Chapter 54
I walked slowly into the dense forest, taking my time as I followed the directions. As I continued further, the sense of being alone and surrounded by wondrous nature invigorated me. I breathed in the scent of the moss and the grass. The trees dwarfed me, and I craned my neck to take in their massive splendor. For a moment I'd forgotten why I was even out here. I wanted to run, to explore. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Wicked grandmothers and Waldgeists vanished from my mind. I paused briefly, focusing myself. No, I needed to follow the directions and face my relatives. I couldn't run away from all this. Oh, but I really wanted to.
Approaching the spot where I was to wait, I swallowed hard and wiped my palms against my jeans. Something reached at my shoulder, and I practically yelped as I spun around. I was met with a pair of vibrant green eyes staring at me. The man they were attached to was quite youthful looking and was perhaps a few years younger than me. His long, raven black hair was shining from the sunlight that was breaking though the patches of trees. He was beaming at me, which I wasn't expecting. The shirt and pants he was wearing was the color of tree bark. Were they handmade? They had to be.
"Are you Walter's?" the man asked.
"Yes," I responded softly. "I'm his daughter, Renée."
"I'm his brother, Walden." He nodded at me as he continued to smile as brightly as his eyes. Brother? I didn't foresee that one at all.
"Pleased to meet you," I said with my eyes wide, extending out my hand to him.
He stared blankly a moment as my hand hovered, but then he took it. Instead of shaking it, he spun me slowly, examining me, moving my hair, and shifting me this way and that. What the heck was he looking for? "Come out," he called, and more people emerged from behind the trees.
They all looked young and were dressed the same way. There were slight variations for the women, who instead of pants, were wearing long, flowing skirts, but still the same color. Tree bark brown. They camouflaged well with the trees.
Two women approached me and did much the same, looking me over. They were interested in my clothes, giggling like I was the one underdressed.
"Follow us, daughter of Walter," Walden instructed, but I hesitated a moment. "You are safe. Follow." He motioned me on.
With much unease, I followed the group of Waldgeists to a large tree. A man's face was etched on the trunk.
"Enter," he said.
I gave him a look. How the hell was I to do that? It was a solid tree. There wasn't a door. Walden smiled, going in first as he passed through the trunk. I looked at the others, simply bewildered.
"Enter," one of the females said, and she proceeded to do the same thing.
The others nudged me forward. Were they crazy? Maybe I'd fallen in the forest, and was having a concussion-based hallucination.
"Take my hand," said another female. She moved toward the trunk, pulling me behind her. Holding my breath and trying not to think about it, I passed through the tree trunk. I was in a room, inside a tree. I really needed to sit down.
As if he'd read my mind, Walden pointed to a wooden bench and said, "Sit."
I sat slowly as the rest entered, and soon the room was filled with two dozen people, err, Waldgeists. Dozens of glowing, green eyes trained on me. They observed me as if I were an alien. To them I suppose I was.
"I am Wilga," said the one female that had gone through before me. "Walter's sister, daughter of Vavrin." She looked twenty at best.
I was bombard by names of cousins and other relatives of Walter's. They were all related somehow. I nodded as best I could.
"Thank you for meeting me. I realize I'm only half and that my other half is… Well…"
"Don't speak of it." Walden was still smiling. "You are the daughter of Walter. That is what matters." More smiling faces nodded in agreement. All of them were a happy bunch. It was a little disconcerting. "I'm sure you have questions," Walden continued. Boy, did I! Like, how did we just Houdini ourselves through a tree, for one.
"Are you guys really as young as you look?" The heat crept up in my cheeks as I asked the question. It was rude, and I wanted to take it back as soon as I'd said it.
They chuckled lightly. "We don't age like humans," Walden said.
I looked down at my own hands. I always had good skin. Would I stay young, too? "Are there others that are half Waldgeist like me?"
"We stay with our own kind." They shrugged. "Walter has been the only exception that we know of." Great, so I wouldn't be able to find out for a while if I was going to look like I was in my twenties for years to come.
"What do you know of us?" Wilga asked. I explained the history lesson my grandmother gave me.
