Page 51 of Blood Red Woes

I can’t speak right away. It’s as though it takes every ounce of my willpower to fight back, to resist—but I will endure. “I don’t know who you are or what you are, but yeah, that’s the plan.”

All it does is laugh, a deeply evil sound that makes me want to cover my ears just to block it out. “You are pathetic. A meaningless insect compared to me. You are nothing. I am everything. You cannot hope to defeat that which you cannot comprehend.”

“I can comprehend you just fine,” I say, my mouth suddenly too dry. “And I have one thing to say to you: fuck you.”

The mist around me turns thicker as it tries to choke me, and the last thing I feel before I wake is a sense of ungodly irritation at my will to deny it.

My eyes open as I slowly sit up. I lay on stonework, underneath an overhang of some ancient ruin—did a little investigating last night before trying to sleep, but now I’m sincerely regretting that. My head kind of hurts.

Rune remarks dryly as I stand and stretch: “You do adore your sleep, don’t you?”

I yawn. “Sleep is the only thing keeping me alive these days.” I reach into my bag and pull out some of that stale bread. Stepping out of the old ruin’s overhang, I’m greeted by a misty sky with a dim yellow sun.

Land of mountains and mist, for real. Ever since crossing into the mountainous part of Pylos—which was about three days ago—the sun is always covered by a thin layer of mist. You’d think it would make things more bearable here, but nope. It’s hot as hell. When it’s time to do some magically-enhanced running, I’m covered in sweat instantly.

And Pylos isn’t even made of pretty mountains. You know, the kind with snow on their peaks and pretty mountain flowers growing amongst the hardy grass. No pine trees or anything like that. It’s all ugly mountains, mountains made of stone and metal. Craggy, rough, unforgiving. It’s no wonder why I haven’t seen many villages during my travels in Pylos. The castle really must be tucked away on the hardest to reach mountain.

“By my calculations, we should reach the castle just after midday,” Rune says.

“Great,” I say. “Can’t wait to face the bitch herself.”

“That sounded like sarcasm.”

“Good. It was.”

Rune sighs, annoyed. “Please take what you are about to do seriously, Rey. You’ve never faced an enemy of her skill before. Simply because she may be out of her mind does not make her weak. It may only make her unpredictable.”

I roll my eyes. “You said that already, like a million times.”

“I’m only trying to—”

I interrupt him, “You’re nagging me. Cut it out.”

Rune takes immediate offense to that. “Nagging? I’m not nagging you. I’m simply reminding you of how difficult this is going to be. You’re not a seasoned warrior, no matter what you think of yourself. Gladus has been training and honing her skillsher entire life. Even if she had no magic, she’d still be difficult to beat.”

“Yeah, yeah. Got it, Mom. Thanks.”

My attitude makes him groan. “You are… I might not remember much, but I can honestly say there is no possible way anyone has ever aggravated me as much as you. If I had skin, you’d surely be digging under it—”

I smirk. “It’s a good thing you’re trapped on a tattoo on my arm then, huh?”

“Oh, what’s that saying you like so well?” Rune pauses for dramatic effect. “Fuck you.”

Hearing his accented voice say it, my lips curl into a smile and I laugh. “Awe, I love you too, buddy. So happy we’re besties now.”

All he says to that is: “Insufferable. Perhaps I’ll forget to shield you when Gladus attacks and you’re too clumsy to move out of the way.” Even though I don’t know what he looks like as a person, I can easily imagine him saying that with his arms folded and a snide, haughty look on his face.

“You wouldn’t. If I die, what’ll happen to you?”

Rune mumbles unhappily, “You’ve won this round.” I laugh again, because the dude is ridiculous.

When my belly is relatively full and I’ve relieved myself, it’s time to move. Not going to lie, I feel like the Flash when I’m running, magic at my feet. The scenery flies by, blurring and blending together, and the wind whips at my hair and my face like it’s reminding me that I’m running unnaturally fast.

I’m too close to the castle now; I have to run along the main path. Trying to take shortcuts here would be a pointless endeavor. The main path is literally cut into the sides of mountains, curling around them so as to not need any tunnels through.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the mountains, it would be an even shorter journey.

Rune is right. The castle peeks out around lunchtime—which I’ve grown better at avoiding when I’m on the move. It has thick stone walls around it, much like Acadia’s castle and the city of Laconia, only the walls are carved from the mountain the castle rests on. It’s as if the entire castle and its surrounding land was carved from a single mountaintop centuries ago. Dark stone creates an ominous feeling, and the path up to the front gate has steep drops on either side. If you were to tumble down, you’d fall for at least a hundred or so feet.

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