Page 13 of Beasts of Briar
I ignored him, wishing they would stop following me. They weren’t going to get that lightning bolt, the one nestled safe in my satchel.
A golden chalice hung from a vine, and I ducked under it, feeling its power, its temptation. It wanted me to use it. I’d already used one magical item, and I wouldn’t use another.
Feathers rustled ahead of me, and even though I couldn’t see my swans, I knew they must be close.
Right then, magic zinged through the air like a lightning bolt. It shot straight into the tree right in front of me, burning a hole through it.
I stopped, whirling and looking around for the threat.
Driscoll and Leoni caught up to me, both breathing heavy, sweat soaking through their tunics.
“The pixies,” Leoni said. “They’ve found us.”
Damnit. The pixies worked for the Spirit Shadow. I couldn’t allow them to capture me.
“Come with us,” Driscoll said. “We know a safe place where we can go.”
I backed away, shaking my head vehemently. I didn’t trust them or their intentions.
“We’re not tricking you,” Driscoll said. “Believe me, I don’t want to get caught by this shadow king either.” He drew a line across his throat. “I want to keep my head. Let’s just get to safety and then we can come up with a plan.”
Another burst of magic shot through the trees and straight toward Driscoll. He yelped and ducked as the magic hit a vine, slicing it in half.
He whimpered.
“There is no ‘we’,”I signed.
“Yes, yes, we know.” Leoni grabbed my arm. “You like to work alone. You don’t trust us. We don’t trust you. There. Now it’s all out in the open. Can we go before the pixies find us?”
I hesitated, looking around and seeing no hint of my brothers. They were just swans as far as the pixies knew. Surely they’d leave them alone, wouldn’t care about some wild animals on the island. It was only people Spirit Shadow wanted so he could rip their shadows away. I bit the inside of my cheek. They’d likely be safe here.
“Come on,” Driscoll said, eyes darting back and forth. “We have to go.”
I sighed and gave one stiff nod.
“Oh, thank the bloody spirits,” Driscoll said.
Leoni let go of my arm, and she and Driscoll whirled and both jumped over a fallen tree. I hesitated before following. Driscoll yanked me down and put a finger to his lips. We all lay pressed against the log as wings flapped overhead. Not heavy like the swans, but a lighter sound, like a flutter. My heart pounded in my chest.
“We know you’re here,” a female voice called out.
The pixies.
“You might as well come out and make this easy. We’ll find you, you know. You can’t run away. You’re stuck in this jungle.”
I pressed my lips together as my heart raced.
“It’s really not so bad. We’ll take you to our master. He’ll take your shadow. And then you’re free. Well, free enough. You can’t leave the island, but you can roam at your leisure. But if you make this hard, we might be forced to take... other measures. Ones that could do some permanent damage.”
My pulse spiked.
None of us moved. I held my breath, not even daring to let it out.
A heavy sigh floated through the air.
“Very well. We’ll have to do this the hard way. Move out!” the voice shouted. “They have to be here somewhere, and we will find them.”
With that, the sound of the wings fluttering moved farther and farther away until we could no longer hear them.
