Through the twilight and the night we rode, the forest of my fractured mind swirling around us. Jagged trees morphing and twisting into demonic shapes, grabbing and slashing at me while we raced through the darkened forest. Adelmar kept me safely on his back, never stopping for even a moment, lowering his head and ploughing through the stifling thicket. The thorns of the brambles tore at his skin, leaving red trails in their wake but yet the wolf carried on resolutely. I could see bright red eyes peering from the darkness, the fleeting shadows of demonic creatures running next to us. Hidden by the gnarly tree trunks flashing by us, too cowardly to attack us head on; they waited for the right moment, biding their time. It felt like the forest in the night would never end, dragging us deeper and deeper into the stygian like chaos folding itself around us. A nightly fog, silent and miasmic started settling down, obscuring the road ahead. There was no option in turning around and going back now, the demons blocking the path behind us. A shrill trumpet ripped through the night air, ominous and evil in its nature. The forest started buzzing with activity as more and more shadow demons answered the call and came running.
"Just hold on boy, just hold on for a little while longer." I leaned down and whispered into Adelmar's ear, the giant wolf grunting in acknowledgement. Strands of sweat poured off his silver maned face, the beads of water scattering into the misty, damp air around us.
A cloaked figure stepped into the path, materializing from the nether like a mere whisper of a ghost. Adelmar tried his best to stop and avoid the phantom but it was too late, tumbling and crashing into a nearby tree; sending me sprawling on the dirt. Before the massive wolf could react, a group of at least ten demons pounced on him. He fought bravely but the numbers were always against him as they dragged him kicking and snarling to the ground. Gasping for breath, I will myself to my feet and without thinking attacked; wading into the score of formless shadows. The harder I hit them, the more they kept laughing at me, my fists and feet finding only empty air.
"Damn you!" I shouted in frustration, "Stand still!" The demons swirled around me, howling and spluttering like banshees. Neither form nor shape were they, just ribbons of inky blackness flowing back and forth. They knew they had me, pulling and tugging at my worthless sword as I fought to regain my breath. Adelmar's low furious roars whimpering away into nothingness as his energy faded away.
"Helena...Helena...Helena." They kept chanting melodiously, their soulless voices carried away on the cold North chilling me to the bone.
My frustration and anger was on the verge of breaking point and I just wanted to scream. Scream till there was nothing left of me or the shadows. But the words would not come, no matter how hard I tried. I greeted the void with nothing but my silence and my pain. The last parts of me left over.
And then they stopped.
All became quiet as I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. Looking though the sweat caked strands of my black hair, I saw a familiar face. It was my face yet it wasn't. Her face was old and weathered, like it had seen many a winter pass by. The pain and years of suffering was evident while her bony hands shakily held on to me.
"I am you," The ghost sorrowfully moaned, "Look at what you became when you decided to give up Helena. All the horror and tragedy manifested itself in my soul till there was almost nothing left of me."
"What happened to you?" I could still not believe that it was me, though she was almost unrecognizable and barely human.
"They broke me, every inch of who I was they tore away. Fear overcame me and took my last shreds of humanity. I am a shade, a remnant of what was once human. I became like this when I gave up allowed the shadow to rule. Look carefully Helena."
