I held my breath. The moonless night went still. A shroud of silence fell on the forest and a chill crept down my spine, every hair on end, my ears straining for the faintest sound of danger. I gathered my cloak tighter around my shoulders as if to shield myself from the darkness.

Something was out there.

There was just a hint of it, tiptoeing at the edge of my senses, not close enough to see or hear, no—just a whisper, and then it was gone. I forced out a slow, shaky breath. My heart was pounding in my chest.

I glanced up and down the trail I was following, keen eyes searching for anything unusual. Nothing greeted me but the stoic oak trees towering to blot out the stars. They were abundant and dense, their thick canopies outmatched only by the thicker mountains of brush that blanketed the forest floor. Only the narrow, winding trails through the wood allowed passage for anything but the scores of tiny critters skittering along through the night.

A twig shifted in the bushes and I whirled around, every muscle tensed. Nothing. The currents showed me nothing but a mouse.

With my heightened Animaré senses, the critter wouldn't have normally taken me surprise. In fact, I prided myself on my connection to the currents, which showed the little mouse's glimmering soul scurrying away into the night. But tonight was... different.

Moments before, the energy of forest pulsed and hummed in currents as I followed the narrow path. The currents were bright life in such a thickly populated area. Immersed as I was in the flowing energy around me, I felt the dark presence before I heard the forest go quiet, and it had taken only a moment more for me to dive into the bushes and freeze. The chill lingered even after the moment passed. I had brushed against something dark and twisted in the currents, something even the forest feared.

Normally, the currents flowed smoothly, connecting living things with streams and rivers of energy. As the currents flowed through living souls, they "shone" with light: dully through animals, brightly through humans, and even brighter in Animaré. The thing, whatever it was, left frayed edges in the currents just beyond my reach. But before I knew it, they smoothed themselves over without a trace.

I paused again and reached out, straining my power to sense even the tiniest disruption, but met only the thriving forest, peaceful as ever. I wasn't quite sure what to say, but I thought Koren should know that something was out there. Bound to me as she was, Lylisia no doubt felt an echo of the disturbance too, but would likely have no more luck placing the chilling feeling than I would.

I refocused my attention on the task at hand, glancing up and down the path. It was one of the many snakelike trails that wound through the vast outskirts of Lisparr Forest. Lisparr was a dangerous place to be, but the forest outskirts served as cover from the more immediate threat: Corvelen soldiers.

I shook my head to clear it and peered into the inky blackness ahead of me. The only thing I could see in the near pitch dark of the forest was the occasional twinkling star and a few fireflies blinking ahead of me. My cloak had caught on a thorny bush when I hid, and I wrenched it free, shaking leaves to the ground. Gathering it around me, I set off down the trail toward where the sun had set just hours before.

My tread was silent as I walked, unwilling to disturb the quiet of the night. Before, the quiet had been peaceful—now, I strained my ears for any whisper of danger.

I had all but forgotten the task at hand, and tried to refocus. Andrin needed some berry or root or leaf, just something for food. He didn't need much to keep us all going, which was good, because so far, I hadn't found a thing.

Before I covered much more ground, the trail forked sharply and I slowed down. The currents told me nothing lurked beyond the curves, but instinct made me cautious anyway. The left hand side veered off deeper into the woods, deeper toward Lisparr, with the right side drifting gradually northward.

I felt a tug at my soul—Lylisia felt my distress.

Though no two Animaré had telepathic powers, Lylisia and I could feel strong emotions through our bond. Animaré, by definition, were two souls melded into one. The bond between us kept us connected and granted unusual power over the energy currents. Lylisia, my Animaré, made up my other half.

I felt her presence now as I stood on the dark path, but only faintly. I was always able to feel her as I felt my own soul, but over a great distance the reassuring weight of her soul seemed less.

The howl of a wolf split the silence and made my heart jump out of my chest. I tried to exhale slowly. Wolves are better than whatever else is out there, I thought.

As if on cue, the creeping chill passed by the edge of my senses, still far, far away in the currents. This time it definitely left frayed edges.

I sucked in a breath and flexed white knuckles. It was gone again.

For now.