They nodded. "Did she mention our regeneration?" Walden asked.
"Uhh… No."
"Let me demonstrate." He took a sharp knife from the table nearby and cut his hand. A green mist encircled his palm, and a few moments later the cut healed. "Can you do this?" he asked while coming toward me with the knife.
"Oh, no! I can't!" I almost cried out. "But I heal fast. Well, usually. I've only had one accident that didn't heal all the way."
I thought about Heath the Klaustreich and his claws. The gashes he made on me had gone down to the bone that night. The doctor wasn't even sure they could stitch it. But they managed, and I still had the faint scars to remind me. Other than that, everything else that had ever happened had always healed in a few days.
"Show me," Walden said.
"Well, umm, it's not in a place I can just…"
"Show me," he insisted.
I was reminded by my grandmother's words. I didn't want to upset them, so I grudgingly lifted my cardigan, revealing my back. Walden crossed the room and he had his hands on me. I felt incredibly awkward with my uncle's hands on my back near my bra strap.
A warm heat cascaded down my side and then he said, "Done."
"Done?" I repeated to him.
"The scar is gone."
"What?" I was dumbfounded.
"It's gone." He looked concerned as I pulled my cardigan down. "That's okay?"
"Yes, thank you." What could I say to that?
"So, what else can we do for you, daughter of Walter?"
"I really don't need anything. Can I do anything for you?"
They looked at one another like I'd committed a faux pas. "No, we ask of nothing from you," said Walden sharply.
"I apologize." I bowed my head down solemnly. I really didn't want to offend them. I sat back down.
"Did your grandmother talk to you about Hexenbiests?" Walden's green eyes were wide and shining.
"Yes. She said they're your enemies."
"Our enemies," he corrected me. I was one separating this time. Crap. "They are very dangerous. More so than Grimms." I sunk down a bit in my seat. Now it was his turn to separate. Touché. "Daughter of Walter, you must beware the Hexenbiests. They have decimated us to what you see before you. This is all that is left of our kind."
My family tree was dwindling on both sides it seemed. To be the last of their kind, there weren't many left. Waldgeists were an endangered Wesen species.
"So, regeneration hasn't helped?" I asked.
"We cannot regenerate fast enough to withstand the torment of a Hexenbiest." Walden's smile finally faded.
"I am so sorry," I said, reflecting his sadness. I really needed to watch my tongue.
Walden recounted tales of the anguish that had been inflicted on them. It was awful. Dissecting hearts and livers and draining Waldgeists of their blood… I was nauseous by the time he stopped. My grandmother hadn't mentioned any of this.
"Walter was taken by a Hexenbiest. She kept him caged, taking his blood and feeding him sweets to fatten him up. He managed to escape and returned to us. Most never escape a Hexenbiest."
My dad was lucky. Well, not lucky enough to escape his murderer later, but at least lucky back then.
"Daughter of Walter, you must be careful. For our protection, Hexenbiests give off a warning... We feel a chill of cold when we come in physical contact with one."
"Like Hexenbiest radar?" I asked.
"Radar?" Walden repeated, looking curious.
"Sorry, never mind." They were definitely not used to the real world.
"The chills," Walden continued, "will alert you of a Hexenbiest, but if they are close enough to touch you, they are close enough to…" He paused and then frowned, which made him look older. The glow in his green eyes paled, and it reminded me of Monroe's worried red.
I nodded. "I will be careful," I assured him. "My grandmother said there have hardly been any Hexenbiests around here in a while. Why are there still so few of you?" I tried to say it as delicately as I could with mentioning procreation.
"We are all of relation here. We believe in purity and would never repopulate with those outside our species, so we are all that's left. Walter and that human is something we do not tolerate. Diluting our species isn't what we want."
I nodded slowly. Well, they seemed more cultured on my dad's side than on my mom's, who didn't seem to mind dipping into the same gene pool.
"But the fruit of their union is still a part of us," Walden went on, "and we accept you as our own, regardless." He said it like that was a compliment.
