A WALKING NIGHTMARE
12
- ALANIS -
P eeling my eyes open, I’m shocked to realize I had fallen asleep. My head is resting on Kailu’s back and he’s holding both my hands over his belly, so that I don’t fall. Flushing, I raise my head from his back and he loosens his grip.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I grumble. “Let me guess. You shift into a worm. An annoying, slimy little thing.”
I may have found that nickname annoying at first, but it’s growing on me. His words no longer teasing, but taking on a softer quality.
Not that I’ll admit that to him.
His chuckle makes my chest feel warm.
“Where are we exactly?” I know we are deep in the Sinwood Mountains, but I’m not sure how long I was out and how far we traveled. I peer up, the side of the mountain a mixture of gray and browns, the peak of the mountain disappearing into the dense clouds hanging above.
“We are about an hour from the northern patrol location, where your brother was last seen.”
Swallowing hard, I nod. “Is there still a patrol group there?”
“No, we pulled all our men from that location until we could figure out what the hell was going on. The king and queen have yet to order them back as far as I’m aware.”
The pine trees we ride through are brown and brittle. Almost as if they are dying. A cold breeze makes a shiver rack through me. I look behind me and see Novus and Sarya quietly talking to each other, as the soldiers they ride with navigate the terrain on their horses. Up ahead, Hannah and Hendrix ride with Siveral and the others from his camp.
“Have you always lived in the Primal Realm?” I ask Kailu.
He grunts. “Yes, grew up in the Onyx Territory in Lemming Grove.”
I nod, though I’ve never been there and have no idea what to imagine. “I have never been there. Well, I haven’t really been anywhere. I would like to see more of this world, though maybe not in this way.” I give a self-deprecating chuckle and sit in the awkward silence.
“When we find your brother, I can take you.”
My eyes widen and his body tenses, as if he hadn’t meant to let that slip. Part of me is in shock, but the other part feels as if a million butterflies have taken flight in my stomach.
“I think I would like that,” I whisper.
We are rounding a curve in the mountain and I can see the northernmost point in the distance. The mountain juts so high into the sky that clouds drape the uppermost portion. The patrol group’s campsite sits just at the base of the northernmost point. The ground begins to slope upward, the air holding a chill as the horses traverse the rough terrain. Pine trees and firs grow more sparse as the trail narrows. The wind lashes my face, making my cheeks and nose feel like ice. I lay one side of my face against Kailu’s back in an effort to suck up some of his body heat. He grabs my hands again, probably thinking I’m falling asleep.
My eyes water, so I can only imagine how he is able to see in order to steer Zephyr. I close my eyes in an attempt to protect them from the grueling wind, but just as I relax into Kailu, a bloodcurdling scream rips through the air, the sound echoing off the mountains surrounding us.
My eyes snap open and Kailu brings Zephyr to a screeching halt. Everyone stands motionless, waiting for the sound to come again, but the only noise now is the blustering wind. It’s quiet for so long that I begin to think I imagined it.
“Any chance it was just the wind?” I murmur.
“I don’t think so. It sounded like…” Kailu’s sentence is cut off by another scream that makes my blood freeze.
Before anybody can grasp what is happening, a figure appears from behind one of the decaying trees.
I squint, trying to see who or what it is, but my human eyes don’t give me the same vision that the Fae and Elves have. Those at the front of the group start backing up, their horses agitated and restless. Novus curses behind me.
“Kailu,” I whisper, scared to talk too loudly. “What’s happening?”
He holds my arms tighter around his waist, almost as if scared to let go of me. I see his lips move, but I can’t hear him over the wind.
The figure looms closer, the movements so graceful it almost looks like they’re floating, which only causes the horses to retreat further and further back. Zephyr gives an agitated snort and stomps his hooves. The figure has now moved close enough that I can see them clearly.
It’s a woman in a white dress. My eyes almost pop out of my head when I realize her dress is completely transparent. Her bright white hair reaches all the way to her waist. What draws my attention more than her near-naked body is her milky white eyes and her fingers, long and bony, which end in daggerlike nails.