* * *

I arrived at the camp to a smoldering fire watched closely by Andrin. He looked up as I approached and gave me an easy smile.. He was young compared to the rest of us, his body still struggling to fill out his tall, lanky frame. The dim light cast long shadows across his face, making him look even lankier than usual.

Despite his age, Andrin's Baldük origin meant he towered over Koren and I. His height, plus the shock of black hair and dark eyes, meant Andrin didn't even need the gray skin of the kingdom of Baldük-kre to clearly be native. He only differed from other Baldük in width—we hadn't met too many in our young lives, but most of them were built like bulls—tall, strong, and thick as tree trunks. Maybe because he was still young, maybe because we'd never had much to eat, Andrin wasn't that big around.

"Didn't find anything tonight," I said loudly. A hasty gesture from Andrin made me lower my voice to a whisper. "Managed to whip up anything anyway?"

Andrin laughed softly. "You know you don't have to whisper right? They're sleeping pretty soundly, you just can't shout." He gestured to the still forms of Koren and Lylisia lying just outside the small circle of light. "I figured I'd take the first watch, since Koren looked a little tired to take it like usual."

I nodded and breathed deeply, not quite feeling tired enough to sleep. "I mean it when I asked about food, I'm starving."

"You come back empty handed and still expect dinner? Maybe we finished it all off, it was so delicious."

"Why do I even bother?"

"Oh here you big baby," Andrin said, giggling to himself. He grabbed a bowl from beside his perch on the log and handed me a little wooden spoon.

I grabbed the bowl and dug in—something stewy with roots or sprouts, tasted a bit like grass. "It's be'er than th' poisonous mu'rooms a' leathst." I struggled to talk through the huge first bite. Andrin rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to defend himself as I swallowed and finished my thought. "You could've killed us all!"

"But I didn't did I? I'm the only reason you're alive. Which of you would've known Deathcaps actually counteract the poison?" Andrin's cheeks had flushed a darker shade of gray; I knew the moment wasn't his proudest, but I liked to tease him for it.

"E'cuse me fo' not ea'ing more poisonous mu'rooms to cure me f'om the fi'st batch," I responded through another mouthful of stew. "Seriously though, how badly do you need more roots and the like?"

"I don't know, I'm sure we'll be okay without it."

"Andrin..."

He didn't look up from the fire. "We'll be fine, just... keep on looking okay?"

"I'll try my best. You'll tell us if it's serious, right?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Andrin repeated. "Anyway, did you see anything else tonight? You were gone a long time you know."

I didn't want to let the conversation go, but I did find something useful for him.

"Not food, but I did grab a few of these on my way back."

I handed Andrin the small pouch around my waist. He turned it over and his face immediately broke into a wide grin. A small assortment of blue roots fell into his lap—lithis roots, one of the most potent and useful ingredients used in healing. Andrin was an enthusiast for healing salves and ointments, and used a lot of lithis to keep minor wounds from slowing us down. He was by no means an expert, having had no formal teacher, but knew healing better than any of us. Andrin quickly scooped the roots into his own bag, a dark green satchel leaning against the log beside him.

"You really are a life saver Sedris, I had barely any left," said Andrin, busying himself with his bag of potions. He looked up with a thoughtful expression. "Wait, you know, actually I'm the life saver here." He flashed me another grin. "You just give me somebody to save."

I rolled my eyes. "Aside from the time you poisoned me, there are only a few instances I really needed saving," I replied. "Besides, Lylisia has talked us out of more sticky situations than I can count. Could you have convinced that thug she hadn't swiped the ring right off his finger?"

An amused, musical voice cut in. "Anybody could have, he wasn't very bright. He deserved that anyway, probably squeezed it off some poor peasant's finger as a bribe."

Lylisia must've been listening in for a few minutes, and now she sat up and stretched.

Silver hair fell to her waist, wavy and tangled from sleep. As she moved, her Staltet chain mail clinked lightly underneath a dark over shirt, secured around her waist with a thin cord. Her trousers were secured to her legs with the same type of cord just below her knee. Everything Lylisia wore was specifically designed to leave her unhindered in a fight—nothing was in the way of her hands, feet, arms, or legs. Even her hair, although it was down now, was usually kept in a tight braid and tucked into her shirt.