"So, is there a family…? Uhh… tree for the Archers?" It sounded bad form to call it that since I was standing in one.
He looked at me puzzled. "Archers?"
"Well, my father's last name was Archer. So is there a written record of our family?"
"Walter was good with a bow, so when he left to join the humans, he chose the name Archer. We only have one name."
Only one name? These Waldgeists were more primitive than I thought.
"So there isn't a family name, or a… clan, or a tribe name for this relation?" Surely there was a name that represented us.
Walden still seemed puzzled at my questions. "Centuries ago, the elder, Eichen, used the name Raginmund, and his children called themselves sons and daughters of Eichen Raginmund." He looked directly at me. "Is this what you mean?"
"Are we descended from this elder?" I asked.
"Yes." Walden nodded. "We are of his line."
Okay. So in a weird, obscure way my last name was Raginmund. I wasn't going to start using that one anytime soon.
Walden and the others spoke of ancient elders from generations past and how the lines dwindled, until all that was left was ours. I listened intently, taking it all in. If only there was a written document with all this information. I'd just have to use my memory and write as much down as I could when I returned. Oh… I glanced at my watch. Almost one. I'd promised I'd make this brief so we could get home. I'd been out here a couple of hours already.
"I'm so sorry, but I really must go," I said as I stood.
"I have something for you," said Walden and he moved to the back edge of the tree. He returned with a necklace in his hands. Dangling from a silver chain was a silver pendant. The symbol was of the same face that was etched on the trunk.
"This will help guide you back to us and will protect you," he said.
I slipped on the necklace as an amazing sense of calm rushed over me. It was more Zen than I was used to.
"That euphoria you feel is part of us. The closer you are, the more that feeling will return to you."
I smiled up at Walden. "Thank you again." So, I had Hexenbiest radar and a GPS Waldgeist necklace. Maybe they were more advanced than I gave them credit for.
"You are always welcome here." Walden beamed while the others nodded agreeably. He reached forward and hugged me, which took me by surprise. I embraced him and his hair smelled sweet like flowers. It was comforting. As he let me go, his smile returned.
"Can you help me back?" I asked.
"Of course. I will take you."
Walden went out the tree, and I held my breath once more as I walked through the trunk.
"So that?" I asked as we emerged on the other side. "What is that?"
"It's enchanted to only allow those with Waldgeist blood to enter." It was better than any lock I'd ever seen. It was like walking into a Harry Potter book. That tree ought to have nine and three quarters etched somewhere instead of a face.
I hummed softly as we walked back. Walden began to hum with me in harmony. The song we were humming was Van Morrison's 'In the Forest.'
"By the sacred grove,
Where the waters flow,
We will come and go, in the forest.
In the summer rain,
We will meet again,
We will learn the code of the ancient ones, in the forest..."
"So, you know this music?" I asked with surprise as I stopped.
"No, but music comes to us easily." That was a pretty good answer to me.
Walden hugged me again as we were back to the place we'd first met. "Daughter of Walter, this is as far as I dare go. Please be cautious, and come see us again when the leaves fall."
"Okay," I replied. Could I actually keep that promise? It would mean seeing my grandmother again, and I really didn't want to do that. "Does my grandmother treat you well?" I asked with hesitation in my voice.
"Yes. Since Walter died, she has fulfilled her promise to guard us," he said while smiling. "Walter was our elder-king before he loved that human." Walden looked at me with eyes downcast. "I'm sorry. Your mother," he corrected himself. "I became elder-king when he forfeited his rank to be with her and to live amongst humans instead of his own kind."
Wow, so he was the elder and a king? How old was he really? I didn't dare ask. I'd already been rude enough for today. So, if my dad had been the king, then did that make me…? Oh, it was silly to even say it.
"Thank you for everything." I beamed at him.
Walden nodded with a similar smile. "Stay safe, Daughter of Walter."
As I walked back to the house, the incredible peace I was feeling faded like waking out of a really good dream. I touched the pendant with my fingers. This must be enchanted, too.
