The early morning mist clung low over the crumbling stones of the posting house, veiling the edges of the worn path that stretched eastward like a serpent disappearing into the unknown. Isla stood with her cloak tight around her shoulders, glancing over at Jacob, who lingered at the doorway, wringing his hands. Finn patted Melodias' head, while Caius cinched the last strap on his pack.
"You'll be careful, right?" Jacob asked, his voice thin.
"We'll try," Isla replied, her tone softer than usual. Despite the eerie story he'd told them, Jacob had been kind. His pale face looked even paler in the grey light. She nodded at him. "Thanks for the warning."
They left the morse behind, the air thickening as the sun tried—and failed—to break through the heavy grey clouds above.
---
They walked for hours.
At first, the terrain was manageable: rolling hills, patches of mossy trees, and the distant call of birds. But by midday, the road narrowed into a root-covered trail, swallowed gradually by a dense wall of trees.
The Weeping Forest.
Isla stopped, staring at the arching trees overhead. Everything about this place felt… wrong. The air was colder, deader. No chirping birds. No rustling leaves. Just silence, heavy and unnatural.
"This place is cursed," Finn muttered.
"You think everything is cursed," Caius replied.
But as they stepped deeper, even Caius grew quiet.
They reached the first statue an hour in.
It stood alone, nestled in a clearing, cloaked in moss and time. A woman, carved in white stone, hunched forward, face buried in her hands. Wings folded behind her, brittle and cracked.
Melodias growled low in her throat.
"Is it… crying?" Isla whispered.
They circled around the statue slowly. No matter which angle they approached from, the face remained covered. It didn't move.
"Creepy," Finn said. "But it's just a—"
Melodias barked.
They spun around.
A second statue.
It hadn't been there before. Another weeping angel, face in hands, hunched near the trail they had just come from.
"Okay. That's new," Caius said slowly.
Isla stepped back. "Did it move when we weren't looking?"
"I'm not blinking again," Finn said, eyes wide.
The deeper they walked, the more statues appeared. Posed the same. Unmoving.
At one point, Isla dared to close her eyes for a single breath—and when she opened them, one of the statues had moved a full five feet closer.
Melodias snapped and barked, circling protectively around the group.
"We need to keep them in our line of sight," Caius said. "All of them."
"There's too many," Finn breathed.
The trail wound tighter. Statues now on either side. And then one more appeared—right in front of them.
Arms outstretched.
Mouth open in a silent scream.
Eyes wide and hungry.
Isla screamed.
---
Back at the Posting House
The warmth of the fire in the hearth was quickly extinguished by the entrance of the man in the storm-grey cloak.
Rhydian Cray...
He stepped through the door without pause, boots echoing across the wooden floorboards. Jacob's head snapped up, already trembling.
Rhydian looked around slowly, as if memorizing every detail. Then his one eye settled on Jacob.
"Three kids," Rhydian said. "One girl with red hair. Two boys. And a dog. Where'd they go?"
Jacob swallowed hard. "I—I don't know. They just—"
The bounty hunter took two long strides forward, towering over the desk. He reached down and lifted Jacob by his collar.
"I wasn't asking."
Jacob tried to push him off, but Rhydian slammed him back into the wall. "Talk. Now. Or I start pulling teeth."
"The Weeping Forest!" Jacob blurted, voice cracking. "They went east. Said they were heading to the sacrificial grounds."
Rhydian released him. Jacob crumpled to the ground, gasping.
The bounty hunter adjusted his gloves. "That wasn't so hard now was it".
He turned to leave, then paused.
"Next time someone asks about the Midnight Circle… you tell them nothing. Understand?"
Jacob nodded frantically.
Rhydian stepped into the mist.
---
Back in the Forest
The statues were everywhere now.
Isla's heart thundered in her chest. Her eyes burned from refusing to blink. Finn tripped over a root and fell, screaming as he rolled behind a tree. Melodias leapt after him.
Caius spun, back-to-back with Isla. "We have to move! We can't stay still!"
"They're behind us too!" Isla shouted.
She dared a quick glance forward—another statue had moved. Closer. Arms out. Face twisted in rage.
Isla's breathing grew ragged. She couldn't think. Couldn't move.
Then Melodias barked again—sharply. The echo of it cleared her head.
"This way!" Finn cried. He had scrambled onto a fallen tree, waving.
They ran. Blindly. Eyes wide, lungs burning.
Branches clawed at them. Dirt flew beneath their boots. Statues flickered at the edges of their vision. One reached for Isla—almost brushed her shoulder before she ducked.
They burst from the forest onto a sunlit clearing. The statues stopped at the edge of the trees.
Isla fell to her knees, sobbing, barely breathing. Finn collapsed beside her. Caius looked back at the forest, panting.
"They didn't follow," he said.
Melodias sat close, tail wagging slightly, but still on edge.
Finn looked up. "I never… want to go near another statue again."
"Let's keep going," Caius said. "We're not safe yet."
They trudged forward, the dark woods behind them… and the shadows of greater horrors ahead.
Far behind, Rhydian Cray stood at the tree line, watching.
"Cute little run," he muttered. "Let's see how far it gets you."