Chapter 9 #2
An hour into our journey after the stream, the path widened slightly, and I caught the first glimpse of Shadowmere. The village looked intact but abandoned, with no smoke, no movement, and no sound.
My hackles rose. Wrong. Everything about this place felt wrong.
I dropped into a low crouch as we approached. The others followed my lead, tension clear in the way Val’s shoulders tightened and how Samara’s hand drifted to the dagger at her hip.
Nico dismounted first, helping Samara down from Buttercup with unnecessarily lingering hands. Val’s jaw clenched as he swung down from his own mount, the leather of his saddle creaking in the silence.
We secured the horses to a sturdy tree at the village’s edge. Buttercup stamped his foot and tossed his head, clearly reluctant to stay behind. His ember eyes fixed on Samara with what looked almost like concern.
“We’ll be back soon,” Samara stroked his muzzle, her voice barely above a whisper. “Stay quiet.”
I took point, every sense on high alert as I prowled toward the main road. The wrongness intensified with each step. My nose twitched, searching for any trace of life and anything that would explain Shadowmere’s abandonment.
Nothing except for the smell of rotting food.
The emptiness wasn’t just physical. Even the air felt hollow, stripped of scent and substance. My panther recoiled at the void, instincts screaming that this absence wasn’t natural.
The road was littered with everyday items. A child’s wooden toy, a basket of now-rotting vegetables, a leather satchel with tools spilling out. Life had simply stopped here. There was no blood, no sign of struggle. Just… absence.
We approached the inn, a two-story structure with the door hanging slightly ajar. I nudged it open, the hinges creaking as the door swung wider. Val followed close behind, his body coiled with anticipation, one hand on his blade.
The scent inside was stale, and the common room looked frozen in time, with ledgers spread across the innkeeper’s desk and a drawer hanging open with a small pile of coins inside.
Val ran his fingers along the desk, examining the thin layer of dust that clung to his skin. “They’ve been gone for over a week.”
Nico crowded the doorway, keeping Samara partially behind him as his eyes darted around the room. “No signs of disease or attack.”
We moved like shadows to the tavern next door, each step heightening the sense of wrongness that permeated the village. Val pushed the door open, his hand still on his sword as he stepped inside first.
The tavern told the same unsettling story. Meals were abandoned mid-bite, mugs of ale half-empty, and chairs overturned as if patrons had stood suddenly. But nothing indicated why.
We backed out into the moonlight, gathering in a tight circle in the middle of the empty street. The moon was lower in the sky now, signaling that night was upon us. Although the moon never truly set, its position helped us gauge the passage of time.
Samara’s face had gone pale, her eyes wide as they darted from building to building. “This place is freaking me out.” Her voice trembled slightly as she scanned and re-scanned the road and buildings, as if expecting the missing villagers to materialize from thin air.
She looked down at me, and before I could move away, her hand descended to stroke my head.
Her fingers sank into the fur between my ears, scratching gently along my skull.
The sensation sent a ripple of pleasure down my spine, and I leaned into her touch before I could stop myself.
My panther all but purred, shameless and greedy for her attention.
I was half tempted to roll onto my back right there in the dirt road. The impulse was so strong, so undignified, that it shocked me. What the hell was wrong with me? She might not like me in my demon form, but apparently, she couldn’t resist me as a panther.
I bet she gave the best belly rubs if the soft strokes on my head were any indication.
Val watched her pet me, his eyebrows rising as he noticed my response. His lips twitched into a knowing smirk that made me want to bite him. Hard.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Where could they have gone?”
Don’t ask me a question.
“Did anything smell amiss to you, Amari?”
Fuck. I’d avoided speaking like this because I liked the distance that being a silent observer provided. Not all shifters could speak while shifted, but the curse at least gave me the benefit.
Val stared at me expectantly, waiting for an answer only I could provide. I sighed internally, resigning myself to the inevitable.
“Smelled normal to me.” My voice emerged rougher and deeper than my human tone, like gravel being crushed underfoot. “I couldn’t really catch any smells besides the rotting food.” I flicked my tail toward Nico. “And a squirrel.”
Nico’s eyes widened comically. “You can talk in this form?”
I stared at him, contempt rippling through me at the idiotic question. “Well, I’m talking, aren’t I?” I shifted my weight, uncomfortable with the attention.
The squirrel looked genuinely confused, his head tilted like a curious pup.
I growled, and Samara snatched her hand away from my head, ending the delicious scratching. Damn it. I’d been enjoying that.
Irritation prickled beneath my fur. I broke away from the group, trotting down the main street with my tail lashing behind me.