The elderly woman stood in the doorway with her hands folded neatly before her and her smile fixed in place, as though she had announced that supper was ready instead of welcoming a monster into the village.
Aric could not move and neither could Eryx.
Beyond the last row of houses, the creature waited beneath the trees, its unnaturally long arms hanging almost to the ground. Its narrow body swayed gently, though there was no wind, and the darkness around its face seemed deeper than the shadows beneath the branches. Two faint points of light watched them from within it.
The elderly woman was facing the boys.
"Come and greet our other guest. That isn’t very polite."
Aric stared at her. "You want us to greet that thing?"
"Of course," she replied, her voice soft and light, as if introducing a long lost friend.
The children sitting nearby rose together. Their chairs scraped across the floor at precisely the same moment. The girl smoothed her dress while the boy brushed at his sleeves, each movement perfectly matched. They crossed the room side by side and stopped beside the elderly woman.
"Are they staying with us?" the children asked together.
Their voices overlapped so completely that they sounded like one person speaking from two mouths.
Eryx swallowed. "Children, why don’t you go play outside?"
The girl glanced toward the door. "Outside?"
"Yes. Go on."
The boy tilted his head. The girl did the same.
"But our guests are here," they said together.
Eryx exchanged a glance with Aric.
"We won’t be here for long," Aric said.
The children stared at him, their innocent smiles never wavering.
"Everyone says that," the girl replied.
"Do you not like our village?"
Aric caught Eryx’s sleeve before he could answer. "Don’t."
Aric looked past them at the creature in the trees. It had not moved, yet he could not shake the feeling that the distance between them had grown smaller.
"We need to leave," he murmured.
Eryx didn’t argue.
They stepped outside, forcing their way through the children and leaving the warmth of the house behind. The creature remained at the edge of the trees, its long limbs hanging unnaturally at its sides. Aric’s mana core held little more than a fading ember after the lightning spell. His left arm throbbed, and even standing upright was becoming an effort.
He forced himself to look away from the creature and turned toward the villagers gathered nearby.
"Everyone, you need to get away from the village now! That thing is dangerous. You need to run!"
The elderly woman blinked slowly. The adults turned toward him with the mild, patient interest they might have shown a child throwing a tantrum.
"Run?" the man by the door asked. "Why?"
"Because of that monster!" Eryx snapped, pointing at the creature. "Can’t you see it? Are you all blind?"
The man looked toward the trees. His smile widened.
"A monster?" he replied, his voice almost gentle. "No children, you have it completely wrong. That is salvation."
A few villagers nodded.
"Salvation," one of the children repeated.
"Salvation," murmured the woman.
The word passed from mouth to mouth, calm and certain, until it seemed to fill the village. No one looked afraid. Their smiles remained warm, their eyes bright and unblinking.
Aric’s stomach tightened. He seized Eryx by the sleeve and pulled him away from the villagers.
"Let’s go."
They pushed past the villagers. A girl turned her head to follow them, her body staying perfectly still. Her neck twisted past a natural angle, her smile widening.
"Don’t be rude," she said.
They stumbled out into the night.
Lanterns glowed outside the houses, their flames almost motionless behind the glass. Smoke rose from chimneys in thin grey columns that climbed straight into the dark sky. The houses stood close together along the narrow paths, their windows warm with light.
Aric kept moving until the last house was behind them. Eryx stayed right beside him, glancing over his shoulder every few steps.
"What is wrong with them?" Eryx muttered. "It is like they are not even afraid of it."
"It’s weird," Aric said. "This whole place has been weird from the start."
They reached the edge of the village, where the narrow path disappeared between the trees. Aric slowed, studying the forest ahead. His instincts screamed at him to stay away from it, but the alternative was standing among villagers who believed that creature was their salvation.
He had no idea what the thing was, and with his mana nearly exhausted, he couldn’t afford to find out what it could do.
"Which way?" Eryx asked.
Aric ignored him and stepped onto the path.
The trees swallowed the village behind them almost immediately. Branches stretched overhead, blocking out what little moonlight reached the forest floor. The air grew colder with every step, and the familiar smell of damp earth and decaying leaves returned.
Aric kept his injured arm close to his body, using his right hand to push aside the branches that obstructed their path. Each movement sent another pulse of pain through his shoulder. He gritted his teeth and continued.
They had been walking for several minutes when Eryx suddenly stopped.
"Aric."
"What?"
"Look ahead."
Aric lifted his head.
Ahead, the trees thinned, revealing the backs of several familiar houses. Beyond them lay the narrow path they had taken into the forest, its uneven ground marked by exposed roots and scattered stones.
A cold silence locked them in place. Neither dared to speak.
Then Eryx turned slowly toward him.
"Tell me that’s not the village."
Aric recognised the crooked fence behind one house and the broken wooden barrel beside another. They had passed both landmarks shortly after leaving the village, and he distinctly remembered walking straight through the forest without taking a single turn.
There was no mistaking it.
"It’s happening again," Eryx muttered. "What are we going to do?"
