Chapter Six

        They sat around their campfire. She stirred the stew that would be that night's dinner. Dirk prodded the fire with a stick making sparks fly.

        "Watch it, Dirk!" Dakota glared at the older man.

        "Sorry." He sighed and laid aside the stick.

        "What's wrong?" She paused in her stirring.

        "We'll reach the Mystic Forest tomorrow. I'm worried."

        "I'm not exactly excited myself, Dirk." Kota resumed stirring. "I'm scared. I've never fought before. I'm depending on you."

        Dirk gazed into Dakota's eyes. He could see plainly fear tempered by a steely determination.

        "I'll help you the best I can, but I can't do this alone."

        "I know." She spoke softly but forcefully. "That's why I've practice so hard."

        "The best thing to do now is sleep well before we face the forest."

        Kota gazed warily at the towering trees. Mystic Forest. This was what she and Dirk had been traveling towards for two days.

        "Be on your guard, Dakota." She turned in the saddle to face her companion. Kota nodded sharply and gathered the reins tightly in her hands. Nudging her horse forward, she entered the forest.

        Dirk followed closely behind, muttering under his breath. His muttering sounded a lot like chanting to Kota's ears.

        The air was cloying and raised goose bumps. Kota briskly rubbed her arms, trying to dispel the feeling. The forest was eerily silent. Dakota kept trying to hear the sound of bird song, but it eluded her. She felt a shiver run up her spine. She looked at Dirk.

        He had noticeably tensed, his eyes darting about search the shadows. Dirk clutched his reins in white-knuckled grip. He breathed evenly with nostrils flared. He was the picture of alertness.

        Kota turned back to observing the forest about her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen to them in this forest. She shifted uneasily in the saddle. The creak sounded loudly in the silence of the forest.

        "Dakota, don't move." She pulled her horse to a stop at Dirk's wary command. He drew a knife and launched it toward something in front of her. The knife impaled the tree before her with a hollow thunk, followed by a high pitched whine. Kota, covering her ears, looked towards the knife.

        Pinned between the knife and tree was a large brown colored spider. It was twitching wildly. The legs were trying to grip the knife, before flinching back as if burned.

        "What is that?" Dakota looked disgusted.

        "Draknan spider. Nasty little buggers with a taste for fresh meat." He rode past her toward the tree.

        "Meat? I thought spiders only sucked their victims dry."

        "Not draknans. Highly carnivorous and venomous." He removed his knife, slicing the twitching spider in half. "And vulnerable to steel." He dismounted to wipe his knife clean.

        "How common are they?" Her voice trembled slightly.

        "Only found them here in this Creator forsaken forest." He climbed back up into the saddle. "They won't come within twenty feet of a fire. They fry quite easily."

        "Then why don't we carry a torch or something?" They started moving along the track again.

        "Fire attracts some of the creatures. Most worst than that draknan."

        "So no fire tonight?"

        "No fire." They fell silent, continuing to press on farther into the Mystic Forest. Dakota started studying the trees closely, hoping not to find another draknan. Dirk now rode in front watching for any creature that would think they would be a tasty meal.

        It was just before dusk when Dirk reined in his horse in the middle of a small clearing. There was evidence of a past fire and bones scattered around the outer edges. Kota shivered looking at the multitude of bones.

        "We'll camp here tonight." She looked ready to protest his choice of sites. "There isn't another clearing for several miles, Dakota. It's either here or traveling at night and I wouldn't travel at night here if I could help it." He dismounted and ground hitched his horse in the middle of the clearing. He gestured for her to do the same.

        Reluctantly, she clambered from the saddle and led her horse next to Dirk's. He grabbed their bedrolls and placed them next to the horses. Dakota unrolled hers kicking away any bones that were nearby. Dirk sat next to her and handed her a biscuit and jerky. They ate silently chewing the rather dry fare.

        "We'll be safe enough without the fire tonight." He stood and went to his bedroll. "If anything comes close to the camp the horses will let us know." Lying down, he fell asleep as the sun set.

        Dakota stayed sitting on her blankets, unable to sleep. Dirk's words earlier about fire came back to her. Fire would attract some nasty creatures but keep others at bay. Glancing at the old remains of a fire, she shivered. That one fire was probably the cause for all the bones scattered about.

        She heard a rustling coming from the bushes nearby. She tensed, holding her breath. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart. Slowly she released her breath. She saw a flash of light in the distance. Squinting, she peered into the surrounding gloom, trying to discern what caused the flash.

        "Dirk?" she whispered, hoping to wake him. He didn't even twitch at her plea. She glanced at the horses. Both had their heads down, grazing contentedly on the sparse grass. The only other movement they made was the occasional flick of their tails. She lied down and curled up clutching her blanket to her throat. She jumped at every slightest noise, until exhaustion finally forced her into a dreamless sleep.

        Dakota woke to the terrified screaming of the horses. Dirk was already up and scanning the area while holding the reins of the horses. Kota quickly grabbed the reins from him.

        "Dirk, what is it?" She screamed over the noise of the scared beasts.

        "Demon spawn." Dirk's terse reply conveyed his worry and determination.

        "What can I do?"

        "Hold the horses. We may need to ride fast." He cursed under his breath. "Wish I had a torch."

        "Why?" Kota thought back to her dreams, wishing she could command fire like she could in them.

        "Demon spawn unlike demons burn easily." Dirk drew his long knife and waited tensely. A dark shape loomed on the edge of the clearing. Dirk and Dakota watched it silently. It lumbered closer and she had to fight to hold the horses. Dirk moved in front of them, knife glinting in the dim moonlight.

        Kota watched as it slowly moved closer, oily scales flashing in the faint light. Dirk flicked his hand down to his throwing knives. Grasping one, he threw it at the demon spawn. With a roar, it lunged forward in anger and pain. Dirk slashed at it, scoring a long deep gash on its side.

        The creature spun about quickly, slashing Dirk across his chest. He stumbled back, clutching at his wound. Dakota screamed as the demon spawn moved in to finish him off. Suddenly , she felt something building up inside her . She fought it, trying to stay in control.

        Her control slipped and suddenly fire erupted from her. She cried out as the fire consumed the demon spawn in a matter of seconds. She tamped down on her control. Dropping the reins, she raced over to Dirk. With the creature gone, the horses calmed enough not to wander off.

        "Dirk, are you okay?" She looked worriedly at the three parallel scratches on his chest. He nodded shortly before collapsing to the forest floor. She quickly helped him remove his shirt. Kota gasped seeing the horribly gashed torso. She rushed over to the horses and grabbed clean bandages and sulfur powder. Dirk was lying down when she returned. She quickly sprinkled the sulfur powder over the wounds. His quick intake of breath was the only indication of pain. She quickly wrapped his wounds with the bandages.

        "Dakota, what happened?" He gasped out the questions. She shrugged at a loss.

        Grabbing a fresh shirt from his packs, he slipped it gingerly over his head. "It's almost morning. We need to get out of here." Dakota gathered up their blankets and both of them mounted, Dirk with a grunt of pain.

        "Where did that fire come from?" Dirk questioned once they were on their way.

        "I don't know, but I think it might be related to the dreams I've been having lately."

        He looked at her quizzically. "Dreams? What dreams?" Dakota proceeded to tell him about her recurring dreams.