Crows - Part 4
A short story
The wolf skipped nimbly between the trees with the man close at her heels. He had heard some sounds of chase behind him but he didn’t dare to look back. Crows flew past them and on through the forest. The man was unsure now whether the crows were the woman’s familiars or a sign that the king was soon to appear.
Ahead of them the crows settled on the stone arch of a doorway, that was all that remained of a crumbled building. The space inside the archway shimmered like a heat haze. The wolf, glancing back at the man briefly to check he was still following, ran through the archway and the man followed closely behind.
Once through the archway the world around them had changed once more. The floor was again blanketed in snow. The man glanced backwards at the doorway and saw not a the stone doorway they had passed through but two trees that had fallen against each other to form a natural arch. The air beneath them flickered in the same way and fruit still hung from the snow-laden branches of one of the trees. He couldn’t see the king.
Looking ahead he saw that he was once again following the woman, not the wolf.
“We’re not safe yet,” she called over her shoulder. She led them out of the Forrest to a larger clearing that held a circle of seven large upright stones and she didn’t stop running until they were within the ring.
“Who was he?” Asked the man through laboured breaths. The woman was hesitant but then replied decisively.
“My father.”
“Then it was him that killed my family?”
“It is not so simple. Sit, regain your breath and I will tell you the tale from the beginning.” The man was wary still but did as he was asked.
“Many years ago, after a long illness, my mother was near death. My father, the king, was distraught. At one point he left to walk the countryside and in doing so stumbled upon the land which we visited. There are thin places where it’s possible to cross between the worlds. The crows know them, they may sometimes lead you to them. You noticed, I’m sure, that in that land some things were not as they should be? Sometimes that strangeness escapes into our world near these thin places. Did you see the fruit around the arch as we left?
“Anyway, whether he found it by accident or whether he was lured there by a Night Wanderer, my father arrived in that world and was greeted by a spirit. My father called it a spirit but I believe it was some form of Fae or Hobgoblin as it’s heart was filled with mischief. It asked my father what ailed him and my father, being able to think of little else at that time, told the spirit the story of my mother. The spirit offered him a solution. That my father could bring my mother to the spirit and that after doing so my mother would not die.
“My father took the spirit at its word and carried my dying mother from our castle to the other land. He laid my mother on the stone, as you saw her. Then, after some ceremony, the spirit said that it had given my father the power to save her himself. It said to lay his hands upon her, and he did so. Nothing happened at first but then it is as you saw, she turned to stone. My father looked at the spirit in horror but the spirit simply said that it had not lied. It said that she was indeed not dead. That my father must have made a mistake. That he would have to try again. Then it left, laughing.
“He lost his mind that day. He still tries yet to master the skill that he was allegedly given. On those that have died or are dying, or those that anger him. But the more time he spends in that place, the more it amplifies and reinforces his feelings, and loses his humanity. That’s why I warned you of using your sword there. And why I take the form of a wolf, partly to move unseen by him but partly to preserve myself from the effects of that place.
“It wasn’t him that attacked your village that day, it was a band of marauders from the North. My father appeared during the chaos and tried to…save the dying.
“I try to mitigate the damage he does. He will not listen to me and I am powerless to stop him but I can sometimes prevent the turning. Sometimes. I am sorry for your family. I did everything within my power to save them.
She stood up to leave and the man didn’t try to stop her.
“You’re safe within the stones,” she said. “Stay away from crows.”