Page 5 of The Songbird & the Forest

Ilex felt the air shift then; the birds stopped singing, and the temperature dropped slightly.

Then came the rumbling; the earth was shifting, and suddenly, clumps of dirt were spraying, white lumps erupting from openings in the ground. They realized it was bones. Large and small, all remnants of the life of the forest being pulled up by some unseen force. The bones assembled themselves into the form of what Ilex assumed must be a golem, though they had never seen one.

Dirt and moss pulled up the creature’s body and melded into rotting flesh in a blink. The creature roared—and Dahlia screamed in wrath behind it, her arms held out and shaking with the effort of her creation.

The golem stomped forward, and the bandits were too shocked to move. They only stared up at it. The man closest to Ilex wet himself in fear. The golem grabbed one of the archers in its massive hand and simply…crushed him. The sound was less than pleasant.

Ilex noticed a bit of blackness edging their vision, but they focused on breathing. The other two men had seen enough of the golem at this point, and they took off sprinting through the woods. For a long moment, there was silence as Ilex, the golem, and Dahlia all stared at each other, simply listening to the men flee.

When it was clear they were not returning, Dahlia grunted and released her hold on her beast. It collapsed to the ground, as lifeless as it had been before—now only a pile of dirt and moss and animal bones. Dahlia was breathing hard, but she approached Ilex with worry on her heart-shaped face.

“Ilex,” she breathed. They loved the sound of their name on her lips. That was the last thought before the darkness suddenly overwhelmed them, and they were falling.

7

Chapter 7

Dahlia was horrified. The arrows must have been poisoned with something to have made Ilex unconscious so quickly. She had no idea how she was going to get them back to the cottage, though. They were massive, and she was…not.

She had come running when she heard sounds of an altercation, and she was glad she had trusted her instincts. Ilex had been kind to her—she wasn’t going to just stand by and watch those awful men hurt them. Her summoning the golem may have been…overkill. Even she could admit that. She wasn’t sure what exactly had come over her, but she knew in her soul that she had to protect them. How could those men have wanted to hurt someone so beautiful as Ilex?

She looked around her, trying to focus on a way to transport Ilex back to the comfort of their home. After a bit, she had the energy to reanimate the bones she had used for the golem into her closest approximation of a horse.

She had used too much magic today, and the effort was exhausting. These castings weren’t like the more permanent spells she had worked on Fluffy and Misty—those were self-sustaining until she actively cast another spell to end them. These more impromptu spells required her continuous focus and effort. By the time she released her hold on the horse creature to deposit Ilex outside their cottage, she was nearly spent.

Ilex began to stir at the jostling of being dumped onto the ground on top of what was now a pile of bones. She rushed to their side.

“Ilex, it’s Dahlia. I’m here with you,” she said in as soothing a tone as she could muster.

“Dahlia,” they said, their voice a raw croak.

“I think those arrows had poison on them, Ilex. We have to get them out of you and get some sort of antidote. Do you think you can stand and get inside with my support?” She asked, unable to keep the worry from her tone. She couldn’t believe this sweet Dryad had been hurt so badly when they were just trying to be a good host to her.

Ilex nodded weakly, and the two of them worked to maneuver them into a sitting position, then up to standing. Ilex leaned heavily on Dahlia as they hobbled into the cottage, and they settled down into the nest-like structure at the corner of the one-room cottage.

Ilex’s emerald eyes were barely open, and Dahlia knew this must be bad. She had no idea what sort of poison they could have used, but she knew the leaves of the ciùine plant had anti-inflammatory properties. That would be a good place to start, at least.

“Ilex, I have to go find a few plants to help you, but I’ll be back soon, alright?” She explained as she grabbed one of the cups Ilex had set out for her and filled it with water, placing it beside the nest. As she bent down, Ilex caught her wrist gently.

“Thank you, Dahlia,” they said simply. She gave them a worried smile in return and set out into the surrounding woods to gather what she needed.

As she wandered, Dahlia thought about how staying to help Ilex would make her late to the gathering in Ichorna. She found she didn’t care one bit. Something about Ilex felt so familiar, and they had been kind to her—she wasn’t just going to leave them.

8

Chapter 8

Ilex couldn’t open their eyes. The bright scent of fruit and flora filled the emptiness behind their eyelids, and they felt themself taking deep breaths as they drifted in and out of sleep.

During one such episode of near consciousness, Ilex heard the most lovely voice. It was light and fluttered from pitch to pitch, the sound of it complementing the chorus of birds that serenaded the forest. They couldn’t make out the words, but they felt contentment deep in their soul, just letting the voice settle over them.

Then—they realized with great pleasure—that the voice was saying their name.

“Ilex? Ilex, your fever seems to have broken. Can you hear me? Do you think you could try to drink some water?”

They focused all of their attention then on opening their eyes, only to find the most beautiful human face just inches from theirs. Dahlia. Suddenly, the memory of her, of what happened, came rushing back, and they became aware of the way their entire body ached.

“Ilex! Oh, you’re awake! Ilex, I’m so glad you’ve opened your eyes; I was so worried,” Dahlia breathed.

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