The woman smiles and I swear my heart stops beating all together. Her teeth are long and sharp, her smile far wider than a normal smile should be, stretching her face into a grotesque mask.
Terror.
My breathing turns ragged, my hands shaking as I grip Kailu’s shirt tightly in my fists. My chin trembles as I try to hold back the tears that threaten to fall at the sight before me.
She opens her overly large mouth and lets out such a sharp scream that seems to go on forever.
Zephyr bucks so hard I’m thrown from Kailu’s grip. My back hits the ground and kicks the breath from my lungs, stars sparkling in my vision. Kailu somehow stays on his horse, as well as a few other soldiers. The soldiers closest to the woman are holding their ears.
I gently reach up to touch my ear when I feel wetness seep into the neckline of my shirt. Blood.
I cover my ears and curl into a ball.
Silence greets me after a few minutes and I crack my eyes open to find feet caked in mud and blood. Bile burns the back of my throat. The woman glides closer on near-silent feet, standing before me as the remainder of my group tries to gain control of the horses or are keeled over in pain. I attempt to grab my dagger, but my hands are slick with sweat, my eyesight blurry from the extreme pain in my head.
The woman leans down, but I avoid all eye contact. I look instead at the group around me. Most of the men are trying to get their bearings and steady themselves. Kailu is holding his head as if it might explode. He tries to take a step towards me, but collapses.
His eyes are wide and full of fear, but I refuse to look away from him. If this is where I die, I refuse to die looking at this nightmarish creature. I would much rather Kailu be the last thing I see, his deep green eyes and his strong cheekbones, his muscular body and soft lips.
I stare into his eyes for as long as I can until a sharp nail drags across my cheek. My skin rips open, hot blood coursing over my cheek to pool on the ground beneath me.
Sucking in a rattling breath, I turn to look at the woman. Her face is horrific, her teeth sharp and jagged, her pale skin stretched taut over her gaunt, skeletal frame. I finally meet her eyes and hold her stare. She continues looking at me, almost as if waiting for me to completely lose my shit.
Instead, I take a deep breath and refuse to look away from her, refuse to let my fear overcome me. The longer I stare at her, the less fear I begin to feel. A lightness overcomes me as I watch her milky eyes slowly clear, until all that remains is deep brown. Her mouth is no longer filled with sharp razor-like teeth, but normal ones, sharp canines evident. Her nails retract and all I see are the soft hands of a woman.
“You do not fear me,” she says in a voice so soft and at odds with the scream.
“Who are you?” I ask, my voice cracking.
The woman gives me a grim smile. “They call me a Banshee.”
I shake my head. “What is your name?”
The woman looks shocked at first, and then smiles softly. “It has been so long since anyone asked me that. I’m afraid it has been too long, for I don’t remember my name.” She glances around, then leans closer. “I don’t have much time. You are in grave danger. Death surrounds you. Death will touch your life.”
My heart sinks, though it’s truly nothing I haven’t already considered with what I escaped from. “How do you know?”
“I was sent here to send a message. If some died of fear in the process, then even better for my master. Death is my curse. I give warning of impending death or I bring death with just a touch.”
“That sounds like an awful way to live.”
“I do not know any other way. My current master has control of me through my bones. There’s only one way to end it: my bones must be found and laid to rest.”
The soldiers are starting to overcome whatever her scream did to them, moving slowly, as if still in pain. Kailu staggers to his feet.
“I must go. Be cautious, death is imminent.” She goes to stand and I grab her hand.
She looks at our joined hands with such longing. How long has this woman gone without true contact with another being, except in death?
“I am sorry that you are forced to live this way. Let us help you.”
She looks at me for a second longer before her body starts to slowly disappear. All the same, she brings her soft hand down to caress my cheek. “You are too good for the hand the Fates have dealt you. Find the throne and you will find what you need.”
I open my mouth to ask what she means, but she vanishes from sight, as if she’d never been.
Kailu drops to his knees in front of me, taking my face in his hands. He’s talking to me, but I can’t hear him. I’m overcome with such a heaviness that it’s impossible to keep my eyes open.
I see Kailu’s face, filled with concern and worry.
I wish I could console him, but something drags me under.