Page 120 of An Invocation of Monsters

Elle

I came to with a jolt, and my first impression of wakefulness was the feeling of constriction and the wash of heat across my face.

When I tried to open my eyes the sun seared them, sending blinding pains through my skull.

One eye felt swollen and strangely mushy. From the thick sensation, and the lingering taste of rust in my mouth, it was glued shut with blood.

And thinking of blood brought back my last coherent memory: something crashing into my skull and the dull crack I’d heard before everything went dark.

My jaws ached not only from the phantom taste, but because thick, scratchy cloth had been wadded into my mouth and tightly tied to make a gag.

My stomach rolled and I swallowed hard, determined not to throw up, but the thick fuzziness in my head and the blinding flashes of pain made it difficult. If I threw up, I’d choke to death on it.

I felt my body weight sagging against something hard, holding me upright. As I swam up out of the fuzziness, I tried to figure out what it was.

My hands were bound behind me, pulled so tightly my shoulders were screaming. I tried to move my fingers, brushing against the thing supporting me.

I felt wood against nearly-numb fingertips. From the smooth roundness of it, it was a thick beam of wood, and that meant the pain-points all along my body were ropes that kept me tied to it.

There were sounds around me, high ululating calls and wild chanting.

I had to open my eyes. Even though everything hurt, I had to know what was happening.

My left eye refused to move, my drying blood freezing the lid in place, but I managed to crack the right open without being sick.

It took me several long minutes to be able to keep it open—everything was trebled, then doubled, then slowly began to take form as I forced past the pain and tears.

The stone circle of the cliffs lay in front of me, a bonfire raging at its center.

I was tied to a beam that had been erected before the circle, and I looked down at my bound body, seeing that I was wearing a plain white dress and had been draped in flowers.

I didn’t want to move and give away that I was awake, because the Wendigo Society was all around, dancing counterclockwise around the circle, screaming and chanting in a language that made my head hurt.

I needed to be whole to face them, but with my hands bound, I couldn’t heal myself quickly. I could only hang here and let the power work slowly.

Wishing it could go faster, I watched them dance in front of the setting sun.

The sky was a deep gold, and the light of the sunset made the lake look like blood.

I saw Willow’s long mane of blonde curls flash by, followed by Kase’s narrow form, then Joseph and Mary.

They wore all white, flower crowns on their heads, but their skin was painted red from head to toe.

Then silent, seething panic set in.

It was still day.

My monsters could not face the light and live. I had to get through this on my own.

And I could do nothing while I was bound to this beam.

I began working my wrists, trying to loosen the ropes holding them. It was coarse rope, burning my skin as I moved, and I was afraid to work faster. The movement of my shoulders would give me away, and it was impossible to work delicately with the amount of pain I was in.

Mary let out a wild scream, prostrating herself before the bonfire, and I felt the sickness turn my stomach again.

Oh god, I was going to puke. I would die here choking on my own puke.

No. I held it back. Whoever had clubbed me, I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of knowing that’s what killed me.

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