stone to glow red. And the question of why exactly Freja summoned so much energy to get that stone to glow in the first place, what purpose it served, lingered in Elsa's unconscious mind, continually mulling the mystery over and over again. Consciously, she could formulate many possibilities, all equally valid. But unconsciously she knew in her heart of hearts what that glowing red stone represented: the evil, the brokenness, of her own soul, the cracks through which a wicked witch burrowed and stole her Theo. Yes, there were many questions she had about her current situation, but there was one thing she was most sure of--finding Freja meant finding Theo. Elsa vowed to make right whatever wrongs she had committed against her fiancée.
“I just don't know who to believe anymore, Doc. You have always been so good to us, so protective. I don't think you would hurt us,” Humburt said. “Tell me where you heard of this prophecy you speak about. This girl fits exactly how you described her--brown hair and blue eyes, full of life and kindness. She's exactly what we expected.” Humburt looked in Elsa's direction as she remained still, pretending to be unconscious.
Augustus laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. “It's a lie, I'm telling you. He wants to keep us here in this forsaken place forever,” he said, trying to sway the conversation in his favor.
“Don't talk about Doc like that!” Niklas said. “I got your back, Kirby.” Niklas tapped the doctor on the shoulder, who did not acknowledge the little man. Niklas looked down, a puppy whose master was not pleased with his efforts.
“Zamir told me about the prophecy, as the crystal in that cottage deep in the heart of the forest spoke to him. The hunger to know why the cottage called to him was made clear, he said, in that moment, because he could glimpse a prophecy about when his time would come to an end. The crystal said a young, beautiful, pure woman would come wandering into the Forest, whose corruption would be a sacrifice in exchange for the freedom of all locked within the borders of the Forbidden Forest.”
“Oh, so we have a crystal that talks now,” Augustus said. “This is perfect. Just perfect.”
“Brother,” said Humburt, “Why is it so hard to believe for you? Have you not seen the magical things that have happened to you since were left for dead by our parents?”
“It's just ridiculous,” Augustus said. “It's like something out of a fairy tales, made up to put little children at ease. I guarantee you it's bogus.”
“The crystal never talked. I didn't tell you that,” Doctor Kirbleitz said. “I said the whole place spoke to Zamir, the way the Forest speaks to all of us--warns us of all the danger in its corners.”
“Where is this Zamir! Come out Zamir! We're all waiting for you! I'm not afraid. Show yourself, if you're real!” Augustus screamed through the airy pines only to receive dead silence in return.
“I can almost promise you, son, that Zamir knows all about you, but will not oblige you.”
“Oh, really?” said Augustus. “That's a shame isn't it? You're only proof just doesn't want to come out and play because he's too shy.”
“Trust me, Augustus. This wolf does not play. He's nothing but pure danger and power.”
“What makes him so powerful, doc?” Niklas asked.
“His experience near the cottage changed him permanently. And there's no telling what the Daevan God has done to him, as well.”
“Oh right I'm so convinced you're telling the truth, Doc.”
“Maybe we should listen. Everything he says makes sense, brother.”
“I will tell you what makes sense, Humburt. What happened to Theo makes sense. He was the only one of us, besides me, who wanted to leave this place and had the bravery to believe he actually could. And do you know what happened? He stood up on his own two feet and walked straight out of this hell hole. And he's out there, right now, trying to start a new life, and move past Doctor Kirbleitz's bullshit. The Forest never grabbed him by his ankles or held him in a thorny cage. He's working right now as a carpenter or cabinet maker. He's got a new wife, kids, he's probably in love. And look at all of us, right here, wasting away any hope of a normal life, living literally as wolves, eating raw meat in campfires, telling stupid jokes to distract ourselves from the fact that we're lost. We'll never be the same, but at least we can try to make things right.” Augustus looked up into the canopy of the forest, at the crows and other black birds sat perched on a random limbs, spread sporadically through the tree line. A few drops of rain landed on his forehead.
“You know what that girl right there represents? She's a reminder, not of a prophecy, but that our ticket out of this place sits right in our gut. All we need are the balls to act. Just get up and leave the forest.”
“I believe Doc,” said Niklas.
“I do, too,” said Humburt. Kirbleitz forced his expression to remain stone-like, unwilling to exacerbate the already upsetting fight between his clan of wolves. He cared for the boys from such young ages and truly wanted what was best for them. Any fight between them, especially regarding his own abilities to lead or guide, meant their bond had diminished. This broke Kirbleitz's heart.
“Fine. Have it your way. I'm leaving, heading straight for the exit, right there!” Augustus pointed north. “You guys can sit here and rot.” He walked straight past his twin brother.
“Don't go, brother. I'll lose you forever.”
“Then come with me, Humburt. Why can't you just see all this for what it is, a big sham.”
“It's too dangerous, Augustus. You know this. You have had the same dreams I have. Besides, what will we do? Where will we go? All our family died years ago. Who knows what's out there--maybe all the people are gone and were replaced by something else. Maybe they'll eat us alive.”
“You're ridiculous, brother. I'm going.”
Elsa lay there, her eyes half opened, watching the twin boys and young Niklas talk amongst each other. Her body ached in the shoulders and the dirt rubbed its way through the wounds on her knees. The exhaustion funneled all the way down into the marrow of her bones, and she wished to sleep forever on the bed of that forest. But unfortunately she had a long journey ahead, uncertain and perilous, a path she would have to take alone, relying only on her strength of character and abiding love for Theo.
CHAPTER 30
“Let's kill her. I think he's telling the truth.”
“You better not,” Augustus said. “If you think you're corrupted now, just wait until you find out you burned an innocent girl alive at the stake, all because of your precious prophecy, brother.”
“You're giving us no choice, then,” Humburt said. “Maybe if we just go through with it, you'll see the Doctor is telling the truth and you won't destroy yourself trying to go back out into the real world.”