Night-Mare

Chapter 9

Quinn motioned for Steven to sit. "The lantern," she started, "is a weapon, our only defense against the Night-Mare."

"Why," Steven asked leaning forward. "Is she afraid of fire?"

"No," Quinn said, waving Zoe and Roman out of the room. "We've tried scaring her with torches before. It's not the lantern itself she's afraid of, it's what the lantern stands for."

"And what's that?"

Quinn's voice became a whisper. "The horseman. The only being that can command her."

"Then kill him and take the lamp."

Quinn shook her head, "Can't. She protects him. It's impossible for us to get to him."

"If she's so afraid of the horseman, why does she protect him? Why doesn't she just kill him?"

"The lantern isn't just for show. If the horseman wills, he can send the Mare on a blind rage by simply lighting her on fire. It makes her extremely dangerous but, as you can imagine, it's excrutiating for her. She burns like oil, sets the whole forest aflame.

"They say the reason the forest and sky are so gray, is because when she runs through the forest covered in flames, she leaves nothing but ashes, and the sky and new plants are forever stained gray by her destruction."

"Couldn't she run into the water?"

"She can't leave the forest, neither can the horseman, or any poor creature that winds up stuck there. She just has to wait until the flame burns out. Running seems to make the flame die quicker. Don't know how that works since oxygen feeds flames..." Quinn leaned forward. "I had Elliott go on a journey to a hermit deep in the forest with the lamp. We were hoping the hermit could tell us something about it, a way to focus its power on destroying the Mare, not commanding her. But, he never made it."

Steven sighed. "And what did Leo have to do with all this?"

Quinn froze before sighing back. "Leo, was… one of the Dead Band."

Steven's heart skipped a beat. Leo, a dead man?

"We found him lost in the forest, gray. His eyes were blacked out. We captured him and brought him back to our camp. After a few days, he started to look human again, and after weeks he was back to his normal self. He joined us as a thank you."

"So that's why you treat him like a lost trinket?" Steven scoffed. "Because he used to be in the Dead Band?"

"We still don't know the extent of that forest's power," Quinn said darkly. "For all we knew, he could have turned any moment. And the lamp," she added quickly, "We were afraid it might harm him, like the Mare."

"Chief," came a voice from outside. A woman stepped in. "The Conquerors are claiming the herds."

Quinn scoffed, "They've done it before-"

"Yes, but this time they brought their forces."

Quinn sighed and turned to Steven, "We'll continue this later." Without another word, she left.

~CL1