Stronger Together chapter 107 (Patreon)

If looking at the island was creepy and disturbing, setting foot on it was like standing on a piece of enriched uranium. I could feel the  evil radiating off the sand beneath my feet like a physical force.  Luckily I was wearing my trusty Hazmat amulet. I saw the others jump  down and flinch as well, though Harry seemed the least affected aside  from Kara. Somehow whatever we were right now, through the combination  of magic, aura, and soulfire, made us uniquely capable of sensing the  darkness inherent in this place. I took a step, then another, forcing  myself to get used to it like I was swimming in ice water.

I  turned to look at Harry, raising an eyebrow "You feel anything weird  boss? In my vision you got a sense of details about the island just by  being here, but that wasn't supposed to be for a few years so it might  be too soon." I knew that was his Sight developing early so he might be  too young to manage it. Not that it mattered, the intellectus would be  his once he bound the thing either way. Having it early would be useful  but not necessary. We would have to be on our guard though so the island  spirit didn't smite us before we could start the invocation.

We  were all deadly quiet once we made our way into the forest. Part of it  was foreboding, it felt like talking in a place like this was unnatural,  like the suffocating silence was a physical weight the place was  dropping on us and breaking it would alert the island. The rest of it  was tactical, because apparently the animals (if there were any near  where we were) felt the same sense of oppressive quiet. If we had made a  sound it would have been extremely obvious to whoever or whatever was  here.

We  made slow time through the forest, wincing at every crack of a branch  and every rustle of a leaf. Shockingly Yang was the quietest. Barb's  natural gift for stealth was pretty city specific but Yang had grown up  on Patch, in an environment a lot like that. Not to mention hunting  Grimm in Forever Fall, she'd developed her skills as a woodswoman in  places just as hostile as this. Harry was doing surprisingly well too,  but then I doubted Ebenezar had been shy about camping so that made  sense.

We  walked for about an hour, looking for a nice clear hill like the one  mentioned in the books. I was trying to recreate as much of the  circumstances around this place as possible. The shadows shifted weirdly  around us as we walked, and the trees moved in strange jerky patterns  that caught the eye, all in dead silence around us. I caught a faint  coppery scent for an instant, like blood beneath the smells of the  forest but it faded when I tried to focus on it. Like acknowledging it  made it disappear. I got the constant feeling of being watched too but I  couldn't narrow down where it was coming from.

I  stopped, holding up my hand to call for a halt. I lowered my voice to  the barest whisper I could manage which somehow still sounded way too  loud. "Does anyone else feel that? Not the ever present evil shit, I  feel like there's someone specifically watching us. Someone in the trees  who knows what they're doing. I can't get a bead on them." I didn't  know how the hell I could tell, with the complete silence and all, but I  knew for damn sure someone was nearby.

None  of the others seemed to want to move as they extended their senses,  trying to find a trace of our possible pursuer. Cinder broke first,  grunting in frustration "I can't sense anything here, the constant hum  of horrible dark energy is like static blocking my sensory abilities. My  teacher taught me several ways to use my power to sense my surroundings  but I'm coming up empty on all of them." She sounded frustrated at her  inability to pick up a possible danger, which I understood, but it was  still nice to see her feeling like part of the group.

Kara  was unsurprisingly our ace in the hole. "I can hear slight foot steps.  They're so light they're almost floating over the ground but they are  there. Whoever it they're small and fast and they know this forest like  the back of their hand. Also they're using some kind of magic to confuse  their presence because I'm only getting the foot steps after they're  already gone, like I'm hearing an echo instead of the actual sound.  Weirdest thing though, the foot falls are interspersed with what sounds  like paws maybe? Interchangeably no not concurrently."

My  eyes widened as I remembered someone who fit that exact description. I  thought she had even made a comment to that effect the last time I saw  her. I turned to see Harry making the same connection. We needed to  figure out what she wanted. If Tera was the one out there in the forest  we did not want to fight her. Aside from obviously being aided by the  island Tera was some kind of weird partial spirit being connected to the  forest. A wolf that had attained the ability to turn into a human she  was the very last person we wanted to face in a place like this.

Luckily  the moon wasn't full because the last thing we needed was MacFinn's kid  going baby loup garou and trying to tear us apart. I didn't think any  of us could bring ourselves to hurt a kid, but I was pretty sure he  wouldn't have that problem once the wolf took over. I nodded to Harry to  take the lead here since he knew her better and he returned the  gesture. He stepped forward, hands raised in supplication. "Hey, Tera?  Is that you? It's Harry. Harry Dresden. Thank you for the message  before, it really helped us out. The Black Court is here now causing  trouble. We wouldn't know if it wasn't for you."

