Winter Spirits (Work In Progress) by Forest Ostrander (best free ebook reader for android .TXT) 📕

"I don't know. It's said that if you stand at the edge of the woods to the trail that leads to his village, a white lily will show in your hand, but only if you are permitted to enter the woods. If not, you will perish if you go in or he will just turn you away."

"How are you able to see them then?"

"I'm friends with his village. When I moved here, he took me in until I was able to get on my own two feet. I am technically a member of their tribe so I can come and go as I please. You on the other hand will probably have a problem. But I wish you luck none the same." With that, John raced off outside leaving Josh standing there debating on if he should just call the entire thing off and tell his boss it was a lost cause. Sighing, he headed out the spinning doors of the lobby and stood on the side walk outside. It wasn't much of a big town, but it had a good enough highway going through it with a lot of cars going by and enough stores and restraints to be mistaken to be a small city. Houses were on the outskirts of the town and the rest of the area was surrounded by dense woods. The hotel he was staying in was the only hotel around for three or four more miles before you really reached the big city. Glancing at his watch, he made his way to a jeep rental shop at the very entrance to the town.

Pushing open the glass door, a bell rang above his head telling the workers in the back room that they have a visitor. An old man came wobbling out from the back room which was separated by a blanket draped over the door way.

"May I help you?" The old man asked while leaning on the counter, a cane in the other hand.

"Yes. I would like to rent a jeep?" The old man went to the cash register and punched in some numbers.

"That will be 678 dollars and 67 cents please." Josh groaned inwardly and counted out the money. Handing the bills and change to the man, he rang up the register and handed Josh a single key.

"You're jeep is jeep number 98. It is expected to be back here no later than 10:00 PM. If you are late there will be an additional 300 dollar fee." Josh nodded and with a thank you headed out to the parking lot to find his jeep. When he found jeep #98, he climbed in, placing his stuff in the back before starting up the car. It felt good to be behind the wheel again, even if it was in a jeep. Turning out onto the streets, he headed to the location of the path that will hopefully take him to the village his informant lived in. He hoped that he wouldn't need a white lily to get in. He prayed that it was all nothing but a myth and that he would answer a few questions so he could write it off as one.

Reaching the dirt path on the edge of the woods, he peered into the woods. The trees were so dense that it looked dark inside, almost as if night had already fallen. All sorts of birds sang in the trees and the sound of frogs in a pond somewhere in the woods greeted him. He noticed three white rabbits hopping under a bush, nibbling on shoots of grass and clovers while keeping their eyes and ears peeled for danger. Looking at his paper again and mentally beating himself up for wearing a suit in the woods he put the car in drive and began to head in. He knew he would probably end up lost but he had hoped that the boy's story wasn't true and that he would be ok.

As soon as he reached the beginning of the trail he noticed within the corner of his eye a white lily appear on the dash board. Screeching the car to a halt he stared at the flower in shock. Quickly closing his eyes and rubbing them, he opened his eyes up again, hoping he just imaged it all but nope, the lily was still there, the petals delicate to the touch. Sighing he moaned.

"What am I getting myself into." Putting the car back into drive he drove down the trail.

Turning on his lights the deeper he went into the woods. He started to feel fear seep into his body. He had hoped he wasn't lost as the dirt path soon had disappeared before him leaving him rolling over nothing but grass, twigs, and the occasional mud puddle. Looking around his surroundings, he wondered if he had missed a turn or something and debated on turning back but he was too deep into the woods. Turning a big car like the jeep around this far in the woods was just screaming for him to get stuck and stranded. Checking the time on his phone, he was surprised to see that it was only 11:00 am yet it felt to be midnight in the woods.

Driving a few more feet he soon spotted a patch of light through the trees and smiled. Heading for the light, he found himself in a wide open field and centered in the middle of the field was a village full of teepee tents with squeals of children running around and playing while mothers hung up washed clothing and fathers laughed at their friend’s jokes. A huge fire sat in the middle of the camp, the smoke billowing off of it drifting the scent of cooking meat to his nose making his mouth water. His stomach rumbled at the thought of food and he wondered if this was the village he was supposed to find. Stopping his car, he noticed a few heads turning towards him which made him feel awkward. Turning the car off he climbed out only to notice that the lily was now in his right hand. He hadn't remembered picking it up. Placing the lily back in the car on the dashboard he closed the door only to find it now in his left hand.

