Risky Business

I raised my hand high above my head, holding onto the lantern tightly, as if by doing that, I could somehow protect the feeble light inside.

The forest outline loomed ominously over the side of the trail. I tried to see past the first line of trees and the light flickered violently inside the lantern, the small flame threatening to give up at any second. The wind howled past my ears while heavy clouds hovered above my head, blocking the moon and the stars from sight.

It was too damn dark to see anything, even with the lantern in my hand. If it wasn't for those horses crossing the trail right as I was passing by, I wouldn't have spotted the abandoned wagon by the side of the forest.

They were Sweeny Buckle's horses, that was for sure, they had Buckle's fancy logo on their harness and saddle. Apparently, they had gotten free somehow and were wandering near the wagon as if waiting for their owners to return.

I suspected I wasn't going to find Mr. Sweeny or any of his bodyguards tonight. The chances to find them seemed slimmer by the minute, especially now with the discarded wagon and loose horses wandering around.

I already thought their chances were low when Mr. Buckle's wife came by my house, pleading for me to go look for her husband.

Mr. Buckle had caught word about the money I was making with the fast deliveries to Chalkbarrel and he thought that maybe he could get a hold on some of that 'easy coin' for himself as well. He thought he could take on the old Redwood trail, despite all the talk about it being cursed and all. If I was doing it, a scrawny daft kid only one-third of his age, he reckoned he could take a shot at it as well.

Mr. Buckle had been extra careful about the whole thing and had taken all the precautions needed. He got hold of maps of the entire region, he even had taken two of his best men to help him guard the wagon and assist him in the journey. It was going to take a day or two at most for him to return, her husband had told her, but two weeks had gone by and no husband had returned.

The head of the village's council was asked to go look for him in the first week of missing, but he refused to take on the Redwood's trail. He took the New Chalk road instead, even though it was a lot longer, he knew that he'd get to Chalkbarrel safe and sound.

It took him a few days to arrive, and then he inquired around town, but no one had seen old Buckle arrive or leave. The Head of the Council returned from Chalkbarrel empty handed and without any news, to the widow's despair.

The widow hadn't given up on her husband though, and tried to plead to all the men in the village, begging them to go look for her husband at Redwood, but no one dared to go, no matter how much money she offered.

I was her only and last hope, she had told me, between much sobbing and wailing. She just wanted her fool of a husband back, no matter the cost.

And even though I had heard a few rumors being spread around the village, about how wicked I was and how I'd been consorting with a demon on those woods at the cover of night – rumors probably weaved by Mrs. Buckle and her gaggle of gossipy friends, I may add – I still took pity on her, and told her I'd go look for him.

But I feared that I wasn't going to have any good news to bring back to her. Two weeks missing like that… chances were no good. No good at all.

I was almost at the end of Redwood trail, searching for Sweeny Buckle's greedy ass when his horses crossed my path.

I stepped down from my wagon and went to retrieve the loose horses, then I tied them along with Wooly before heading to the wagon to inspect inside and look for signs of the missing men. I didn't think I was going to find anything there.

I was wrong about that. I did find them.

Not in the wagon, though, but a little further away, next to the edge of the forest. Bits and pieces scattered all around. Torn-up limbs, chunks of flesh ripped apart, a shoe with a foot in it, an arm dangling from a branch… It was a gruesome sight to behold. A scene of nightmares, really. Strangely, the scene didn't bother me as much as I thought it should. I guess I had been expecting something like this to have happened.

I thought about retrieving at least the parts that were left visible, the ones hanging by the trees or tossed over the grass and around all the red wildflowers, but I would have to cross over and enter the forest to do that. I wanted these men to have a decent burial, but not at the cost of my own life. I was seeing with my own two eyes what would happen if I dared to go near Redwood.

Something rustled through the hedges, parting through the low vegetation and I turned to the noise, expecting to see Erebus and his familiar haunting face showing from the shadows, but a big and ragged black wolf stepped out instead, teeth-baring and angry eyes ablaze with a light not of this world. He had strange-looking fur, something resembling brown grass matted with barks of wood.

"E-Erebus?" I called out, thinking this could be another one of his illusions. There was a faint chuckle from the opposite side, and I jumped and turned around, startled.

"He won't harm you." He told me, standing by a large tree, wrapped in his long dark mantle. "Not with me here."

I gave one step back, not quite ready to trust the starved-looking magic wolf inching silently towards me, and the wolf took my retreat as I signal to engage. He growled menacingly, sharp teeth snapping and long claws digging into the ground, getting ready to leap and attack.

I froze in fear, unable to even cry for help, but then Erebus raised a hand, making a flickering motion with his finger. Shadows ran from his mantle to the ground, slithering toward the wolf and slashing at the beast like a whip made of dark smoke. The wolf cowered and whined before darting away, quickly disappearing into the forest.

"Apologies for his manners. He thought you were after his meal." Erebus said, motioning for the bits of flesh scattered around. "To be fair, you were thinking about taking it back with you. He had reason to be mad at you."

