Chapter One: Into the Deep Woods

Flynn followed Yuri over the wall, but he checked to make sure no one was looking first. Thankfully, no one else was between the barn and the stone wall wrapping around this side of the village. Before that could change, he scrambled up the rough stones and swung his leg over the top of the chest-high wall.

"No one saw." He dropped to the ground so his head was below the wall.

"Perfect. Come on." Yuri waved his hand and started toward the trees, but Flynn didn't follow. He turned around with his hands on his hips. "Are you coming?"

"Well… are you sure you saw something?" Flynn's back remained pressed against the wall as his eyes panned over the gnarled branches of the orange trees. Many of them were already shedding their leaves in preparation for winter.

Yuri slumped his shoulders. "You're not scared are you?"

"No." Maybe a little. "You know we're not supposed to go into the forest."

Yuri looked over his shoulder. If he found the shadows below the branches as intimidating as Flynn did, his face didn't show it. "It's not like I want to go on a trek deep into the words. I just want to check out the moving thing I saw" He held out his hand. "Coming?"

Flynn bit his lip. Checking out a mysterious moving thing in the woods did not sound like a particularly good idea. Never play in the old forest, his mother had told him when he was barely old enough to talk. She'd repeated the rule countless times as he grew up, pounding it into his head that he must never, under any circumstances, wander into the woods on the edge of the village. Merely hopping the wall would have been grounds for a hiding were he still a child. It had been easy to follow that rule; every other child in the village had grown up with the same admonishment, and even the adults kept well away from it.

But then, Yuri was right. Creeping behind the first row of trees wasn't the same as wandering into the woods. They would never be out of sight of the village. Nothing would come this close.

And then there was Yuri. He was a bad influence, Flynn was sure. There was a buzz in Flynn's chest that made him desire any chance to be alone with Yuri, and balked at the concept of letting Yuri think him a coward. He wasn't completely oblivious; he knew exactly what he wanted from Yuri. The trouble came from reminding that flutter in his heart that it would not - could not - ever happen. Still, he could steal a few moments with Yuri in the woods, away from the rest of the village, and just enjoy the company. He grabbed Yuri's hand and the pair of them darted across the dying grass and into the trees.

They slowed down once they were beneath the shade of the trees. Flynn stopped being paranoid that someone in the village would see them and began his paranoia about something in the woods. There was probably nothing, but a lifetime of stories were hard to ignore completely.

Yuri pointed to something flapping on a branch nearby. He'd spotted the movement while they were fixing a patch in the thatch of Flynn's family's cottage. From the roof, Yuri had stared into the trees and excitedly pointed out something he'd spotted. "It's over there."

They approached the twisty arms of the yew tree. Snagged on a low branch was a torn triangle of pale blue fabric, flapping in the breeze. "What is it?" Flynn asked.

"Hm…" Yuri put his hands on his hips. "Help me up. I think I can reach it."

Flynn rested one knee on the ground and cupped his hands. Yuri placed one foot on them and Flynn heaved, giving Yuri enough of a boost to reach up and grab a low branch with one hand. This split his weight between dangling from one arm and resting one foot on Flynn, so his other arm was free to stretch for the fabric. His other foot, meanwhile, flailed about and nearly kicking Flynn in the face.

"This is mud on your boot, right?" Flynn asked as something brown and squishy oozed between his fingers. "You better not have stepped in sheep dung."

"I'm pretty sure it's mud."

"Pretty?" A large spider crawled out of the leaves near Flynn's foot. He glared at it and mentally told it to shoo.

Yuri accidentally kneed him in the mouth. "Positive. I got it!"

"Thank the Lord." That spider was getting awfully close to his toes. He wasn't necessarily afraid of spiders like the kid next door was, but that didn't mean he wanted them crawling on him. Yuri dropped to the ground and his thus startled the spider back under the leaves. Flynn rose and brushed his hands together, then wiped the remaining (probable) mud on the hem of his tunic. "So what is it?"

"It looks familiar." The fabric was about a foot long and powder blue. Flynn took it from him and turned it over, trying to remember where he'd seen this colour before. "Oh, I know. It's a piece from one of Lord Heurassein's standards. They fly on his carriage. It must have ripped off during the windstorm the other night." Yuri, obviously, had never been close enough to the lord's manor to see the carriage up close. Flynn passed it back. "Well, was it worth sneaking out of the village to find?"

Yuri shrugged. "Satisfied my curiosity at least."

"Time to go back?" Flynn looked over his shoulder, but found himself reluctant to head back to the village. Back there, surrounded by people, where it was impossible to do anything without the entire village knowing about it within a day.

Yuri followed his gaze. "Yeah… though… it's kind of nice out here in the forest."

"For now."

"Why do you think no one ever goes in the forest?" Yuri turned away from Flynn and peered through the trees.

There were stories, of course. Flynn used to lay awake in fear at night, lighting to the trees so close to his house and imaging dark horrors creeping out to gobble them. But, surely those stories were just things made up to frighten children into not straying from the village. "I imagine it's just a very dark and disorienting forest which is easy to get lost in, plus the usual dangers of wolves, boars, bandits."

