“I can draw you a map of the quickest way to the other side. If you’re heading towards the mountains, that is,” she said. “For tonight, however, you may rest outside my house. I know it’s cold, but I’m not comfortable having so many strangers spend the night when I’m sleeping. At least you’ll be dry. The rain has stopped, and the patch of ground around my house is dry land.”
“We appreciate the help you’ve given us. A hot meal has made all the difference in how I feel,” I said. It wasn’t exactly true, but it seemed the polite thing to say. Plus, the stew had been delicious, and it had reinvigorated me. “If you could show us how to find that herb tomorrow before we leave, we’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll wake you at the crack of dawn — that’s when I get my gathering done. But for now, I can give you spare blankets if you need more warmth for the night. And as I said, keep watch. There are ghosts and spirits aplenty, and while I have protection, I can’t keep them from the grounds around my home.”
We finished our meal, and then headed outside, or we set up our tents. Moki inspected them, looking both surprised and pleased. “I should get myself one of these,” she said. “What a handy portable home to have.”
As she headed inside, the surrounding darkness seemed to close in. For someone who didn’t like people, she had an extremely bright spirit, and I wished she could stay out here with us. We divided up, with me taking the first watch, Ray and Bryn taking the second, and Thornhold and Reggie taking the third. As I settled down right outside the tent, blanket wrapped around my shoulders, the darkness of the marshes crept in. Overhead, between wispy clouds, the stars shone like crystal begins. But down in the marshes, I felt him was claustrophobic. The scrub brush was so thick that it was hard to see beyond the silhouette, and anything could be hiding in it. I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as I watched and waited, and the night grew deeper.
CHAPTER 42: THE WHITE MOTHER
About an hour later,I heard something coming toward me. Like soft footprints, the noise filtered through the mist that had risen around me. We quickly discovered that the marshes were primed for mist and fog during the nights, and it made traveling twice as hard as it normally would. Given the chance of quicksand, we had agreed to stick to daylight and to rest longer at night.
I stood, trying to peer through the fog and darkness. Readying my sword, I took a couple of steps away from the tent, dearly wishing we could build a fire.
But there seemed to be nothing there — the sound dissipated, and once again the stillness of the night was punctuated only with the sound of crickets and the chirping of night beetles. I hesitated, waiting, but nothing happened, and after a few moments, I returned to my post. I was sitting on a low chair that Moki had given us, my back to the tent. From here, all I heard was the soft breathing of my comrades, sound asleep inside the tent. I envied that they would have company on their watches, but we traded off, and tonight was my night to sit alone.
I thought about Star, hoping the Frazzle cat was all right. Even though we had had such a short time together, I missed her. But I knew that as young as she was, it was better that she stayed with Liesel for now. She had too great a chance of being killed on the road with us. I comforted myself by thinking that once the key business was taken care of, I could hunt for a little place to settle down and bring her with me.
And from there, once again, my thoughts began to spin toward the future. Although I kept thinking of home, I realized that I was quickly coming to believe that Abarria would forever be my home.
I yawned, then stretched. How much longer on my post? I checked my watch and saw that I had another half an hour to go before waking Brynn and Reggie. Shaking my head to keep myself awake, I leaned forward, stretching my back by grabbing my toes. Then, I shifted in my seat and once again leaned back towards the tent.
The soundof whimpering brought me to attention. I blinked, suddenly realizing that I had fallen asleep. Crap, was everything okay?
I jumped up, looking around. I could hear whimpering coming from inside the tent. I pulled back the flap and peeked inside. There, in the faint glow of the lantern, I saw the others — all sleeping heavily. Except for Brynn, who was curled up with her head in a woman’s lap. I reached for my sword as I realized the woman was translucent, wearing a white shroud-like cloak. As she looked up at me, I stumbled back. Her eyes were blazing red, and it was then that I saw that her fingers had sunk into Brynn’s arm — almost as though she were a part of Brynn.
I screamed, trying to wake the others, but they just shifted. I brought my sword up, taking a step toward the woman in white, but she opened her mouth and let out a long hiss, and I could see fangs, like a vampire’s.
“Crap! Wake up!” I screamed, but nobody stirred, except Brynn, who whimpered again.
Instinctively, I knew that I couldn’t hit this creature with my sword. I turned and raced for Moki’s house, yelling all the way.
As I pounded on the door, Moki answered, yawning and staring at me with one eye open.
“There’s something in our tent!” I said. “It’s a woman in white, and she’s got her finger stuck into Brynn’s arm. Nobody will wake up!”
The color drained out of Moki’s face — what color there was. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me inside, then closed the door. “The woman in white,” she whispered. “She’s a demon, she is. She feeds on the souls of those who are lost. There’s nothing you can do.”
“I have to,” I said, pulling away from her. “I fell asleep — it’s my fault. I have to help my friends. Surely there’s something I can do?”
Moki side. “There is something, but I don’t know if it will work. The woman in white is sensitive to silver. Do you own anything made of silver?”
I nodded, thinking of the dagger I had bought when we first entered the game. “I have a dagger made of silver.” I threw down my pack and began sorting through it, grabbing the dagger out of its sheath.
“You must burn her with it until she lets go. She’ll be able to attack youth, though. There’s not much I can do against some of these night spirits,” she added before I could ask if she could help me.
“What about light? Will light affect her?”
“Not directly, but it might wake up your friends. They’re probably and heavy trances, waiting their turns.” Moki shoved into my hand. It began to glow, almost brighter than an LED flashlight.
“Will this work?” I asked.
“There’s only one way to find out. Go now, the silver will burn her spirit, but youmustplunge the blade into her core. Good luck.”
Part of me wanted to rail at Moki for not helping me, but I didn’t have time. And it wasn’t my right to ask. Moki seemed as frightened as I felt.
I raced out of her house again, leaping down the stairs and jogging over to the tent. I yanked back the flap and there — still in the same position — the woman in white was holding Brynn. I thrust the lantern toward her, and the spirit let out a shriek. Then, before anything else could happen, I raced forward and plunged my silver dagger into the side of the spirit.