As I approached the front door of my grandmother's house, I tucked the pendant off to the side of my cardigan. No sense explaining this to her. I knocked on the front door, and it was quickly opened.
"You're alive?" She scanned me from top to bottom. I held back the 'obviously' face and stepped inside. "What else did you learn?" she asked all too eagerly. "Tell me."
I sat down in the chair beside the couch where Monroe was fidgeting in his seat. Oh, he was wound up tight again and had no way to dispel his pent up energy. He might try to run the three-hundred miles home.
"Tell me," my grandmother repeated in a more demanding tone, snapping me from my thoughts.
"They told me the same thing you did." She looked at me in disbelief. Was this her plan all along? Was I supposed to gain knowledge she couldn't get from them? "You didn't mention the slow aging, however," I added.
"Slow aging?" asked Monroe.
"Yeah, they all looked younger than me, but they surely weren't."
"As you saw, they don't age like we do," said my grandmother matter-of-factly. "What else?"
"They couldn't tell me what I'll be able to do since I'm only half. They said this is a first for their kind that they're aware of. They don't tolerate a dilution in their species."
My grandmother nodded with a sigh. "No, they'd rather die than do that," she said, sounding familiar with their beliefs already. "I was worried they were gonna kill ya out there since you're half, and it was a trick of some sort."
"You thought they were gonna kill her?" Monroe yelped out, standing. "And you just thought to tell us this now? What if she hadn't returned, or they hurt her?" He ran his hand to the back of his neck.
"I would have gone for revenge," she simply replied. Dear goodness. Maybe that was her plan… my death as an excuse to kill them.
I shuddered. "Well, perhaps we should go." Standing quickly, I reached for Monroe's free hand. "Our flight leaves in a few hours."
"Yes, I understand," she replied. "I wish I had more time with you. There's so much more you need to know."
"While I'd love to stay, our flight can't be rescheduled. I'm sorry."
She nodded. "Before you go, I want to give you somethin'."
Another gift? This one wouldn't be as magical. I turned to Monroe, who gave me a wide-eyed look.
I turned back to my grandmother. "Okay."
She took me to the room of bookshelves again.
"Turn," she said. Back to the secrets. I did as she asked, however.
The room opened as it once had before.
"I want you to have a journal," said my grandmother as we walked through the red door. "You should have somethin' from your heritage. Somethin' that tells you more about those thangs that are among us."
"Sure, that would be nice actually." I ignored the 'those thangs' part.
"It's not 'bout niceties," she said quickly. "You need to know what our ancestors had to go through, so you, in turn, can make the correct decisions."
It was obvious one of those decisions was not to date a Blutbad. The other was use your granddaughter as bait. Regardless, I wanted a book. I wanted to feel part of the club.
My grandmother scoured the shelves until she landed on a large book and slid it out gently. "This one details much of the history. I remember readin' this over and over when I was a girl. It would be perfect for you." She laid the book in my hands. "Specifically, there's a section of Blutbaden you need to read."
There it was. I held back retorting again, save of my better judgment. Instead, I nodded silently. Saying anything now would just cause more issues. My goal was to get out of here and back to Portland ASAP.
"Thank you for this," I said as I held the book against my chest. That was just manners.
"Read it," she replied with a darkened glare. "Understand it. Learn who you are."
I nodded again. As we exited, I fought the urge to run. I walked slowly. If only I could just run away. Soon I'd be on the road and far away from this crazy place.
Nick and Monroe were sitting on the couch when we got back. They both turned in unison, looking more than ready to leave.
"If you guys are ready, I think it's time we hit the road to make our flight… to Louisville," I said, stressing the word. They stood, and I turned back to my grandmother. "Thank you for your hospitality," I said as genuinely as possible. No matter what, I still wasn't going to be rude. My mom back home taught me better than that.
"Renée, I really want you to return," my grandmother said with more sincerity than she'd displayed since we'd arrived.
"I'll try." My sincerity was completely faked, but she didn't need to know that.
She pointed at Monroe. "And don't bring him back here when you do."
I turned toward my boyfriend, whose red eyes flashed briefly, but he held in everything else.
