Finding the Tree by Nikki Broadwell

Author:Nikki Broadwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Airmid Publishing

When I woke in the morning there was no sign of the bird or the man. The fox was also missing, and I hoped the two them hadn’t gone off on their own. My stomach felt hollow as I stuffed everything into my pack and walked to the trail, hoping he and the fox would show up. I whistled and called out several times, cupping my hands around my mouth so that the sound would carry. I finally gave up and headed off without them.

The bird showed up a few minutes later, flapping above me before taking the lead. I wanted the man but I didn’t force it, following the dark-winged creature as he flew toward where the trail dipped between two mountain ranges and headed steeply up. The fox appeared a while later, panting as though he’d been trying to keep up with Raven. The going was indeed tough, with slippery pebbles that caused my feet to slide. I tried to avoid them, but the boulders that lined the trail on both sides were too large to go around.

I had stopped to rest when the bird landed next to me. He eyed me and fluffed his feathers out before lifting off again. “Why can’t you just shift?” I called out. He ignored me, heading further up where he waited atop a boulder. I was climbing toward him when my feet went out from under me. I slid backward and landed against a jagged rock. I could feel the blood on my back, the pain making my eyes water.

Instead of coming to help me, the bird only watched and waited. “I’m hurt!” I yelled out. I pulled off my sweater, and twisted, trying to see the damage. I was attempting to swab at the cuts with my shawl when Raven appeared next to me. “Let me see,” he muttered.

I turned my back to him, allowing him to pull up my camisole. His fingers worked across my throbbing skin. “You need nettle. I’ll go find some.”

“I have comfrey salve—will that work?”

“Not good enough.” He shifted and was gone, the back dot of him disappearing over the forest. The fox came close and licked my hand, his nuzzling making me feel a bit better as I waited for Raven’s return.

It was sometime later when I felt a shift in the energy. I thought I saw a shadow under the trees. When the fox let out a low sound in the back of his throat, his hackles going up I was suddenly afraid. A beast came into view, the same one I’d seen the day before. “Go away!” I yelled. But the creature crept closer, saliva dripping from the open mouth full of sharp teeth. The fox stood his ground, growling and hissing as the creature crept closer. If it came to a fight, the size difference would be too much for him. And I had no knife and no way to defend myself if it attacked.

The hideous beast was within two feet of me when I rose to face it.

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