Page 22 of A Soul to Guide

“Fuck,” Merc bit out. “It’s too late. It’s picked up your scent.”

Her lazy, desirous haze was cut through when he picked her up and shoved her into the curve of a tree trunk. He let her go, and fresh, non-arousal-inducing air cleared her lungs.

“Stay there and don’t even think about moving.”

“Wait–”

A ferocious roar cut her off this time, and she shrunk into the tree. It was close now, not even a few metres. Beastly and frightening, it sounded massive.

A long, heavy material fell over Raewyn, causing her to flinch.

“Put that over you. It’ll disorientate it while I fight it.”

When she pushed the material to her face, feeling its thick, worn texture with her fingertips, she realised it was his cloak. Her chest fluttered with ease. He cared about her safety and wasn’t planning to use her as a diversion to save himself.

It’d been something she was worried about.

“Will you be okay?” she asked quietly, wrapping his cloak around her.

“If something growling is coming for you, do whatever you need to protect yourself. Don’t think, just do.”

Her brows furrowed deeper, but as she opened her mouth to respond, those approaching steps halted. The creature had leapt. A roar shot right past her and ended right where Merc was standing.

A deep thud had her whimpering, but she covered her mouth with both hands to stay quiet. Her heart squeezed so tightly she thought the tendons holding it in place would snap.

Other than a singular yell, Merc was quiet, while his attacker was a mixture of snapping fangs, rattling bones, and growling snarls. Whatever it was, a Demon or the Duskwalker thing he’d mentioned, it sounded bigger than him.

The creature smelt odd, but it was smothered, like it was evolving into something to be pleasant. It made it sweet.

That sweetness was drowned out when coppery blood penetrated the air.

A sharp inhale of breath hissed out, and Raewyn’s eyes crinkled into bows.Merc’s hurt.She wanted to go to him, to help, but knew she would only get in the way.

“Give her to me,” a distorted, rumbling voice demanded.

“Fuck,”Merc spat.

Raewyn’s scream was loud to her own ears when her calf was grabbed, and she was flipped to her back. As she was dragged across the ground, the action dislodged her blindfold, and she saw a bright glow of two red orbs sparking in the darkness now that it was no longer blocking her vision. She was too frightened to linger on why she saw them.

Dread crawled down her spine like a ghastly cold finger trying to tear its way to bone. She kicked her feet, hitting against a hard face, while sticks and rocks scraped her back.

The monster let out a yelp of pain, not due to her actions, and she was freed.

On her hands and knees, Raewyn trembled, her arms shaky, as she crawled back to the tree where Merc’s cloak lay upon the ground. She threw it over herself and huddled into the overarching roots while adjusting her blindfold.

Raewyn was ready.

Whatever Merc was fighting, it wasn’t a normal Demon. He was a human. He would be too slow, too weak, to battle something like that.

Even an Elf would lose this fight.

She was ready, gathering magic in her hands so she could protect herself when she needed to.

All he has to do is weaken it.If he weakened it, and she made sure they weren’t connected in a lock of limbs, she might be able to help kill it.

She’d explain where the magic came from later.I’ll just claim I’m an Anzúli.

Just as a booming, ear-splitting roar shook the very foundation of her core, another yelp rang out. It was cut short by the crunching snap of tiny bones; a neck had been twisted.

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