"Maybe we should go exploring some time. See if the old stories of lost treasure are true."

"Absolutely not."

Yuri turned back to him. "Why? Scared?"

"Nobody goes into the forest, Yuri. Nobody. I asked Hanks, and he said that in his whole life he only knew of one person who went into the woods, trying to poach a deer somewhere the lord wouldn't notice. That person didn't come back."

Yuri frowned but then waved it off. "Unlucky encounter with a wolf, or maybe he even ran off to the city to start a new life. So, you really aren't curious at all? You have heard the rumours about lost treasure deep inside?"

"There's no way that's true. Just an old rumour passed down in the tavern."

"Imagine if it wasn't though. Imagine if we found piles of gold hidden in the woods, and then we could run off together and get away from this dumb village." Yuri kicked a rock and watched it smash into a nearby tree. "Lords can do whatever they want.

"Just what do you want to do that you can't here?" Flynn's heart beat a little faster.

Yuri met his eyes. Did he feel it, too? The thrum of desire rushing through his blood? When Yuri passed him things, and their fingers touched, did he feel the static too, and was that why the touches seemed to be coming more frequent, and lasting longer? Yuri tore his eyes away and spoke to the trees. "If you don't know, there's no point in me saying it."

Flynn's Adam's apple bobbed. "I… think I know." The words were thick as porridge. Logic told him to stop, shut up, go no further. This was a connection not to be pursued.

When Yuri met his eyes again, his face was softer than Flynn had ever seen. The usual cocky confidence was replaced with uncertainty and nervous hesitation. Staring back at him, needing to know where this conversation was going to go next, Flynn thought the ground was shaking but then realized it was just his knees.

Maybe it was because he'd already broken the rules by sneaking out of the village, maybe something about the forbidden forest was rubbing off on him, but Flynn's reckless streak was stronger than usual. Before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned forward and kissed Yuri on the cheek. Yuri sucked in a breath and Flynn pulled away quickly, nearly choking on his heartbeat. He started to stammer an apology, but then Yuri grabbed his biceps and pulled him close. The next kiss landed on his lips.

For an eternal moment, the world was perfect. Yuri's lips were soft and warm against the crisp air of autumn. The world condensed to just the two of them with the rustling leaves as a backdrop and all the years of yearning and what-ifs exploded into reality.

The moment was broken by the clanging of church bells signalling noon. Flynn pulled away with a jolt and the back of his hand went to his lips, as if to wipe Yuri away. The couldn't bring himself to move the hand, though.

"Sorry," Yuri said to Flynn's shocked expression. Yuri seemed more disappointed than surprised.

"No." Flynn dropped his arm. "I'm sorry. It's not - I do - we can't, Yuri." The church bells had only now stopped their chiming and Flynn knew they'd be expected at the cottage soon for the onslaught of afternoon chores.

Yuri sighed. "I know."

It wasn't fair. All Flynn wanted more than anything was to wrap his arms around Yuri and kiss him until the sun went down, but he dared not risk it. He knew he'd never be satisfied with one kiss, especially considering the times he had to kick himself out of daydreams about moving in with Yuri and living happily together in a cottage of their own rather than marrying a nice village girl like he was expected to. His feelings for Yuri burned so hot it hurt his chest, but they would never, ever be accepted in their village. He fought the urge to check over his shoulder once again to make certain no one had wandered over to the wall and peered through the trees to spot them. Flynn shuddered to think what everyone would say. The bailiff's son getting caught committing sodomy with a hired farm hand would be the talk of the village for years - long enough that Flynn might be done fulfilling the penance the priest would demand.

"You're right," he said softly. "It would be better if we could run away and do whatever we wanted. But, we can't. So we have to work with what we have, and that means we have to put this behind us."

"What if we did run away? We could go to London. Lots of people live there, so it wouldn't be like here where everyone knows everyone else."

Flynn shook his head. "You can't, Yuri." Flynn, whose father worked directly for the lord and owned his small patch of land, was free to leave the manor's estate. A simple serf like Yuri was not.

"If we were rich, I could. If we found a hidden treasure, I could pay it to the lord to clear my debt and I'd be free to go. Then we could use what was left to rent a little room together in London and get away from a lifetime of spending more time with sheep than with each other."

"We could," Flynn admitted. "But we're not going to find a hidden treasure. That's just an old story, and we shouldn't even be in the forest long enough to be having this conversation, let alone explore it enough to find it. I'm sorry, Yuri."

"Not your fault," Yuri grumbled. "You're right, of course. It's just… ugh, I hate this." He kicked a tree root. Maybe someday - oh, god's bones!" He dropped his arms and looked past Flynn, back toward the village. "Not again."

"What?" Flynn jerked around, terrified someone had spotted them.

"Your stupid sheep wandered away from the flock again."

Flynn turned and spotted a fluffy white animal munching on grass near the wall. He rolled his eyes. "Why are they my sheep whenever they're frustrating? They were our sheep when they gave the wool for your shirt."

