I wouldn’t say I regretted my choice, but I did wish the day would have been more cooperative. Tegan led me through the small village and onto a wide path that sloped downward.
I sidled up to him. “So what’s this marsh like?”
“The Scath Marshes cover some five hundred acres and are a dense mess of murky water and trees,” he explained to me with a grim expression on his face. “The werewolves have crafted paths through them, but it’s still very easy to get lost because of the moss.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Moss?”
“Heavy curtains of the stuff hang from the branches of the tree and hide much of the trail and the pools. As Burke also mentioned, the stench from the standing water makes even the sensitive noses of the werewolves completely useless.”
My heart fell. “So we’re looking for a needle in a rotten haystack, and we’re hoping the boy hasn’t fallen into one of those ponds?”
“Exactly.”
The silence between us was tense as we made our way down the wide path. I could smell the area before I saw it and I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose. It was the stench of rotten eggs mixed with skunk. The trees, too, began to bear the heavy weight of the moss Tegan had told me about. Thick, heavy, and impenetrable curtains of the green furry stuff hung from the branches and concealed everything behind it.
The trail parted after half a mile and revealed a small patch of hard earth before the world turned into a mess of weed-choked ponds. A dozen trails led off into the marshes, much of which I couldn’t see because of the trees that dotted the landscape. The tall, dead trees were covered in the curtains of moss and hid the stinking marches.
A group of some half a dozen people stood at the edge of the last patch of dry earth. One of them was a very distraught woman who held her face in her cupped hands. Her shoulders quivered and a few stifled sobs came from her. She was surrounded on either side by two other women.
“He’ll come home safe and sound, Nora, you just see,” one of the women comforted their distressed friend.
Nora shook her head. “He’s been gone for so long! They’ve both been out there for hours!”
“Don’t you worry about your husband. Patrick knows his way around these paths as good as anyone,” another assured her.
One of the others in the crowd turned at our coming and stiffened. “Everyone!”
They all turned at her worried shout and likewise met us with a defensive stance. Tegan held up his hands and offered them a smile. “Burke told us about the troubles and we offered to help.”
A rather burly woman crossed her arms over her chest and scrutinized him. “Help how?”
Tegan held up one hand and a flame appeared. “He thought my fire magic might prove useful in lighting the way.”
Nora nodded. “Your help is most welcome, sir. My little boy Finn disappeared about two hours ago, and we fear he may have followed one of the wicked lamps.”
Tegan turned his head this way and that inspecting the many paths. “Are there any quarters that haven’t been searched?”
“The far side of the marsh hasn’t been touched and you can take any path you want,” Nora told us.
Tegan looked down at me. “Let’s go and stay close.”
We slipped past the distraught mother, though with our coming some hope was rekindled in her eyes. I only hoped myself that it wasn’t misplaced.
We passed through a curtain of moss and I beheld the marshes proper. The mucky mire was rimmed by the tall trees of the forest and stretched out beyond sight. Dead trees dotted the mess and from them, the curtains hid much of the watery fen. The stench of hellfire now invaded my nostrils and I clapped a hand over my face to keep from choking.
The path on which we found ourselves was some three feet wide and made of dark brown dirt. It meandered its way through the murky ponds. There were no bushes, but tall rushes surrounded the pools. I eased over to the one on our left and leaned over the reeds to get a peek at the water.
The dark depths were too deep for me to see the bottom, but the walls were lined with thick blades of marsh grass. The strings floated listlessly in the otherwise calm water. They reminded me of ghostly hands stretching out to grab some hapless victim. I scuttled back to avoid becoming part of the body count.
A yelp escaped me when my back hit something. Tegan grasped my arms and his face was grim. “Stay close. These pools are so deep I would never find you.”
I nodded and gladly let him lead the way. An oppressive silence fell on us as we traipsed down the damp trail. My eyes wandered over the pools and their dark depths, and a question struck me.
“What are the ‘wicked lamps?’” I asked my guide.
“They’re the lights I warned you about that lead people to their deaths,” Tegan told me.
I winced. “Just in case, what do they look like?”
Tegan shook his head. “They appear differently to every person. Sometimes they show themselves as a friend, other times it’s a person in need.”
Some of the color drained from my face. “So if we find the boy we might not actually be finding the boy?”
He nodded. “That’s why you need to be mindful of who and what you follow.”
“You there!”
The voice was deep and growly. A werewolf burst out from behind a curtain ahead of us and I nearly had a heart attack. The creature leaped in front of our path and hunkered down on all fours as it curled its lips up in a growl. He also wore a ragged pair of pants and a necklace of gold with a slightly glowing howlite stone hung around his neck.
“Who are you?” he snapped.
“Friends here to help find the boy,” Tegan informed him.
The werewolf looked us up and down. “You look like you’d just get lost like the kid, so run on out of here before you-”
Tegan held up one hand and a column of fire exploded out of his palm. The flames cast a bright light on our gloomy surroundings. It also made the werewolf retreat a few steps.
The werewolf snapped his jaws at Tegan. “What are you?”
“A friend,” Tegan told him as he subdued his fire, but didn’t extinguish it. “Is there any sign of the boy?”
The werewolf continued to glare at Tegan as he shook his head. “No, but we haven’t reached the far edges. He could have gotten that far if he was led away.”
Tegan held up his illuminated palm. “Then we’ll search there with our light.”
He trudged forward and the werewolf skittered onto a byway. I followed close behind, especially when the wolf man gave me a low growl.
“Friendly fellow,” I whispered after we were a safe distance away.
“The werewolves are generally an independent lot and prefer to solve their problems on their own,” he told me.
“But the guy at the inn invited us. Or was he not a werewolf?” I guessed.
“Those who take up a trade that involves hospitality are generally more hospitable.”
I looked over my shoulder where the werewolf had sat but a curtain of moss hid him from sight. “I’m glad he didn’t find us in the woods.”
“So am I,” Tegan mused as he raised his illuminated hand in the air and increased the flame. A soft light surrounded us. “I’m a little rusty on fighting werewolves and they’re known to play dirty.”
“How dirty?” I wondered.
He turned his head to one side and a twinkle was in his eye. “They use their teeth and they’re not known for brushing them.”
I snorted. “I guess that would be pretty dirty.”
We continued on our way. A few shadows hurried along other paths and we could hear shouts from other people, but nobody came close to us. That is, until I saw her.
My head snapped around for a double-take and the consequence was a sharp pain in my neck. “Mrs. Gerst?”
The elderly cashier from the corner store was indeed standing fifty feet away. She was huddled against herself with her arms squeezed so tightly against her chest and I could hardly tell her flowery sleeves apart from the rest of her dress. Her chest moved up and down and she whipped her head to and fro. She had an expression of complete bewilderment and terror.
“W-where am I?” I heard her whisper as a soft breeze made her jump. “W-what is this place?”
One of the pools lapped up onto the dry land near her feet. She screeched and stumbled back. Her heels hit a thick mess of rushes and she toppled backward out of sight. I heard a hard splash.
“Mrs. Gerst!” I shouted as I raced toward her.
“Kate!” Tegan yelled at me. “Stop!”
I reached the spot where Mrs. Gerst had fallen in. The water was as still as the grave.
Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
A bright orb shot out from the thrushes in front of me and flew into my face. I yelped and stumbled back waving my arms in front of me. The glowing ball flew at me and its touch left a patch of heat on my arms, but nothing more. The creature retreated when I swung too close, but I was the one who was losing ground.
And then I ran out of ground.