"I don’t know."
Aric looked around the forest behind them. The trees stood weirdly and their branches tangled. Nothing appeared unusual, and he could see no barrier or other indication of what had brought them back.
Except for one thing that was consistent when this strange phenomenon last occurred.
"The monster,"Aric said.
Eryx spun around quickly, his eyes wide "Where?!"
"Not here, you idiot. Think about it. We encountered that thing in the forest, then found the village. Now we’re walking in circles and somehow end up back here."
Eryx stared at him for a moment before looking toward the trees.
"You think that thing is responsible?"
"I don’t know, but it’s the only connection I can think of."
"Wonderful. So we’re trapped in a forest with a monster that can apparently mess with directions." Eryx rubbed his face with both hands. "And here I was, thinking our day couldn’t get any worse."
Aric would have liked to disagree, but his aching arm and nearly empty mana reserves made that difficult.
"We need to find out what’s happening."
They approached the village cautiously, keeping close to the trees. From this side, the houses looked ordinary, with weathered timber walls, small gardens and fences separating one property from another. Smoke drifted over the rooftops, and the familiar murmur of voices carried from the other side.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Then a door opened.
The elderly woman stepped out from behind one of the houses, her hands folded neatly before her. Her face brightened when she spotted them.
"Oh, there you are," she said. "We were wondering where you had gone."
Eryx stopped.
"No. Absolutely not."
The woman tilted her head. "Is something wrong, dear?"
"Stay away from us," Aric said.
Her smile softened. "But why? You are our guests."
"We’re leaving," Aric replied.
"Leaving? But you’ve only just arrived."
"We already told you we’re leaving," Eryx snapped. "We’re not staying here."
The woman regarded him for a moment, her smile never wavering.
"But you can’t leave."
Aric’s stomach tightened.
"What do you mean we can’t?"
Before she could answer, another door opened nearby. The man who had spoken to them earlier emerged from behind his house, wiping his hands on a cloth.
"You’ve come back," he said, his expression brightening.
More doors began opening.
One after another, villagers emerged and gathered behind the houses. Some stood beside their fences, while others approached the path, their movements unhurried and their expressions pleasant. None seemed surprised that the boys had returned.
It was almost as though they had expected it.
"You can’t leave," the elderly woman repeated.
"Everyone who comes here stays," a man beside the fence added.
"You can’t leave," another villager murmured. "You’re safe here."
The words passed between them, each person repeating them in the same calm, reassuring tone.
Aric felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"What happens if we try?" he asked.
The elderly woman looked at him with gentle confusion.
"Why would you want to leave?"
"Because we don’t want to stay!" Eryx barked. "Is that so difficult to understand?"
The villagers continued smiling. There was no irritation in their expressions, no hostility, not even the faintest sign that Eryx had insulted them.
They simply couldn’t comprehend why anyone would want to leave.
Aric looked toward the forest. They had followed the path away from the village and returned without turning or changing direction. Something was keeping them here.
"We need to find another way out," he whispered.
Several villagers turned toward them at precisely the same moment.
The elderly woman clasped her hands together.
"There is no need to run. Our village is a peaceful place. You are safe here."
"Stop saying that," Eryx muttered.
Her expression remained unchanged.
"You are safe here."
A woman repeated the words, followed by the man beside the fence. Soon, the entire gathering was murmuring the same sentence, their voices blending into a low chorus that drifted between the houses.
The words no longer sounded like reassurance. They sounded like a warning.
Then a branch snapped somewhere beyond the houses.
Every villager fell silent.
Their heads turned toward the front of the village, and their smiles deepened.
Aric and Eryx followed their gazes.
The Warden still stood beneath the trees at the village entrance, its long arms hanging almost to the ground. The darkness around its face swallowed the faint light of the lanterns.
It had been waiting there all along.
The elderly woman lowered her hands, her expression almost devoted.
"Isn’t it wonderful?" she murmured.
"Wonderful?" Aric stared at her. "You’re crazy, all of you"
"Crazy?" She chuckled softly. "No, dear. This is salvation."
The villagers bowed their heads as the Warden began walking down the village path toward them.
Eryx stepped in front of Aric. "Stay behind me."
"You can’t fight that thing alone."
"Shut up, without your mana you’re useless."
The Warden came to a halt a dozen paces away. Its pale, glowing eyes fixed directly onto Aric before its arm rose, one impossibly long finger pointing straight at his chest.
Every lantern in the village flickered in unison, their yellow flames dimming to a sickly pale light.
As one, the villagers began to whisper, their voices overlapping like rustling dry leaves.
"Stay with us. You’re safe here."
Aric’s mana core stirred weakly, offering almost nothing. His injured arm throbbed, and even standing was becoming difficult.
"Why is it staring at you?" Eryx whispered.
"I don’t know."
Aric facing the creature. They had escaped through the back of the village and walked through the forest, yet somehow ended up right where they started. Now the Warden was approaching them, and he had neither the strength nor the mana to fight it properly.
The creature tilted its head.
Then it took another step toward them.