Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 23: As Red Rivers Run

The silence between them echoed through the forests.  Loki seemed thoughtful as ever, his gaze forever darting through the forests.  His ears did the same, listening in every direction, hoping to hear nothing but the usual sounds of the forest.
Lynette kept her head down, hunched as she fought the waves of terror and sadness of the past month.  Occasionally, when her dog's ears perked and he began to look around, Lynette darted from her thoughts, fear awakening her body as she fought to focus on survival.
Then the feeling would fade to dread as the dog calmed, quietly watching Loki ahead.
When Lynette's mind filled the days with terror and solemn, her nights were twice as horrid.  When Loki would sleep, she jumped at every sound, terrified someone would attack.
When she slept, it felt ten times worse.  Nightmares plagued every moment of slumber that she could grasp.  She relived every moment of their attack.  She could see it clearly as if it were happening in front of her.
Then, there were the dreams that took her from that memory, and manipulated it into something else.  Annette's death one of them, done by Lynette's own hands.  Then darkness filled another, throwing her into an empty blackness with no means of escape.
The nothingness felt just as bad as reliving it all.  Over and over.  Sometimes, she thought she might be seeing her own future in her dreams.
When she woke from the nightmares, Loki would be next to her, a hand reassuringly on her shoulder.  Each time, she grew more distant from him, afraid she might hurt him.  Even when  he reassured her with a smile, it did nothing to quell her fears.
One particular evening was worse than the rest.  She could feel the forest around her darken, as if something was there, watching.  Something not human.
But the night was much worse.  As soon as she slipped into sleep, that aching darkness returned.

She felt a hand touching her wrist, but as she turned to see who it belonged to, Lynette realized there was nothing but darkness.
"Hello?" She spoke, but her words echoed further and further until she could no longer hear it.  The feeling of someone holding her by the wrist remained.  It felt like a child, holding her hand as it feared the path ahead.
She pushed on, stepping into the darkness.
After a while of walking, her footsteps echoing through the darkness, Lynette could sense the space around her.  A forest, like the one they were in.  The child clutched tighter, the child's other hand slipping into hers.
Though she could not make out the shapes of the trees and the path ahead, she continued on, wandering aimlessly to try and find her way back.
After what seemed like hours, the forest still wrapped around her, encapsulating her on the path.  She could see no signs of an end, or even a bend in the path.
She stopped, listened.
Silence called back.
All Lynette could sense was the pair of hands clutching hers tightly, but not even a whimper of fear left the child.
Lynette felt certain it was a child, lost along the same path.
But she heard nothing.  Not even a breath.
Lynette tried to pull away, willing the child to go, but it only clutched tighter.
A moment passed in pure silence, Lynette's mind clearing briefly before an overwhelming fear took hold.
Something brushed against her ankle and slithered over her feet.
Again, she could not hear it, but the sensation of a creature touching her became overwhelming.
She cried out, not a sound escaping her lips as she screamed.  She tried to move,  but as her feet continued forward, she could still feel the snake wrap around her legs.
Then the child's hands turned to teeth, a wolf clenching her fingers in a death grip, ready to rip her hand from her arm.

