CHAPTER#53

Emily sighed. She had come so far for nothing. "I see. I guess this is a wasted trip after all."

"Nonsense." His dark features spread into a wide grin. "It has been many years since I had a guest. Especially one so pretty. Was one of your parents a nymph?"

She fought a smile. "That's a long story."

"We've got plenty of time. The nearest human is over ten miles away. Pair of hunters, a man and his son. He is teaching him how to use a rifle."

"How can you tell all that?"

"The forest speaks to me. It tells me they have been camping for two days. The father is teaching his son to be a steward for the forest, to carry out his trash and to always put out the fire. The love of the woods is ingrained deep in his heart, and he shares it with his son."

"Wow. The forest knows all that?"

"In a sense. It tells me what it sees, and I interpret. The forest is not one to judge, only to observe. In my grumpier moments, I may intervene."

"And that's when you get spotted."

"At times. However, sometimes people vanish and it is for the best." Bigfoot pulled off a piece of fish and held it out. A mouse she hadn't seen stood up and took the fish with its paws, then vanished into the underbrush. "She is pregnant and her hole flooded in the morning rain."

Emily smiled. She finished her meal and they talked some more about the woods. The sun had fallen low over the woods and she realized the entire day had gone by in just a blink. Bigfoot stood and offered to walk her back to her car. She accepted, and was surprised when he took her hand and stepped between a pair of nearby trees. Instantly, they were near the side of the road, her car nearly invisible in the shadows below.

"How... how did you do that?" They had crossed nearly an hour of hiking in an instant.

"There is magic in these woods, in the very heart of each tree. Some of them are connected like doorways, allowing me to traverse the miles in a single step."

"That's... that's amazing." He stayed in the shadows as she stepped out onto the path. Daisy flew above her, her body acting as a light to guide her on through the brush. "I had an amazing day. Will I ever get to see you again?"

"Hmm." Bigfoot's face scrunched up in thought. "If ever you speak my name to the woods, I shall hear. Perhaps we could meet again someday."

"I would really like that." She walked back into the woods just long enough to stand on her tiptoes and give him a kiss on the chin. She felt her nymph magic resonate briefly with his. Naia's magic was as old as the land, but Bigfoot's was positively ancient compared to hers. "Take care of yourself."

"I will, my little nymph." He shifted backwards less than an inch and was instantly invisible to her. She could hear him moving through the brush, his large footprints the only evidence he was there.

-

"Emily."

She turned around at the sound of her name. It had been almost a year since she had heard that voice. She was sweating like crazy, standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean. She was hiking through Acadia in search of rumors that someone had spotted a mermaid along its shores, but she was beginning to think that the creature was long gone. Daisy had found magic residue on one of the many rocky shores, but they weren't any closer to spotting it than they were the day before.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Daisy. The little fairy had been chasing a beetle along the side of the path. Down below, a small group of tourists were having a picnic near the shoreline, their voices drifting up over the rocks. It was possible that she had overheard something similar to her name, but the deep rumbling cadence of that voice was even harder to mistake.

Daisy signed back that she hadn't. Emily shook her head, wondering if she was hearing things. The last six months, she had been in and out of the house, hunting down any rumors she could. The arachne had shown no interest in moving in, and Emily hadn't found any other prospects except for a feral chupacabra that she had been forced to trap in a cave.

"Emily." This time, the voice was more insistent. She turned around and saw him standing between two trees. His dark fur was streaked with soot and blood. He put out his hand and she took it, scooping up Daisy before he could pull her through the gap in the trees. The humid air of the coast was instantly gone, the air containing a chill. She was surrounded by conifers now, and a small lake could be seen between the trees.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Canada." He leaned against a rock and sighed. "I need your help."

"My help? With what?"

He grinned and leaned back, lifting up the thick fur along his ribs. A large patch of mud mixed with berries had been shoved in place.

"You brought me hundreds of miles to help you remove a mat?" She frowned at the sasquatch. "Hardly an appropriate use of my time."

"I'm injured. The mud was to stop the bleeding, but it isn't healing like it should." He peeled it away enough to reveal a quick torrent of blood. He shoved it back into place then wiped his hand off on his fur. "I need stitches, apparently."

"How did you get cut so badly?"

Bigfoot's face darkened. "A sword, apparently. My fur is like the toughest stone and can blunt the sharpest blade. I had a hunter shoot me once from ten feet away, yet no bullet can pierce my hide. But here we are, talking about my boo-boo when you could be helping me stitch it shut."

"Is something burning?" She detected the smell of sulfur in the air, but didn't sense anything demonic.

"Hmm?" He sniffed the air. "Oh. That would be me." He rolled to his side and revealed a patch of hair that had been singed. "The guy with a sword had a friend."