dead trees, using strips of cloth to plug the glowing fluid leaking from them. We make sure to keep the luicium off of us as we do so to remain in complete darkness, using the shadows to our advantage as we watch the Elites sleep in their temporary camp at a distance. A brown-haired male keeps watch, scanning the trees surrounding them, but not noticing we are here.
After days and days of searching, I thought we’d lucked out and they had either left or were headed in the wrong direction. But when Taylor scouted ahead of us to check if it was safe to rest for the night, he came back and told us that he had found them. We packed our things up quickly and stalked through the trees toward them, silent as the air in the forest and set up to observe them, trying to find any weaknesses.
I shuffle on my knees somewhat, trying to ease the ache there when I see a dark-haired male suddenly snap his eyes open. I freeze mid move, my heart pounding with my knee slightly lifted off the hardened ground. He then tilts his head and gets to his feet in a silent, fluid motion, and my eyes track every move. That shouldn’t have been possible for a man his size, but he did it with the ease of an experienced warrior. He’s tall, probably taller than any other male I have come across, and he keeps getting taller as he heads closer toward us. I feel the others tense around me at his movements, none of us moving a muscle as we watch him. He’s in all black, his t-shirt seemingly attached to his body like a second skin, outlining his muscular figure and defined muscles. Tattoos peek from the collar, gliding up his neck a little, and I look over them curiously before I glance at the ones slithering down his arms and stopping at the crease of his elbows.
As I gently lower my knee back down on the ground, my thigh burning from the effort, I stop breathing as I feel his eyes land directly in our direction. His weighted gaze is heavy as it seems to stay on me. I drag my eyes down from his arms hesitantly and look at the dark blade in his hand, slightly curved and wicked. I absentmindedly lick my dry lips. He bends his knees a little, and my eyes fly back up to his face, unable to resist any longer. The pounding of my pulse increases as I realize he knows something is here, watching them.
My limbs become frozen when I see fury in his gaze. It feels like he’s crawling inside me, like I’m some sort of prey about to be slaughtered by the predator before us. Runa growls at my thoughts and gives me a harsh nudge under my skin. She doesn’t like us being thought of as prey. We are far more than that.
My lungs expand before I let out a long breath, shaking off the feeling and moving my eyes to the male beside him. It’s the same male who was on watch. He’s slightly smaller than the dark-haired male, but he’s also looking in our direction, features tight as he scans the shadows. He suddenly wanders off to the center of the camp, waking the rest of the sleeping bodies. Quickly after, a blond male is aiming an arrow our way, eyes hard and clear. Another male with twin blades stands, getting into an offensive position in the center, ready to face the threat head on, while a huge guy with an axe moves further back.
The tall male, who is still staring at me, releases a low, threatening growl, causing the small hairs on my body to stand to attention. My body warms, and tingles spread across my arm at the sound, my heart missing a beat before starting up once again. My brows furrow at my reaction to the deep and violent sound while Runa perks her head up inside of me, ears forward as she listens. Another sound suddenly reaches my ears, and the warmth that held my body turns ice cold. The dark-haired male turns to look behind him, and I lean to the right, hands gripping the dead bark of the tree to hold me as I follow his gaze. I nearly gasp out loud at the sight.
A pale, ghastly figure of a woman has her teeth sunk into someone’s neck, blood dripping down the man’s front as she digs her teeth in harder. A fucking water hag. Shit. I exchange a quick, worried glance with Josh, who’s hiding behind the tree next to me, before looking back to the creature. The water hag suddenly tears her teeth away from the man, and I swallow a couple of times. Seeing the lumpy, bloodied flesh hanging from her mouth is not something I enjoy. My vision starts to blur at the sight, my heart kicking up a notch while my breaths start to come out in small, fast pants.
“Rhea, you’re being too loud!” Josh calls out down the link, but my head is hazy, like I’m listening underwater.
I close my eyes and will myself to calm down, to stave off the dizziness that I’m feeling. It’s not like I haven’t seen something like this before. I have seen dead bodies and gruesome injuries. But seeing it so suddenly combined with the look on the man’s face as she tore at his neck, was enough to set off a reaction I can’t control. His look of pure, unadulterated terror, knowing he has no chance at surviving an injury like that. It’s hard to witness.
A soft, cloud-like touch presses down on the top of my head, the feeling causing me to grimace at the painful stabs to my scalp. Barely there fingers soothe the pain and then trace along my forehead, down to my cheek, and the dizziness starts to fade away. The ghost-like caress feels wrong but welcoming at the same time as my breathing evens out.
A hand touches my shoulder, and I jolt. My eyes spring open and my mind clears as I look into Josh’s worried, gray eyes as he crouches next to me. “I’ve been trying to get through to you. You shut down the link,” he tells me anxiously, squeezing my shoulder lightly.
I shut down the link? I didn’t even feel it.
My brows furrow in thought. How did the link shut down and I didn’t know it? When your link shuts down, it’s like an empty space inside your head. An endless void, waiting to be filled by the presence of the one who owns the space there. It’s uncomfortable and unnerving. It’s why I don’t understand how Kade can be so unaffected by it when he shuts us out.
I shake my head. “I didn’t know I closed it,” I reply. Lifting my hand to my forehead and trailing my fingers down my cheek, I still feel a slight tingle where something touched me. What the fuck was that?