"Because your father owns them, and of the two of us, you're not the one he's going to skin alive if any of them go missing. Sorry to cut this short, but I happen to like my skin where it is."

"It's fine. I'll help you bring her back." Flynn took a few steps toward the village, but his foot came down on a gnarled tree root. His ankle slid to the side and he threw his arm out to catch himself on the trunk, but all he managed to do was slash his palm on a rough piece of bark before landing on his knees.

"Whoa, easy there." Yuri grabbed his arm to help him up. "You alright?"

"Yes, sorry, I'm fine." His knee throbbed, but it would be a bruise at the worst. He was more concerned with his stinging right hand and clutched it in the other to examine it. On the palm below his pinkie finger, the skin was ripped and inflamed surrounding a jagged cut.

"Good lord." Yuri leaned over to see, and then Flynn had to move his hand again with Yuri's head blocked the light. "There isn't a knife hidden in the tree, is there?"

"No. I guess I just… hit the exact wrong spot at the wrong angle." A bead of blood trickled off his palm and sank into the forest floor. Flynn twisted his arm to put his palm to his mouth and sucked on the wound. "Don't worry, it's fine. Let's get that sheep before she wanders off again."

They left the shade of the trees and into the sunlight. The sheep in question had roamed away from the flock and around the wall on the other side of the village. Flynn recognized the sheep as the little adventurous one that always seemed to be drifting away from the flock. A strong piece of him wanted to stay beneath the trees with Yuri's body so close to his, because if this stupid sheep got nabbed by a wolf it would be its own fault. They couldn't, of course, and if Yuri had suggested ignoring it he would have lost a lot of respect for him. When a sheep strayed, you went after it. That was just the way it was.

"Alright, Fluffy, adventure's over," Yuri said as they reached it. "I promise the grass on the other side of the wall is just as tasty."

They began guiding the sheep away but something intangible tingled the back of Flynn's neck. He whipped his head back to see what was creeping up behind him, but there was nothing but the shadows of the trees and branches rattling in the breeze.


In the grey hours of the next morning, Flynn drifted toward wakefulness at a touch.

"Flynn." Yuri's voice in his ear.

Eyes still closed, he mumbled, "Hm?" and pulled his scratchy blanket up to his chin.

"I'm going to find it," he murmured with his hand on Flynn's shoulder. It was cold, which didn't make Flynn any less resentful at being woken early on one of the few days of the year he was allowed to sleep past dawn.

"Go t'sleep," Flynn grumbled.

"It's in the forest. Don't worry about me. I'll be back before you know it." The hand left his shoulder and Yuri disappeared.

The chains of sleep began dragging Flynn back into oblivion, but just enough of what Yuri had said fought back. He was going… to find something… in the forest. Flynn blinked and pried his eyes open.

"W-wait." He rubbed his eyes and propped himself up from the straw mattress. Flynn dragged himself to the edge of the wooden loft. He looked down on the main room just in time to see the wooden door thump shut. "Yuri!"

When Yuri said forest… he didn't mean the forbidden one, right? He must have meant the sparsely wooded area on the other side of the village, which surrounded the road leading toward the next town. Yuri's words yesterday about exploring the forest and the possibility of lost treasure deep inside ran through his head. Yuri wouldn't be that reckless, right? He may not believe in the beast, but the stories existed for a reason and the woods were unquestionable dangerous.

All this rushed through his head while he struggled to tug his boots on. It was too early for this, his groggy muscles whined as he scrambled down the ladder. There were precious few days of rest between finishing the summer harvest and the backbreaking work of preparing the fields for the winter crop, and Flynn didn't want to spend one of them running after Yuri when the sun had barely blipped over the horizon. On the steps of his house, he spotted Yuri disappearing around the stable.

"Yuri! Wait up!" Flynn ran after him, shivering in the morning mist and wishing he'd grabbed his cloak before running out of the house.

Around the old wooden building, a trail of footprints in the morning dew led straight to the mossy wall. Yuri was crouched on the top of it and looked back when Flynn called his name. There was the flash of a smile and then he jumped to the ground on the other side.

"Yuri, you clod," Flynn grumbled as he ran after him. He limbed over the cold stone wall and felt a sharp pain in his hand when he pressed the injured palm against the rock. This slowed him down so by the time he hopped down to the wet grass on the other side, Yuri was disappearing into the trees.

"Yuri!" Flynn ran to the edge of the trees. "Yuri, you get back here this instant!" Flynn stood on a tree root, one hand resting against the trunk. Yuri was deeper in the trees now than they'd been yesterday and Flynn hesitated before running after him. It was like there was an invisible rope around his chest, tying him to the village with a lifetime of warnings and admonishments to never, ever go into the forest. "You're going to be in a lot of trouble, Yuri! Get back here!" Flynn bit his lip and looked over his shoulder at the village. "Lord help me," he muttered and dashed after his friend.

"This isn't a joke, Yuri. The forest is dangerous and we have work to do later this afternoon. If you wander off, my father will be furious." He slowed down when he entered the mist. It curled around trees and made odd shadows in the corner of his eye. Flynn took a deep breath and his lungs were filled with the scent of damp earth and mildew. "Yuri?"

