The light in the clearing brightened just enough for Aurnia to make out her nephew's footprints without the help of Reuna's staff. Aurnia stepped past her aunt, following the tracks until they stopped abruptly before a hole. Skid marks and broken branches lay scattered around the pit. The thoughts of someone hunting her nephew like a wild animal sent anger reeling through her blood and she steeled her nerves to peer into the darkness below.

It was empty.

But before the thought could settle firmly in her mind, Aurnia's attention was captured by the small bundle of red and brown feathers that lay crumpled to the side of the trap. Aurnia crouched to get a better look and when she caught sight of the iridescent sheen glimmering across the feathers, her eyes widened. She picked it up, gently cradling the cold body in the palm of her hand. Lily had always had a soft spot for robins and it seemed that this particular one was one of her messengers. As for why it was here, Aurnia had no clue. But it gave her comfort to know that in her own way, Lily might have been watching out for her son.

She stood, opened her bag and carefully tucked the robin next to Kao's pouch and instructed him to keep a close eye to ensure it would not be crushed on their way back home. When they returned to Reuna's treehouse, Aurnia would be sure to find a lovely spot in the garden to bury it. The bird had committed no crime, so leaving it here to rot was a punishment it did not deserve.

It was then Aurnia finally considered the empty hole and her blood ran cold. Was her mother right? Had the compass played a cruel trick by offering them a lie? She circled the hole, scanning the ground for anything that may hint at Orion's whereabouts, and it was only when her mother's paws appeared by her side that she looked up.

"We got here too late." Her mother's voice hung low in the stifling air and she pawed at the pit's edges. "To think that Orion was hunted down..."

"He truly was here?" Aurnia could not hide her relief, but her thoughts quickly turned to confusion and she hesitated before asking, "But the compass? I asked it to bring us to Orion and he's, well, nowhere to be seen."

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Like most magical objects, the compass has provided us with half a truth. Orion was here so technically, Death has not lied or played a trick on us today."

The rare note of respect in her mother's voice stunned Aurnia but before she could respond, Reuna let out a shout and a flash of green light, as well as the smell of fresh mint, flared from behind her. When she and her mother whirled around they were greeted with the sight of curling shadows looming above her aunt.

Her mother growled, leaping forward and pushing the spirits back with spears of ice. Aurnia followed suit, shifting into her draconian form and taking a swipe at a particularly toothy spirit that had advanced from behind her. Its midriff dissipated beneath her claws but not without leaving a greasy film upon her scales. Moments later, the spirits reformed with a yowl and glowered venomously from the edge of the clearing. Aurnia growled, warning it not to advance any closer and she felt a familiar yet unwelcome presence infringe upon furthest reaches of her mind.

Aurnia spun on her feet and found herself face-to-face with a cloud of grey smoke billowing from the slop blanketing the forest floor. Moments later, two orange eyes emerged from the swirling chaos and the same presence stabbed at her consciousness.

"You again?" Aurnia summoned her abilities, the world turned grey and a tangled web of knotted threads emerged before her eyes. Centuries of imprisonment had thickened much of the web, with several sections shot through with burrs and frayed ends. Her mother had never explained what such degradation meant, but after years of experience and witnessing what happened when the threads of life were allowed to get to such a state, Aurnia had taken to referring to them as a form of corruption. And it was clear that although the spirits yearned for an easy release, the First Mother's magic kept them bound to the forest.

It didn't take long for Aurnia to identify the unwanted intruder, a thick rope-like grey thread laced with specks of orange dust. She wrinkled her nose and swallowed her revulsion, watching as its ragged end writhed in the endless expanse of the beyond, twisting and stretching towards the shadow of her beating heart. They would never reach it and even if they did, they would wither at first contact. Even still, their proximity was more than enough for them to affect her.

In her mind's eye Aurnia reached out with a ghostly hand, seized the wayward soul and tore it away with a snarl. Far off in the physical world, a pained wail reverbarated throughout the clearing and the life-thread bucked to get away from her grip. She let it escape and by the time Aurnia had returned to the scene at present, the billowing spirit had curled into a whirling mass of smoke throwing up leaves and rocks that were promptly hurled at Aurnia's face. She cursed and quickly shifted back into her human form. As much as her mother had called her a runt-of-dragon, it seemed that Aurnia's dragon form was still much too large of a target.

Aurnia ducked to avoid an especially thorny branch, stooping low enough to snatch up the blade she'd dropped when the fight began. A thin film of frost had formed alongside the edge that had come into contact with sodden forest floor and as Aurnia snapped off a frozen leaf, she narrowed her eyes and turned to face the disgruntled spirit. In the short moment that she was distracted, the grey mass had managed to absorb much of what lay on the forest floor and also grow a set of teeth with a handful of rocks. At that sight, Aurnia's arm ached at the memory of the thing that had bitten her in her mother's temple.