I ignore it and Josh’ curious stare and look back out toward the camp. The man the water hag has in her clutch slumps forward, but she doesn’t let him drop to the floor. She holds him closely, keeping her prey with her. The tall, dark-haired male stalks toward her, sure and steady, and I lean forward, wanting to see what he will do. His hand flies out, gripping her jaw tightly, not a single sign of worry in his posture as she drops the dead guy and claws at his hand to try and get him to release her. I watch on, fixated as she stills completely with her horrified gaze locked on the man before her. The male brings his curved, black blade slowly to her forehead, and then starts to press forward through her gray skin. He pauses the blade as she starts shrieking, the sound echoing her pain from the weapon lodged in her flesh. Her shrieks are so loud it’s like she’s right next to us, and I shove my hands over my ears to try and block it out. I see everyone else do the same apart from the dark-haired male and some other men in the camp who are eagerly watching on as we are.
After a few short moments, he plunges the blade through her skull, the sound of her shrieking instantly stopping and replaced with the sound of bone splitting. It echoes around the now silent night as I remove my hands from my ears. He pulls the blade back out in one upward move, slicing her head open and darkened blood spills over him and the ground. The water hag stays upright for a few moments, unseeing eyes staring ahead, until she falls back, landing in the pool of water with a splash. We don’t move, watching on as the male stares at her, cocking his head to the side in a pure animalistic move. It’s like he’s not sure if he’s done with her yet.
The forest seems to freeze. My shoulders tense, and my breath is trapped in my lungs, waiting to see if her shrieking has roused any other creatures of The Deadlands. A few moments pass without any sounds of movement, and I slump in relief. I look around to the rest of the people in their camp and see all their focus is on the male, except for the blond guy still aiming his bow our way.
This is it. This is our chance while they are distracted, if we can remain unnoticed by the archer.
“Josh, Taylor said he can get some bora here fast, right?” He nods his confirmation. “I don’t think those crystals will hold up against a large family of bora. Let’s stick to the original plan.”
He waves subtly to get Taylor’s attention who’s leaning behind a tree with Seb to the right of us. Josh signals to him that it’s time to put our plan in place, and his eyes harden before he nods. Taylor looks around the edge of the tree to the camp briefly before he quietly slips away deeper into the forest, grabbing Hudson and Colten on the way. Seb takes the place Taylor left, crouching low and taking out a few stones from his pack as quietly as possible before putting the pack behind a tree.
Quiet murmuring comes from the camp, and I watch as some people move toward the dead, male body on the floor, sadness etched on their faces. I feel bad using the death of a man to my advantage, but I can’t pass up this opportunity. I lift my hand and sign for us to start our task, backing away from where I was hiding to gain a good distance from the protection crystals.
We meet at a tree further back and pass out the stones quickly before we part ways again. As quietly as possible, I sneak around their camp on the edges of their visibility and hearing, placing the dark, violet stones on the ground. Avoiding broken branches as I go to keep silent, I continue around knowing Josh and Seb are doing the same thing until eventually, we create a circle around them. Just like they did with their protection crystals.
As I round the camp at a safe distance, I keep a watchful eye on them. The dark-haired male is still standing where I last saw him, and the archer is still aiming where we were, so I know we have moved undetected. I spot Josh a little distance ahead of me, placing his stone down gently.
“This is the last one I have. Seb is waiting for Taylor, Hudson and Colten to come back. It won’t be long now.” He runs a hand over his hair, careful not to dislodge his bun as he leans against the tree closest to him, his eyes focused on the Elites.
I crouch low and hold the stone just slightly off the ground, ready to put it down when it’s time. Taylor has spent a lot longer in this forest than any of us, so he knows how to track bora down quickly. He also knows how to piss them off, and with Hudson and Colten helping, I think pissed off will be an understatement for the bora.
Still watching the camp as they now carry the dead man to the center, we wait, muscles tense and ready for the bora to come and for us to get at a safe distance away from what’s about to happen.
Closing my eyes, I will myself to not feel guilt for what I’m about to do, but I know it will be of no use. I place my free hand on the ground, waiting for the slight tremble that I know will come. It’s not long before the rumbling of the surface tickles my palm, a slight warning, and my eyes flare open. I move my head slightly to the right across the camp, anxious for the first sign of the bora. The trembling intensifies, and the Elites look down at the ground confused, while the red-haired man lowers himself to one knee and puts a palm to the floor. My heart thrashes in my chest as he shoots to his feet, unsheathing his weapon and looks toward the trees. The others become aware that something is wrong and gather for the incoming attack, the two wolves taking up a defensive position in the middle, but it’s too late.
Dozens of bora shoot through the darkness, running straight for them. Black as night, teeth bared and spiked tails high, they are furious. The camp gathers to arms, weapons at the ready. The protection crystals glow brighter as the bora clash into an unseen barrier. They let out a series of yelps and whines, falling to the ground, but soon snarling, going back for a second round. A shimmer of azure appears, surrounding the camp with slight ripples flowing through it like water. The bora don’t let up, attacking the barrier with teeth, tails and claws, trying to get to them. When the ripples become larger, I place the stone to the ground, and it reacts, giving off a dark violet glow. I see the dim light of the others that have been placed on the ground reacting, letting me know it’s ready.
I shuffle back and hide behind a tree, Josh following me as the glowing stones brighten. A line of purple light escapes from the stone I put down, shooting to the next one on its left, and then it continues going round, connecting the stones together before finally reaching my stone again. All the stones now pulse with a dark, violet light, signifying the ring is now complete and working. I ease away from the glowing light, aiming to get to a safe distance to not be seen. My steps speed up a little, ready to sprint to the meet up location we set before we came here to wait out the bora.
I’m just about to start running at a full sprint when I check over my shoulder to see how the barrier is holding up. But my steps falter and my eyes widen before I reach out for the closest tree to save myself from falling over my own feet.
But the tree won’t save me from the furious, dark-haired male looking directly at me.
