28. Chapter Twenty Eight Rhowyn
Chapter Twenty Eight: Rhowyn
I didn't dare make a sound. The silence pressing down on me, caused my survival instincts to fire off as I searched the trees for the source of the threat. I held my breath, my fear causing my heart to race in my chest, sounding impossibly loud in my ears until I could swear that everything and everyone could hear it pounding against my ribs. I wouldn't be surprised if the spectators watching us, safe from the comfort of their homes, could hear it. I glanced over my shoulder, catching the glowing orb still following us silently.
The orb was so discreet that I found I had to keep reminding myself that it was still present, that every move we made was being broadcast to all of Avalon. I had always wondered how people on reality shows could forget that they were being filmed constantly, but now I knew how easy it was to forget that your life was now fodder for the masses to dissect and consume as they saw fit .
A soft chittering noise sounded around us, causing the hairs on my arms to stand on end. The sound was so quiet that it was more of a vibration than an audible tone. I glanced around at the guys, unsure if they heard it too, still not daring to make a peep. I wouldn't be the one to be responsible for revealing our location.
Again, I found myself woefully unprepared for this world and all the threats that it presented. While Earth was dangerous in many ways, it was easy to go about my life without those concerns at the forefront of my mind. Each threat was predictable in a way that I could prevent with the proper precautions. Making my way through this world I found myself in now, I was constantly on edge, never sure of where the next threat would come from. It was wholly impossible to prepare for the things I couldn't even imagine in my wildest dreams, the creatures and magic so far from everything I had ever known.
The vibrations slowly grew stronger, causing Meadow to champ at her bit and stamp her feet in anxiety. She could sense the threat like we could, and she danced as she pulled on the reins.
I held them tight, keeping her firmly in line as Callum dropped back slowly to ride on the other side of me until I was surrounded by my guys. While I would love to say that I was a strong and independent woman who didn't need a man to protect me, in this moment, I was thankful for the security their positioning gave me.
I had no qualms facing down a threat I knew, but I wasn't foolish enough to try to face a nameless foe, especially when I still didn't know the limits of my magic. In moments like this, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the insurmountable odds of surviving these trials fully intact .
Already, they were changing me in ways I could have never predicted, turning me into someone I actually liked, the kind of person I could be proud of.
A snap sounded out, echoing through the trees and deafening in the silence around us, causing all of us to jump and swivel in our saddles. The buzzing sound grew until the low tones started to hurt my ears, the vibrations increasing in intensity until I wanted to slam my hands over them.
“That's not good.” I heard whispered from next to me. At least I thought Lennox was whispering; the words were barely discernible above the buzzing tone.
As my fear grew, I wanted to laugh, the noise somehow reminding me of what playing cards sounded like as a bicycle's tires spun, flicking the card to mimic a motorcycle. The only difference between the two was the speed at which the sounds presented. The card in the spokes of the bicycle wheel were slow as a snail in comparison to what I heard now.
Unable to stop myself, my fear increasing my need to know what the source was, I asked, “What's not good?”
When Lennox's eyes met mine, I blanched at the terror I saw in his face. We'd faced so many creatures that seemed to defy reality in the first trial, and yet, whatever was causing this noise had him petrified. Before he could answer me, a dark cloud burst through the trees surrounding us.
“Run!” Arryn yelled, spurring his horse forward without concern of the low hanging branches that could easily knock any one of us from our seat in the saddle if we didn't keep a close eye on where we were going. Not needing any encouragement from me, Meadow jumped forward, her haunches bunching and extending under me as she sped after Arryn.
The cloud continued to close in on us, none of us able to fully outrun whatever this was due to the density of the trees and underbrush. We might as well have been shackled for all the progress we made trying to outrun the cloud.
“Fuck!” I yelped, my hand swatting at my neck as a pinch burned through me, like a mosquito bite, except a thousand times worse.
I pulled my hand away to find a red smear on my palm, a small bug-like creature with four wings that reflected the minimal light and cast iridescent colors across my skin.
Another pinch on the back of my arm had me jerking and cursing in pain. “What the hell are these things?!” I shouted as we continued fleeing as best as we could.
A limb scratched my other side as I swerved to avoid a branch that would have knocked me off Meadow's back. The little buggers were biting me and setting my nerve endings on fire. It distracted me from the hazards in our way as I tried to swat the creatures and keep them from biting me further.
“Fucking pixies!” Callum hissed with disgust from beside me, his horse darting in and out as he swerved to avoid the trees in our path.
“Aren't pixies supposed to be flower and animal loving fairies?” I asked, my voice screeching from me unintentionally as another one bit me.
“Definitely not. Pixies can eat an entire herd of cattle when in a frenzy, fucking bloodthirsty little bastards!” Baer yelled from behind me. I didn't dare turn to face him; my focus was already being pulled in too many directions.
“We need to hurry!” Arryn yelled back at us. “Baer, are we anywhere close to water?”
I could feel Baer's magic swirl around me as he sent tendrils of it out and away from us in all directions, seeking to answer Arryn's question. As if I could taste it in my mouth, I knew the moment he found it.
