Mysteria Atherial's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Mysteria crouched under the willow dome and weighed her odds. The manor still glowed past the trees, but the ground between was tangled and strange. On foot, she would be lost before dark. The wisp pulsed once at her shoulder, patient, waiting for her choice. She held out her gauntleted hand. "Show me, then." The cyan flame drifted past the leaves and stopped above a flat stone she had not noticed. The stone lit from beneath. A second stone brightened a few steps on, then a third, until a pale path of lanterns unrolled through the willows toward the distant roof. A soft chirp made her turn. A small cat made of silver fire stepped onto the first stone. Its tail burned blue and bright. It looked back at her once, then trotted ahead, marking the path her wisp had lit. Mysteria followed. The stones carried her swiftly between trunks that would have swallowed her on foot. The path ended at a tall gate shaped like a dark, curling key, its center jewel glowing the same cyan as her wisp. Beyond it stood the manor's lantern-lined walk. A thick beam of shifting color poured from a pillar by the door. Her wisp drifted into the beam and flared white, then green, then gold — read, sorted, recognized. The gate swung inward on its own. The silver cat sat on the threshold and waited. Mysteria stepped onto the stone path. She was not lost anymore. She was expected.