Page 178 of Skalterra By Nightmare
“Forgive me for not taking you seriously. I’ve heard that line from you before, and it lost its punch after I killed Galahad.” His arm morphed back into his mantis-spear. “Sorry about this. Honestly, I thought you would’ve died with Galahad, but if you insist on getting in my way, then this’ll do just fine.”
He drew his elbow back, preparing to drive his spear through my chest, but I grabbed dirt in both my hands and threw it upwards into his face.
He cried out and blindly jabbed, and I was able to roll out of the way and scramble back to my feet.
“You’ll regret that!” Ferrin roared after me. “I was nothing but kind to you in Skalterra, Wren! I took care of you when no one else did, andthisis how you repay me?”
I risked a glance backwards, and felt my face drain of warmth despite the hot air.
Ferrin had doubled in size and held two mantis-arms aloft, ready to strike, as he charged after me on beastly hind legs. His face elongated into a snout, and crocodile scales ran up his chest and neck.
I staggered to a stop, frozen in horror at the monster Ferrin had become. Was that how I had looked in Skalterra when I fought?
Part of my brain screamed to keep running, but the other, more rational part told me this couldn’t be real. This was a bad dream, and if Ferrin killed me, I’d wake up in the hotel room, still curled in Liam’s arms.
And if that were the case, then maybe I should get it over with and let him do it.
“Wren, don’t stop!”
A hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me down the path. Liam, in his blue Von Leer hoodie, dragged me after him.
“Liam!”
“Just run!” Liam’s face reflected my own horror back at me as we sprinted hand in hand.
“How— why are you here?” I panted.
Liam shook his head.
“You called my name. Do you wanna tell me what the hell that thing is?”
Ferrin crashed through foliage behind us, and I bit back a terrified whimper.
“I told you,” I breathed, “I have really bad nightmares.”
I wasn’t sure how he’d heard me call for help, but he’d come. Even though I’d betrayed him. Even though he was mad.
He was here, running from a monster with me.
I truly did not deserve him.
He looked back over our shoulders, and his eyes widened.
“Don’t look back. Wren, keep running. Promise me you’ll keep going.”
“Liam?”
“Don’t stop, Wren!” His voice, panicked and pleading, cut off in a scream of pain.
Blood sprayed across my face, and Liam’s hand ripped away from mine. The forest tilted around me when I tried to stop too fast, and Liam’s name tore at the back of my throat as I shrieked for him.
Of all the unreal, fantastical things I’d seen in the last month, the image of the bloodied spike driven through Liam’s chest was the least believable.
Because he wasLiam. He was constant, and kind, and wonderful, and brave, and Ferrincouldn’tkill him.
“I said,” Liam gasped, blood spilling from his mouth and down his chin, “keep running.”
Ferrin threw Liam’s body to the dirt path, pinning him to the earth. Liam twitched in the dust with his head lolled to the side like a broken doll.