If  we expected some kind of rustle or fade in we were very wrong. One  second we were alone and the next a woman with golden eyes was standing  casually in the forest in front of us. She looked as stoic and calm as  ever as she looked around between our faces, nodding at me before  turning to Harry. "Mr. Dresden. It is good to see you, but this is not a  place outsiders should be. There are bad things here, you should  leave." Her tone was dispassionate but I could see in those wolfish eyes  that she really hoped we would listen and just go.

I  could see from his expression Harry had noticed the same thing. He  smiled disarmingly at the much smaller woman "We know. We aren't here  for any of that. We need to talk to the spirit of the island. We're not  planning to mess with any of the bad things here." I noticed he was very  careful not to let on that we were aware of the prison below the  island, which was smart. I vaguely remembered it being a secret but I  wasn't sure if that was at the council's behest or that of the island  itself. The last thing we needed was the genius loci deciding to shove  us in the magical super prison or even just kill us for knowing too  much.

Tera's  face seemed to twist in confusion. I assumed that she had made some kind  of deal with the island to act as a protector or steward while she was  here. Given her nature as a being close to spirits especially those of  places like this I imagined she was uniquely suited to bargain with it.  However all the island cared about was the prison. It probably didn't  like being bothered but it's main instructions were most likely related  to it's only purpose in life. Since we didn't want to disturb the prison  she most likely had some wiggle room in her orders.

She  bit her lip uncertainly. "I have no instructions to prevent contacting  the spirit" Seems I had been right on the money "However I advise  against this course of action. The being that embodies this place is a  cold and merciless thing. It is not evil or chaotic, but uncompromising  Order can be even worse than chaos. What is your purpose in coming here,  perhaps I can aid you in its stead." I smiled internally at the woman,  who had already come to our aid. Must be that canine loyalty, though I  would never say it out loud in front of her.

Before  we could speak though she held up a hand. "Not here. There are things  besides me protecting this place, and they are much less open to  dialogue. We will go to my home. My son has heard many stories of you,  he will be quite excited to meet you. Conner is quite an excitable boy  it will be good for him to be around others of his kind. I fear he does  not have much human contact out here." She turned and began to walk  silently through the forest without another word, clearly expecting us  to follow. Harry gave me a wry smile which I returned, both amused at  Tera's complete lack of fucks to give about social niceties.

The  forest seemed somehow less hostile as we walked behind Tera. As long as  we were behind her the island seemed to take us as invited guests. The  stifling dark energy was still there, but the palpable sense of directed  hatred we'd been feeling was notable for it's absence. Combined with  our amulets it was almost like we weren't in a terrible place that would  eventually grind our conscious minds into shredded tatters of death and  madness. We left the forest fairly quickly. I expected Tera to take us  to the creepy stone cottage Harry used in the books but apparently that  was for the Warden only. Given the protections and controls there that  made some sense actually, but the clearing Tera brought us to  was..different.

The  light here was somehow brighter and cleaner. The grass was visibly  brighter green as we crossed what looked like an invisible line in the  forest. The trees looked healthier and  more alive, and there were  flowers growing here that brightened up the beautiful meadow. In the  center was a tall strong tree with a tent below its boughs the tent was  large and well made from rough leather, more like a semi permanent  dwelling than a camping spot. I saw pieces of wood fixed to the tree  like a ladder and the beginnings of a wooden house built on the lower  branches.

As  we entered the clearing a small form came blurring from the tent,  leaping off the ground and smashing into a laughing Tera who spun him  giggling in a circle. "Mama!" The kid was small, dressed in ill fitting  clothes that were too big for him, probably in anticipation of his  growth. His hair was curly and red and his eyes were the same wolf gold  as his mothers. He turned to take us in "New people! You brought new  people? Are they staying? Can they eat with us? I caught a deer today."  His voice was high and fast and for a kid that couldn't be more than  five years old he was pretty well spoken.

Tera  laughed, shifting him to her hip as she nodded at us to follow her.  "They may eat with us if they wish. Come, I will dress the kill and we  will begin preparing dinner. You may speak with our guests as I do so."  She shot back over her shoulder as she walked with her son to their  shelter. "Be welcome in my home friends. I will prepare a meal for us.  We can speak of your mission after we break our fast." As I watched her  walk away I smiled internally, venison for breakfast. That was new. But I  suppose that happened when you ate with wolves.