"Huh, that's strange," he said to himself.

"What is?" Josh turned around at the sound of the baritone voice behind him. Meeting the Indian man face to face his eyes locking with his he held up the flower.

"This. I never picked it up off of the dashboard." The Indian man's eyes widened as he looked at the flower.

"Come. I must speak with you." He turned around and headed into the village with Josh trying to keep up with the pace. The other occupants of the village watched his every move but whispers were spreading around as they saw the white lily in his left hand. Josh felt red blossom on his cheeks in a blush. He was not used to all of this attention and wondered if this is what the celebrities he had interviewed through his career felt like this as reporters from all sorts of companies surrounded them. Following the man into his tent, the man motioned for him to take a seat. Sitting down on the bear skin carpet, he crossed his legs and laid the lily down next to him. The Indian sat across from him, a little fire place in between them. Lifting a lit pipe to his mouth the man sucked in a little and blew out a puff of smoke which floated up out of the hole in the middle of the tent.

"You are in possession of a rare flower my friend," the Indian spoke in his baritone voice. Josh looked at the lily.

"How so?" He asked, once more looking at the man.

"Only chosen one gets the lily," the Indian said. Once more he was puffing out the smoke from the pipe. His milk chocolate eyes studying him.

"The chosen one?" He asked. He wondered if this man had been smoking the pipe a little too long.

"The one who will be able to see the Winter Spirits," the Indian said. "My name is Swooping Crow."

"My name is..." he was cut off by Swooping Crow as he said.

"You are Josh Silverstream. 20 year old reporter who hates the idea of being assigned to something many believe is a myth," Swooping Crow said. Josh stared at him.

"How did you know that?"

"Winter Spirits told me so," he said, waving his hands around. Josh looked around. He didn't see any Winter Spirits.

"Seeing is not something you do with your eyes but your heart." Josh once more looked at Swooping Crow.

"Ok. Well let's get down to business." He took out a recorder from his brief case and turned it on.

"Mr. Crow. What is the legend behind this myth? Is it real?" Swooping Crow smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes making him look older.

"Yes. The legend is true my friend. But it was not always how people remember it."

"How did it begin?" Josh asked.

"Well. It all began with two little girls. They were born within the woods by two different she-wolves. Their father was Alpha of their pack. The babes came out unlike any other wolf pup. They had the ears of a wolf, the tail of a wolf, but the body of a human. The father was furious at this sight and commanded them to be sent away for death. The mother's pleaded with their Alpha to let their pups live but he would not be moved. Two wolves ripped the young girls away from their mothers screaming and crying and dragged them off into the woods to be left to the mercy of the wild. Three days passed and their mothers searched endlessly for their missing daughters but they could not be found. Turning back to their pack they were interrupted by two seemingly older wolves with the pelts as white as snow and eyes with the brightest glow. The two she-wolves stopped in their tracks as they looked at the pair. One with the brightest blue eyes and the other with a blue and green eye. Each as magnificent as the first snow."

"How did they get the nickname Winter Spirits?" Josh asked.

"My people, when we first encountered the two wolves. We were mesmerized by their power and beauty. They were unlike any other wolf alive. Each with a different power. These wolves felt like powerful spirits and their fur was a white as winter. We then decided they will be called Winter Spirits. The oldest has the power of love and healing. She can manipulate the way people feel and look at one another. She can cure the sick and heal the weak. Her sister has the power to give luck and fortune. He can manipulate the weather and bring on the visions of what is to come. Together, the two sisters are more powerful than time itself. Each one able to live for thousands of years without ever turning old. You see, these two wolves were the missing daughters of the she-wolves. Nature has spared them and enhanced their growth."

"Why?" Josh asked. He was getting caught up