My grandmother wished us a safe trip back to Kentucky and hugged me, which I wasn't expecting. "Read the book, understand it. Take what I've said to heart. You can't trust him."
All I could do was force a smile. We left promptly, and as we locked the car doors, I was finally able to breathe.
"Can't trust me?" Monroe's eyes were red as fire as we peeled out of the forest. "It's her we can't trust. Sending you out there, not knowing if they were gonna tear you apart. Dude, she's just…"
"Wicked." I added the word again. "I'm so glad we're leaving."
"Okay, so are you going to tell us what happened with the Waldgeists?" Nick asked as I drove.
"Oh, yeah. It was an adventure," I replied and told them the whole story, complete with the Harry Potter tree.
"You went through a tree?" Nick asked bewildered. Even Monroe's eyes were wide after my story.
I nodded. I'd never seen magic like that before. Sure, there were potions and spells. Those were all true. But enchanted trees and necklaces? This was all new to me.
"Boy, I've never heard of Wesen living in trees." He looked to Nick. "Well, aside from Holly Clark."
"Was that the teenage Blutbad?" I asked. Monroe had told me the story about the poor girl who'd been abducted and was left to live in the woods for years.
Nick nodded in my rearview mirror. "Holly didn't choose what happened to her. It sounds like these Wesen prefer it this way."
"And here I thought I was cloistered," said Monroe with a chuckle.
"But a Wesen that doesn't age? That's just…" Nick trailed off.
"Maybe I'll never have to invest in a face lift," I replied with a grin. Inside I was a nervous wreck.
"I hate to interrupt, but can we please stop for food somewhere?" Monroe asked in a pleading tone. "Anywhere. I'm dying here, man."
We found a drive-thru and Monroe rubbed his stomach after eating for three. I had to admit I was grateful for something to eat, myself.
My brain was a mess of info along the way home. Mental filing cabinets were trying to make sense of all this, and even they were giving up on organizing it all.
I thumbed through my MP3 player until I landed on Third Day's 'Hit me Like a Bomb.'
"Everything's changing.
It didn't take long,
For you to start rearranging,
Everything that I've known.
When you hit me like a bomb…"
I'd been hit with a Wesen bomb, and the shrapnel of knowledge was digging into my brain. Monroe and Nick kept asking questions, and Monroe kept asking in different ways if I was all right. I simply nodded. I wasn't all right at all.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
The drive back seemed to go by faster, thank goodness. As we passed through Eugene the rain hit. No more sunshine. Nick received a call when we were twenty miles from Portland.
"That was Hank, I've got to get back. We just got a call about a shooting in the Southeast area." The Portland murderers had held off as long as they could.
After I dropped off Nick, I drove to Monroe's.
"Come in, and we'll talk some more," he said as he took off his seat belt.
"No." I shook my head. "I think I need to be alone for a while and clear my mind."
Monroe reached for my hand. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him. "I just need a timeout." I wasn't fine, but I needed to be by myself. If he knew, that wouldn't happen.
"Are you sure, 'cause maybe you need some time with me instead?"
"Monroe, I just need some alone time."
Monroe's eyes narrowed. "It has nothing to do with what your grandma said about trusting me, is it?"
I shook my head quickly. "Not at all." I patted his hand. "It has nothing to do with you. It has more to do with me."
Monroe nodded, albeit sadly, but he seemed to understand. "If you change your mind, just come back, and I'll be here."
"Thank you, Monroe." I kissed him as I held back my tears. "Thank you for being there for me this weekend."
I turned my MP3 player to Bullets for Valentine's 'Deliver Us From Evil' while I watched him go inside.
"What's happening to me?
I'm dying from the inside.
Body hurts too much to feel.
Pressure adds to pain.
Deliver us from evil!
Straying out of sanity…"
A/N: Okay... Whew! So this is my first attempt at writing something kinda out-there from the Grimm world stories. And it was pretty out there. Hope you find it interesting, and hope it wasn't too stupid. Waldgeists are in German folklore, so that part fits the Grimmology.
One more chapter to go tonight.