Which way had he gone? Yuri had walked around a tree and now Flynn couldn't see him anywhere. "Yuri! Come on, let's go home. Whatever you're looking for can't be worth this."

The only response was the rustling of leaves. "...Yuri?" His heart thumped. "Yuri, we shouldn't be here." It seemed like the mist had swallowed him up. Flynn swallowed and took a few uncertain steps forward.

A sudden laugh from ahead startled him. "You didn't have to come!" Yuri called back, though Flynn still couldn't see him. "Go home, I'm just going a little farther."

"You are not." He wasn't sure exactly which way Yuri had gone. The sun wasn't yet high enough to make more than a passing attempt at illuminating the forest and the mist further obscured the view. All he knew for sure was that Yuri had sounded quite far ahead and that running blindly into the forest was a very bad idea. "Yuri! Please come back!"

All he got in response was another laugh, even further away.

A knot in his chest pulled him in two directions. Emotion told him to chase Yuri before he got any further away, while logic told him to go home and properly equip himself before venturing deeper into the forest. Logic won, and Flynn tore himself away. Now facing the village, his stomach lurched at how distant the thatch of his house was. Had he really run this far in already? It hadn't seemed like it at all. Probably a beast wouldn't come within sight of the village… but he hurried out of the trees all the same.

Flynn strode directly to his house. This situation could quickly turn into a disaster, and all he could focus on was fixing it as quickly as possible. The matter was simple: Yuri had vanished into the woods, so Flynn would go after him.

Back home, he got properly dressed with a warm sweater and a wool cloak. He hesitated and then grabbed his bow and a quiver of arrows. They were tipped with small points, good enough to kill a squirrel or hedgehog, which was all he used it for. But, it was better than nothing. With a knife tucked into his belt and the bow on his back, he felt slightly more prepared for a venture into the dark forest. He also filled a small bag with bread, cheese, and nuts in case it took a while, as well as the battered old lantern and a flint.

On his way out the door, he almost crashed into his father. "Oh! I'm sorry."

"No bother." He looked Flynn up and down. "Going hunting?"

"Er… yes." He was glad the lantern hung from his belt and was covered by his cloak, because he certainly wouldn't need it in the safe forest by the road. "I thought I'd try to get some squirrels."

"Alright. I want you home by noon, though, to start chopping the firewood."

"Yes, sir."

"And have you seen Yuri? He was supposed to muck out the stable this morning but it doesn't look like he has."

Flynn didn't like to lie and he especially didn't like lying to his father, but saying Yuri had wandered away from the village to explore the forest on his own would get him in so much trouble. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't."

"Hm, alright. Well, if you happen to see him today, let him know I want him back as soon as possible."

"Ah - yes. I will. We'll both be back soon." He hurried away, hoping he wouldn't have to lie to anyone else to get out of the village without contest. He rounded his cottage and hurried to the wall. It had been so much nicer yesterday when he was doing this with Yuri and his only anxiety was fear of being seen, rather than fear of delving deep into the old forest. On the other side of the wall, he stared at the trees stretched before him, ominous in their silence. Flynn crossed the stretch of grass slowly, half-hoping Yuri would burst out from behind a bush and laugh at him for falling for this prank.

His Adam's apple bobbed. A hundred childhood stories about the beast lurking behind the trees swam before his mind's eye, and it was almost enough to turn him back. Just as before, there was a rope around his chest, anchoring him to the village and to safety. He had another connection, though - a bond that stretched ahead of him toward Yuri. He didn't know what his relationship with Yuri was, but he knew that he could not abide not having one. His fear of losing Yuri forever overrode the promise of safety, and he took his first step into the trees.


It was one of Flynn's earliest memories. He ran up and down the vegetable patch beside his house, waving his arms and occasionally falling flat on his face with a giggle. Running was hard when you'd only mastered walking a year or so before. A sparrow landed next to the turned earth, looking for freshly sown seeds. Flynn screeched and ran toward it, chasing the bird away just as his mother had told him to.

The bird took flight, disappearing over the towering stone wall behind his house. Flynn stood at the end of the vegetable patch, watching the tips of trees swaying beyond the wall. He had no idea what was on the other side, except that birds came from there and then ate their seeds. If he wasn't over there, he could scare the birds in their home, and then they'd never come back!

It made perfect sense, so he toddled toward the wall. Tiny hands grasped the stones and he pulled himself off the ground. He grunted with exertion and reached for the next stone, but then he heard, "Flynn!"

Arms swooped around him and his mother pulled him away from the wall. "Get down from there." His feet landed on the grass and he looked up at his mother crouching over him. "Where did you think you were going?"

"To the bird home," he explained. "So I can chase them there and they won't be here."

She wrinkled her brow. "The bird home?"

Flynn pointed over the wall. "The trees."

Mother's face changed from confused to stern. "The forest? No, Flynn, you are not allowed to go there."

"Why?" he whined. "It's where the birds are."