When she woke, Loki kneeled over her, his hand across her mouth as if she had been screaming.  Sweat marked his brow as he struggled to pin her down.
As she struggled to catch her breath, he looked around, listening to the forest with his ears swiveling.
A few minutes passed before he let go of her.  He exhaled a breath Lynette did not realize he was holding.  "We are lucky no one is around."
Lynette grumbled, suddenly angry.  "Yeah I guess.  I am okay by the way."
Loki glanced at her, eyes piercing into her before he turned away, pulling some dried meat from his satchel.  He offered some to her.  "You have been having a lot of nightmares.  Is it because of the attack?"
Lynette sighed.  "I think that is most of it, but I have this feeling something is not right in these woods.  I can sense something dark."
Loki nodded.  He looked at the dog between them.  "He senses it too.  I can hear him whining all the time."
"You can not sense it?"
Loki looked up at her, his gaze softening.  "No."
Lynette took a deep breath, trying to calm her mind enough to talk about her dream.  "It was about a forest.  I was stuck walking down a path I could not see.  I could not see anything.  Something was clutching my hand.  At first I thought it was a child, it seemed afraid.  I could not sense anything other than its hands in mine.  Then, a serpent crawled across my feet and the child's hands turned to teeth.  Like a wolf was trying to bite my hand off."
Loki tilted his head, thinking.  "I have no idea what that might mean.  If you think this forest is haunted, then we should leave as quickly as possible.  We are close to the river now.  I think we should be able to cross it by nightfall.  Maybe then the dreams will subside."
Lynette nodded.  "Hopefully it will."
Loki stood and helped Lynette to her feet.  They mounted the horses and took off to find the river.  Loki spotted a stream after a few hours, and followed it north.
It seemed like ages before they reached the river.  The forest parted enough to see the river below, but a cliff separated them from it.
"We need to find a beach somewhere." Loki turned them downhill, Lynette quick to follow.
A few more hours passed as they traveled west.  The setting sun already turned the sky to a deep orange.  Lynette watched the sky, taking in its wonders before they returned to the forest.  Her horse followed Loki's as they reached an embankment.
A small fishing hut sat at the river's edge where the waters slowed, the rocks smoothed beneath the current.
Loki dismounted his horse, walking around the hut to see if anyone was around.  Lynette did not see anything but a small fishing boat.
A man appeared from the doorway, greeting Loki.  His voice was so low Lynette could not hear him.
"We are looking for a way across.  Can you help us?"
The man looked at Lynette briefly, nodded and pointed downstream.  His voice remained too low for Lynette to hear what he was saying before he quickly shut the door.
Loki turned back, joining Lynette.  "There is a raft upstream someone can take us across.  He said there is a small fee, but he would be happy to help anyone discretely."
Lynette nodded.  Loki shuffled through their coin bag, taking out a couple of copper coins.  He led them down the riverbank, the quickly setting sun now turning the sky grey as they rushed forward, hoping to get across the river before the sun set.
The darkness began to shroud around them as they reached a small beach.  Loki forced his horse out onto the sands, hoping to get a clear view of the next bend.  Excitement brightened his eyes as he pointed up the river.  "It's down there!  We are almost there."
Lynette sped ahead, quickly trying to escape the shadows that loomed over her.  She could feel the forests suddenly coming to life behind her, darkness creeping in.
They came upon a road bend first, then the river crossing appeared.  A large raft was tied to a bridge post.  Lynette slowed, allowing Loki to catch up.
"Why do you think they use a raft here, instead of a bridge?" Lynette pondered aloud.
"There is not a lot of thoroughfare.  I am sure this is an easier way to manage, especially with the rushing river."
Lynette spotted a man by a small dock and fishing hut just to the left of the raft.  Loki dismounted, pulling his horse after him as Lynette followed to greet the man.
Loki's heightened his voice, hoping to seem friendly.  "Hello, sir.  I heard you were the person to ask to get across the river.  May we have a ride across?"
The man looked between the two of them before replying.  His gaze was uncertain.  "Why are two children wanting to cross?  Running away from home?"
"Not exactly," Lynette replied.  She suddenly felt the need to tell the man off, ager spilling into her attitude.  "But we are certainly running away from someone.  They are not particularly nice people either."
The man grumbled.  "I do not need any hooligans crashing my raft.  Nor do I want someone after me for helping the two of yeh."
Loki rummaged in the coin purse, offering him a silver coin.  "Would that change your mind?"
The man grimaced, but did not say anything, running his tongue over rotten teeth.
"You are more likely to die if they find us with you.  I do not believer they would care if you let us across without question."
The man thought a moment longer.  "I am not convinced."
Loki and Lynette exchanged a glance.  The dog growled, jumping from the horse's back.  The man took a step back.  "We will not ask again.  Let us cross."
He stared at the dog for a long moment before nodding.  He retrieved the raft, escorting their horses onto it.  The dog leapt onto it as he pushed off from the riverbank and pulled them towards the other side.
Lynette could feel the darkness fading as they left that side of the river, the forest ahead offering a lightness.  Lynette inhaled deeply, happy to be out of that cursed forest.
Lynette's heart constricted as she felt a pair of eyes on her, she turned to the man aiding them across the river.  His eyes stared right into her soul, thoughtful.  Lynette turned her gaze away, hoping the man was kind enough to let them leave without a fuss.
As soon as they reached the other side, their horses jumped up onto the riverbank.  Lynette turned to thank the man, but noticed something about his expression.
"Good luck finding what you are looking for, Princess.  Just do not get into any more trouble."
Lynette paused, watching as the man turned away.  She sighed as she watched him cross the river, glad he wanted nothing to do with them.  Still, he knew who she was.  Fear brought her to the realization that no matter where she went, he would always be recognizable.
Lynette turned to Loki.  "Do you think it is safe to travel the road anymore?"
Loki shook his head.  "Too many have recognized you already.  Hopefully he does not tell anyone we passed through."
Loki turned back to the forest, guiding them deeper into the darkening night.
"Let's keep going tonight.  The further we get the better," Loki suggested.  He turned back to Lynette briefly.  "Is that feeling gone, or do you still feel the shadows?"
Lynette inhaled deeply.  "They are fading.  I think we are safe from whatever magic was in that part of the forest."
Loki nodded.  "Let's go then.  We will rest the horses halfway through the night and continue until dawn.  But, we will have to find a place hidden from view of any travelers if we are going to sleep while the sun is up."