"If you could pipe down once in a while, Sedris, maybe I'd sleep a bit better." Her blue eyes twinkled behind the silver curtain of hair.

"Koren seems to be sleeping just fine," I told her stubbornly. "I'm quiet when I want to be at least."

"Sure are, and it's still weird Sed. Sneaking through a window, no problem, but you open your mouth..."

I shot Andrin an unamused look, but kept my deafening voice to myself.

Lylisia laughed and yawned. "I guess if I'm awake, I'll take the next watch. You two can get some sleep. Sed, you must need it."

I nodded. No surprise that she knew, I'm sure she could feel that the dark presence was still on my mind.

Lylisia turned to Andrin and held out a slender hand. "Amulet please. And don't tell me you lost it again."

"Temporarily misplaced," he corrected. "Ah, to see the look on Koren's face... even if it's not much more than an eyebrow raise, underneath, the panic is there."

I snorted.

"He's probably used to it by now," Lylisia said with a laugh. "He's had years to practice."

"Dont get me wrong, I appreciate the cool head! Somebody's gotta keep him on his toes though right? Right?" Andrin was all at once gangly and bouncing, giving me fake punches on the shoulder.

He did get a goofy smile out of me, and Lylisia was giggling at the theatrics. I waved him off and got up to lay out my bedroll.

"Wake me up when it's Koren's watch, Lill," I told Lylisia as she put the amulet around her neck. She nodded and shooed Andrin and me off to sleep.

I laid down beside Lylisia's now empty bedroll and stared at the sky. The crackling of the dying fire mixed with the nighttime sounds of insects and animals. A cool breeze stirred the treetops and I caught a glimpse of a bright star. Closing my eyes, I let my tense nerves rest as Lylisia's soul pulsed in harmony with mine. I reached out into the currents and felt the free flow of energy in the forest. Nothing was amiss; the forest was quiet and dark, as it should be. I opened my eyes and sighed loudly. I knew what I had felt was real. Even if the forest didn't know, even if not a single animal sensed the unrest—even if I couldn't sense the unrest, it had been there. Something evil lurked just out of reach.

But I wasn't alone. My last thought before drifting off to sleep was that whatever was out there, the four of us could take it.

* * *

The night was still dark when I opened my eyes. I took a moment to rub them before sitting up and stretching. The fire had long since died—not even embers were left to light the little clearing that was our camp. I blinked a few times and drew magic from my bond, Lylisia's energy strengthening my limbs. The endless hiking took a toll on all of us, and without our powers as Animaré we would have long been run into the ground by exhaustion. The energy washed over me and I took a deep breath before I relaxed. Peering around in the dark, I once again reached for the currents, this time to sense my surroundings. Andrin and Lylisia's auras were steady and reassuring, their presences peaceful in the still night. I reached further and felt Koren sitting wide awake across the clearing, his back toward me.

I gathered the currents together and stood up, regaining strength faster by the minute. Lylisia stirred in her sleep. My use of power affected her too, and though it wasn't enough to wake her, she could feel the energy passing between us.

"You know I don't need any help staring at nothing for hours." Koren's low voice broke the silence. He looked back at me over his shoulder. "What're you up for?"

"Lylisia was supposed to wake me when her watch ended, she must've forgotten. I wanted to talk to you."

Koren turned to face me, his eyes faintly glimmering in the starlight. "Convenient that I've got the time. Something to do with your search for food tonight?"

I nodded, then shook my head. "No, but now that you mention it, yes. It's about half a day's journey away, but farther up the path forks. One north, one south, and nothing west. After last time, I'd rather not try south." I shuddered.

Koren's expression darkened—or so I imagined; it was covered in shadow. "I'd hate to run into the Corvel guards north. We're hard to explain."

"Maybe we could slip past anyway? I know they'll notice Andrin, but who doesn't? We get most places just fine. I'm just... not—eager. To see those... things... in Lisparr. Not again."

A sickly, rotting form flashed by in my mind's eye—I could almost taste the blood in my mouth, could almost make out the bloodied beasts' silhouettes rising from the darkness.

