Morning came to the sound of Roosters.

  Emilia startled awake, gasping as she sat up in the bed she had taken for the night, heart pounding at the sound. Sunlight filtered through the curtained shutters of the cottage’s single window, and to Emilia’s surprise, she didn’t feel the biting chill she expected from a fall morning.

  The reason soon became apparent, as her bleary eyes managed to focus long enough to see Nai tending to a fire, placing some of their dry provisions Kate a porridge with a small amount of honey.

  “I see you’re awake.” Nai commented, glancing once in her direction. “I worry you have not gotten enough rest.”

  Emilia groaned as she sat up, clutching her injured arm to her chest. She rolled her neck, and whistled once, the note relaxing her hair to straightness with a puff of light.

  Emilia took some time to use the rag from the washbasin to clean her face and arms off somewhat from the chaos of the previous night, wincing as she gathered her Liuqin and her sword, affixing the, to her person before moving towards the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  Emilia blinked.

  “Going to look for Meil’Yeostli.”

  “Now?”

  Emilia shrugged. “We need to figure out what upset her. The quickest way to do that is to ask.”

  Nai blanched, scrambling to prepare her own things.

  “Alone?”

  Emilia shrugged.

  “I’ve been solving these problems alone for two years now. Should be fine.”

  “Wait!”

  Emilia stepped through the door, taking a deep breath with a shiver as she stared at the dawn. Nai was… a bit much. She found the two guards asleep, leaning against the wall of the stone building she had used to rest for the night, the thinner of the two startling awake as the door drifted shut.

  “Gods below heaven!” He called out, falling right off of the bucket he had been using for a chair, his reaping scythe clattering to the ground next to him.

  Emilia laughed, extending a hand and lifting the man back onto his seat.

  “Might want to wake up your friend before my companion leaves the building. I hazard to guess she is not as forgiving as I try to be.”

  Emilia winked at the bleary eyed man, before walking towards the center of town to get her bearings.

  The huts were all familiar to her. Timbered homes, with some simple decorations and thatched roofs. The town only had one trie street, although Emilia noted that several paths branched off between the buildings, some only wide enough for a person to squeeze through sideways. Almost all of them were shuttered, and the girl slowed her pace as she realized just how many doors bore white shrouds draped in front of them.

  “One…” she counted to herself as she made her way to the center of town.

  “Two…three, four…. Five…”

  She hadn’t even gone off onto the side streets. She saw a couple doors deeper among the buildings still bore shrouds of their own.

  “Twelve…thirteen…”

  She stopped standing next to a statue carved from a single tree trunk, the red wood sun-bleached and faded, but clearly cared for. Countless flowers, trinkets, and carved bits of shell were scattered around the base of the statue, but not any of them were what she would normally expect as offerings to a guardian spirit. No food, no drinks, no meals or precious things. Tools, Necklaces, a paintbrush. She brushed a hand against th statue.

  Pain flooded her mind. Pain and a piercing echo of betrayal that dropped her to her knees.

  Nai ran up to her, dragging her to her feet and siting her off, face flushed, eyebrows furrowed as she tidied her charge as much as she could.

  “Nai! Just stop!”

  “But- protocol states-“

  “I don’t care about protocol, Nai! I’m not… some noblewoman! Gods under heaven!”

  Emilia snapped her arm out of Nai’s grip, leaving the maid servant staring at her, mouth agape.

  Emilia held her hands up, and took as deep a breath as she could hold.

  “I’m sorry. Nai-Bo. That, was excessive. I just…” Emilia glanced back at the closest shroud. “Whatever happened, the Guardian feels betrayed. It’s in pain- although I don’t know what caused it.”

  Nai took a moment to consider, folding her hands respectfully in front of her.

  “I-I apologize. Emilia-Yun. I… was not aware you had contacted the spirit.”

  Emilia hesitated.

  “I haven’t. Not directly at least. All spirits, all gods, they…. They need connection. Sacred places, people who venerate them, without them, they…” Emilia winced. “Well, we saw what can happen on our way here I think. Meil’Yeostli is still connected to this statue. It’s not her main shrine, but it’s here, in town, where the people are. Places like this let me get a feeling about whatever it is connected to.”

  Emilia gestured to the offerings.

  “And it seems those people are pleading her to stop whatever rampage she’s begun.”

  “Ah.” Nai said softly, as Emilia walked around the statue. “So that is the cause of your distress?”

  “Well, it’s not just that. I’m not a noble, Nai. I’ve been an orphan for six years.”

  Nai cocked her head to the side as Emilia turned to the trees, visible at the other end of the single street, leading into the true heart of the Spirit-Wood.

