Page 20 of Queen of Darkness
Eventually, the wind picked up again, and the noise returned. I looked around, trying to stay calm.
“Whatsortsof things are out here?” I asked worriedly. “Things foryouto be afraid of?”
“Things that it would be easier to avoid tangling with,” Fred replied. “Especially if we hope to lay low. Come, let’s move.”
He set off at a brisk pace, forcing me to all but jog to keep up. We followed some trail that only Fred seemed able to see. At one point, we passed through a pocket of darkness so deep I couldn’t see more than five feet ahead, thanks to the dense bushes on either side of our trail.
The wind picked up again while a wolf howled at the moon visible overhead somewhere in the distance. I shuddered at the sound. It waswrong, somehow. Even my wolf could sense it. She shied away from the sound, wanting nothing to do with it.
“What the hell is this place?” I growled at Fred.
Before he could answer, a branch snapped behind us.Closebehind us. We both froze, slowly turning our heads, trying to pierce the gloom.
Whatever it was, it came closer. I could feel its footsteps.
“I think we should run,” Fred said.
“No argument,” I yelped as whatever it was came lunging through the darkness, bushes and tiny trees parting under its bulk.
We spun on our heels and darted off. Fred moved fast through the trees. My legs churned, the duality of my heritage lending me enough speed to keep up on two legs. I knew that on all fours, I could outpace him, but I wasn’t going to leave Fred behind. He’d gotten me out of the Broker’s, and I owed him for that. Besides, he was a friend.
That didn’t prevent me from urging him on faster. We ran up a hill and then down the other side. Behind us, the titanic creature crashed onwards, shouldering aside entire trees in its single-minded pursuit of us.
“I don’t think it’s giving up,” I said as we labored up another steep rise.
A trumpeting roar sounded less than twenty feet behind us. I risked a glance backward, but I still couldn’t see the damn thing. Whatever it was, the darkness molded to it, keeping it hidden from my wolf’s sight.
“Come on. We’re close,” Fred said. “See there?”
I looked in front of us as we crested a rise. There, visible on a hill in the distance, were the ruins of what had to have once been a mighty castle.
“That’s our destination?” I asked. “Those ruins?”
“Not quite,” Fred said. “That’s the new castle. Theoriginalis on the far side of the river at the bottom of the castle's hill. That’s where we want.”
“Right. Sure.”
We raced onward while our pursuer chased, gaining on us bit by bit.
The ruins passed in a blur, and we ran down a nearly vertical embankment and over a road. With giant flying leaps, we crossed the river. I tucked into a ball, coming up out of an awkward roll on the far side. Whatever was after us crashed through the water, spray going everywhere.
“It’s gaining!” I shouted. “It must know we’re almost there.”
“Don’t look back! Keep running!”
He led us up a hill and then cut sharply to the left without warning. I nearly wiped out trying to follow him until I came to a skidding stop as we entered a cave.
“Help me with this!” he barked.
I raced to where he struggled with a door hidden against the wall. We pushed on it and, over squealing hinges, flung it shut, the thick latch falling into place moments before whatever chased us slammed into it, shaking the door and the entire cave.
“Great,” I said. “Now, we’re trapped in here, with that, thatthingout there.”
“It’ll give up soon,” Fred said, breathing a little heavier. “Other prey will present less of an effort than us … I hope.”
“Youhope?” I asked, aghast at his lack of conviction.
“The creatures of this wood can sometimes be incredibly stub—”