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and took a few breaths to calm myself before I replied. "We bury our dead. Didn't want to leave them behind like this." I tried to explain while I forced my heartbeat to slow down inside my chest. "Whatever is left of them anyway," I mumbled the last part to myself, glancing at the ground with a grimace. "Did… did that wolf do this?" I shook my head in disbelief. "He couldn't have… it's too much slaughter for only one beast."

Erebus chuckled. "Oh, he absolutely could have." He replied with smug certainty as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But no. He did not do this."

I glanced up to meet up his eyes, which were dark and filled with malice. We both knew what my next question was going to be…

Was he the one who did all of this?

And I knew what the answer was going to be as well. I could see it in the dark smirk on his lips.

"Can I… Can I retrieve the bodies? And take them back to their families?" I asked in the most polite manner I could muster up. Maybe if I asked nicely, I could cross over to collect them.

He made a motion with his hand as if he was serving them on a platter. "You are free to try to take whatever you want," he replied. "Come and get them."

I eyed him with caution but did not dare to move an inch from where I was standing. "If I cross over to your side… you are not going to let me leave, are you?" I asked, seeing his offer for what it was: another one of his traps.

He smiled candidly and said, "It's not me you should worry about when you cross over to get what you want. There are far more powerful beings than me in here that can take offense to what you wish to do. That wolf beast is not even at the top of the list."

"Right," I muttered, giving up on the idea altogether. I wanted to ask him why he did what he did to those men, but what was even the point? They were all dead. There was no answer he could give me that would take any of what happened back.

"What did you use to trick them into coming into the forest? The woman or the little kid?" I asked instead, a morbid curiosity taking over me for a second.

"I used… you," he replied as he walked past a large tree, his long mantle merging with the shadows around him. As he stepped from behind that tree, he was no longer himself. He looked… exactly like me. The same stature, same height, and build, he even had the same clothes as mine.

But if you paid attention, you could see that there was something very wrong with the look-alike figure. The eyes were too dark and the gaze, too menacing. There was a sensual wickedness at the corner of his lips that I never had. He looked provocative and cocky, but also innocently seductive at the same time. It was so weird watching such a twisted version of myself standing only a few feet away.

"You used… m-me?" I repeated, incredulous, even though I was seeing him wearing my own appearance right before my eyes.

"I needed something good to use as bait. And you were already on their minds." He said while walking behind another tree. When he stepped out, he had changed back to his old self, the long mantle draping around his shoulders, running elegantly down to meet the shadows on the ground.

"I-I was… on t-their m-minds?" I said, apprehensive.

"At the very beginning of the trail, they were thinking about how a 'low-life swindler' you were."

"W-what? Me?!"

"Yes. They were confident that you were making up stories and fabricating rumors about Redwood, lying about how cursed and dangerous it was, so you'd be the only one using this road. A scam to get all that 'easy money' for yourself."

"Are you serious?" I asked, disbelief turning into indignancy.

"It was a constant thought in their minds, yes. As they rode down the trail and nothing happened, they grew bolder and even more certain about your scheme. Then they saw 'you' standing by the side of the road, at the very edge of the forest, and they didn't hesitate to stop so they could 'teach you a lesson'."

"I can't believe this." I huffed under my breath.

"There was only unbridled violence in their minds while they planned for your demise…" He told me as I stood there, listening to these revelations in shock. "They thought about the many things they wanted to do to you… About getting rid of your body after all was done and hiding all proof of their misdeeds deep in the forest. They knew no one would dare to come looking for evidence of their wrongdoing in Redwood. And this trail would be only theirs to reign over. So much greed, in such small, weak, shriveled hearts…" He hummed, and I couldn't tell if he sounded pleased, envious, or disgusted by that.

"The older one was the most vicious," Erebus continued telling his gruesome tale. "You should have seen the perverse things he had brewing in the dark corners of his mind as he walked up to me with his two guard dogs following at his heels." He chuckled maliciously at the memory. "You should have heard the things I told them then."

"You provoked them and made them chase you into the forest, didn't you?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

He smirked at me, a devious twinkle reflecting in his dark eyes. "Yes. Then, I let them catch me and do what they pleased… for a little while, at least." He saw the horror and confusion showing on my face and explained. "I wanted to see what they would give me first."

"W-hat? Why?"

"So I would know what I should give back." He replied curtly. "We give what we deserve. You should rest assured, they got what they deserved, doubled in return."

I gave him a tight-lipped smile.

What was done, was done. There was nothing I could do or say now that would change their fate. I could only accept what had happened and move on.

I hesitated for a second before I risked a last plea. "Do you... do you think that you could grant me this one favor? Can you help me retrieve a little of what was left of these men? You can toss them over to me. No lines need be trespassed and I will leave soon after and stop bothering you about this."

He watched me fidget anxiously in front of him, a curious eyebrow raised as he observed me. "Do you still wish to give these men a proper burial?" he asked, sounding slightly amused by it. "Do you think they are deserving of your consideration and kindness, even after I told you about their plans for you?"

