Interphase by Kira Wilson, Jonathan Wilson

lifeline, he pointed himself toward the music and set off.
    The song grew louder as he approached the shadowy eaves. Stumbling under the willowy branches, he limped into an open clearing. Above him, Analara lay in the crook of a tree, a startled and mortified look on her face.
    "Hello again," David croaked and fell to the ground.

Chapter 9

    Analara sighed dreamily. This was one of her favorite hideaways: a large clearing in the heart of a roanan grove, tucked in the crook of a low branch on the lone kalneth tree. It was the perfect place for lounging and letting her thoughts wander. She folded her arms behind her head and sang to the silent wilderness.
    The sound of breaking underbrush startled Analara, and before she could hide herself, a figure stumbled into the clearing and looked up at her. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment when she saw who had found her.
    "Hello again," David said, before collapsing to the ground.
    His fall startled Analara so much that she nearly tumbled off the branch. She slipped to the ground and rushed to his side, grabbing her pack as she knelt beside him. "David?"
    David gave her a flimsy grin. "We really have to stop meeting like this."
    Analara examined his wounds and instinctively reached for the appropriate herbs and bandages from the pack. Fear crept into her heart when she realized the extent of his bleeding. Trying to keep him alert and herself calm, she spoke to him gently. "When you disappeared, I was afraid I wouldn't see you again. I hoped you were well. I guess I was right to be concerned."
    "I promise I was fine when I left you," David responded weakly. "Guess I managed to get in trouble again."
    Analara pulled a small knife from its sheath and sliced away the tattered remnants of David's shirt. Deep gashes crossed his chest from shoulder to waist, the edges of the wound bearing a distinctive tearing. She gasped. "This looks like a feranal's work."
    "Large and scaled with an unfriendly tail?"
    "Indeed. They generally avoid us. It is odd that one would openly attack you." Analara unrolled a length of bandage, silently bemoaning how little she had brought. Using the cleanest remains of David's tunic, she soaked up the worst of the blood. She crushed several herbs into her water skin and washed the cuts with the mixture. She helped him sit up and wound the bandage tightly around his chest. The cuts continued to bleed, but not as heavily; the tail had missed anything vital. Her anxiety ebbed enough that she offered David a smile. "The wounds aren't quite as bad as they feel."
    David managed a smile of his own. "If they were, then I'd be in even more trouble."
    "A feranal does not back away once engaged. You must be a skilled fighter to have brought it down." She pointed at the bloodstained weapon half-hidden at his side.
    Glancing at it, David shook his head. "The beast surprised me and got the upper hand. If I hadn't received some help, it would have finished me." He frowned. "Do you have phantoms in these woods, Analara?"
    "Phantoms?" She washed the cut on his leg and used the last of her bandages to bind it.
    David paused and appeared to choose his words carefully. "I saw a… shadow. It screamed and chased me through the woods. I managed to lose it, but when the feranal attacked me, it reappeared and threw lightning at it."
    He flinched as Analara finished tying off the bandages, and she patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I know of what you speak. It started appearing in the woods one day, shortly before I was born. No one in the city knows what it is, and few desire to find out. It does not wish to be disturbed, and it hurts anyone that wanders too close. Whatever powers it uses, the wounds do not heal properly afterwards."
    David said nothing, merely laid back and closed his eyes. Analara gave him a final examination but did not notice any other injuries. She watched his face; he looked exhausted, and more than a little lost. Without thinking about it, she brushed a lock of