Jewels from the Dark

Disclaimer: While I am a prolific reader of all sorts of material, I have not read everything ever written. As such, I am sure there will be some similarities to other works in the world and that is purely coincidental. All the material I write and share here is original fiction, came directly from my brain and has not been created by any form of known AI. The only “help” I have had so far is looking up Irish translations (which may be wrong – please correct me if it is!!) on Google Translate.

PART 2
Laoise kept moving, stepping around fallen stumps and over patches of wet ground. The rain had finally begun to slow and she knew this was her last chance to find the lost child. The fear that someone so young had found their way to the Woods propelled her forward. She knew she had to find the boy before he reached the Waste.

Laoise tracked his soft, small footprints and strained her eyes to see deeper into the heart of the trees. The farther away she got from the Shadowlands, the darker it became. She felt the old familiar hollow in her chest, aching to return and listen to the Waste Wind. She craved the rest offered by the Void, but could not bring herself to go back out there. Maybe one day…

She heard a twig snap to her right and called softly for the boy. A moment later, Laoise saw his small frame between two trees. He was shaking from the cold and the rain. Her heart tightened, a warm throb pushing away thoughts of the Void.

“It’s ok, little one,” she said gently. “I’ve come to find you and take you home.” The little boy ran into her outstretched arms and she wrapped her cloak around them both. She shut her eyes and concentrated on the place in her chest that held the flame.

“Le do thoil, loisc go geal.”
Please, burn brightly.

Laoise could feel her heart warm, and pushed the light and life-flame outward, toward the shivering boy. As she walked back towards the Shadowlands, the boy relaxed in her arms and slept. It had been three days since he had gone missing in the Wilding Woods. Laoise had heard the telltale wailing near the Liminal border and had met the boy’s parents, who were too afraid to go into the Woods after their son. He had gone in search of a friend, who had also become lost in the dark of the Woods.

Laoise had found that other boy quickly, retuning him to the Shadowlands and the Liminal border. But her young quarry was nowhere to be found and it had taken her till now to track him down.

As she got closer to the Liminal border, she could feel the boy stirring. He looked up at her and searched her face; he couldn’t be more than eight. She could see fear and curiosity in his eyes.

“What happened to your face?” his timid voice asked.

“I got lost once in the Waste. My heart shattered…” It came out sharper than she meant it to. His little hand reached up and she flinched as he touched a scar. He pulled back, and dropped his hand back down.

“Sorry,” he said. “Do you need me to walk?”

“I’ll put you down in just a moment,” Laoise said. “I can’t go with you past the Shadowlands, but your parents will meet us there, at the Liminal border. They are worried about you.”

“Why can’t you go to Grian?”

“Grian? Is that where you are from?” She asked.

The boy nodded, still looking at the scars on Laoise’s face.

“Because I was made for the darkness and can’t see in the brightness of Grian. When I was in the Waste, I ended up with the scars of a shattered heart. The damage done by the Waste Wind scarred my eyes too, where I can no longer see in the brightness of the cities beyond the Shadowlands.”

The boy fell silent, sadness filling his eyes. “You can’t see in the light?”

“I cannot, but I see very well in the darkness. It is what helps me find those who are lost in the Wilding Woods.” She ruffled his hair and added, “Like you.”

The boy offered a smile and his thanks. “I think I have enough warmth back to walk now.”

Laoise slowly lowered the boy to the ground. They walked in silence for the next several hours. Soon, the deep dark gave way to the shadows and the boy quickened his pace. Laoise could hear the people gathered at the border, though her sight dimmed the closer they got to the Liminal. The boy’s mother saw him from a distance and shouted to him. He broke into a run and was swept up in her arms. All those who had waited with her cheered and gathered around them, quickly ushering them away.

Laoise stayed in the shadows, shielding her eyes from the light just past the Liminal. Before she lost sight of the crowd, she saw the boy turn back to look for her. A faint glimmer of Liminal light caught the silvery scars on her face and he lifted his little hand to wave.

Laoise waved back before turning and heading deeper into the Wilding Woods and the comfort of the dark.