"I'm not doing this for them." I tried to explain. "They might have deserved their fate, but… This is for the people they left behind. For the ones that are still waiting for them to get back. Let me take their remains back, let those people have their closure."

He seemed to ponder on that for a moment before he replied. "I could give it back to you, yes… But the forest might resent you for taking what is rightfully hers. You may come to find that Redwood can be very mean-spirited and hold quite a grudge. Trust me on this, I speak from experience."

"Oh," I said, putting a few pieces of his life's mystery puzzle into place. "Is that… Is that how you… you know… got into your 'confined' predicament?"

I knew right away I had hit a nerve when he retreated a couple of steps back, seeking cover from shadows and pulling his mantle closer to his body as if the mere mention of the subject was unpleasant for him to hear.

"Redwood is not responsible for my current state of affairs." He replied briskly. "She is my jailer, nothing more." It was clear by the change in his tone that this was not a topic he wished to discuss in any possible way, and he quickly moved the conversation back to my request. "I can do the favor you ask for, but the forest might not feel the same way. She can have ideas of 'closure' that might differ from yours. What these ideas will be… that remains to be seen."

He gave one step ahead, so I could better see his face more clearly and know how truthful he was being. The darkness surrounding him seemed to have moved along with him, spreading over his mantle and down at his feet.

"I fear Redwood might not be as merciful to you, as they once were to me. But you are welcome to try your luck." He picked a torn limb from a branch and tossed it close to my feet. "Be my guest. Try it." He said in a casual manner, but his words were heavily weighted with foreboding and warning.

I eyed the torn hand resting near my foot and kneeled down to examine it. There was a big golden ring with Buckle's family crest on the middle finger, all the other fingers had turned purple and swollen. I slowly reached out to pick up the hand when thunder grumbled loudly above, giving fair warning. The wind howled and swatted furiously at me as if trying to push me away from there.

Everything was warning me to stop, but I was too enthralled by the luring trap laid at my feet to pay notice. It was like watching a tragedy happen right before your eyes but you wouldn't look away. I couldn't stop myself from edging recklessly toward the precipice…

I needed to look at it, touch it, feel it with my own hands.

'Be my guest. Try.'

My finger had barely brushed up against the severed hand when a barrage of nightmarish scenes slammed into my head, cascading over each other, flashing and disappearing before I could even register what I was seeing.

Gore, blood, guts, mouths agape, and torn limbs, anguished, tortured faces flashing in the dark, one after another, unrelenting, striking and recoiling inside like a deadly rattlesnake, punching, slashing, ripping it apart… and the horror of what had transpired in that forest was all laid bare to me in my head, at the brush of a finger and the touch of a dead hand.

I whipped back and away from the cursed limb as if it was burning me with the fires of hell. This was my last warning, I realized. This was Redwood's promise of what would happen to me if I took that rotten hand away from them.

I stood up slowly, trying to keep my composure the best I could, but my legs were shaking as I hid my trembling arms behind my back.

Erebus had been watching me the entire time in silence, his posture still tense, but his face had softened at seeing my response to the forest's last warning.

"Redwood has been kind enough to let you keep the horses. And you are welcome to take the wagon as well. But that is as far as their charitable heart goes, I'm afraid. These men who dared to trespass… They belong to Redwood now. Their bodies… and their souls." He told me while his dark mantle billowed gracefully at his back, dancing with the wind.

The storm that had been brewing since the start of the trail was back, growing bigger and more threatening by the minute. The wind howled through the forest, aided by groaning branches and rustling leaves swooshing loudly in return.

I glanced up at Erebus and I realized he wasn't alone there. Three faint specters stood near the edge of the forest at his back, shimmering in and out of focus, as if the shadows wouldn't allow them to fully show themselves.

Mr. Buckle was standing there, motionless, with his two goons at his side. He had a haggard, deeply haunted expression on his ash-stricken face, and his disheveled body looked bruised with cuts all over. He was also missing an arm.

I eyed the severed arm on the grass one last time.

"Please, thank the forest for her kindness and generosity," I finally said, taking a polite bow. "I am very grateful that she will let me keep the horses and the wagon." I tried to sound as respectful and honored as I possibly could. "And thank you, Erebus. For taking the time to talk to me. And for all the wise advice given."

He took a low bow in return, but his gesture looked a lot more regal and distinguished than mine.

Thunder rumbled and growled, followed by a strike of lightning that crackled loudly nearby, slashing through the sky like a whip made of light, making me jump in fright. A second later, rain started to pour heavily over our heads. In a matter of seconds, I was completely drenched, hair all plastered over my face, clothes now all wet, but Erebus remained mysteriously untouched as if the rain feared to fall on his figure somehow.

I gave one last tight-lipped smile and a short nod, and he smiled back at me, before he retrieved back into the forest, disappearing into the shadows.

I hurried to get the horses and tied them on the abandoned wagon, quickly directing them to the trail, so we could all head back to the village, finally safe and most importantly, in one piece.