Chapter 28 #2
Beside us, Roman and Zari were making out, and there was no stopping them, no matter how many times I called their names.
She undid his pants. Oh gods, what the hell was I going to do?
In the shadows, cries and groans filled the night.
Whatever they were, they didn’t sound like beasts, not totally, and they were doing things, things I didn’t want to see.
Zari cried out beside us. I fought Fender’s hold and scrambled to my feet.
His hands weren’t bruising, but they were relentless.
I grabbed Zari under the arms and hauled her off Roman.
It wasn’t easy, she was strong, but I was determined.
My job was to protect, and Zari didn’t know what she was doing right now.
“What are you doing?” she said without heat. “I need him.”
Roman grabbed for her.
“Zari,” I called. “Wake the hell up.”
Her focus was only on Roman. She didn’t even bother fighting me off, even as I somehow managed to wrestle her to the ground, she just crawled toward him, shoving at me every now and then like I was some mild annoyance.
Fender called my name, his tone odd, impatient. “Tempest. Come back here,” he said as he gripped his erection over his jeans and squeezed at it.
A creature, humanoid in shape but appearing to be made of shadow, crawled out of the forest and over to him. It crawled up his leg, and he smiled at it. “There you are. I missed you.”
No. NO. I couldn’t hang on to Zari and stop that thing, whatever it was. I released her, and she crawled back to Roman, climbing on top of him as I ran at Fender and kicked the thing climbing on him, off. “Mine,” I yelled, or more screamed, the sound born from out-of-control terror.
It hissed and fell back, but not far enough. I frantically searched the clearing. More of them were closing in—and then the sound of a flute echoed through the darkness, coming from deep in the forest.
Pan’s flute.
He was coming. Oh goddess, help us.
The shadowy forms crawled to each other, their bodies writhing wildly as Pan’s flute grew louder, getting closer, until there was an orgy of shadowy beings moaning and grunting all around us.
Panic filled me as I kicked and shoved at them, forcing them off Zari and Roman, shoving seeking hands off Fender. They wouldn’t stay back.
The flute music was a chaotic melody, but somehow I still heard Pan’s hooves hitting the earth as he neared us, it could be nothing else.
Kurgan burst through the trees on the other side of the clearing, a huge bag on his back, and the unmistakable sound of clattering steel. He was bleeding, his skin raw, deep cuts all over him. “Run,” he snarled.
“This place, it’s affecting them, and I can’t get through to them.”
Kurgan snarled, kicking and stomping on several of the shadowy creatures that dared touch him.
His eyes glowed red when they landed on his sister, gyrating on top of Roman.
With a snarl, he waded through the bodies, hauled Zari off the other hound and, ignoring Roman’s growl of outrage, tossed her over his shoulder.
Then he stomped to me, and even after seeing him do it with Zari, I never expected him to snatch me off my feet as well.
But he did, he tossed me over his other shoulder, then he broke into a run.
Fender and Roman bounded to their feet instantly, roaring and snarling, and made chase. I guess that was one way to make them move, but I didn’t know what would happen if they caught up to us.
Kurgan ran so fast the forest was a blur.
Zari struggled against him, punching him hard in the back and demanding he let her down, but he didn’t let her go.
Fender and Roman were sprinting after us, but they were still under the influence of whatever hold this place had on them, and I could tell Fender was having trouble with his leg, but he was ignoring it.
I dreaded to think how much damage he was doing to himself.
But it wasn’t only Fender periodically crashing into trees or falling.
Roman did his fair share of that as well.
It was like they were drunk, which was in our favor with how heavy a burden Kurgan was carrying.
Somehow, despite carrying a huge sack of heavy steel weapons, Zari and I, and suffering blood loss from various wounds that had continued to leak, Kurgan maintained his speed. The massive hound’s sheer, brute strength and determination was something I’d never seen in anyone before
I don’t know how long he’d been running, when I finally felt a tremble of strain shake his colossal body. Hours, definitely. My stomach hurt, I felt sick, and my head pounded. I wanted down, badly, but if he let us down, Fender and Roman would catch up for sure. They were slower, but not that slow.
Zari gagged and threw up, not for the first time, I assume from the effects of this place as well as the pressure to her stomach while upside down.
“I see it,” Kurgan growled.
He’d run so fast, he’d easily halved the time back to the gateway.
“Hang on,” he snarled, then he burst through it without slowing, back into caves under the blue cliffs.
Fender fell through next, followed quickly by Roman. They both hit the floor, hard. Then they bounded to their feet and came at Kurgan. Kurgan set us on our feet. “Run,” he barked.
Zari swayed, and she shook her head, as if trying to clear it, then she looked back at Roman a second before alarm filled her eyes.
“Run,” I said to her.
We both ran for it, while Kurgan got in front of Roman and Fender, giving us a chance to get away while the effects of Pan’s realm hopefully wore off.
We ran through Brigid’s territory without issue, but I wasn’t sure the males would be able to do the same.
I’d need to go back once I was sure Zari was okay.
“Oh fuck,” Zari gasped when we burst through and back out into Oldwood Forest. She fell to her hands and knees, gasping and groaning. “No. No, no, no.”
I dropped down beside her. “Zari?”
Horror covered her face when she turned to me. “The things I did? Oh gods…Roman and I…” She swallowed thickly, like her throat was closing up. “No,” she said again. “Oh no.”
A scream came from deep in the cave, and a moment later, Fender, Roman, and Kurgan were thrown out with such force they looked weightless as they flew through the air, then slammed into the ground, barely missing rock, and slid across the ground, creating deep gouges in the moist forest floor.
Zari bounded to her feet, taking several steps back, horror still plastered on her face.
I searched Fender’s eyes. They were clear, and so were Romans.