10

After long arguments with her parents, despairing of grief, Mali decided to go on a long journey to visit a wandering shaman named Akhra, who was famous for her ability to communicate with spirits, at a fair in a neighboring village.

  After standing in a long line of suffering visitors who had arrived from all over the area to solve their family problems, she entered a dim tent, lit by a pair of fragrant thick candles.

"Sit down, my dear," the shadow creaked in a scratchy old woman's voice, wrapped over head in a dark blue cape with a hood, under which neither eyes nor face were visible.

One of her wrinkled hands clasped a large polished yellowish crystal on the wooden cabinet in front of her. The stone glowed with a flickering light, captivating the visitor.

"Hmm... What do we have here!?"

The sorceress was rumored to have clairvoyance and could voice the client's problem without further questioning. She accepted payment in rare products that were not easy to obtain in the forest, and Mali brought her swamp roots in a basket and berry tea powder in gratitude for her help.

"This creature cannot be defeated by a simple person..." came her verdict after a couple of moments.

"Do you see him!?" the girl perked up.

"Yes... the horned one... captivated your brother..."

"I couldn't come to an agreement with him..." Mali whispered hastily, looking hopefully at the frozen shadow. "I offered him an exchange to return Kiri... Is there anything that can be done?"

"Mmm..." the old lady thought deeply. "A difficult case... I understand that it is not easy to come to terms with the loss of a boy..."

"At least how to appease this spirit so that Kiri and I can communicate?"

"Appease? But there are no ways to appease Ingris. His heart was wounded in the past... Moreover, he intends to take the young man to another place, away from his family. It's best that you don't try to confront him. The creature is powerful... You are bringing disaster to your settlement..."

"But this is... unfair!" Mali moaned pitifully and cried. "Where did he come from in our forest? Are these really found everywhere?"

"Well, yes, I constantly come across them in the forests during my travels," Akhra answered, rubbing her wrinkled palms. "There are many spirits, but they are not as strong as Ingris... besides, they usually do not intersect with people, much less enter into intimate relationships..."

"Intimate?" Mali raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I see... Kiri in his arms... on his lap…. scared and helpless."

"Poor thing!"

"He chose him and will not let him go... Your path, if you so want to communicate with your brother..." the sorceress froze in mid-sentence.

"Which one?"

"Become a spirit like Ingris!"

"Does this mean dying?"

"Not really... You need to find the gate to the world of sacred forces and enter them. If they accept you, you will be reborn into a spirit; if not, you will dissolve in that world, like salt in water. Not everyone can become a nature spirit. Special qualities are needed, they decide what..."

"Wow, where is this gate?"

"If I tell you, you'll have to follow there. And such a secret will require a special fee..."

"My youth?" Mali guessed.

"Smart…" the old lady laughed.

She hastily said goodbye to the sorceress with words of gratitude, realizing that the price was too high for her. She need to find another way to find contact with a dangerous spirit.