The spirit lunged forward with a shriek. Aurnia yelped and dodged to her left. The time for gentle probing had passed and judging by the infernal screaming that threatened to push through her mind's last defences, the spirits were in no mood to talk. Aurnia spun on her toes as the toothed creature dove for her leg and hastily plunged her knife deep into its side. Bolstered by the filth and moisture it had taken up from the ground, the spirit had become surprisingly solid, almost like butter on a warm day and as her knife sunk further the creature jerked back with a yowl, pulling Aurnia along with it.

Not wanting to be outdone, Aurnia snarled, dug her feet into the ground and summoned a fraction of her frigid powers-another gift her mother had bestowed upon her-and forced a biting chill to spread from the blade. The creature howled, its body contorting as ice swifty raidated from where the knife lay embedded in its skin. Like the cobwebs that sheltered in her cottage's windows, the frost spread quickly until it formed a thick blacket. Aurnia did not want to think of what was going on within the spirit's wailing form but moments later its cry fell silent and both blade and spirit tumbled towards the ground where they shattered upon impact.

Aurnia breathed a sigh of relief, flexed her fingers to ward off an incoming cramp and sent her thanks to the heavens. It was unlikely that any god would hear her gratitude, but the spirit's ill-fated decision to drink the forest floor had worked in her favour and she wasn't about to take any blessings for granted. But as she willed her heart to cease its thundering beat, she caught sight of two smaller spirits flittering around what remained of their fractured accomplice.

They hissed when Aurnia summoned another frosty blade and promptly dropped the soggy mulch they had clenched in what remained of their skeletal hands. Aurnia growled. There were two things she hated the most about the Morinstar's spirits: their varied forms and their ability to learn. Both happened to be on full display and so Aurnia's day was now thoroughly ruined. Scowling, she took a step towards them and the two spirits yowled and darted away into the trees.

Cowards. The First Mother's curse meant that they could never die so being shattered was not the end of the world.

But at least it made her life easier. Aurnia knew that could not summon ice forever, for although she only wielded a fraction of her mother's power utilising those gifts sapped her energy much faster than the other magic she'd been taught to use. On particularly bad days, she would attribute it to her rocky relationship with her mother.

At that thought, Aurnia glanced in her mother's direction and saw that neither she nor her aunt were faring well. The two women stood back-to-back as a ring of claws, bone and ash whirled wildly around them. How odd that the spirits appeared to deem her relatives as the greater threat for they usually kept their distance. But as she eyed the howling tempest and sensed a looming pressure growing from the furthest depths of the forest, Aurnia grimaced and turned her weapon in her palm.

She was now certain that was no way to win this fight. For even if they beat off the closest creatures, more were on their way and Aurnia did not want to discover what would happen if they failed. They needed to go. Aurnia checked to make sure that Koa was securely fastened into her bag and was relieved to see his amber eyes staring at her from within its depths. She did not know how she would live with herself if somehow, during the scruffle, she had lost her sinyo friend.

As she shifted back into her draconian form, Aurnia lashed her tail at an oncoming spirit and its bones crumpled like paper. Then she spun on her feet and raced towards her mother and aunt. It was only when she reached them that she realised the true severity of the situation. Her mother had managed to seal several spirits into a blocks of ice but for every one she put away, three more emerged in their place. And for each step that she took, Aurnia's mother winced as crimson leaked from beneath her right paw. Aurnia did not doubt that her mother was injured and if that was true, then it was indeed time to go.

Not wanting to distract her mother, Aurnia turned her attention to Reuna and saw that she had attempted to raise vines through the forest floor. Ordinarily, it should have been worked. But it seemed that the strange disturbance aggravating the spirits meant that rather than growing the healthy plants she usually did, Reuna's magic had summoned shrivelled plants that curled into themselves before ultimately piercing their own flesh. In some, thorns grew wildy, far from the usual control that Reuna took pride in.

But all was not lost. Fading flowers, glimmering with light lay scattered on the ground and although they shrivelled moments after touching the ground, their short life bought Reuna enough time to keep the spirits at bay. Judging by the branches jutting from several of the unwieldy spirits, Reuna had taken to using her twisted creations to lacerate anything that ventured too close. Thick, dark liquid seeped from the spirits' wounds towards the forest floor where it began to sizzle when it hit the mulch. It was a gruesome sight and sensing a break in their frenzy, Aurnia leapt forward, pounced upon a three-horned spirit and dragged it away from the circle.

