1. Escaping Death
Escaping Death
P anting, Greta placed a hand over her mouth to silence any sounds from escaping. She pulled water from the air, forcing it to emphasize the perfume of dead grass and moss to mask her scent. Heart pounding, she slid to a crouch, pressing her back into the wet bark of the tree behind her. She listened for the sounds of paws disturbing the forest floor.
Sending a pulse of magick into the ground, she connected with the water flowing through the root system of the woods. She didn’t detect any disturbances beyond the usual animal life, but couldn’t believe she lost the Lycans on her trail that easily.
Familiar aches and pains rebelled at her stationary position. Patience rewarded predators. With a heart racing like a jackrabbit and stiff muscles complaining from the sprint from the palace, she felt like prey. The feeling of her magic was akin to slow-moving sludge. One mistake, one slow movement, and she was dead prey.
The maps she studied as a girl eluded her. Aside from the Lycan king’s palace, she couldn’t think of a single landmark. Every free witch grew up listening to the horror stories of Lycans enslaving their fellow sister witches, abusing and using them for their magick. Greta never imagined she’d experience the horror first-hand. Focusing on her rage, the low burning fire that kept her going, provided her a little burst of energy into changing positions. Quick as a mouse, she scurried on light feet in search of refuge. Getting far away from the Lycan king was crucial. But where was safety? Where could she go they wouldn’t dare follow?
Death , whispered a voice on the wind, weaving through the water magick she was quickly losing a grasp on. Soon, her scent would bloom and flood the woods, a beacon for the Lycans to follow. If death murmured to her seductively, then the cursed Redwoods weren’t far. A primordial presence lurked in those gnarled timbers, a Venus fly trap open and waiting for something succulent to land within its petals. Undeterred, Greta followed the mutters. Death couldn’t have her yet, but she’d hide within the safety of its alluring embrace.