She rested her hands on his small shoulders. "We do not enter the old forest, Flynn. That is the home of the beast."

"The… the what?"

"The beast. It wanders through the trees looking for humans to gobble up. If you go into the forest, the beast will find you, rip you up, and eat you. Do you understand?"

Flynn's eyes grew wide with terror and he mutely nodded.

"Promise me you will never, ever go in there."

"I promise."

"Good." She scooped him up and carried him back toward the vegetable garden to finish planting the carrots. Flynn wrapped his arms around her neck and peered over her shoulder at the trees beyond the wall. The branches swayed invitingly, but below the boughs he was sure he saw a shadow slink past a tree.


Flynn walked slowly through the forest. As the day warmed up, the mist faded and he was able to see more than when he first came in. Not that there was anything to see. After a lifetime of fearing this place, he'd expected a few more horrors. Instead, the forest was silent. He'd entered a few hours ago and so far he hadn't seen a single living creature. He'd heard the scampering of small furry animals in the distance, and birdsong twittered in the distance, but nothing he could see. It unnerved him. It was like the forest was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

There was no path through the woods. If there had been once, generations without use had swallowed it up. The only way to find Yuri was track him like prey. Luckily, Flynn had experience hunting so he knew what to look for to track an animal, but he was used to relying on patterns in the snow, since he usually only hunted in winter when there was no farm work to do and food was scarce. The soil in the forest was soft enough to preserve footprints, at least, and Yuri was putting no effort into stealth. He left behind snapped branches or strands of hair clinging to an overhanging bush.

At this point, he almost felt silly for panicking so much over the prospect of entering the forest. So many years of horror stories had made him expect goblins and trolls around every bush, but instead the scenery was beautiful. The sun was high in the sky now and had dispelled the mist, making the view as crisp as the air. The sun pierced columns of light through the orange leaves, wherein specks of dust swam through gold. He couldn't see too far into the distance thanks to the wall of red and orange as trees built up to obscure it.

Flynn climbed up a lichen-encrusted log that was blocking his way and rested his hand against it was he hopped down. This sent enough twinge through his palm and he looked down with a wince to see a smear of blood on the pale yellow lichen. When they had gotten home yesterday, he'd tied a strip of fabric around his palm. It helped quell the blood, but the position of the cut meant that every time he creased and then opened his hand, the skin tugged open and began bleeding anew. At some point during his walk, it had started bleeding again and the cloth had slipped from it's needed position. Flynn sighed and sucked on the cut again, then spat the blood to the ground. He pressed the already-stained cloth against the wound and held it there as he continued the walk. It was ridiculous how much a small cut could bleed if you got it in the wrong place.

When it finally seemed to be slowing down again, he tightened the knot with his teeth and hoped that would be enough pressure to keep him from bleeding all over the forest. He climbed over roots thicker than his leg that snaked into the ground and then noticed a section of soil up ahead where the patchwork of fallen leaves had covered the earth. Flynn crouched when he reached it. Here was another footprint, proving he was on the right track. Every time he found a hint that Yuri had been there, he started hoping he'd find him just around the next tree. Of course, that was too much to hope for.

He stood and stretched his arms. The sun the leaves warmed the top of his head and he knew his father would expect him home any time now. Guilt squirmed in his stomach, but he couldn't turn back now. He was about to start walking again when something rustled in the dead leaves off to his left. Flynn froze for half a second and by the time he'd whipped around, he had an arrow notched and ready to shoot.

His nerves as tense as the bowstring, Flynn scanned the undergrowth for the source of the noise. The forest floor was covered in so many tangled roots and fallen leaves that it was hard to pinpoint the source. Leaves rustled again and his arms shook, anxious to release his arrow in anything that moved.

A squirrel darted out from under a log and then scampered up the tree. Flynn let out his held breath, but didn't lower his bow. It hadn't been a squirrel, he was sure of it. The sound had been more of a slithering, more like-

-like the sweep of a cloak across the leaves right behind him.

"Who's there?!" Flynn's heart throbbed in his throat as he spun around but all he'd seen was a glimpse of movement disappearing behind the twisted trunk of a wych elm. Had it been his imagination? He was certainly tense enough, but he was certain that had been the sound of heavy fabric dragging across dead leaves. His injured hand throbbed but he didn't lower his weapon. One foot edged forward. His mind conjured the image of a ferocious beast, and then considered what his little arrowheads designed for squirrels would do to it. He licked his lips and edged toward the tree. Flynn didn't want to find out what was behind it, but he also didn't want to not know.

Flynn stood beside the broad trunk of the tree, building up his nerve. With his arms steadied and his breathing under control, he whipped around the trunk. His foot came down on a branch, which spun under his boot and sent his leg careening forward. Flynn was thrown off balance and his readied arrow shot into the trees. He hit the ground hard but shoved himself upright immediately, because the thing he'd seen in the split second before falling would be on him in a moment.

