Highlander Enchanted(87)

I had nothing to compare the experience to and couldn’t help wondering if I’d spent my entire life cut off from such small pleasures. It made me despise the nymphs even more, since they probably spent every weekend feeling whatever this was out in the real world.

Stepping over the red rope, the internal rocking stopped, and I realized it hadn’t only been the lake I felt. The breeze that stirred the surface of the lake stopped at the barrier, too, and its gentle touch on my skin fell away.

I missed them almost as soon as I left them. Facing the lake once more, I smiled. If nothing else, I now knew one of the secrets of the world outside my boundaries, and it was beautiful.

Beyond happy with my secret adventure, I moved five meters from the cord to an area big enough for a fire and built a little campsite. My assigned kit contained a canteen of water and the ingredients for s’mores. Herakles’ thoughtfulness only added to my happiness. I went through my tasks of finding shelter, starting a fire and stretching out on the ground to watch the stars with a smile plastered on my face. After my treats, I let the fire die out and retreated to a small shelter I’d created from a poncho and tree branches. I had brought a sleeping bag and crawled into it.

My mind was on the lake, on my future and how incredible it was going to be to leave the compound once and for all and join the rest of the world. I slid into deep, contented sleep.



Something awoke me shortly before dawn. I opened my eyes, senses trained on the world outside my makeshift tent. Animals used their instincts and intuition better than humans, and Herakles had emphasized being more like the locals when camping out. So I listened in silence and stillness.

An animal was rustling quietly, but it wasn’t close, and it wasn’t in the forest, which meant it was large if I could hear it this far off. The sounds came from the direction of the lake. I crept out of my sleeping bag and covered the distance quickly between me and the boundary. Reaching the stump where I often perched to gaze at the lake, I squatted on top of it and stared.

It was an animal, but nothing like I’d seen before. Monster was probably a better description. The creature had a wingspan of ten meters and was the size of a linebacker with the long, lean musculature and grace of a feline. It stood on two legs and had two arms that looked pretty human. The sound I heard was of its long tail tapping the brush lining the bank of the lake. Its skin was an unnatural shade of stone grey. One of its ears stuck out at an odd angle and its eyes glowed like blue jewels in the night. It had fangs, talons, and a barbed tail, and its eyes were positioned facing forward, all of which were characteristics of a predator of some sort and not something I cared to confront.

It stood where I had sat earlier, peering at the lake, at the surrounding area, at the sky. It crouched beside the lake, tail tapping against the dirt.

It was horrifying – and magnificent. I couldn’t have imagined a more incredible combination of man and beast. The raw power it exuded in each tiny, controlled movement exceeded anything a human or traditional predator possessed.

This is a dream. It had to be. No such creature existed, unless it was some sort of undiscovered animal or leftover dinosaur. And if that were the case, I didn’t think this would be the first time I’d seen it. I spent too many days and nights in the forest for it to belong here. Where it had originated, and why it chose to stop here, I couldn’t begin to guess.

Intelligence was in its thoughtful movement and visual exploration of the environment. The man-beast hybrid wasn’t something I was able to explain away. I pinched my arm to ensure I was awake. The light sting wasn’t much of a reassurance when faced with a monster from a nightmare.

It stood and unfurled its wings. They were charcoal in color, lined with black fur, beautiful and wide, shaped neither like a bat’s nor a bird’s but something in between. With ease that left me astonished, one flap of the mighty wings propelled the creature into the sky effortlessly. Within seconds, it had disappeared into the clouds above.

For once, I was grateful for the red cords marking the boundaries of the property. The priests claimed they would protect us from unwanted attention. The creature hadn’t glanced once in my direction, which made me think the ropes were working. Or maybe I was blessed by Tyche for once.

I stood on the tree stump, trying to get another glimpse of the beast in the clouds without success.

My gaze returned to the lake. What other surprises awaited me in the outside world? Was this creature the reason why the priests insisted I never cross the boundaries and if so, had I risked being eaten or killed when I left the forest earlier for the lake?

I shuddered, this time out of dread. If the priests knew, the creature would be on the list of animals to avoid that they kept posted in the main schoolhouse as a warning of what wildlife not to engage.

No one, except maybe Herakles, was going to believe me if I told them about the creature. Easing back from the edge of the property, I returned to my shelter but wasn’t able to sleep again, not with the knowledge something like that was hovering in the clouds above the forest. I silently thanked Herakles for his survival training and insistence I carry a knife with me wherever I went. I clutched it in my hand and remained still until dawn swept across the sky. Only then did I start to relax again and packed up my tent.

Bad things didn’t happen during daylight, I told myself. I clung to the childish notion and decided to disobey Herakles for a second time.

I was going back to the school today without completing my assigned treasure hunt. I wasn’t spending another night in the forest when some creature big enough to eat me was on the loose. Bears were one thing, but this … this was something even I knew better than to mess with.