Sathila heard cries echoing outside. She left the house and followed the tragic sounds. The commotion increased in intensity as more and more sorcerers and sorceresses came out to see what was going on. Sathila pushed her way towards the center. Falinik held his wife and daughter limp in his arms. Her husband knelt by his side.
“What happened?” She could not withhold the question.
All Falinik said was, “Berries!”
“I don’t understand.” She knelt by her husband. She reached out, the bodies were already growing cold. She had just seen them alive and well only moments ago.
Some Thylinians tried to take the bodies from Falinik, but he just held tighter crying hysterically.
***
Sathila hugged her weeping neighbor. “Shhh… It’s going to be okay.”
“I can’t believe he’s gone!” Lifka cried.
Sathila held her close, rocking her slightly, and looked over her shoulder to Kilsta with a plea for help in her eyes.
“We’ll find him,” Kilsta said as he placed a hand on Lifka’s quivering shoulder.
“Here,” another woman whispered, as she took Lifka in her arms.
Lifka did not seem to even notice.
Sathila stood up and left the circle of people, Kilsta close behind her. Once they were out of earshot, Sathila spun around. “How could Seenha just go missing?”
Kilsta had to stop abruptly. “I do not know.”
“What has happened to the Ehath Forest?” She struggled with comprehending the turn of events.
He sighed. “I don’t know.”
Sathila gave in and fell into her husband’s arms, trying not to cry herself. She loved the warmth and strength of his embrace; it was her best comfort during those troubling times. She felt a soft kiss on the top of her head. She listened to Kilsta’s heartbeat for a moment, then straightened back up. “We must make sure Stilana and Brethka never go into that forest again!”
Kilsta released her slowly and looked into her eyes. “We will keep them safe, do not worry about that.”
Sathila gave her husband a kiss, then headed home. She had to warn her children more than ever.
“Stilana? Stilana?” She called out to her son.
“Here, Mommy!” Stilana came running out from his room and hugged his mother.
“Oh, my precious. How are you today?”
“Good. I was showing Brethka how to play Hiska Stick!”
Sathila laughed. “I hope you went easy on her.”
Stilana’s brow furrowed. “Why would I do that?”
She began to laugh again and kiss her son on his forehead. Once her laughter subsided, she took both of his small hands in hers. “I need you to do something for me.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to promise me you will keep yourself and your sister out of the Ehath Forest. Can you do that?”
“But why? The berries are so tasty! And the trees are fun to climb!”
Her voice became harsher than she had ever let it get at her children. “You are never to eat those berries again! And do not enter that forest! Do you understand?”
Stilana shrank back slightly.
Sathila’s heart sank as she saw the fear in his eyes. But she would not apologize, he needed to know how dangerous it was. “If you ever go into that forest, you may never return. You will not see us ever again.”
“No!” He flung his arms around her neck. “I don’t want to leave you!”
She held her son close, wishing that was all she needed to do to protect him from the world. “As long as you stay out of the forest, you will be fine, and I will never leave you.”
***
Sathila waited by the edge of the forest like many of the other women. She thanked Shaliva that Kilsta was not among those who were searching the forest, but she still worried none the less. She looked up to the sky. The sun was almost behind the trees. The search party promised to be back by sunset. The sun continued to descend. Soon, they heard howling. Sathila became confused, the wolves in Ehath had never drawn this close before, they always roamed deep in the forest.
She jumped when hands grabbed her arms from behind. She pulled away and turned.
Kilsta raised his hands in defense. “I did not mean to startle you.”
Sathila sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just so worried about the search party.” She turned back to the forest.
Kilsta wrapped an arm around her. “Are those wolves I hear?”
She nodded. “I don’t know why they’re drawing so close.”
Women began to softly cry as the sunset and none of the party had returned.
Sathila and Kilsta turned and returned to their house. Stilana and Brethka were playing cards when they walked in.
“See, you have to match the symbols,” Stilana instructed.
Brethka was clearly getting frustrated.
“This game may be a little advanced for her,” Sathila said softly to her son.
“Fine. Will you play with me then?” the boy pouted.
“After she’s in bed.”
He began cleaning up the cards.
Once she had played a few rounds with Stilana and sent him to bed, Sathila lay next to her husband, awake. Their unborn child wiggled in her womb. She imagined it was to comfort her. She gently stroked her growing belly. Only a couple more moons and she would meet the child. She wondered at what kind of a world they would be growing up in. It had already changed far more than she could imagine for Stilana. She closed her eyes and tried to remember happier times. The memories and gentle kicks of her child started to lol her to sleep.
Sathila and Kilsta woke abruptly as someone knocked on their door.
Kilsta motioned for his wife to stay in bed. He grabbed a cloak and headed to the door. Sathila sat, uneasily waiting for his return. He rushed back into the room and grabbed his amulet from the table beside the bed.
“What do you need that for?” Sathila asked worriedly.
“The wolves are approaching the town. I’m going to help make sure they do not enter.” He quickly put on his boots, kissed her forehead, and left.
Sathila slipped out of bed and went to peer into her children’s room. They lay peacefully unaware that their whole world was falling apart around them. There was no more sleep for her that night. She lit a lantern in the gathering room and began working on an embroidery piece she planned for the baby. It was a warm blanket with an eight-pointed star, the symbol of Shaliva.
The moon was about halfway across the sky when she heard shouts in the distance. She put down her needlework and just listened, waiting. She heard a board creak and turned her head sharply. Stilana cowered back. Sathila put down the blanket and opened her arms. Stilana nestled himself in her arms.
“What are you doing awake?” she whispered.
Stilana looked into her eyes, and she saw a saddened fear. “I can hear the shouts.”
She pulled him close to her heart and stroked his hair. “Don’t worry. We have the best sorcerers around.” She kissed the top of his head.
She felt Stilana’s small body puff up as he took a deep breath. “Go help.”
Sathila pulled back. “What?”
“Brethka is sleeping, I’ll make sure she’s safe. Go help.”
She didn’t know what to say.
He stepped back from her arms. “We’ll be fine.”
Her unborn child gave her reassuring kicks. She could not believe what she was doing, but she stood, grabbed her cloak, put on her shoes, kissed Stilana on the head, and headed to where she heard the shouting from. As she drew closer, she heard screams of terror mixed with the sounds of elemental spells flying through the air. She climbed the stairs to a nearby tower to get a better view. As she looked out on the Ehath forest, she saw the wolves attacking, but also people. But not usual people. They were nothing but shadows. Silhouettes of men flung themselves at the sorcerers and sorceresses protecting their city. They had no weapons and cast no spells, but the damage they inflicted was almost like they had claws. She stared in horror for a few moments, unsure of how to take in what she saw. Ehath had no inhabitants. She had no idea where the shadow people could have come from. She had never heard of shadow people before. She finally let her gaze shift and saw where the fighters were gathering their injured. She knew where she needed to be. She rushed back down the stairway and went to the injured.
Sathila knelt by a sorceress’s side. She was bloody and losing consciousness. Sathila twisted the ring on her right hand so the gem was with her palm, placed her hand on the woman, and began chanting softly. She felt her baby flutter and a warmth spread from her chest to her arm to her hand and then out into the woman. The wounds began to close. Sathila pulled her hand back and instinctively went to sit the woman up but froze when she realized the woman was still unresponsive.
She turned to her fellow healers. “She’s not responding!”
“Very few are,” one responded, disheartened. “The wolves’ bites heal fine, but these others…they just don’t.”
Sathila looked over at a large group of sorcerers and sorceresses wreathing in pain with no visible wounds. In horror, she wondered what the shadow people were and where they came from.