Flynn reached for another arrow but his hand fell on his shoulder when his eyes took in the emptiness before him. Leaves blurred as his eyes darted around, searching for any sign of movement, but the forest was still. Flynn took deep breaths and tried to rationalize the disappearance of the humanoid figure he'd seen for a fraction of a second before he fell and lost eye-contact. The most likely explanation of that he'd imagined it in his panic. The rustling could have been a snake, and the movement could have been a swaying branch. The sun was shining and he was alone in the woods. Flynn slowly got to his feet, still looking around for another glimpse of the tall figure dressed in black that had been standing behind the tree.

But the longer he stood here freaking out over nothing, the further away Yuri got. He hurried to the tree with his arrow embedded in the trunk and pried it out. As it came out, tree sap trickled from the hole and oozed down the bumpy bark. Flynn paused to take a closer look and then brought the arrowhead to his eyes. The sap was dark red and, this close to his face, smelled of iron. Frowning, he ran his fingers over the point and pulled them away to smear sticky red fluid over his fingertips.

Part of him thought, this is blood.

Another part thought, don't be ridiculous; trees don't bleed. Ignore it and go find Yuri.

He listened to the latter.


Yuri knew a lot about the beast. Flynn had found that out when they were seven. Yuri lived with Old Man Hanks and was helping the Scifos prepare their field for plowing in exchange for the help Flynn's father had given Hanks the day before. Of course, since Yuri and Flynn were still too small to be any use with a plow, their job was simply to pace up and down the rows of dirt, looking for rocks to clear away.

"What should we do with all these rocks, do you think?" Yuri had the hem of his tunic pulled out to carry them.

"We're supposed to dump them by the side of the house," Flynn replied. He didn't know Yuri very well, and was anxious about being alone in the field with the boy infamous throughout the village for being a hellraiser. He'd been left with the church after his parents died and only last year was the priest able to find a hopefully-permanent home for him with Hanks.

"We could do that." Yuri crouched to grab another fist-sized rock. "Or we could keep them and build a catapult!"

Flynn gaped at him. "With what?"

"There's some old wood behind the rectory. We could use that."

"But that's stealing! From priests!"

Yuri shrugged. "They're not using it any more."

Flynn scowled in disapproval at this and continued onward, hoping to finish cleaning this field soon. "What do you want to build a catapult for, anyway?"

"To throw the rocks, duh."

"At what? You're not catapulting rocks at any sheep."

"No, silly, at the beast."

Flynn turned his gaze toward the trees in the distance. "That doesn't really exist though…."

"You don't think so? What did they build the wall for, then?"

That was a good point. "Um… I don't know."

"I heard that a long time ago, a man took his dog into the woods to hunt for pheasants. But, there was an accident and both of them fell down a ravine. The man broke his leg and was hurt pretty bad, so he couldn't get out, and the sides of the ravine were too steep for the dog. He called and called for help, but no one came. The were both soooo hungry, but there was nothing for them to eat. So then, the starving dog turned on its master and started gnawing on his mangled leg. The man cried out but the dog was so hungry it just kept eating. Over the next few days, it ate more and more of them until the man finally died, and in is dying breath he cursed it for betraying him. Then the dog was cursed with never dying and it grew bigger than a wolf, with massive fangs and a constant, unquenchable hunger for human flesh. It's afraid of sunlight so it lurks in the trees and waits for anyone to wander into the woods and then it attacks!"

Flynn watched Yuri tell the story with rapt attention. "Is that really true?"

Yuri shrugged. "The priest said so. I want to build a weapon because maybe one day it will be brave enough to leave the forest and we need protection."

That wasn't the only story Yuri knew about the beast, though. The pair of them worked together to finish clearing the field for the next two days, and then they were both loaned out to the Capel family to help them, since the mother had just given birth to a boy and couldn't help. Over the weeks they worked together, Flynn gradually learned that Yuri may be rambunctious, but he was also kind-hearted, funny, generous, and fun to be with. Flynn also noticed a pattern in many stories Yuri had been told.

For example, the priest had informed Yuri that the beast could smell liars and might leave the forest to track down a particularly strong scent. This could also happen to boys who didn't wash their hands properly, who didn't go to confession regularly, who were rude to their elders, or who were generally unruly. There was only one aspect of the beast Yuri was certain on.

"Once it sniffs you out, it will never stop hunting you. It won't rest until it slashes you open and eats your heart."

Flynn wasn't sure what he believed of these tales. Many of them seemed like nothing more than frightening stories to try to tame an unruly charge, and he may have discounted them entirely if he hadn't been told similar stories by his mother. After all, even the lord never took his hunting parties into that forest. There had to be something out there.


The mist was starting to roll in again. Overhead, the dying sun turned the leaves into a bloody canopy above earth so dark it was nearly black. Flynn couldn't see more than a few fathoms ahead due to the mist filling the gaps between tree trunks.

Flynn stopped and rested his unlit lantern on a stump home to many mushrooms. He'd been putting it off while he watched the surrounding mist fade from pale gold to sickly blue as the sun set. As much as he hated to admit it, dusk had arrived. He'd promised his father he'd be home by noon. What must his father think? Did he suspect Flynn and Yuri were hidden away in each other's embrace, shirking their duties and taking advantage of his implied consent? Was he regretting not turning Flynn in to the priest?

