11 End of Chapter Three || Nightmarish Chauffeur

When they reached several meters away, the beast demon turned its upper body towards them. As it focused its gaze on the two, its sunken eyes blinked with small stars that seemed to shine far away. Its mouth gaped open a little, and upon the sight of Essairyn, it tipped its head slightly to the side.

While unquestionably horrifying, the nightstalker had a somewhat dumb way about it that made it oddly endearing to the girl. With that impression, Essairyn halted three meters in front of the beast.

Realizing Essairyn was about to try conversing with the beast demon, Akari squawked under her breath, "Are you nuts?!"

"We're about to see," the girl murmured in response, garnering a look of utter disbelief on the fox's face.

"So.." Essairyn shakily began, "you're a nightstalker." The nightstalker just stared at her vacuously, and she scratched her head.

"Umm, I heard about what you did back there. Thanks for doing that; although, I'm not really in a position to thank you since I'm not really close with the solh'vunds or anything but.. Uh.. yeah, thank you. That was kind of you," Essairyn finished with a small smile.

Internally, Essairyn was smacking herself for acting so awkwardly and saying thanks to the beast as if she were looking for a conversation starter with a human person instead. Even though the civility was uncalled for in this untamed world, perhaps she was just too used to being polite.

The nightstalker tipped its head to the other side, still staring. Then it suddenly smiled; its face wrinkled in a decrepit way, and its eyes were still the same unblinking state.

'Okay,' Essairyn thought, 'that's kinda creepy.'

The nightstalker reached out a slow hand to the girl, and she looked at it perplexedly. The hand looked as if it was made of thick roots encased in hardened soil and covered in a thin veneer of transparent ash. She glanced up at the nightstalker who was still smiling.

"Uhh… You want me to step on your hand?"

The nightstalker nodded, but the weight of its moon-shaped horns made its head bobble more than nod.

While Essairyn was hesitant to trust the beast demon so easily, she recalled how it had wordlessly healed the solh'vunds pups. She also remembered the pack leader's words on how it helped balance and maintain the forest. So with a leap of faith, she stepped onto the nightstalker's palm and released her magic circle. Meanwhile, Akari clung to her with a wary face.

As soon as both of her feet landed, the nightstalker slowly bent its elbow and began plodding through the forest with her positioned in the front. She blinked, wondering where the nightstalker was taking her and why.

After a few paces, the nightstalker picked up some speed. With its tremendous height and long strides, the forest flew by in spurts.

As she rode, she noticed red pupils flickering in the undergrowth below. The sight of them made her quiver, and she looked up at the nightstalker. It was facing forward with a dutiful expression that made Essairyn feel somehow relieved.

A minute later, they arrived at the outskirts of the ancient tree.

"You knew where I was going?" Essairyn exclaimed.

The nightstalker gave a knowing look and proceeded to trudge towards the base of the colossal tree. Once they reached the roots, the nightstalker lifted its hand and placed Essairyn and Akari onto the highest point it could reach.

Baffled by the turn of events, Essairyn blinked at the nightstalker who had an benevolent expression on its face, or as benevolent as a five-story skeletal monster could make.

It had carried them safely to the tree in such a short time despite the distance. She gave it a small grateful nod and stepped off the large hand onto a bough. Seeing on her land there, the nightstalker backed up and waved before plodding off again into the night.

Essairyn blinked again.

"Did it just escort me here?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Remembering Errol's warning about demons in the night, and the ominous red eyes following her in the undergrowth, she felt a touch of amity toward the night stalker. After her previous two demon confrontations, nighttime would make even the bravest of souls skittish.

Of course, the so-called night guardian's actions were still suspicious and its motive, unclear, but nevertheless, she appreciated the escort. The ride was rather thrilling in spite of the gutsy gamble. She also wondered how she was able to stay on its palm so easily while moving so fast.

"Beats me. I'm tired," declared Akari belatedly after a yawn, slouching on the girl's shoulder, "And hungry."

"Hah, you're always hungry," Essairyn commented.

"I'm still growing," Akari retorted lazily.

Essairyn grinned at the cute fox and then leapt powerfully up onto the next branch.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Why're you jumping when you could fly?" the fox shrieked tensely as the girl leapt upwards.

She laughed merrily as the grumbling fox clung onto her shoulder.

"Exercise before bed is apparently good."

In truth, Essairyn needed to expel her excess energy and anxiousness. This was the first night. If tomorrow she should wake up still in the treehouse, only then would her remaining angst disappear, and the new reality, begin.