Chapter 5 The Watcher
The Road of Shadows
The fox returned the next morning. Toivo saw it first. A small shape standing atop a distant ridge. Motionless. Watching. Its fur was blacker than midnight. Not dark brown. Not gray. Pure black. Like a hole cut into the world itself.
The creature stood perfectly still. Its silver eyes reflected the pale morning light. Then it vanished behind the hill.
Toivo frowned.
"There."
Gret followed his gaze.
"The fox again?"
Toivo nodded.
Gret had seen it several times already.
Always distant. Always watching. Never approaching. Never leaving tracks. Never behaving like a normal animal.
Meanwhile Moon sat quietly inside his palanquin. Daylight had returned him to his smaller form. Long black hair spilled over the shrine's cushions. His expression remained unreadable. As if he hadn't noticed the fox at all. Which only made Gret more suspicious. Because Moon noticed everything.
Kev certainly did. The black cat perched upon the roof of the palanquin. Crimson eyes narrowed. His tail flicked once. Twice. Then he suddenly stood.
"Oh, I've had enough."
Toivo blinked.
"Enough of what?"
"The mysterious fox."
Kev stretched lazily.
"Following us for days without introducing itself."
The cat's eyes glowed red.
"Very rude."
Then darkness rippled around him. Shadow swallowed his small feline form.
A moment later A tall man stood where the cat had been. Pale skin. Short red hair. Crimson eyes. Elegant black clothing. The appearance of a refined nobleman. Until one noticed the claws. Or the smile.
Kev adjusted his gloves.
"Stay here."
Toivo grinned.
"Going hunting?"
Kev's smile widened.
"No."
A pause.
"I'm going to have a conversation."
The others immediately felt sorry for the fox.
Kev disappeared. One moment he stood beside them. The next he was gone. Moving through shadows like a ghost.
Toivo could barely follow him.
Gret crossed his arms.
"Fast."
"He's showing off."
Moon replied.
"Again."
Several minutes passed.
The group continued traveling.
Then suddenly A distant explosion echoed across the hills.
BOOM.
Birds scattered into the sky. Another impact followed. Then another.
Toivo looked toward the horizon.
"What is he doing?"
Moon answered immediately.
"Failing."
Several miles away Kev landed atop a rocky cliff. His claws carved deep furrows through stone. Crimson eyes scanned the landscape. There. The fox. Standing atop another ridge. Watching him. Watching with impossible calm.
Kev smiled.
"There you are."
The fox tilted its head. Then turned. And ran.
"Oh no."
Kev vanished. The chase began. The fox moved impossibly fast. Leaping between shadows. Crossing impossible distances. Sometimes it appeared ahead. Sometimes behind. Sometimes above. As though space itself meant nothing.
Kev's irritation steadily increased.
"Stop running."
The fox ignored him.
"That wasn't a request."
The fox vanished into a shadow.
Kev immediately followed.
Only to emerge in an entirely different location.
His eye twitched.
"Oh."
Another shadow. Another leap. Another escape. The fox was playing with him. The realization offended him deeply. Several minutes later Kev finally cornered it. A narrow canyon.
No escape.
The fox stood quietly between two cliffs.
Watching. Waiting. Kev smiled.
"Finally."
The fox stared.
Then The shadows behind it opened. Like a doorway. Like liquid darkness.
Kev froze. For the first time. The fox stepped backward. Into the darkness. And vanished. The shadows closed. Gone. No scent. No magic trail. Nothing. Silence.
Kev stared.
Then sighed.
"I hate mysterious creatures."
By evening he returned to camp. Covered in dust. Irritated. Slightly embarrassed.
Toivo immediately noticed.
"You lost."
Kev glared.
"I was strategically inconvenienced."
"You lost."
"I dislike your attitude."
Gret laughed loudly.
Even Moon looked mildly amused. Which somehow made it worse.
Kev sat beside the fire.
Crossing his arms.
"It isn't a normal fox."
"No."
Moon agreed.
Everyone looked toward him. Moon stared into the flames. Silent. Thoughtful. For several moments nobody spoke.
Then Gret asked the obvious question.
"You know what it is."
Moon didn't answer immediately.
The fire crackled softly. Night slowly settled over the wilderness.
Far above, the first stars appeared.
At last Moon sighed. A small tired sound. The kind one made when avoiding something had become impossible.
"Yes."
Toivo sat upright.
"What is it?"
Moon looked toward the darkness beyond the firelight. Toward the distant hills. Toward places unseen.
His his jet black eyes turning silver eyes reflected the moon above.
Then he finally spoke. Quietly. Calmly. Almost reluctantly.
"Something is following us."
The camp fell silent.
Even Gret's expression hardened. Kev's joking demeanor vanished instantly. Toivo felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Because Moon did not sound surprised. He sounded certain. As though he had known all along. The fox was not merely watching. It was reporting. Tracking. Hunting.
And somewhere far away Something else was watching through its eyes.
Something patient.
Something ancient.
Something that had finally found Moon.
And now it was closing in.
No comments:
Post a Comment