Lilith and Pandora's Box (Moonlight Tales Presents)

12 - The Lonely Lights

Jack led the men deeper into the jungle despite not fully knowing if he was on the correct path. He had been to Nandor a few times with his father to burn incense at his mother's grave at the mouth of the jungle for it was there she actually drew her last breath and was buried. Burning incense did not take long and so Jack and his father never lingered in the jungle. He always marveled at how his father had singlehandedly gotten them both through the numerous perils of the ocean on every single one of their journey to Nandor and back but it was not difficult to understand why; Leone had been the bravest fisherman of his time.

"Did you ever travel this far into the jungle, Jack?" Bree asked, looking up at the thickly canopied branches of the trees.

"No." Jack replied quietly. "There was no need at all." He lifted his voice so that the men could hear him clearly. "Careful men. Evil lurks within this land. Stay together, be quiet yet vigilant. We might make it there and back if we move unnoticed."

The group rode silently and for the longest while nothing seemed to happen until a shrill voice was heard. The men jumped off their swords, drew their daggers and formed a defensive circle. Jack did likewise even though he knew getting down from his horse was not a good idea but the men were greatly alarmed and he could not speak to them a calm from atop a steed.

"What was that?" A man asked.

"Wha'ever it was, its surely heading righ' at us." Another answered.

"What are we to do? Make a run for it?" Gardo asked.

"Always with the great ideas, Gardo, you ninny. Is that why you came on the quest eh? To run away from the fight?" Thomas mocked.

"Quiet." Jack whispered harshly. During the men's quarrel, his gaze had landed on something ungodly from afar. "Over there."

The men simultaneously turned in the direction Jack was pointing - a dozen people in black robes stood in a circle with their heads touching in the middle as if they were glued together. At the sight of the strangeness some of the men began to whimper frightfully, although it was not told which.

Bree twirled his dagger. "What are they, Jack?"

"Wraiths of Nandor." Jack said taking a step back. His face was lined with horror.

"Do we have to fight them?" A man asked.

"It is impossible to. Wraiths cannot feel swords or daggers, it cannot harm them. Nothing can."

"What do we do then, Captain?"

"Run." Jack breathed as he watched the wraiths advance without warning. Before the men could move, the creatures had enveloped them and was slaughtering them like pigs. Many had already dispersed, some in the wrong direction and none in the right except for Jack and Bree. The wraiths gave them a hot pursuit and occasionally swiped at them from the air but the pair luckily dodged every strike.

All the while, Lilith simply stood at a great distance watching the wraiths chase Jack and Bree.

"We need him alone, mistress." The shadow told her.

"I know. The other one will ruin my plans. This must all go accordingly." She replied clutching hard at the rock face for she stood somewhere in the mountain that overlooked the jungle. The evil had granted her a keen eye and so she saw everything inside the jungle as though it were merely in front of her.

"He refuses to part ways." The shadow snarled angrily referring to Bree who had not left Jack's side. "Kill him."

"No." Lilith growled. "If that happens, the fisherman will advance no further."

In a harsh whisper, Lilith began to speak to the wraith in its language ordering it to take Bree far away from Jack. The wraith proved stubborn and did not oblige as it truly thirsted to kill Bree. Lilith's form melted and appeared behind a broken monolith a few ways off where Jack and Bree were trying their best to defend themselves.