A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you are all having a lovely day! Here is the next chapter to the story and I hope you enjoy it. I even have the next chapter typed up. I just need to edit it and it should be up next Friday.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: In Which More Magic Happens

The forest was growing increasingly colder as the night went on. There was an unnerving hush over the surrounding area. It had seemed that all of the nighttime creatures had vacated the area and left it quietly eerie. The only sound that could be heard was three sets of footsteps trekking through the foliage.

"Is this the forest rose herb?" Gilbert asked holding up a shrub that had little red flowers.

"Yep. Is there more?" Vlad confirmed. "We need at least three bundles for how serious Mattie's wound is."

The albino nodded and returned to the spot where he had found the original plant. He picked as much as he could hold, hoping it was enough to heal his Birdie's leg. Standing up he could have sworn that he saw a flicker of light in the distance.

Meanwhile, Alfred was gathering cloudberries, which was the only thing on the list that he actually had seen before. He had found an old mason jar that was empty before they had left the cabin. The Romanian had instructed him to fill the jar completely. Luckily, he hadn't felt the odd and terrifying presence of the beast that was lurking somewhere in the woods. Although he felt relieved that there was less of a chance of the beast coming after their small group, he didn't like the fact that it was targeting his brother. Alfred really wanted to be a hero and het everyone out of their situation but he knew that wasn't possible at that point in time. (He wouldn't admit that out loud, though.)

After gathering cloudberries to fill the jar, the young American returned to the others to see how they were coming along. Luckily, Vlad had found the meadow sweet and was packing the bag back up. Al handed the jar of cloudberries to the Romanian teen so they could hurry back to the cabin. However, Alfred noticed something was off. His albino friend was staring off into the distance in the opposite direction of the cabin.

"Hey, bro. See something?" The blond asked. Instead of answering, Gilbert took a step forward. "Dude? What are you doing?" Before anything could be done the Prussian took off running into the woods.

It took no time for the Romanian to notice the odd behavior. "Crap, crap, crap." Vlad grumbled as he flew past Alfred, backpack in tow.

"What's going on?" Al yelled as he started chasing after his friends.

"Fairy lights." The other teen said. "If you see any flickers don't look at it. We have to get Gilbert before he gets to the lake."

"What the heck are fairy lights?"

"They are a rare magical phenomenon that mainly happens between the hours of midnight and two in the morning. They lure victims in by their hypnotic glow and lead the person straight to their death, where upon the fairies feast on the deceased's exiting life force." Vlad explained as he caught sight of the albino, who had slowed to a walk.

"Huh?" The American said, not able to grasp the concept.

Vlad sighed and whispered. "Magic lights that are going to kill and eat your friend."

Alfred swallowed hard and looked toward his friend who was just a short distance from the lake now. Seeing an opportunity to be a hero, Alfred made a mad dash towards Gilbert and tackled him to the ground at the water's edge.

Gilbert let out a grunt and lay there for a moment. Then, he began to weakly struggle.

"Dude, stop." Al snapped, becoming frustrated with the other teen's resistance. "I'm trying to save you."

"He can't hear you." Vlad pointed out. "All his senses are blocked out. He just feels the pull of the fairies trying to lead him to his death."

"What are we supposed to do then?" The American teen grumbled.

"Just prevent him from reaching his destination. In this state he'll be pretty easy to guide. He has been weakened so that he couldn't resist the drowning. So, just keep an eye on him and then when we got back to the cabin we'll take care of the rest. I almost have everything we need. Think you can manage to keep him away from the water?"

"Of course." Alfred grinned. He grabbed the Prussian by the arm and hoisted him up to a standing position. While he was face to face with his friend, Al noticed that Gil's red eyes were glassy and dazed. "Come on, bro."

Meanwhile at the cabin, Lukas was scouring through the basement looking for anything that could serve as a base for the salve. There hadn't been a whole lot to work with. There needed to be some type of base in order to apply the salve to the wound.

Lukas scanned the shelf for anything he could use. Near the back of one shelf there was a bottle of olive oil that was four years past its expiration date. He didn't think that was a good choice considering olive oil usually only lasted two years past the printed date.

Two shelves higher was a jar of extra virgin coconut oil. Lukas gave a small grin at the victory of finding something he could use. Even though the date had been nearly five years ago, virgin coconut oil could practically last forever as long as the seal wasn't broken. Dusting off the jar the Norwegian checked under the lid. Another victory! The seal was intact.

Carefully climbing back up the stairs, Lukas showed the injured, woozy Canadian his spoils. "Now we just have to wait for the other buffoons."

"I hope they hurry." Matthew moaned. He was still looking rather pale.

"Is it still hurting you that bad?" Lukas asked slight concern in his voice. The other teen nodded. "I saw some rosemary in the cellar. I could boil some in the water, and then I could dip the two cloth pieces on your leg in it. "It won't completely kill the pain but it would dull it."

"Please." The Canadian whimpered. "I'm… sorry." He winced as his leg spasmed. "I'm such… a burden."

The Norwegian frowned. "You didn't ask to be attacked. We're all kind of to blame for this mess. Just be a good patient and do what I say."

Mattie nodded and laid his head back down.

As Lukas stepped down on the first step that headed to the underground cellar, there was a heavy snap of a branch breaking just outside the cabin. Quickly, the teen turned around and headed to the door where they had left a peep hole. Peeking out, he saw absolutely nothing. Not their friends. Not a wild animal. Not the beast. Turning back to Mattie, he was about to say that everything was fine, when a scraping sound began to echo through the cabin. Another peek revealed the rotting body of the Wendigo.

It was pacing around the cabin. Stalking its prey. Matthew must have known what the other teen had seen. He put a hand over his own mouth, as if trying to suppress his fears. Every few seconds there was a new snapping sound or further scratches against the outside wall.

Silently, Lukas tiptoed to the bed. Too afraid to say a word, both boys just sat there staring at any possible opening. The breath of the beast could be heard in several different areas outside the cabin.

It felt like it had been hours before they heard the cracking of branches headed away from the cabin. Both teens let out a breath of relief. Lukas got up and headed back towards the basement to get the rosemary.

"Wait." Matthew said, wincing. "Can it… wait? At least… until the others… get back."

"If you want me to wait, I will." Lukas shrugged.

"I don't want… to be by… myself."

Lukas settled by the bed again to wait for the others to return.

Nearly twenty minutes later, both groups returned to their base with their spoils.

"Dude. I don't want to deal with him anymore." Alfred whined, holding onto Gilbert's collar. He was attempting to shrug off the American's grip and to head back toward the door. "Here, you take him." Al pushed the usual energetic boy towards Lukas.

Before Gilbert could wonder back out the door, Lukas grabbed his wrist. "What's going on with this one now?"

"Fairy lights." Vlad answered as he pulled their ingredients out of the bag.

"Great." Lukas said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Pulling the albino over to Matthew, he handed him over. "Just hold on to him. Don't let him loose."

"Okay." Mattie agreed, taking hold of his friend.

Turning back to the rest of the group, Lukas clapped his hands together. "Let's get to work."