Chapter Twenty #2
“I think I might be in love with your feathered friend there,” Inka said with a nod to not-Neo.
“I think I am, too,” I agreed.
A pleased sigh escaped my lips, then I stood and wiped my hands on my skirt.
It had tears in the fabric and was filthy from the dirt.
I wished I had known about the Hunt ahead of time so that I could have been smart like Amalia and worn a pair of my brother’s pants.
Nothing I could do about it now, though.
I glanced up to the raven above me after wiping off my hands. “I’m sorry for ignoring you earlier. And for thinking you were an evil omen.”
“You know that’s a bird, and he can’t understand you, right?”
“Old habits.” I shrugged. “So, what do we do now? Go back to the tree we were in the other night?” I began gathering more berries for later, not knowing when we’d have the chance to find food again.
Inka stood and glanced around with a perplexed look. “Do you know where it is? Because I sure as shit don’t.”
Fuck.
“Uh…no. I don’t even know where that boulder is. I’m so turned around here.”
“Well, finding a place to hide is a good idea. We’ve had too good of luck so far today; I don’t want to push it by gallivanting around and risk running into a demon.” Inka visibly shivered.
I spun around in place, searching for a direction to go.
In front of us, there were larger trees like the one we had hid inside of the first night.
If we found another hollowed-out trunk to hide in again, that would have been ideal, but I wasn’t sure what the chances of that were.
To the left of us, there were more large boulders in the distance, and it looked like there were even more of them past that.
That at least seemed like the most logical place to search for a hiding spot.
Perhaps we could wedge ourselves between a couple of them to stay out of sight and be harder to reach if we were found.
Plus it was in the direction Amalia said there was a water source.
After a short discussion and filling our pockets with berries, we headed for the boulders.
The walk was a lot farther than I had originally thought, and it took us much longer to get there than I had anticipated.
The terrain had become rougher, making it more difficult for Inka, but we still arrived at a cluster of gray boulders just before dusk.
They were enormous, each one the size of a house.
It was no wonder I had thought them closer when I had assumed they were the same size as the one we slept next to last night.
We stopped to observe them for a moment, contemplating where to start looking for the best place to hide.
I wanted us to be hidden by the time it was dark, which was approaching quickly.
“Let’s check over here. These seem closer together, and there are trees around them that might have hiding spots.” She pointed toward her left and started walking that way.
As we rounded the first boulder, Inka came to a sudden stop, and I bumped into her.
“Sor—”
“Shh!” She whipped around, placing her hand over my mouth.
A slight movement in the corner of my eye—and the cause of Inka’s abrupt behavior—caught my attention.
There was a woman kneeling down behind another boulder across from us.
She had long brown hair that was a tangled mess.
Dirt caked her skin and clothes to the point that they were all the same color.
Even from here, I could see the red in her bloodshot eyes.
Natascha, the middle-aged, cranky woman I talked to on the ship.
She had a trembling finger pressed against her lips with wide eyes as she looked at us with a demanding glare, pleading with us to stay quiet. I nodded as realization dawned.
She was hiding from someone…
I dropped to a crouch and pulled Inka down with me, and we pressed ourselves against the coarse rock as hard as we could for any amount of concealment. It was then that I heard the sound of heavy footsteps stomping against the forest floor. They were getting louder and louder.
Then, they stopped.
The sudden quiet was more terrifying than their footsteps. At least when I could hear them, I knew where they were. Now, nothing…
Had they stopped advancing? Or were they still coming, only quieter, more deliberate, stalking like predators that knew they’d catch their prey?
My breath caught, too loud in the silence.
I tried to still my heaving chest, but each breath rasped against my throat while my erratic heartbeat felt like it would burst through my ribs, giving away my position.
A pebble shifted somewhere on the other side of Natascha’s boulder.
I didn’t think her eyes could get any wider.
Even through the dirt covering her skin, I could see all the color drain from her face when a dark chuckle broke the silence.
“I can smell your fear, woman. A trail so easy to follow.” The demon’s voice made my heart stop. He had been chasing her.
Now I knew his footsteps were deliberate.
Slow and intentionally heavy, he started coming between our boulders.
There was a large tree between them, blocking the path from our sight.
If he stayed near Natascha’s boulder, he would see her before us.
But if he went to the other side of the tree, near our boulder, he’d see us first.
I pulled my spoon from my waistband with one hand and the biggest rock I could hold in the other.
I’d smash his head in, and scoop out his eyes if I had to.
Natascha followed suit and picked up a small stone, gripping it tightly in her hand.
I personally would have grabbed the bigger one next to her.
It was the best we could do as far as weaponry.
I could see the demon’s shadow growing longer across the ground next to the tree’s shadow on Natascha’s side.
Inka sucked in a sharp breath as Natascha’s lips moved, silently mouthing, “Sorry.”
My brows furrowed for a split second before I felt a pit of dread open in my stomach. She flung her arm, releasing the stone, and it flew across the gap between our boulders before it smacked against the rocks at our feet. I gaped in disbelief at the betrayal. But I didn’t have time to think.
The shadow of the demon paused for a moment then shifted, disappearing momentarily before reappearing on the other side of the tree. On our side.
Then he started to run.
We couldn’t stay here.
Without wasting another precious second, I gripped Inka’s arm, yanked her to her feet, and ran. Natascha fled in the opposite direction.