¨This fucking forest!¨ Mr.Oakmans apprentice, Iago Brown shouted out at the dark forest. Iago pulled his coat around him tighter and strode forward. He had to find Lenny, especially now. Mrs.Oakman had been banned from leaving her property and had to have all of her shopping done by children happy to do a simple job for a few coppers. Mrs.Oakman had begged Iago. ¨Please Iago, go find my daughter! All my money, my husband's study, even a permanent place in the manor! I beg you please, just bring her back home and it's all yours!¨
Iago rolled his eyes remembering Mrs.Oakman's frantic pleas. Iago didn't need the Oakman family riches but the study and a place in the manor did interest him.
As he walked through the forest he poked the ground ahead of him with his crutch less and less, he had been here so many times. Iago was the only one who came and went as he pleased, right under the rest of the town's noses. He was the one to be attacked and live. He was the one who had made the deal with some creatures from another realm.
An odd hissing-like language came from in front of Iago.
¨You know I don't speak your foul tongue, where's the one of you who can speak properly?¨ Iago demanded and in a strained voice, one of the four figures facing Iago spoke.
¨Your payments are getting weaker¨ one groaned before continuing
¨and those damned stray white wings are getting smarter¨
Iago rolled his pale eyes which had like his skin and hair only been getting paler the longer his deals went on.
¨I pay you to get their blood, not complain how some tiny feathered freaks are outsmarting you!¨
As Iago's hand slid towards his waist another responded struggling how to speak Iago's language.
¨We try sir, just need you keep up you end, if no you end no us end.¨
Iago Impatient with these fools yammering, slid a small runed stone from his waist and threw it at the one speaking, Iago knew the stone hit his target and let out a sharp crack. Iago opened his eyes to watch as the spirit of one long dead in the forest shattered like glass, the shards falling away into the wind, the spirits eyes the last to fall away. The others frantically flung their hands around trying to catch their friends' shards. Once they realized he was gone, one threw a bag full of vials of pale blue liquid at Iago.
Iago tapped his foot as the remaining three spirits whisked themselves off into the shadows. After the three had left Iago bent down searching in the bag the bottom was full of empty vials. Annoyed, he pulled a vial out and loaded it into a small injection gun. He pressed the gun to his shoulder and pulled the trigger. He let out a small groan when the needle punctured his skin. The liquid drained into Iago leaving a small circle of pain around the point of injection. Later that night a howl could be heard across the forest as if it came from the fog itself.
¨Better make this trip fast, don't wanna be any closer to death's door.¨
Three Days Later
Iago kicked a tree root and cursed out.
¨Fuck! These damn roots! Three days and nothing! Lenny where in the four gods damned realms are you?¨
Iago continued to walk through the woods hunting for any sign of Lenny, the smell of an old fire, or any sounds of movement. Iago slowed his steps as he pulled the bag of vials out, shaking them as he counted, only two were left. This bag was only five vials; he was used to them having almost twenty. If he ran out of vials in this forest he likely wouldn't be able to make it back. Iago tripped on a small circular start of a campfire he hadn't noticed with his crutch and fell on what at first seemed like a large frozen root. Iago reached down and gasped, it was Lenny face down in the dirt, her hair, and clothes a thick layer of frost covering them.
¨Lenny...no no no!¨ Iago shouted frantically, sitting up and flipping Lenny over. She felt like a cold porcelain doll. With the faint glow shimmering from her frame, both her spirit and Iago knew she was rocking on death's doormat.
Iago grabbed matches out of his bag, fumbling and cursing he lit the fire.
He stared at Lenny, the faint outline of her glowed softly. Iago hated seeing these outlines; he'd rather see nothing at all, having the dead and dying be the only things that you can see can take a toll on you. Iago stroked her hair, hard with frost.
Breaking into tears, that stung in the cold as they slipped from his eyes and froze on his cheeks.
Iago's mind raced, ¨ God's damned spirits... This is your fault, it's your fault Lenny's hurt... your fault... It's... My fault.¨
Iago wrapped his blanket around Lenny and her frozen one on top of his, he pulled Lenny closer to the fire. Iago rocked in place struggling to pull back his tears, here he was, he found Lenny. She was most likely going to die, no longer could she laugh as she ran and played with the kids of the village. If she would just wake up Iago wouldn't complain again about how she liked to start arguments, if she wanted to anger the church goers. He'd even be happy to encourage her to continue her sword fighting lessons. Iago just wanted to see Lenny okay again.