When a lot of rustling sounded behind me, I spun around with my quarterstaff.
"Whoa, laddy!" Callan stepped back to avoid my swing, and I heard Brend grunt. Lowering my arms, a shaky laugh escaped me.
"Sorry, guess I"m a little jumpy." Planting the end of my quarterstaff and leaning against it, another laugh escaped. After almost half an hour on my own in the forest, I was so glad to see familiar faces.
"It's alright, laddy." Callan grinned as he studied me. "It looks like you did well on your own. How'd you escape the al'mi'raj?"
"The killer rabbit? It ran away right before the smoke appeared." My right hand tightened around the strap of my delivery bag, its numb fingers scarcely feeling the fabric. I was worried about my fingers still being so cold, but other then the chilling ache and numbness, my hand still worked.
"What?" Brend moved forward, movements stiff as Callan's face palled.
"There was a shriek, and the killer rabbit ran away. Then a cloud of smoke showed up."
Brend's eyes darted around, searching the trees surrounding us. "Did it see you?" There was an urgency in his voice as the wizard raised his staff.
"Yes, and it followed me." Both men turned ashen at my words, and unease twisted in my gut. "It's okay though, I trapped it in my delivery bag."
Brend took a step back, his eyes widening. "You did what?"
"Why're you still carrying it then?" Callan asked, gazing at the bag with disbelief.
"It's scary smoke, but I couldn't leave my delivery bag behind." Having made the choice to keep my bag, I wasn't about to abandon it now.
Despite the fear I could see as both men stared at the bag.
Callan looked away first, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head."Have you ever heard of something like this?"
Brend shook his head, gaze never leaving the bag. "Never. It should have killed him."
Though I knew that the smoke could have killed me, I couldn't help frowning. "What is the smoke?"
Callan shook his head, one hand on the hilt of his sword as he looked around. "We should head back to the path. Brend, explain what he caught while we move."
The wizard nodded, and we started through the undergrowth.
"The shriek that frightened the al'mi'raj was from a hunting wraith. The smoke you described is a common form wraiths take." Brend shook his head and looked at me. "I've never seen a wraith, and hope I never do. Wraiths mainly feed on remnants, but if they find a host, they won't stop feeding until the host dies."
Glancing at the delivery bag, the chilling ache in my right fingers seemed to grow. "Remnants? Remnants of what?"
Brend shrugged. "We don't really know. But once a wraith chooses it's prey, nothing can keep it away. That's why no one travels through this forest without a wizard. We can lure wraiths away from the path with our magic."
I looked the trees, hesitating for a moment. "What happens if you get touched by a wraith?"
"The touch of a wraith is worse then a winter storm. The affected part becomes deathly cold, and never rewarms. and it ties you to that wraith. Once a person has been touched by a wraith, no other wraith will attack them. That's assuming the person lives long enough to meet another wraith, because if a wraith was close enough to touch you, then it was close enough to feed." Brend's voice faltered at the end, and I turned to meet his suspicious gaze. "Did it touch you?"
I held out my right hand and wiggled my fingers. "As it went in the bag, it slid across my fingers." I tried to smile, though the look on his face made it difficult to. "So if people are usually killed shortly after being touched by a wraith, what happens if they aren't killed?"
Brend's gaze flickered down to the delivery bag, and he shook his head. "I don't know. No one has ever captured a wraith before, let alone one they'd been touched by."
That was great. The smoke was a creature that could frighten wizards, and I was stuck with mine until it killed me.
"What would happen if I left my delivery bag behind?"
"I don't know. Perhaps the wraith would remain trapped, or it might sense your disappearance and break free to follow. This is unknown territory."
I sighed, then gave a soft laugh. "Well, maybe if I leave the delivery bag behind when we get the wizard who brought me here to send me home, the wraith won't be able to kill me."
Brend gave a small smile and shrugged. "Maybe. Just try not to open that bag until then, alright?"
I nodded, a real smile appearing as we broke through the last of the undergrowth and stepped onto the path to rejoin the rest of Callan's band.
So I had a creature that wanted to kill me in my delivery bag.
At least it was a delivery I didn't have to complete.
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