Page 36 of My Silent Demon

My mouth was dry. “Who are you? What do you want?” I croaked.

“I want you to run like a dog before you feed my friend. Woof,” he barked in my ear. I jumped and tried to scoot away from him. I didn’t move far.

He laughed, and the footsteps moved away.

He said, “My friend doesn’t come out much during the day so you do have a chance to escape. We’re in a forest at night, surrounded by only trees for miles. Run and scream all you want. Lucky you, it’s raining so my friend might have a hard time scenting you. Avoid him until sunup, you can go free. If not, he’s going to eat you.” My captor made an eerie slurping noise.

My heart pounded wildly in my chest, and I whimpered.

“This is the only warning I’ll give you. The more you’re afraid, the more you’ll help him. Fear has a strong scent.”

These men wanted to kill me. Could Osian live without his fated? Were they killing two beings tonight? His laughing face flashed before my eyes.

No. I shook my head. They couldn’t kill me. I had someone else to live for. I wouldn’t let them.

The floor creaked as the footsteps approached again. The scent of Axe overwhelmed my senses.

My captor cut the ropes on my feet and hands, then he roughly made me stand. His hands held my arms behind my back. I tried to yank away.

“Hold still,” he hissed.

He cut my hoodie and yanked the remnants off my body. That left me in a tank top and jeans. I was going to freeze.

“Can’t have you too comfortable now,” he whispered in my ear.

I shivered.

“Move.” He shoved me.

I stumbled forward, unable to see because of the blindfold.

A door creaked open. “Good luck.” He shoved me outside and slammed the door behind me.

Rain drops soaked me and I could feel that I stood on wet concrete.

I pulled the blindfold off.

My eyes widened when I saw the landscape from my dreams. I stood in front of an abandoned house in a clearing that was surrounded by trees. A rutted driveway led to the house, and a dark Jeep parked at the end.

I heard another door open, and a dog began to ferociously bark and snarl.

My stomach dropped.

Like in the dream, I screamed and ran. I had to run parallel to the driveway to find the road. I couldn’t run in the driveway because it was too open.

Thunder rumbled, and rain poured from the angry night sky. My bare feet splashed through wet mud and standing water as I tore out into the darkness. My wet red hair clung to my head.

I could feel the dog behind me. If it captured me, it’d kill me.

I pushed harder through the rain, seeing a gap in the trees lining the driveway. If I could make it there, maybe I could lose the dog behind me.

No matter how fast I ran, I only seemed to move in slow motion. I knew I had to keep going, though.

My legs carried me across the boggy ground. Lightning struck the surface nearby and caused a shriek to come from my throat.

The dog would catch me. I ducked into the trees and frantically searched for a place to hide. Shadows of undergrowth and darkness flashed through my vision. Panic set in when I saw nothing to hide behind. I kept moving.

My breaths came shorter, my heart beat wilder, and tears overtook my vision.

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