Koren was unfazed. "It won't be much prettier rotting in a cell. Do you remember why we couldn't just walk into Corvelen in the first place, considering the price tag on this amulet?" He leaned over and pulled a map from his pack, along with a small round stone. I felt the currents gather around him, and in an instant, the little stone blazed with a green flame.

The chill of memories past was fading from my mind's eye, even if the eerie green light didn't help.

The stone, called a Torchrock, or simply a Torch, was a highly coveted light source in Corvelen. It housed and burned energy, and was only operable by Animaré; Lylisia had procured one on our last trip to Baldük-kre, where there were less Animaré to use it. None of us knew how she got it—she simply turned up with a grin on her face and a ball of fire in her hand. Now, it did well to light the map as we peered down over it.

"Here's Aelridia." My eyes flitted to follow Koren's pointing finger to the carefully drawn castle nestled in the northwestern mountains. "And here's us... probably. Look. We're just barely squeezing by Reill as it is. No way to skirt it—you go miles around, or through the forest. I'd love to see Lylisia try to explain where we found this priceless amulet in Baldük-kre or the Wastes, but I don't like how it ends."

I nodded, a sinking feeling in my gut.

Reill was one of the most heavily fortified cities in Corvelen, second only to Aelridia. During the war with Baldük-kre, Corvelen held their entire southeastern border from Reill—the city still acted as a transit from lower Baldük-kre to Corvel Forest and beyond. There was a huge wall and hundreds of patrols on the border. We'd have to backtrack and travel north for weeks to keep a wide enough path from it.

The Corvel didn't have our posters plastered over the walls—we hadn't gotten away with anything big. But this job was different.

"Where is the amulet anyway? Did you get it from Lyl?"

Koren nodded, lost in thought, and stowed the map in his bag. The Torch soon followed, once again plunging the clearing into darkness. The two of us sighed in unison, both reaching for the currents to calm ourselves and gather our strength. I studied Karen's dark outline. I didn't need a light to imagine his exact expression: dark brow furrowed underneath a shock of brown hair that spilled out of his gray cap. I never understood the cap, why he had always been so attached to it. It was extremely long, trailing all the way down his back, and it fluttered behind him when he moved. The cap was the same worn gray of his cloak, which was fastened around his shoulders with a gold pin—nothing ornate, two simple studs that pierced the cloak and kept it in place. His expression was always the same, always calm and thoughtful, never showing emotion.

I admired that calm quality in him; it was what made him such a good leader. We all looked to Koren as a steady, unmoving personality to keep us anchored in reality, and although sometimes his calm could be infuriating, it had kept us from rash action more than once. I didn't know how old he was—none of us really knew the age of Animaré—but I considered him an older brother of sorts. Koren was my equal, and would never claim anything more, but had a protectiveness of all three of us that we never forgot.

The breeze stirred the trees and I looked up at the canopy above. Streaks of pink ran through the chinks of sky visible through the leaves. I searched the currents and felt the creatures all around in the forest—some scurrying to holes or hollows to sleep for the day, some just testing the early morning air. Koren and I sat for a while longer in silence until the light was barely peeking through the trees in front of us. I glanced at Koren, feeling him become more troubled. His powerful presence wavered as I immersed myself in the currents for a moment. He had taken the amulet out and was slowly turning it over in his hands. Seeing my questioning look, he broke the silence.

"They called it priceless."

"They did?"

"They said it was worth more than we could ever imagine. Every collector will embellish of course, but this..." he held the gold piece high, peering at it in the dark. "It's..."

"...it's what? Spit it out." My eyes narrowed, not at the amulet, but the Animaré.

"It's old."

"And?"

"That's it. I wouldn't call this priceless, like an unimaginably rare gemstone, that isn't the word I'd use. It's old, he should've said something different."

I waited in silence, biting my tongue for now. At least hear him out, I told myself, even as the pit in my stomach yawned deeper and I ground my teeth harder. This job certainly wasn't my idea.

Koren didn't even notice me seething. "I'm sure it's valuable. But I don't think he wanted to tell us why. It must be though. Why else ensure four Animaré cart the little thing across the kingdom?"