Page 101 of An Unexpected Ascension
With hesitant steps, I caution farther and farther away fromshelter, from Hermes. As I look over my shoulder, back to where I came from, I can see the outline of our tent. I should have woken the demon, but the scream seemed so familiar that I didn’t second guess my decision to find the source.
At the sob that bellows through the night, I whip my head forward again. I can see the silhouette of two people just a bit deeper into the woods. At the sight, my heart gallops, but at the sound of my name, it flatlines.
“Briar? Briar!”
“Will?” I call out, his voice echoing through the trees.
Frantically, I sprint, hurtling over gnarly roots and shifting between the trunks of trees.
“Help, Briar! It’s Jessie!”
At the desperation and terror in Will’s voice, I pushed myself to run faster. A million horrible thoughts race through my mind, yet none of them even dare question why they’re here.
“Will? Jessie?” I screamed, halting right where I thought I saw them.
I’m left with an eerie quiet.
Suddenly, a shadow closes in, clouding my periphery. The thick air of the forest turns a bitter cold, causing ice to crystallize along every branch and slicken the ground. My body shivers, my teeth chatter, clanking together painfully as I try to clench my jaw shut. Tendrils of personified winter slither inside my nose, my mouth, caking my throat in a horrible frost.
The glacial air renders me paralyzed, freezing every muscle inside my body, making it impossible to run as the darkness materializes into a figure standing before me. Cloaked in all black, its face hidden beneath an oversized hood, it shows no sign of what lies within.
Yet, I can see it for what it is...Fear.
An arm raises and a hand with boney talons stretches out for me, clawing its way towards me.
Move! Run! Don't just stand here!
But it’s the only thing I can do. My eyes widen as thick grey nails dart straight for my face, their sharp tips digging into the crown of my head, sinking into my temples. I scream, but there’s no sound.
Round, emerald eyes peer up at me through thick lashes against a small, innocent face. Staring back at me are little plump cheeks red with exertion from running around the house before coming to a wobbly stop.
My thumb swipes at a bead of sweat starting to drip down the little girl’s forehead. Her damp bangs sticking to her skin. She pants heavily a few more times before jumping again.
With a tug on my cardigan, she asks, “When is Daddy getting home?”
“Not sure, bean.” I check my watch. “If he doesn’t get here soon, we’ll just have to have cake without him.”
The spark in her eyes fizzles out, but she nods. The idea of waiting much longer the only form of torture I’ve ever let her know. Despite how close evil lurks. I’ve done my best to keep her free from it.
Six-thirty rolls into seven and my husband is nowhere to be found. Not a single phone call answered, or text responded to. All that bubbling energy inside my daughter has flattened as she sits at the kitchen table, head lain on her arms.
Sneaking past her, I creep into the kitchen to grab her birthday cake. With seven lit candles, I appear in the doorway to the dining room, startling her with my singing.
A slow smile stretches across her face, those dull eyes now as bright as the flames flickering behind my cupped hand. Gently, I place the cake in front of her while I finish our very own version of Happy Birthday, one we’ve been singing since she was born.
“Make a wish, Bean!”
She shuts her eyes tightly giving it great thought, and as she blows every last candle out, the front door swings wide open.
Startled, my eyes dart up to where my husband sways unsteadily in the entryway. His hand grazing over his short, cropped hair while his unfocused eyes cut straight to me.
“I thought I told you to wait.”
My blood chills at the anger in his tone. He stumbles forward, catching himself on the edge of the couch before he steadies himself once more.
I drop my eyes to the cake, quickly cutting a piece for my daughter and sliding the plate her way.
“Take this into the living room and watch your favorite show. We’ll be right in, okay?”
