Shadows of the Woods

Chapter 3

"There's no sign of a cure." He said simply.

I gasped and looked around again, this time more frantically. No splashes of red or bronze appeared. "But there must be some people left, right?" I looked back in desperation at Vindaii. Beside him, Apollo looked sorrowful. "Right?!"

"A few." He replied, and I sighed in relief. "But they are being quarantined."

"Quarantined?" Apollo frowned.

"Isolated." Vindaii's wings hummed quietly as he moved; his bare feet never touched the ground. "For their own protection and the protection of others. Some show no signs of the illness, some of them are in the last stages."

"Is Laen being isolated too?" I twisted on my seat on Eisha's back, and she pawed to a stop in the middle of the clearing. Her shoulders were trembling slightly.

"Yes." Vindaii drifted until he was beside me. "He shows no sign of the disease, but since he's such an important person, we had him confined to prevent him from contracting it."

Apollo nodded slowly, but I stared at Vindaii in confusion. What did he mean by confined?

"Apollo." Vindaii spoke before I could ask. "The head healer won't be happy about this. You need to come with me first before you're cleared to see Laen."

Apollo stretched and yawned. "I had a feeling that I'd have to. Is it Simon?"

Vindaii blinked in surprise. "You know each other?"

"Vaguely." Apollo smiled before turning to me and Eisha. "Eisha, do you think you can find Lilah something to eat? It's been a long day."

"I don't need to go with you?" I asked.

"Not really." Apollo said, ignoring the look Vindaii gave him. "I'll negotiate for you. Just stay here, okay?" When I nodded, he turned to Vindaii. "Lead the way, please."

The faerie looked at me, troubled, but turned and began to drift away into the trees. He missed the sharp look Apollo gave Eisha, and how she bowed her head in reply. I looked between them in confusion. What was going on?

It was too late for me to ask though.  Apollo and Vindaii had already melted into the trees.

After a moment, I turned to find Eisha looking at me.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Would you like to see Laen?" I wasn't accustomed to the softness in her voice. Her eyes were bright again, and I wondered suddenly why she didn't have her crossbow with her.

"I thought we had to clear it with Simon..." I said slowly, but Eisha was already trotting away.

"They won't allow him." She said simply.

"What do you mean?!"

"You and your muse are not the first to come here, great goddess." We passed the tree that Laen's hut was in, and I couldn't help but glance up. "They have all been turned away. All of them."

"But why?" I asked imploringly. How could they be so cruel?

"Because they don't want anyone to know." Eisha's voice was grieving. I stared at the back of her shaven head. "They want no one to know just how bad this sickness is."

Looking up, I saw that we were just outside the kren. The village in the trees came to an abrupt stop just above us.

"They isolate us here, because we have been chosen to die." Eisha's voice broke. "We are the greatest kren in the world, but our numbers are less than a third of what we had been before. Why are the gods punishing us, great goddess? Why are we being killed off?"