  “I don’t need someone…” she waived her hand vaguely as she tried to find the right word, “doting on me at every turn. I’ve starved, been beaten, bruised, chased by monsters… you won’t be helping me by making me ‘perfect’ by whatever customs are popular in Yosae today. You’ll be most helpful with those knives and that bow, when trouble inevitably finds us.”

  Nai narrowed her eyes.

  “Spirit guides are supposed to be above the normal folk. No one else can do what you do. People expect you to follow the customs, it gives them confidence.”

  Emilia looked back at her assigned maid servant and warden, and smiled sadly, before turning to walk towards one of the narrow passways deeper into the village.

  “No, Nai. The people who follow those customs are seen as just more nobles, taking more than they should. These people don’t need me walking in here like some kind of Goddess. They need me to fix the goddess they already have.”

  Nai said nothing, brushing her short hair back to duck under a new, that ran across the narrow space, following behind her charge as Emilia glanced around the passways.

  Around this time, a few people began to emerge from their doors. So,e saw the pair and helped, darting back inside their huts, cottages, or their shops, others simply gave them both deeper bows than Emilia would have liked, before carrying in their way.

  Along the way, Nai watched the girl, making a point not to intercede, not to get in her way. The girl swirled, practically dancing down the street. She took a chuld’s hand, spinning the little boy once before letting go and carrying in her way. A man with an overloaded basket of dried reeds began to fall, and Nai raised an eyebrow as Emilia flowed over, red dress swirling in on itself as she supported the man for only the briefest of moments, before she continued down the path.

  To her chagrin, Nai could see the difference. She’d gotten used to guarded words, to the careful precision and tone of speech favored by the Jutlayi’s court. She watched Emilia laugh with a woman struggling to keep control of a child. The whole time, with each interaction, the girl asked a single question. Never the same question, Nai noticed, but always, it seemed to guide her deeper into the community.

  “If I may, Spirit-Guide,” Nai asked, after several minutes of winding through the paths between buildings, “where are we going?”

  “To the house of Tilu-Hunan.”

  Nai blinked.

  “Who?”

  “Tilu-Hunan. She’s the widow to one of the recently deceased tree cutters.”

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  “Why this one? I have seen many burial shrouds, I am sure there will be no shortage of people we could interrogate for details. And you have a name? We’ve been walking for only a little over an hour!”

  Emilia smiled. She’d been expecting that question.

  “Easy, my dear warden! Her husband, Kiro-Hunan, was the most honest and hardworking of those who died within the past week.”

  Emilia didn’t explain the fact that from her observation, when she called those who didn’t offer respects to La-Catrina, she only had nine days at most where she could call them back to speak. Each day untill then, the souls of the dead marched towards the obsidian palace of Xip’oli. Nine whole days before they passed to their final judgement in the Godhome mountains, where their fate would be decided, and they would be beyond her reach.

  They reached the house a moment later, and Emilia stood on tiptoe to reach the knocker at the top of the door. Nai stood off to the side, after some hesitation, deciding to let Emilia try things her way.

  The door opened the smallest crack. A small child peered from the door, tears streaking down her face.

  “Mama says you should go away. She says we already paid the cutters their money.”

  Emilia knelt, pulling a D’karo bloom from her hair, extending it to the girl.

  “We’re not here for money, little one. I am Emilia-Yun. I serve the a goddess, and I’ve come to help yours.”

  “Because she’s sick?”

  “Yes. And my goddess told me I needed to speak to your father.”

  “Papa’s dead. He died in the trees. They say our goddess got mad at him, stopped protecting him.”

  Emilia frowned.

  “I know. To speak with him, I need to talk to your mother first. Is lady Tilu-Hunan home?”

  The girl scrunched her nose.

  “Lady? Tilu is just Mama, the only lady in town is the wife of the Jiak, Hea-Liúng.”

  Emilia smiled.

  “I know. But could you check for me? Tell your mama the Lady of Death needs her help to fix Meil’Yeostli. Please.”

  Emilia knew that the child’s mother could hear. This home was small. It oooked like it might have two rooms, but it could have been a single room for the family.

  A moment later, Emilia jumped to her feet, as a haggard woman, thin and sickly, finally creaked the door barely any wider.

  Emilia knew she had been crying. She knew that expression.

  “Who are you?” The woman asked, her voice broken and tired.

  “Emilia, of Qúa. I was sent to bring your goddess back to herself.”

  The woman choked back a laugh.

  “Talk to the Jiak. He’s already decided who’s to blame for all this.”

  Emilia fought back her own tear.

  “What did the Jiak say?” Emilia asked softly.

  Nai made herself smaller, crouching under the windowsill to stay out of sight if the woman for now.

