Forever Green

~ 9 ~ An Unwelcome Visitor

"Yes," Lenesa said. "Here I am, and there you are. Do you realize you trespass on these lands, faun?"

The creature gave a slow smile and crinkled its catlike nose. "This place will be ruined soon enough. Is it really so much of a bother?"

"Your presence is unwelcome here," Lenesa said, feeling ice creep into her words. "That is a bother enough to me."

The faun's ears flicked in irritation. "Your guest is the real bother. Earlier, it was making such a rumpus." It emphasized the last word with a rolling r and a lingering hiss. "Why not hand it over to me? You cannot fathom how earnestly I long to still its violent heart."

Shwei zoomed to Lenesa's side as she crossed her arms. "You will do no such thing."

The faun took a step forward, its hooves sinking deep into the loamy soil at its feet. "It has killed," the creature accused.

"No more than the wolves," Lenesa defended. "He does it as a way of surviving."

"This is not a wolf," the faun snapped, pounding the sharpened end of its wooden staff into the ground for effect.

"Quite right. He is my guest, and you shall not harm him." She glanced at the skull perched atop the faun's staff. "You have done plenty of killing already."

The faun bared its teeth, clearly displeased by Lenesa's defense. "The others kill. They are all rotten to the core, and the stench of fear and hatred runs deep in their blood. Make an example of this one. Even if it has done no ill, its punishment will reach the eyes and ears of those who have."

The raw hatred emanating from the faun made Lenesa's stomach turn, and she fought down the urge to lash out at it. The creature was beyond reasoning, now. So instead, she settled with a simple "No."

The faun hissed. "Traitor." Its milk-white eyes glowed with anger.

There was a moment of stillness, as fragile as a pane of glass, which was then shattered in the next instant as the faun launched into motion. The creature sprang at Lenesa, and it was only thanks to the swiftness spell still on her boots that she was able to step out of the way in time. Judging by the wind whistling past her ear, the faun's staff had missed her by mere inches.

Shwei alighted on the ground in the form of a fennec fox, shining brightly and snarling at the intruder. Lenesa tried throwing an immobilization hex, but the faun dodged the strands of magic she shot at it and swiped at Shwei with its staff. The wisp jumped back and snarled again, waiting for a moment of weakness on the faun's part to attack.

Next, Lenesa tried an imbalance charm, but her attack was too slow. The faun saw her forming the light threads of gold and was ready when she flung them its way. Instead of dodging again, however, the creature held up its staff and wound the essence of the spell around the wood before flinging it right back at her.

This time, Lenesa wasn't quick enough to step back, and the spell hit her right in the chest, knocking her clean off her feet. She went skidding back in the dirt and mud of the clearing, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

Lenesa struggled to her feet, breathing heavily. Whatever the faun had done, it had been more than just spitting her spell back at her—an imbalance charm would not have had that much force. The creature had somehow managed to multiply the potency of the charm, she realized, and she had been completely caught off-guard.

Still a bit dizzy, Lenesa belatedly realized that the faun was charging at her again. She jumped out of the way and spun back around to face the creature after it its momentum carried it past. The only thing saving her at the moment were her spelled shoes, but they alone would not be enough to gain her the upper hand.