“Turn left!” Baer yelled out .
Arryn immediately cut his horse to the left, leading us all in the direction that Baer indicated. I had no clue what water would do to stop the swarm of these creatures, but I knew we needed it soon. I could feel myself starting to sway in my saddle, as if the pixies’ bites held a venom that was now starting to affect me. “Are these assholes poisonous?” I called out, fear spiking in my chest.
I didn’t want to go out like this, being consumed by giant mosquitos. Not only would it be embarrassing, but it would be painful as the fire from their bites continued to flash across every inch of exposed skin.
I'd given up on trying to swat the little shits away, instead focusing as best as I could on keeping a straight path. I was finding it more and more difficult to keep directly behind Arryn, Meadow jerking back and forth as if I was driving a car while drunk.
“Fuck!” Lennox cursed from beside me. “The venom's already affecting Rhowyn,” he announced as my arms grew heavy and I started to lean forward.
Big hands wrapped around me, and for a moment, I was weightless as Callum lifted me from Meadow's back, plopping me down in front of him and holding me upright, keeping me from falling over now that my body was proving utterly useless.
“Sthansks,” I slurred out, trying to thank Callum for not letting me crash to the ground to be trampled by Charity and her men, who still followed behind us.
“Don't thank me yet. We still need get out of this mess,” Callum growled, his arms tightening around me as he spurred his horse faster through the trees, his evasive maneuvers causing me to jerk back and forth, unable to hold myself upright anymore .
A dull roar sounded from ahead of us. “We're about a hundred yards away from the river!” Baer called out. At that pronouncement, the horses put on another burst of speed.
“Shite!” Callum yelled, slapping at his neck as his horse took a sharp turn to avoid colliding with the tree directly in its path.
Apparently, the universe hated me because I slipped from the saddle, unable to keep my body steady without Callum's arm to hold me in place. As I tumbled from the saddle at breakneck speed, I threw out my arms, trying to grasp onto something to keep me from crashing to the ground; however, my body was not currently cooperating, leaving me to flail about wildly.
I hit the ground hard, hearing multiple snaps that weren't from the branches that littered the forest floor that I was now tumbling across. I cried out in pain. Or at least I tried to as I rolled across the rocks and roots that littered the forest floor.
My voice was no longer sounding out loud as the pixie venom slowly paralyzed me. I lay on the ground in excruciating pain, unable to get my body to obey the commands from my brain. My eyes were only able to see the swarm of pixies that seemed to change direction now that they knew they had easy prey before them.
A tear leaked from my eye, rolling down my cheek, my fear wholly consuming me as I watched the pixies grow closer to me, fully at their mercy. I couldn’t even close my eyes to block them from sight, forced instead to watch their approach.
Just when I thought I would be consumed by the pixies, doomed to become their next meal, a burst of flame caressed my skin, so close and hot that I was surprised scorch marks weren't left behind. Hell, maybe they had been since I couldn’t exactly do anything but lie here.
I heard cursing as the flames grew in intensity, if that was even possible, letting me know that Callum was approaching me, doing his best to reach me before the pixies could do even more damage. The chittering and Callum’s grunts of anger were the only things I could hear from my position.
Before I knew it, his beautiful face, framed by his messy auburn hair, came into my view, full of concern. Not speaking a word, he picked me up in his arms, cradling me close to his chest and curving his shoulders around me. His body formed a protective cage to protect me from the swarm now closing in on us both again with the cessation of his flames.
Once he had me settled to his satisfaction, he took off at a run, branches slapping us both as the pixies bit him over and over. He was now at their mercy since both his hands were full, ensuring my safety. I could see flashes of the setting sun peeking through the dense foliage as we rushed through the forest, hopefully close to the stream Arryn had mentioned.
A dull roar sounded in the near distance, indicating we were close to the river, the noise gaining in volume as Callum continued to evade the pixies unsuccessfully. Every now and then, he would shrug a shoulder, pinching a pixie between his shoulder and neck to dislodge it. His curses were hissed under his breath, but I still heard them.
I studied his face since it was one of the only things I could do in this state. He really was a gorgeous man, his brows furrowed in concentration and determination, beads of sweat dripping down his face to run across the cords of his neck, which were pronounced from exertion. I wished I could break through his walls, that he would let me in. If anyone could understand him and whatever tragedy had befallen him, it would be me.
“Hold your breath!” he barked down at me, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him.
I did the best I could, startled from my thoughts and fears, confused about his reasoning. Just as I managed to get a deep breath to inflate my chest, I felt us go airborne. The rushing water drowned out all of the other noises as we plummeted into the river.
The ice-cold water sucked what little air I was able to hold from my lungs, the rapids and impact pulling me from Callum’s grip. I found myself at the mercy of the current, which raced me downstream, still paralyzed as I sank deeper into the water.
Just as warm arms closed around my waist again, I felt a sharp crack against the side of my temple, knocking me out. Black encompassed my vision as I succumbed to the inevitable.