Witch, Wolf, Woods

CHAPTER 36: WOLF'S STORY

The next two days continued in much the same fashion, but the morning after, Wolf announced, "We're getting close. Tonight should be our last night in the forest."

He looked at Katja closely. "Have you thought about what you're going to say to the Waldkonig?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm going to show him the ring, tell him it belonged to my mother, and ask him what he knows about it."

"And if he gives you an answer you don't like?" prodded Wolf.

"What do you mean?" asked Katja, tucking the hair that had come loose from her braid behind one ear.

"I mean, the Waldkonig is incredibly powerful," continued Wolf. "He's one of the most ancient and cunning of all magical beings. I just want to make sure you won't get mad and, I don't know, try to put a spell on him or something."

"I have no intention of engaging in a magical fight with the Waldkonig," assured Katja. "Besides, you know me. I'm much more likely to run away from a fight than anything else."

"Running away can be highly adaptive," Wolf pointed out. "Staying to fight simply for the sake of fighting doesn't make you better than anyone else. But, if he refuses to let you leave, or tries to harm you, use whatever spells you have to protect yourself."

"Or if he tries to harm you," replied Katja, but Wolf shook his head.

"Don't worry about me," he said. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," said Katja, "but that doesn't mean I'm not going to help you. We're in this together."

Wolf stared at her for a moment, then finally nodded his acknowledgment.

As they continued deeper into the forest than Katja had ever imagined going, the change in their surroundings was palpable.

The air became heavier, thick and cloying and not sweet-smelling as it had been before. The trees and plants struggled to breathe, and she could hear their labored breaths, inhaling and exhaling, coughing, seeming to choke on the very air itself.

The black lines they'd seen sporadically now covered everything they passed, and at one point, Katja reached out and touched an especially sick-looking shrub, only to watch in horror as it dissolved beneath her hand, disintegrating into a fine ash.

Mountains that had only been visible at certain points grew larger, their peaks covered in snow even in the middle of summer, forming gorges with steep walls on either side. Numerous caves dotted the cliff sides, doorways bathed in darkness that wound deep into the mountains before tunneling far below ground.

While Katja had spent much of the journey climbing, her legs burning from the strain of propelling her body upwards and forwards at the same time, now she experienced the sensation of going down, down to where rivers had carved their marks on the rocks, announcing they had once been stronger than anything in their path. She had never felt so far from the sky, even though she knew she wasn't actually that removed from it.

That night, as they settled down beneath the stars, Katja felt the time had come to share something with Wolf.

"I don't know what's going to happen when we reach the Waldkonig," she began. "I don't want to be dramatic, but there's at least some chance I won't be allowed to leave the forest. If that happens, I want you to go back to the castle and tell the Hexen what happened so they won't always wonder about me. And then I want you to go someplace else and make a new life for yourself."

Wolf opened his mouth to speak, but Katja held up a hand.

"If I'm dead, the necklace will no longer be bound to me, and you'll be free to take it and go wherever you wish" she said bluntly, seeing no reason to hold back. "That's what I want for you, Wolf—honor my last request to tell the Hexen what happened, and then please go somewhere safe and start over."