Flynn wanted to go back. The darker it got, the less confident he felt about his decision to go after Yuri on his own. He'd come too far to turn around without Yuri, though. He was still on the trail and hoping to catch up to him soon. Of course, he'd been hoping that for hours, and so far all he got were tantalizing hints of his recent presence. He would not leave the forest without Yuri.

An owl hooted somewhere off to his left and all around him crickets chirped their pleasure at the night. He wished he could join them, but coming darkness brought him nothing but anxiety. Chilled fingers reached into the pouch at his waist to pull out his small pieces of flint and iron. It would be better to do this before it got so dark he couldn't see what he was doing. He opened the window of the lantern and jumped when something croaked overhead. Just a bird! His heart kept pounding over after he'd glanced up to see its silhouette on a nearby branch. The trees moaned as the wind made their branches wave. One strike on the flint - a couple sparks flew out but not enough to light the wick. He had to grip the steel tighter, which hurt his injured hand. Flynn endured the throb in his palm as he slashed the pieces together again, this time kicking out a spray of light that latched onto the candle and morphed into a flame.

Silence. The suddenness with which the crickets grew still and the trees halted their moaning startled him more than the croaking bird from before. His skin tingled like a hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on him, but his nervous glances around the stump showed nothing. It was a stupid thought, but it came to him anyway: The forest didn't like that.

Flynn slid the flint back into his pouch and rubbed his fingers together to combat the cold. The forest didn't like what? The lamp that was now glowing on the tree stump? Why would a forest care about a lantern, and more important, how did a forest care about anything? It was probably a coincidence, Flynn told himself. There were other reasons for all wildlife to grow quiet. The fact that the primary reason was 'a predator is lurking nearby' did not comfort him, not did that explain why the trees had fallen silent as well. Far away, something howled. A shudder raced down Flynn's spine as he swallowed heavily. It… hadn't exactly sounded like a wolf. That wasn't reassuring, because he had no idea what it did sound like. Something larger than a squirrel, that was sure, and he wondered if the arrows strapped to his back would be any use at all.

A cricket chirped. A few seconds later, another one joined in. Gradually, the symphony of the forest struck up again. Flynn was still peering around when he picked up the handle of the lantern, but the forest was as motionless as ever.

Except… his eyes landed on a patch of mist. The sun was setting fast and he squinted to discern what was moving. It was at least ten fathoms away, so all he could make out was a fuzzy shadow through the gloom. How long had it been there? And how close had it been before it started moving away and he finally noticed it? It was tall and thin like a human, so at first glance he'd mistaken it for a small tree in the distance, except that now it seemed to be moving away from him. With a flash of hope, he called, "Yuri?"

The shadow fell still and Flynn suddenly wished he hadn't spoken. The handle of the lantern rattled in his shaking hand. Maybe it hadn't heard him? The shape twisted and then twin points of light appeared, staring straight back at him. Flynn gazed back at the white gleam of eyes through the mist, his feet rooted to the forest floor. He'd wanted to know what that thing was, but now he just wanted it to go away. Moving slowly, so as not to startle it, Flynn lowered the lantern back to the stump. Then, without ever losing eye-contact with its penetrating stare, he reached to his back and pulled out his bow. Maybe it wasn't very powerful, but he felt better with it in hand.

He licked his lips and then forced his voice to remain steady. "What do you want?" He wasn't sure if he wanted it to answer or not.

A branch cracked in the vicinity behind him. Flynn jerked around but saw nothing, and when he turned around again the shadowy figure had vanished. This wasn't reassuring, because as much as it bothered him, he'd prefer to know where it was.

He started to lower his bow but then another branch cracked and this time it was accompanied by the unmistakable huff of breathing. The lantern gave Flynn an island of light, but it failed to penetrate the dark bushes from which the sound had come. Leaves rustled Flynn squinted into the night. He could faintly make out a shadow set apart from the background darkness, but not make out any details. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end while his knees shook, fighting the urge to drop everything and run. Leaves crunched as heavy feet came down on them and then the warm gleam of the lantern reflected off a pair of eyes several feet above the ground. Flynn stared straight back into the eyes, subtracting the average height of a wolf from the distance these eyes were above the ground and finding a significant difference. A fog of warm breath accompanied the next pant and now his lantern shone off rows of wet teeth.

Don't run, he told himself. Running makes you look like prey. The thing to do when confronted by a wild predator was to make yourself look big and imposing. He sucked in air to puff out his chest, tasting a foul odour in the mist. One foot stepped back, his eyes never leaving the wolf (which was certainly not a wolf if he was being honest with himself).

A growl rumbled in through chest. Flynn took a further step back. He still had an arrow notched, but the tiny head would be so useless against the beast lurking in the shadows that he barely noticed it. It was painfully obvious that there was nothing he could do to make himself look big and intimidating to the owner of those twin mountain ranges of teeth. Any second now, it was going to charge at him and he didn't envy his chances of fending it off hand-to-hand. The best he could do was give himself a head start.

