Page 4 of Where the Shadows Land (Garden of Hope #1)

‘I did not say that they were, but we cannot forget. The ache allows us to remember.’ Fourth called forward the memory of Incandescent Tulip.

Her lithe form and beautiful violet petals that always reached for them.

How she always danced with the breeze and the glitter of her laughter.

The warmth of her body against theirs and how their limbs tangled around one another each night.

The affection they shared was too pure for any mortal words . ‘Would you want to forget this?’

Fifth called forth another memory, this one heavy with smoke, screams, and the slick of green blood against their skin.

Incandescent, broken and bleeding, strung up from the sacred tree.

Her body faded into ash and bone faster than Mairuk could act.

Those beautiful violet petals charred and fell away from her perfect face.

When they reached her, all that remained of her and their love was the ash that fell through their fingers. ‘ That is what I wish to forget.’

‘If we forget one, the other might fade, too.’

‘Perhaps it is better if some memories stay buried and forgotten. Cardilan is right. We live with restless ghosts and it makes us rot from within.’

‘We have made our choices and commitments,’ First said, the presence loud in the system’s mind. ‘Arguments with ourselves will not lead us to clarity.’

The Twelve who Made Mairuk fell into silence, then. The system picked a task to focus on that would unify them; sustenance. They worked much, yet had not eaten in several days. The setting sun beckoned them to the western forest, and they answered the pull .

Rot and decay drew them as it did flies and all other forest dwellers who fed on death.

The entire forest sung a shrill song of fear and warning.

An echo of danger. Somewhere in the distant wood, trees burned.

Too far for Mairuk to tell if it was natural or human-caused.

More than a two day walk away, the nearby forest still warned all her creatures to run to safer homes.

They came across their meal well past sunset. The stag died a handful of hours ago from the removal of his heart. The meal of a harpy. Though the creatures didn’t often stick around, Mairuk reached out across the forest with Eseif , granting them the sight of the Spirit of Mieotsy.

Through the network of roots and the eyes of insects, Mairuk experienced the world around them as if they were Life Itself.

That small spark of light that lived in the very essence of every living thing, from the smallest blade of grass to the largest predators.

Mairuk felt it all as close as their heartbeat, because the Orsea lived in their blood.

Half a dozen other creatures lingered in the nearby underbrush and a swarm of insects had already descended on the feast of flesh. Mairuk left the skull and brain matter for the insects and scavengers, the taste too sharp for their preferences.

Mairuk sank to their thick knees and knelt over the corpse.

With their long tentacle-like fingers, they pulled fur and flesh from bone.

Their long, thin, straw-like tongue slipped out of their thin mouth and slurped the congealing blood of the corpse until the artery had nothing left to deliver.

They spit out a thick, jelly-like liquid over the meat they severed from the stag and it slowly dissolved into mush in their palms.

They drank their meal quickly and stood from the dirt.

Mairuk flung the rest of the corpse over their shoulders as they made the trek back to their garden.

The song of the forest shifted. Shrill cries in the distance still reverberated through the wood like a pulse, but a soft, trilling song of curiosity bloomed from the forest near the garden .

Mairuk tilted their cap back and let the winds dance against their gills.

A wave of Orsea moved through the forest in the underbrush not too far away.

A great many things made of such magic lingered in the forests of Mieotsy, some peaceful, others less so.

They were not in the mood to fight over a corpse, so they hurried back to their garden.

Once through the ward, they went to the southern edge of the garden and dropped the stag.

An ancient, sacred grove once stood tall there and provided the perfect shade for the elderly and young.

Humans cut down the trees, then burned the stumps when they razed the garden to the ground.

Whatever artifact they used drained the soil to the point it couldn’t sprout as much as a weed.

Whatever they could not eat of their meals, Mairuk brought back here to feed the soil with decay.

To encourage the sacred trees to return.

It hadn’t worked, but perhaps the land needed more.

Every time they dug into the powdery dirt, their last offering was gone. Even the bones.

Mairuk dug a wide hole deep enough to fit the corpse, then placed the headless stag within. As they covered the beast with dirt, they chanted their prayer over and over again. “May the flesh and bone we have given heal and nourish the land. Make it strong and whole once again.”

The dirt shifted under their palms as the Spirit of Mieotsy welcomed the remains back into its embrace.

The ground sealed, the dirt packed back down, as if it had never moved in the first place.

With each offering, Mairuk held onto the hope that they could repair the damage the land sustained, given enough time.

The curiosity of the trees along the edge of the garden piqued.

Mairuk turned to see what caused the trilling sound.

A pair of two red foxes slipped in through the gate and darted behind the work shed.

Mairuk’s head tilted all the way to the side and they matched the curious song of the trees.

They took slow, measured steps toward the work shed.

They didn’t know if the offering brought the creatures, or if the threat of fire brought them here.

It didn’t matter. Living creatures other than their wandering companions entered Bostrai .

‘A gift of the gods, certainly,’ Third said, giddy in Mairuk’s chest.

‘A furry companion would make the days less lonely. Perhaps we can care for them and they will stay with us?’ Fourth mused.

‘We cannot limit the creatures,’ said Ninth. ‘If the pair stays or goes, it is up to their will.’

The system murmured in various levels of agreement. Regardless of the Fate to come, the presence of life in the garden was a welcome sign. A good omen.

Soft, whine-like cries echoed from behind the building and Mairuk tilted their cap back again.

Thick waves of forest magic tingled their gills and they stalled.

Curiosity, bold and brighter than anything they sensed since the burning bubbled against their crown.

They took a silent breath, then curled their head around the corner.

One fox, bright red and early in his life, shot his head up toward Mairuk, happiness radiating from his slight form.

Beside the fluffy creature, a human woman sprawled across the dirt, shaking with sobs.

The woman was filthy, covered in twigs, mud, and what smelled like ash.

It took the Twelve who Made Mairuk multiple heartbeats to catch up with what they saw.

Though dirty, her skin was pale like the moon, but she lacked the radiance.

Long, tangled fox-red hair fell over her shoulder.

Her dress clung to her body, tattered and stiff on her curvaceous form.

Her face turned toward them and the glowing verdant eyes, round and wide, signaled that the Orsea lived within her.

Soft cheeks, a small nose, carnation-pink lips and a rounded chin made her features.

Mairuk blinked several times, attempting to get over how unique she looked.

Never in all of their days had Mairuk seen a female human. They never saw a weak human before, either. The woman’s breasts heaved with her hiccuping breaths; a dainty silver locket around her neck settled in the deep valley between them.

‘We must kill her,’ Fifth grumbled .

‘She looks hurt,’ said Third.

‘Good!’ Fifth shouted. ‘It will make killing her easier. Her blood, flesh, and bone will make a good offering to the land. Human blood to undo the damage the humans caused.’

‘We should speak with her.’ Fourth froze the body and reached out toward the others in the system. ‘We do not need to get violent.’

A flash of bright green light shook them from their internal argument, and Mairuk reacted on instinct. Snatching the human’s throat in their palm, they shoved her short frame against the building with a deep growl. “ Why do you infect this land, human? ”