Two swipes with her claw was enough to subdue the writhing creature. Like a stunned fish, it lay motionless on the ground and moments later, a blast of cold air exploded from somewhere behind her. Aurnia turned to see several spirits go flying past her head and the swirling circle hounding her mother and aunt scattered like rouge winds. Both women raced towards Aurnia and she felt the thing beneath her claw wriggle and get away. But before she could scold herself for being distracted, her mother reached her side and breathlessly pointed towards the path that they had come from.

"Foolish girl, what are you waiting for? Go! Cross the river and don't look back."

Aurnia nodded and sprung into action, racing at breakneck speed towards the speck of light in the distance. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, beating and beating until she could taste metal on her breath. Far behind her, the sounds of screams and snapping branches taunted her and it all of Aurnia's willpower not to look back. She could only hope that her mother and aunt were indeed close behind for all around her, darkness reigned and the fire in her eyes did little to illuminate the path before her.

She raced onwards, desperately weaving between the thorn covered trees. In the short moment they had been in the clearing it seemed as if the trees had not only grown closer, but that their thorns grew thicker. But she was close. The speck of golden sunlight loomed large in the distance and Aurnia was thankful for her claws for although the ground was slick beneath her feet, her sharpened talons kept her steady and away from plunging head-first into the barbed conifers.

Moments later Aurnia burst through the trees and with the help of her wings, leapt across the river and landed on the other side. Never had she been so thankful for warm sunlight or the feel of fresh leaves beneath her feet, and with the river standing between her and the Morinstar's heart Aurnia could finally breathe a real sigh of relief. The First Mother's enchantments had never failed and she had faith that if her mother and aunt joined her across the river, that they would be safe as well.

Three agonising minutes passed with nothing but the distant roar of wayward spirits and the relentless pounding of her heart to keep her company as Aurnia paced along the riverbank. Then suddenly, Reuna tumbled out into the open air and Aurnia's mother followed closely after and when they joined Aurnia on the other side of the river, she could see that both women looked worse for wear. In the late afternoon sun, Aurnia spotted the scratches running down the length of her mother's thigh. She griminced. Much of the fur surrouding the injury was muddied with streaks of dark grease and dried blood. Even with Reuna's potions, those would not heal easily and her mother was never an agreeable patient.

Then without warning, the forest beyond the river rustled and a chorus of low growls echoed through the trees. A familiar pressure pushed on Aurnia skull and she felt her headache and initial unease returning. She had not wanted to consider it, but something had sown instability throughout the Morinstar and the fight they had just experienced did nothing to soothe her apprehension. Aurnia kicked herself for allowing the relief of escaping to cloud her judgement and glanced at the darkness that had almost consumed them. After a moment of contemplation, she decided that she did not want to take any chances.

She turned to her aunt and said, "We should continue on. The sooner we arrive home, the better. There is nothing more we can do and there is much we have to discuss."

"I agree." Aurnia's mother slipped passed her, limping. It seemed that she had truly hurt her paw but when she moved to offer a helping hand, her mother shrugged her off with a huff. Aurnia almost rolled her eyes but as she followed her mother back up the hill, she suddenly felt comforted to know that her mother's pride had not diminished with time.

The walk back to the treehouse occurred in total silence with the three women periodically glancing over their shoulders to ensure that nothing was stalking them home. Heaviness still clung to the air but this time Aurnia knew that some of it was due to their failure to locate their nephew. She could taste her relatives' disappointment on the tip of her tongue and when mingled with their fear, it tasted like bad licorice. But she could not blame them and she had no doubt that if she could turn her abilities on herself, that she would sense the same thing. Orion may have escaped a cruel death, but he was still missing.

By the time they reached the edge of the Morinstar forest the sun had started to slip below the horizon, painting the sky with pinks and purples, reflecting the trio's somber mood. They entered the treehouse silently and upon locking the door behind them, Reuna buried her face in her hands. It took Aurnia far too long to realise that her aunt was crying. She rushed to embrace Reuna in a hug and moments later, her mother quietly cleared her throat.

"We need to hasten our investigation. Gods know where Orion is right now, but this- "

Aurnia blinked. She had almost forgotten how indifferent her mother could be but before she could respond, Reuna pulled away from the hug, wiped away a stray tear and glanced at Aurnia's mother. "That is not a terrible idea. Moping around is hardly going to lend a helping hand and your injuries also need tending to."

Reuna ushered them all into the kitchen and Aurnia took a seat at the table before peering into her bag. Koa looked up at her with a small smile and she pulled him out and onto her lap.

"Do you still have the bird?"

"I do." He held up the robin he'd been cradling in his claw.

Aurnia gingerly held it in her hands, looked at her Aunt and said "I think I know where we should begin."