7. Esther #2
Even without any knowledge of me or the finer details, this earth greer seems to have keen insight into that fact.
My invisible chains weakly investigate his magic again.
It feels different, possibly because I’m not used to earth magic, or because I’ve come to learn that any person who hides their identity is often hiding more secrets.
However his magic feels like a dull whisper to what it was when we first met.
“I’m going to take that as a no, which means you’re more trouble than you’re worth. The sooner I’m done with you, the better,” he says, and I feel the immediate snap of vines wrapping around and binding my wrists together.
“What the fuck? Unbind me!” I thrash, trying to pull my wrists apart, but then my eyes grow wide. “How are you able to use magic without chanting?” I demand, almost desperately, and get onto my knees. Is he like me? I can’t help but lean away from the idea. Surely not someone so… ambiguous.
“It would be best for you to stop asking questions. I don’t care about your story, only the implications it will bring to me before we reach our next destination.
It’ll serve you well not to inquire about me but perhaps how the Fates have royally fucked you over this time,” he says, the mention of the Fates dropping his tone into a gravelly disdain as he leans even closer, trying to intimidate me.
With hands and feet bound, I make do with what I have by throwing my head back and smashing it into his face. Blinding pain erupts along my forehead as I try to pounce on him again.
I’m yanked this way and that, suspended in the air as vines pull at my wrists and ankles. My heart pounds in my chest as I sneer, looking down on him.
The man holds his now-bloodied nose, a low guttural noise escaping him as he comes to stand and looks at me at eye level.
“We can repeat this dance for as long as you want, little greer, but there is no escaping me.” He pulls back his hand, and my eyes widen.
Where there was once blood, there is no more.
Those coppery eyes stare at me, disgusted.
“I really don’t like your kind, so this can be as difficult as you wish to make it.
But need I remind you that a prisoner is still a prisoner. ”
His hand reaches for my face, and I pull back, trying my hardest to pull away from his touch. My throat marking heats, and before I can have the better judgment to recall Grimace, he materializes and explodes into action, jumping for the exposed hand and gnawing his gumming mouth all over it.
“No!” I scream, wriggling against the vines, terrified as the man stumbles back. I act on pure adrenaline, wanting to make sure no harm comes to Grimace. “Link.”
I connect with the greer’s magic, again unsure of its language as blue text flickers through my mind, but I’m unable to grasp any of it. So, I settle for instinct, imagining myself yanking away from the vines, in the hope that I catch on to the tail end of an enchantment that is relevant.
The vines start to erode, and I tug against them, bursting into action. The chains around my ankles cause me to drop to the ground, but I’m able to break free from the vines around my wrists.
New vines reappear and strap my hands behind my back, and I trip, landing face-first into the gravel.
I look up, tears springing to my eyes, to desperately get to Grimace, but when I do, I realize the man hasn’t made any particular move. He’s simply, well, grimacing. Saliva drenches his hand, and he looks back at me.
“This little beast of yours is rather ghastly.”
“Give him back, please,” I say with a shaky breath. “I’ll do… I’ll do anything.”
His eyebrow arches in surprise, and Grimace stops, perking up and scuttling back toward me.
The earth greer approaches me again, leaning over me curiously. “A greer who would sacrifice herself for her beast. Now that’s a first.” He jerks me up by the restraints bound behind my back, ignoring Grimace, who still tries weakly to attack him. “How about we at least start with a name?”
I lick my dry lips, summoning Grimace to return to his marking at my throat. He’s reluctant, his little claws digging into my arm as I force him to do so. But at least hidden, I know he’s safe.
“Esther,” I say, and feel my invisible chains sag in defeat.
“Esther.” I don’t like the way in which he says it. It sounds menacing and foreboding. “If you and your little beast want to survive, I suggest you listen to me very carefully from now on. Know this about me: I’ll bargain, cheat, and kill to get my own way.”
My mouth feels even drier as I clear my throat and say, “What will you do with me?”
A ruthless smile reaches his lips. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out. Like I said, the Fates weren’t very forgiving when they brought you my way.”
“So, you can hear them too?”
He clicks his tongue. “Of course. As I mentioned, only those who are mad survive this jungle.”
“At least give me your name,” I call out after him, infuriated by my own lack of ability. He disappears into the shadows, but whispers seem to creep out of the jungle, or maybe even the lake.
Regent, they call him Regent.
I search around, my bearings swirling.
“You’re an asshole, Regent,” I say out loud, mostly trying to remind myself that I’m not alone in this place.