  “Our humble lord Liúng declared that my husband brought the wrath of our guardian on himself. Same as all the others, that he must have sinned against the oath we made with her when we built the town four generations ago.” The woman laughed, and Emilia hesitated. The woman was only a thread away from snapping, from going mad with grief. She glanced beyond the woman to the girl cowering beyond inside the house. She needed to be careful about how she worded this.

  “That’s why I came to your home, Tilu-Hunan. In the town they say your husband was one of the best. I seek understanding.”

  Tilu relaxed a little, although not by as much as Emilia would have liked.

  “You serve a goddess? Are you a spirit guide?”

  Emilia nodded.

  “Unless you can bring my husband back, I have nothing to say to you.” The woman moved to close the door, but Emilia caught her arm.

  “I can’t- not for long. But would you like to speak with him one last time?”

  “These are all of his things.” The woman said in a rush, putting a number of items before them. “This was his favorite axe, what they were able to recover at least.” The woman placed a broken axe in front of her, only three inches of the handle remained under the bronze head.

  “This mug was the only one he would drink out of, I think he liked the color, and this!” She carefully pulled a small statuette off of the mantle, “he carved this for me.”

  Emilia didn’t recognize the figure. It seemed to be a stylized wind spirit.

  “Ok- do you have any food? Spirits - even of our departed ancestors, are easier to call with offering.”

  They sat in a circle around the central cooking fire in the middle of the large room. Tilu dashed around the place, gathering things as quickly as she could, and bringing them to Emilia. Nai was perched stiffly on the bed at the far side of the room, arms glued to her sides as she tried to avoid touching the distinctly dusty children on either side of her. The three children of the home were sat about as still as Emilia had ever seen in her life, eyes locked onto her.

  Nai and Tilu regarded each other cautiously. The woman had absolutely recognized the uniform of a servant of Langshen, and had been hesitant to talk until Emilia explained what she wanted to do. Even now, Emilia noticed just how carefully Tuli avoided looking right at the civil servant.

  Emilia pulled three of her candles from her bag, taking a moment to scratch Kiro-Hunan’s name down the side of the candle with the Aveshtani script, and placed the candles in front of the small shrine she’s assembled. The axe-head, mug, and Kiro’s blanket were all folded up on a small table that seemed to have been made well enough, while a few pieces of bread were hastily placed in a bowl with the smallest amount of rice.

  “I’m not sure this is enough.” Tilu said softly, exhausted. “We can’t spare any more.”

  Nai frowned.

  “Have you already spent the funeral allowance given by lord Liung?”

  “He never gave it.” Tilu responded. “When they found my husband torn to pieces, his axe shattered on the forest floor, they knew it was an angry spirit who had done it. I don’t know how, but they knew. But instead of helping us, Lord Liung accused my husband of angering Meil’Yeostli, and driving her farther against the town, and withheld the funeral money as our ‘sentence’,”

  A glance in Nai’s direction led her to believe the woman was furious. Her expression never changed, but Emilia notice the tightening of her hands, noticed the slight clench of her jaw. So hot hat wasn’t supposed to happen. Emilia took note.

  “It will help. That’s what matters. Could you describe him for me? Tell me about him.”

  Tiki smiled, her first true smile since Emilia had seen her.

  “Tall, broad shoulders, he was sting enough he could lift me with one arm, and he did so as frequently as he wanted. He was so gentle with the children, and… and… Tuli began sobbing, Emilia patted her in the arm as she pulled her Liuqin from her back.

  “That should be enough.”

  The girl began to play. Her nine pick struck the strings slowly, softly, as she reached out to that space spirits traveled.

  Come back…just for little….

  The candles each flared to life one by one, the name scratched onto their sides glowing faintly. Emilia kept the sing going, gentle, slow, the kind of song couples would dance to.

  Tuli gasped.

  “I-I can smell him!”

  Deeper.

  Using magic was… strange, for Emilia. It ca,e from inside her, mostly. Like pulling a fishing line and spinning ut’s threads from her own soul, before casting it. But she knew something far larger than her was moving as well, driving her music, willing power to the notes.

  Nai froze. She still heard her chwrge’s Liuqin, but at the edges of her ears, she heard… another? Deeper, stronger?

  She stared at the strings. It see,ed impossible.

  The candles flared, as spirit lights began to gather in the room, whisks of light drifting st the edge of the table. A hand stretched from the light, strong and gentle, brushing against the head of the axe. Another, as both hands cupped the mug in the table, before the ghostly image brushed the wooden carving.

  Emilia pushed harder. Compared to her desperate call in the safe house, this felt more normal. Family gathered offerings present, it felt like reaching a hand out to pull someone forward.

  And, spiritually, that’s what she did.

  A man stepped fully into view, to the joyous sobs and weeping of Tuli. The kids leaps off the bed, even though Emilia warned them they wouldn’t be able to though the spirit of their father, and they tried anyway, before dancing in a circle.

