Chapter 142 142. Boogey Man

Chapter 142 142. Boogey Man
Twilight came, and Isolde and Drake had already wandered around for two hours. They were looking for some caves, bluffs, anything that might help them find a werewolf—nothing, and worse than that, they were entirely lost.  

It went on like that for two days. The third evening, they were both frustrated. Drake was tired of the peanut butter and Honey Sandwiches. "This is the last of the food. If we don't find something soon, we will have to go home and come back again."  

"We can't go back empty-handed, Drake; Malachi will be let down."  

"Why do you care if we let him down? I thought you hated him."

"I don't hate him; he is just a power-hungry menace. That doesn't constitute hate. Just a lack of wanting him to take over the Nexus of Power and have final say over laws, and even some of his views I agree with, but I don't like him; that's for sure."  

Drake groaned. He was tired of eating the same thing every day. No coffee or tea either was grating on his nerves; he needed caffeine. Then there was the fact that neither of them had slept well in the last few days. One would have to stand watch for the other, which meant little sleep, and sleeping on the ground was uncomfortable.  
Drake knew he had grown up spoiled, but he just hated all of this. They had heard nothing and seen nothing. It seemed like the whole trip was going to be a bust. "If we can't find anything by the morning, and you're saying we can't go home empty-handed, maybe we try another location. I can use geotravel and take us wherever. Maybe we could start at the place we both actually saw a creature."  

"You mean the mundane world?" Isolde questioned, and Drake nodded. Isolde sighed; she was sure they were in the right place to find something, but they had been wandering for three days and nothing. She was tired, she was sore, and she knew her feet had blisters; the shoes she wore were not meant for tramping through the woods days on end.  

Then there was the food situation. They were out; if they stayed out there, they could starve, she doubted that. How long could a person go without food? She tried to think if she knew; she didn't. Of course, with craft they had been able to get water, but food was a different thing entirely.  

Why had they not found anything? Nothing called to them. Also, why were these woods so vast? It seemed unending. "Fine, you're right; it was just a hunch coming here that is. If we find nothing tonight, we can leave in the morning. And yeah, I think the next logical place to check would be the mundane world where the dragon attacked." Isolde said, and Drake agreed.  

They had found that only three creatures kept their mental faculties—gorgons, which were always women, so that excluded Ashford. Phoenixes, too, kept their ability to think and be mentally in charge. Phoenixes, though, couldn't be human in any form, or it was a strange creature. Because it could heal people, it was actually a good creature, and it only happened at the end of a person's life.  

If craft was so pure in that individual and they were "pure," Craft granted them the gift of being a Phoenix. According to the books, one hadn't been spotted in 3 centuries. Isolde thought it was likely because no one had been "pure," and she didn't even know what that meant. Ashford couldn't ever be that; he was in a human body, so while it was fascinating to learn about that magical bird, it was clear they were not looking for one.  

Then there was boogeymen. That struck a chord; the attributes were similar enough to Ashford. A Boogey Man had all its mental reasoning, and it made it more frightening than other creatures. The main point was to scar people into submission. While the idea of a boogey man scaring children into listening to their parents was something Isolde was familiar with, the actual creature was much more than that.  

A Boogey Man could technically scare anyone into submission; the fear fed the beast, and they thrived on it. Now Drake and Isolde had no confirmation that Ashford was, in fact, a Boogey Man, but it would give him a reason to keep doing what he was doing. Drake had pointed out that most people were not afraid of Ashford because he had friends in high places.  

Isolde countered by asking whether they were really his friends or just scared of them. "But he can wield craft," Drake had asked. The book said nothing about whether a wielder lost the ability to wield craft if they were a creature or not. That had not been accounted for in all creature species and certainly not for the Boogey Man.  

Drake could see Ashford being a Boogey Man, but he also could play devil's advocate, where Isolde was adamant he wasn't. He didn't think it was possible to gain his position as Headmaster at Arcane Academy if he was covertly a creature. He just wasn't sure about it; Isolde thought that it was perfect. It provided motivation and explained so much. Striking fear didn't have to be jumping out at someone. It could be exploiting insecurities.  

The sky cracked open, and a flash of lightning flashed in the dimming sky. Then the thunder boomed. "Great!" Drake exclaimed sarcastically. "We should leave now, before it starts pouring rain." He said.  

"No, we said. " In the morning, just one more night of searching." Isolde insisted.  

"It's going to rain, and we will be wading in mud, Izzy."

She sighed; she wasn't in favor of giving up on searching the Whispering Woods. After all, the fact that it was such a large forest meant it would be a good place to hide for creatures. "In the morning, Drake, if we find nothing." She insisted again. He caved and nodded. It took less than an hour for darkness to consume them, twilight gone and rain pouring down on them. Soaking their clothes, Isolde was not happy that the downpour would destroy the books in her backpack.

They pressed on, and as they rolled to hour three in the rain, Drake stopped walking, and Isolde ran into his back. "What is?" Isolde was questioning, but Drake quickly covered her mouth. She tried to speak, but he shook his head and moved so she could see around him. Up ahead, a light flickered; it was faint, but it was there against the rain and blackness of a night in the Whispering Woods.