Fiction | Vampire | Letting Go | Ghost Voices

Her Blood Debt in the Forest of Lost Voices

Anja has felt nothing but remorse for the life she took and is trying to make up for it one mission at a time, so what happens when she is confronted with the lost voice of the person she killed?

Another job, another bit of her blood-debt paid. Whispers slithered through the deadwood, sending chills down Anja’s spine. She bit her lower lip and forced herself onwards. Her fangs ached at the thought of the dead surrounding her. And she hated herself for it. For her own personal ghost.

As a Guarda, a protector working for an official guild, she could make up for it with every mission. She had to get to Ruskin Village before nightfall. The ogres there had become such a problem; they were wrecking the infrastructure and wounding the villagers. No wonder the Ruskin council was outsourcing for help. This was the shortest route there from Camelot City.

The voices wrapped themselves around the decaying trees with a cobra-like ferocity. Anja drew her shawl tighter around her arms. The once intelligible words had slowly sharpened as she journeyed deeper into the woods, sending goosebumps up her arms.

A stilled, thick mist hung in the air like curtains. Nothing stirred. No animals scurried away at the echo of her footsteps; no plants swayed. This was the Ashenwood Forest — the Forest of Lost Voices. Maybe I should have given what he said more thought.

Lance had warned her, “That’s no place for outsiders.” Anja, stubborn as always, rolled her violet eyes.

“We are all outsiders to the Forest of Lost Voices,” Lance clarified. He put the raw chicken drumstick down. Anja knew that meant business for a werewolf as insatiable as he was.

“Anja, you’re a strong Guarda. But that place — it takes more than just physical strength. It’ll play with your mind.”

Now, hushed cries seemed to emanate from one gnarled oak. Muffled pleas moaned from a pine missing all its needles. Anja swallowed hard. No forest was going to scare her away from this mission. But she could understand now why it had been left on the job board for so long despite the generous reward offered.

It wasn’t even the ogres. Compared to the creepy deadwood, they would be simple to deal with. She had no intention of killing them. She couldn’t. But brute force would be the most efficient way to chase them back to the mountains. That wouldn’t work on the deadwood, however.

“So, it’s you.”

The words drifted from the fog, detached from anything, but clear as though from a living person speaking in a tunnel. Anja stopped. The voice came again.

“I see you now.”

“Where are you?” Anja yelled out. It was a woman’s voice. Why did it feel familiar?

“I see you now.” The voice repeated.

Anja jerked around in a circle. Usually, there was nothing that could escape her notice.

“Such a strong Guarda . . .” And then the woman was laughing. Taunting.

Panic surged through Anja. Her blood froze in place. She knew who this long-dead woman was.

“Such a strong vampire . . . a strong killer . . .”

Anja was shaking. It plays with your mind. Lance’s words returned to her, flying through her mind like the giant crow she’d eat later.

“Do they know the monster they are hiring? You who killed me . . .”

It was Justine’s voice. That merciless bounty hunter. One without magic, longevity, power, and remorse. A more skilled and ruthless hunter Anja had not come across. But — but it was so long ago.

“You were trying to kill me! I acted in self-defense!” She yelled back to the empty woods.

“Was it self-defense when you drained every ounce of blood from my body?” Justine snickered. “I only tried to kill a monster. My voice will not know peace until I see that monster dead!”

Anja collapsed to the ground. The memory that haunted her heart filled her sight with the crimson she had ravaged, her flesh with the ice of death. The guilt she felt in the darkest parts of her soul — that she fought every day. That was her sin. Could she truly pay for it by simply giving her life?

“Then kill me,” she croaked out. “Kill me, and we’ll both rest.”

The air stilled around her. The voice — Justine — seemed to pause.

“You want me to kill you?” She asked. She sounded confused.

“My guilt will end with my life. You’ll be doing me a favor. Aren’t we in agreement? I’m a vampire. Even if I were to get to the village and save it from the ogres, who would save it from me?”

“You want to die.” Justine still sounded confused. The sudden uncertainty in her voice echoed through the hollowed wood.

Then laughter.

“Oh, the irony!” She exclaimed next.

“Aren’t you — you are going to kill me, right?”

“And put you out of your misery? All this time after my death, I thought the best punishment was giving you my fate. And all these years later, the monster has been her own punishment.”

I’ve been punishing myself? The question felt odd, new in Anja’s mind, and yet, relieving. She hadn’t thought about it that way before. A lightness entered her chest. Realization. Is this how it feels to know the truth about myself?

Anja stopped trembling. She rose. “I acted in self-defense. It’s true I lost my self-control that one time. You were already dead, Justine. As much through your own cruelty as because of my scythe-gun! You attacked me after I found out you were blackmailing the head of the guild to look the other way. That temple you burned down? It was full of people!”

“It was full of monsters.”

“Of innocent people!” Anja yelled back. Her pale hands clenched into fists. Her anger, her sense of morality, flickered back to life.

“You massacred a group of people who just didn’t fit your personal definition of what “a person” is? You were a psychopath! And I refuse to continue to carry your ghost with me anymore! I did nothing to feel sorry for!” Anja shouted. Her words fed the fire. It blazed through her veins. She hadn’t felt this in ages. As though the words themselves were burning away long-held burdens from her body.

Suddenly, a splitting clap of thunder sounded above her. Or was it thunder? It had a crackling sound to it, like a lightning strike or a great burst of electricity. She looked up towards the sky just as a blinding flash of light hit her. Bright white obscured her vision completely for a few moments.

When it cleared, she was astounded by what she saw.

The misty deadwood of ghosts was no more. Powerful, bushy trees climbed toward a clear, blue sky. Bright green grass dotted with colorful wildflowers and thick shrubs rose around a sandy, white road. Birds sang from leaf-laden branches, and butterflies fluttered lazily in the patches of sunlight spilling onto the soft earth. It was beautiful.

It was a forest that had let go of the past. Just as she was ready to let go.

Anja stepped onto the road, into the light, and made her way to the village. There were still people she needed to save.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Anja’s story. :) Thank you to everyone at Thought Thinkers for their time and patience.