The Dark-Haired boy said nothing and put a finger to his mouth.

“You can’t talk?”

He nodded and held out his hand. She took hold and was instantly filled with a pleasant heat. He helped her to her feet. Together, they moved out of the clearing and back into the trees and into the darkness. No branch scratched her skin. Her feet no longer hurt. The moss continued on like someone had laid out a green carpet for visiting royalty. They traveled through the velvet-black. When they came out of the trees again, it was onto the shore of a small lake. Bara knew of no lake nearby. They weren't in the real-life forest surrounding Windfall. Not anymore. nAbove was a foreign star-scape of constellations and planets, unnaturally bright. They’d moved into another world. The stars began to fall then. Light blazed down from the sky and hovered before piercing through the lake surface. Radiant rapiers cut through the watery depths and trailed down into the dark. The last shimmering trail dimmed and Bara was alone again. Her eyes searched the beach and what she could see of the forest. Nothing. The dark-haired boy was gone.

A wave hit and shattered the silence. A rush invaded the shore, quickly followed by another. The lake bubbled and surged. The moonlight reflected off the splash as steam. A glow appeared beneath the waves and lifted from the water. The glow was a girl. Her arms and legs unfolded. Her hair was full and thick and rode upon a wind of its own. Her long robes, her eyes, her hair, and even her skin glowed white. As she glided across the lake, her feet grazed the water below and created trails of spray. She stopped and hovered a few meters from shore.

Bara stared in wonder. Here was a face just like her own, maybe aged a little, but not more than a year or two. She stood before yet another doppelgänger, but there was no terror as before. This one had eyes. They glowed like the rest of her, but she did have eyes. They held no menace, only an unmistakable sense of kindness. All beauty is not beauty, sang the apparition.

“Who are you?” Bara asked. “Are you me?”

“No. I am not you, but I am your Spiritkin. I have a message for you. I can help you through the Slip, but you must listen. All beauty is not beauty,” she repeated. She opened her mouth to speak again but then closed it suddenly. Her eyes grew wide There was a snarl from behind. Bara turned and started. A wolf, larger than any wolf she’d ever seen, emerged from the woods, belly low to the ground. Its fur was silver, not grey, but silver. Another snarl revealed sharp and long canines. Metallic foam flowed from a jagged mouth. It neared and grew in size. Its teeth lengthened and sharpened.

Its intent was clear—attack.

The Wisp, and it ssequel, the Tall Man, are available in paperback and kindle. The link is in my bio. The Wisp is a fantasy and mystical horror story with a touch of romance and mystery. A great fiction read for Halloween and Autumn.