Black Blood

The sun begins to slip behind the trees, colouring the sky dark blue. The forest seems endless. I don’t know how long we have been driving, at least an hour. I couldn’t say how many hours but my guess is six.

We don’t talk, there is neither the opportunity nor the time for that. I have a feeling we won’t reach the end of this forest before the day is out. The tree line is not even visible. The only things audible are the horses’ hooves and Rave’s paws on the forest floor.

At least another hour slips by. My stomach starts to show that I am hungry, the horses seem to get more tired and my legs start to sour from riding. The tree line is still not visible and I am starting to give up hope that we are going to make it.

The sun has appeared behind the trees, the moon in the sky. The road is still barely visible through the darkness and the sounds around me begin to change to night.

Novak’s horse starts to walk slowly. I pull on the reins to make my horse walk slower. Slowly Novak’s horse comes to a stop, my horse next to it. Novak looks at me with his blue eyes.

‘We have to stop for today. The night is drawing in. Within an hour we won’t be able to see anything.’ I look further into the forest and realise that he is right. I don’t like the idea of spending the night in the black forest, but we have no other choice.

Novak jumps off his horse and ties the reins to the tree. I follow Novak’s example and let myself slide off the horse. Something about these woods makes me uneasy, as if someone were pressing on your chest, as if someone were staring at you behind every tree.

I count myself lucky with Novak’s presence. I would not have liked to be alone in this forest at this hour. There’s something about the forest I don’t like, something that tells me to leave.

I let my eyes slide over the dark trees. Before my eyes, a raven flies past the trees, lands on a branch and stares at me with its black eyes. His black eyes look deep at me. Its black feathers gleam in the moonlight. It does not seem to be staring at me to see my presence, it seems to be trying to see through me. It seems to be trying to read me, to see who I am and what I think. Something tells me that this is not a normal bird.

As soon as I pull away from the raven’s gaze, a scream rings out through the trees. The sound echoes along the trees like a ball bouncing against the bark. I turn around in an instant, looking around for the cause. Goose bumps spread over my skin as soon as a gust of wind glides along my body.

Something is not right in this forest, there is something here that does not want us. It feels as if something is trying to drive us away.

Once again, a scream echoes through the forest. I cover my ears with my hands to keep the sound out, to shut myself off. As if someone were shouting next to me, without end, the sound hits my head.

I want to get out of here. I have to leave here. I am not wanted here. Everything in this forest wants me gone, I can feel it. I close my eyes, trying to keep everything out. I try to close myself off, just like I did with Christiaan.

‘Celeste!’ I almost scare myself to death as soon as I feel a touch on my arm. Slowly I open my eyes and look into the blue eyes of Novak. His eyes are worried, inquisitive. Novak carefully takes my hand away from one of my ears. Only at that moment do I notice that I am trembling on my legs. My heartbeat is hectic, my breathing fast.

‘What is going on?’ I look at Novak as if I see water burning, as if he has gone mad.

My eyes shoot along the trees, searching for the cause of the screams. The raven has disappeared. Nothing can be heard but the sound of the wind in the branches. I tell myself I am crazy. Just as I try to control my breathing, a gust of wind slides past my face.

‘Free us,’ the sound rings in my ears. It is as if someone is whispering next to me, but there is no one to be seen. Goose bumps spread over my entire skin.

‘Don’t you hear that?’ My voice trembles, I stammer. My eyes shoot past the trees. Novak grabs my cheeks and forces me to look at him.

‘What do you hear?’ His eyes pierce into mine, holding my gaze.

‘Screams and whispers.’ Novak’s eyes shoot back and forth across my face. His eyes seem to be searching for an answer. Slowly, his hands let go of my cheeks and his gaze goes over the forest.

‘Remember I told you about the ghosts that roam around here? The spirits that were locked up by one of the previous kings?’ I nod slowly but cannot make the connection with the screams I hear. Novak obviously doesn’t hear it. Novak slowly turns around and looks at me in the eyes.

‘You are a relative of that king, the spirits know that. You have that curse on your name, which means you can hear the spirits and maybe you can free them.’ Even after death, there are beings who hate me for my name. What does it mean that I can free the spirits? Is that something good or something bad?

‘Should I free them?’ I feel like a small child asking me to clean up my toys. I wouldn’t even know how to free the ghosts, let alone whether it’s a good idea. I don’t know the history of these ghosts, I don’t even know what will happen to them if I set them free.

Novak’s eyes glide over the forest again.

‘Ethically yes, strategically no. Ghosts are dangerous, even though they can’t actually touch you. They can get under your skin, drive you so crazy that you do something to yourself. You may be one of their only hopes, but we don’t know what revenge they have on you.’ Novak may not say it directly but I know what he means. If I set them free, there is a chance they will see me as the perpetrator, and you never know when they will be useful. We may not be able to see death, but it is always there.