Flynn bolted. He left his lantern behind and sprinted into the trees, leaping over logs, crashing past bushes. Thunderous footsteps crashed behind him. Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore he could feel hot breath on the back of his neck. Trees blurred as he raced past them and shadows took on sinister outlines in his split-second viewing. He dashed past another pair of eyes, fixed on him, and then another set and another until streaks of white whisked before his vision in his frantic run.

He tried to shake off his pursuer by ducking under a heavy overhanging branch, but a few seconds later her heard a crunch as it crashed right through. A tinkling noise was his only warning that water was approaching and then he leapt onto a boulder, windmilling his arms to maintain balance. He released his grip on his bow and it hit the water with a splash, but he didn't have time to pick it off. Flynn pushed off from the slick rock and thudded to the ground on the other side of the creek. This wouldn't slow his pursuer down, so he ignored the growing stitch in his side and kept running.

There were only a few lunges between him and those teeth, and that distance was shrinking with every passing second. He couldn't outrun it, so when he passed a gnarled tree he jumped onto a nearby stump and pushed up leaping to grab the lowest branch. His injured hand stung while his feet kicked and scrabbled at the chunky bark. Flynn hooked his legs over the branch and then heaved himself up, feeling the swish of air from crunching jaws on the back of his neck. He jumped up before his dangling feet fell prey to those teeth and then grabbed the next branch within reach.

The tree shook as something basked against it and he clung to the branch as dead leaves and dust rained on him. Flynn grabbed another branch and used a crook in the tree as a footrest to pulled himself even higher. His cloak snagged on a rough whirl and for a few seconds he madly tugged and tried to pull free before remembering he was a human with opposable thumbs. He straddled the branch he was on and leaned down to free the thick wool from the tree. The night was so dark below the canopy that he had to fumble and feel around to figure out how it was even caught. Even then, his hands felt clumsy and numb in his panic to get loose fast.

He tugged the cloak free as the tree shook once more. Flynn grabbed a higher branch and pulled himself up, putting more and more distance between himself and the teeth. Flynn didn't stop climbing until the tree ran out of branches solid enough to hold him, and by then he was in the thick of the canopy with leaves brushing his face.

Flynn stopped where one of the last sturdy branches met the trunk of the tree. He sat and leaned against the trunk, heaving for breath. The tree shuddered as something crashed into it and his spine chilled at the sound of splintering wood. Could it bring the tree down? He held a smaller branch to his right to stay steady and shut his eyes with a grimace as the tree shook again. There was nowhere else to run from here. If the tree came down, he was as good as dead. Flynn took a moment to try to steady his breathing and say a quick prayer, while kicking himself for not going to confession and tying up any loose strings with life before heading off into the deadly forest.

He thought of Yuri. It had been his love for Yuri that led him to this treetop above a monster in the first place. Was this the Lord's punishment for that kiss they'd shared yesterday? Flynn doubted that. He'd never been terribly invested in the church, but he was duty-bound to attend every Sunday and certainly the priest had never said anything about the Lord punishing sinners with voracious death beasts. Still, he imagined the local priest would consider this a good start on penance for his sin. After all, every time he even thought about touching Yuri he was committing a terrible sin against the Lord and….

Flynn sighed and pulled his knees close to his chest. He tried to make himself care about the church, but he really couldn't. Thinking you were ten feet above violent death put things into perspective and it turned out the only thing he could focus on was Yuri. Yuri was in this forest somewhere, hopefully not having nearly as bad a night as Flynn. It had better be at least slightly unpleasant, though, because this was all his fault. Whatever Yuri hoped to find in this accursed forest, it had better be damn good.

In all his wandering, he'd had time to ponder that. Just what had driven Yuri into the woods in the first place? His only guess was that he was after the lost treasure like he'd mentioned yesterday. A way for them to be together and free to live how they liked. It was such a beautiful dream, and Flynn could understand why Yuri could be so driven to find it. He just really hoped it didn't lead to both of their deaths.

Eager to think about happier things, Flynn let himself imagine that they did find it, and they were somehow allowed to keep it instead of turning it over to Estelle's father, and they ran off together to live in a manor of their own. Behind the closed doors of their castle, no one would ever have to know the extent of their relationship. It would be so liberating to not have to sneak around in dark stables and feel like he had a secret scorching him from the inside at all hours of the day.

He realized that the tree hadn't shaken for a few minutes and he wondered if his visitor was gone. Barely daring to hope, he peered through the branches toward the forest floor. It was too dark to make anything out, but he heard footsteps and heavy breathing and imagined it pacing around the tree, waiting for him to come down. Flynn leaned against the trunk again and closed his eyes; looked like he was spending his night in a tree.

The branch was wide enough that he felt stable. There were enough branches surrounding him to fence him in so he was pretty sure he wouldn't fall. He gathered his cloak over himself like a blanket and tried to get comfortable. He took one more look around and spotted a few pairs of eyes lurking in the leaves all around him. None of them seemed to be moving and he told himself that anything small enough to be up here in the treetops couldn't be that dangerous. At any rate, it was going to be a long night.