Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 307

Chapter 307: Communication
Mia scrambled to her feet when she saw the creature enter the clearing and move towards Ford. Her dreams had been strange and disjointed. Not bad, though, which was an improvement over earlier in the night.

Had she dreamed that he’d moved close to her to hold her hand? Surely, but what a strange dream…

She blinked, setting the thought aside as Ford spoke to the creature. She could wonder about that later.

Coming to his side, she heard the being repeat the last word Ford had said.

“Leave.”

“I’m never sure whether they’re talking or just echoing us,” The man said to the side. “Any clues?”

Mia’s family drew closer as well, apparently weighing the advantages of being closer against the potential threatening appearance of everyone approaching the new occupant of the clearing.

“We could either keep trying to talk or simply… go, and see how they respond,” Mia said. “Although, the path we want is directly underneath the ones in the trees. I’m not sure how they’ll react to that.”

Grandpa stepped forward with a smile, but did not offer his hand as he would to any other stranger.

“We need to go that way,” He pointed through the trees. “Is that all right?”

“Right,” The large eyes widened as the changer spoke.

“I’m not sure we’re going to learn to effectively communicate with them, but… does it remind you of anything?” Seth murmured.

“The wights,” Mia cut a glance at her father. “They speak like the wights, a little, I think.”

“But these aren’t wights, are they?” Anaisa frowned. “Are these the things that took my husband?”

“Husband,” The echo was eerie.

“Trace,” Anaisa told it calmly. “Do you know Trace?”

“I don’t think these are the same things,” Grandpa’s voice was soft, soothing. “We’d best not accuse them of anything. Makes me nervous, being here. We should go. Let’s lead the horses away so that we appear less threatening than mounting.”

Mia nodded, and the being watched them stoically while they retreated to lead their horses from the clearing.

“I want to make friends with them,” Daniel complained while his mother shushed him.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Mia ducked her head in a respectful half-bow. “We will be on our way now.”

“Now,” The changer’s round head tilted with an unsettling cracking noise before it dropped to four limbs and scurried up into the trees to join the others of its race.

Mia noticed that Ford took up the place beside her, unlike the day before. The others fell into pairs to follow, and if Seth had and grumbles about it, he kept them to himself.

Walking underneath a canopy of eyes was as unsettling as an off-kilter dream. Mia resisted the urge to duck or cover her head in case something got thrown at the humans and horses.

The animals were oddly calm, as if they didn’t see the changers at all.

“Wood,” Ford murmured beside her.

“I beg your pardon?” Mia kept her eyes forward, trying to appear nonplussed and focused on the destination. She was concentrating on the safest, fastest route to Trace. She hoped against hope that this eerie forest would end soon, but there were no promises that mountains white with snow would prove any less dangerous.

“Their skin. Did you see it? It looked as though it was patterned like the wood of a tree.” Ford observed.

“So?” Mia risked a glance at him, but he was deep in thought, and not looking at her.

“In the cave, they were translucent, but their appearance was rough, sort of rocky. Then these ones, their skin was like wood. I think the water droplets may have been a different thing entirely.” His words began to tumble out, and Mia was distracted enough to look at him fully.

“Daniel said they’re changers, the same thing as yesterday, that can change their appearance.” She couldn’t see where he was going with this.

“In the mines, there were legends of cave wights, or land wights. Same thing, slightly different names. But, and I didn’t think about it until today, why call them that when you could just call them ‘wights’? What if, originally, there were different kinds? Land wights, water wights, wood wights…”

He turned to stare into her face, keeping his voice soft, and she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I’m… not sure. We should ask Daniel what he thinks next time we stop.”

Ford’s face fell a little bit, and she realized it might sound condescending to take the word of a child over the man beside her.

“Maybe the books had references to other kinds of wights,” She added.

“Maybe,” Ford agreed, but fell quiet. She could tell from his posture that his mind was still working on the problem, on the puzzle of these strange creatures, but she wasn’t sure what merit there might be in figuring it out.

If they were all different brands of the same thing, so what? Would it help them rescue Trace? Would it make them travel more safely? What purpose was there to knowing such a thing?

After a while, the pull drew the group around the turn of an embankment, and Mia took the moment to look backwards.

There were no eyes following their progress now, and she breathed slowly.

Calm. No harm had come to any of them so far. There was no reason to nurture the anxiety curled in her middle. Deep breaths, she told herself.

There was nothing to fear. They were together. The quest was going to be successful. Ripping her attention away from her spiraling mood, she focused on what was ahead.

The forest was changing.

Had they taken so far a different route than her vision predicted, or did she simply not remember enough detail of the path she’d seen in the cave?

Regardless, she hesitated, though the pull on her soul urged her forward. Maybe it was nothing more than the change of the seasons that affected the sight before her.

Even so, the blood-red blossoms on the trees ahead made the forest seem suddenly far less hospitable.