  He laughed, deep, from the gut.

  Nails mouth dropped open as she stared.

  Kirk, dead for four days now bent down, giving each of his children the ghost if a hug, before turning to his wife.

  “What magic is this?” He asked softly. “That I can see you again before I reach the halls of the dead?”

  Tuli gestured to Emilia.

  “It’s her Goddess- She brought you back to us.”

  Emilia began to feel the tug if exhaustion, but she had a little time still. She played in, gentle strikes and notes.

  Kiro’s ghost turned to look at her.

  “I can tell already I won’t be able to stay.” He said matter of factly. “I will be able to say goodbye, but why else have you called me?” He scooped up a ghostly echo of the bowl of rice and bread, and closed his eyes as he ate the spectral offering.

  Emilia struggled to focus through the notes, keeping the music moving while she spoke.

  “I need to know how you died. I am sorry you have to tell this story here, but if I am to heal your guardian, I must know.”

  He nodded, sitting on a phantom chair next to his wife, who smiled widely, barely holding herself back from trying to embrace him.

  “The attacks started three weeks ago. None of us knew why. Animals, creatures from the forest attacking us while we cut. Our shamans tried to divine they cause, they knew the guardian was upset, but not why. More people died, some in the day, some going out in the night, but soon, almost nine of us were willing to cut anymore.”

  Emilia nodded.

  “I went out to cut trees, as I was tasked by our Jiak specifically that day, braving the woods in hopes that my previous favor with the goddess would spare me where it had not spared others. I kept every letter of our oath, and felled Trees that showed signs of needing removal.”

  He paused.

  “I had scaled my last tree, I was tying the ropes to ensure it fell where I wanted-how I wanted. Imresdied my axe-“ he gestured to the one on the table “then I saw something strange.”

  “What was it? Emilia asked.

  “Two men.” He said. “One wore a dark cloak, then it her looked.., Almost familiar. He had blue flowers embroidered onto his tunic, and had a strange staff with him. Both see,ed to be carrying a body wrapped in cloth. I heard the roars next, the cracking of trees. I saw what looked like orange flame barreling towards us, felt the rage directed at the two men, before the man in the dark robes just… waved his hand. It was like he had struck the guardian. I began to leave the tree, to fight, to defend her, but halfway down I realized I lost sight of the i

  ther man.”

  “What happened then?” Tuli asked.

  Kiro’s sighed, sadly, setting his chin in transluscent glowing hands.

  “I don’t know. I felt something pierce me from behind. I could see black talons protruding from my chest, and then… I felt pain, in my arm and neck. After that, I was on the road to the halls of Judgement.”

  Emilia grasped, as the rare she tired began to accelerate.

  “I’m sorry,” Emilia gasped. “You’ll have to say your goodbyes. I can’t keep you here much longer.”

  Kiro’s nodded. Turning and looking at each of his children.

  “Listen to your mother. I am proud of you, and I will be waiting to hear of the good people you have become.”

  He turned to his wife, clearly barely holding himself together as much as she was.

  “I love you.” He fj ally said.

  “I love you too.”

  “Keep them safe, please?” He asked softly. Emilia always felt like an intruder in these moments, even though she knew they couldn’t happen without her there. “I’m sorry that’s now your burden, I was supposed to protect them while you lived them.”

  “I’ll manage. Tuli said through the tears. This spirit guide will help us, and things will be easier then.”

  He nodded, turning to Emilia.

  “Thank you.”

  The spell ended, and his form dissipated into motes of spectral dust, as Emilia,s hand cramped, and she fell against the wall, steadying herself with ine hand.

  She cleared her head, as Nai and Tuli both stood to look at her.

  Emilia met the mither’s gaze. She held herself prouder, and while she would still mourne, Emilia knew she wouldn’t be a ghost herself. The three kids would have a mother. Not a shell.

  “Thank you.” Tuli said, after a while. “Whatever payment you need, I’ll pay.”

  Nai’s nodded expectantly.

  “My payment is received. I have a lead. Thank you for your and your husband’s help.”

  Nai blinked as Emilia led them back outside.

  Emilia collapsed against the wall, and Nai rushed to her, lifting the spirit guide onto her shoulder.

  “Sorry.” Emilia gasped with a chuckle. “I put more effort into that than I probably needed to.”

  “Why didn’t you charge her? Such a service… is priceless! Life debts have been a given for less.”

  “I told her, I have my payment.”

  Emilia’s eyes narrowed.

  “We have some bastards to kill, a Jiak to offend, band some spirits to talk to.” She beamed up at her maidservant. “Sounds like a fair trade to me!”

  PATREON