Page 13 of Voices in the Stars
“Are you an idiot?” He laughed, glancing back at me as I narrowed my eyes. “Or do you just have a death wish?”
I didn’t bother answering him. What kind of question was that? The choice seemed to be between freezing in a river or running through a forest with someone who seemed to know a lot more about it than I did.
“Kabora poison,” he said as he pointed to the black marks along my shoulder, “has a distinct smell to it, and you reek. You step foot out of this water, and they’ll find you.”
I paled as my heart sank. That settled it, then. Freezing in a river.
“You could’ve just said that,” I muttered, staring at where I was stepping, trying to make sure I stayed as dry as possible. “What’s your name?” I asked, looking up at him as I tried to find something normal to focus on.
“Klyn,” he offered, glancing over at me, his gaze snagging on something behind me.
I followed his stare, my heart rocketing as I searched the tree line. Was there another monster he saw chasing us? The forest behind the trees was dark, but there was nothing there. At least, nothing that I could see. When I looked back, he was smiling, his gaze focused on me again. The way he kept glancing away did nothing to ease my worries.
Every instinct screamed that something was wrong. That I needed to run. I tried to shake off the feeling. He had done nothing for me to be afraid of him. Yet. Klyn was my best shot. He knew the creatures here, and hopefully had a destination in mind.
I cursed as I was ripped from my thoughts. My foot slipped again, sending me crashing into the water. I huffed out a deep breath as I stood. My dress now clung to every inch of me. The thin nightgown wasn’t built for warmth and now itfelt like ice as the wind chilled it.
Klyn slowed until he was walking next to me. He used one hand on my elbow to steady me as we moved through the water. He kept glancing around us, muttering something low enough that I couldn’t make out. The words sounded like he was looking for a lass. It must have been a sister or friend. My shoulders relaxed some at the thought. If he wasn’t worried, then I didn’t need to be terrified. His looking for a friend would be much better than a monster that might snatch us out of the water.
I still glanced through the forest, half expecting more eyeless monsters to appear, the unease settled in the pit of my stomach. The urge to run increased with each step we took until my knees ached with the urgency of it.
“Thanks.” I tried to break the silence between us. “For saving me, that is.”
The silence continued. Water splashed as we slowly waded through it. Animal calls came from somewhere deep within the trees. Their high-pitched cries made my skin crawl.
“I’m Cece,” I offered.
His eyes widened slightly before turning to glare at me. At least he finally looked away from the trees. Beads of sweat gleamed along his forehead as he dropped my arm., wringing his hands together. My brows furrowed at his reaction. I glanced back at the trees, but nothing had changed.
“Sorry, miss, but I’m not one for chatter.” That’s how he finally answered.
My fists balled up at my sides as I felt the anger simmering deep in my chest. One hand reached up to rub the scar on my chest. My cold hand helped ease the heat I felt building.
When I stopped trying with Klyn, and ignored the dangers I knew lived here, the forest wasn’t much different than what I had seen back home. There were the same leafy trees that changed colors with the seasons. Right now, they were a vibrant orange and red. If I could take a moment to stop freaking out, it was beautiful. Bright, purple flowers followed along the riverbank. Bands of light broke through the canopies. Small creatures scurried aroundthe ground, darting between the trees.
A hand covered my mouth as I was dragged out of the water. The sweaty palm muffled my startled yelp. My nose wrinkled at the salty taste that invaded my mouth.
Klyn easily pulled me out of the river, walking us onto a stone path. My hands started shaking as I glanced around us. The urge to bite down on his hand so he’d let me go struck me. He was lucky the thought made me cringe. His hand smelt like something rotten mixed with mint. A nauseating combination. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that as he pulled his hand away before speaking.
“We need to cover what you’re wearing.”
I swiped the back of my hand across my mouth, trying to get rid of the smell that burned my nose. I couldn’t argue with him. Every time I thought about my dress, my face burned at the fact that he’d been looking at me like this.
Klyn pulled off a leather bag that was slung over his shoulder, setting it on the ground. He glanced over at me before placing himself between me and the bag. Glass tinged together as he rifled through the contents. Papers ruffled together, and something metal rang as it was hit against something else. How much did he shove in that bag? I went on my tiptoes, trying to peer around him, but a piece of cloth was shoved into my face before I could look.
“Put this on,” he demanded.
I unfolded the black cloak, putting it on. Relief flooded me as it fully covered my dress. The inside was covered in dark, soft fur that quickly chased away the cold. I tied the strings around my neck, pulling it tight around me.
“Now you don’t stink.” He smirked, seeming proud.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the cloak had the same rotten mint smell he did. If anything, I had to smell way worse now than a few minutes ago. I couldn’t remember how the Kabora smelled, but it certainly wasn’t worse than this. Instead, I just waved off his comment as he moved onto the path we had been standing next to.
Everything was quiet as we walked down the path. The only noises were the crunching of our steps and chirping of birds. I kept my gaze trained to the ground, trying to avoid the sharprocks that kept cutting into me.
The silence didn’t last long. We had only been walking for a few moments when voices could be heard. They were mainly just broken yells too far to be able to make out any words. It sounded like hundreds of excited people trying to yell over each other, creating a giant mass of noise. I pulled the cloak tighter around me as Klyn picked up his speed, a grin taking over his face. His grin got wider as we broke through the edge of trees, standing at the top of a hill as we looked down at the town below us.
“Welcome to Lachlan,”Klyn muttered.
