Page 32 of To Hunt a Demon King

“I have a plan,” I said, more confidently than I felt. Finding the Demon King technicallywasa plan, even if it was a vague one.

“Does this plan involve befriending creatures that will eat you?” Hunt asked, glancing back at me over his shoulder.

“What does it matter to you?” I asked, genuinely confused. “You will be long gone, yes?”

“It matters to me,” Hunt said, sounding a little defensive.

“Because I’m so interesting?” I quipped, stumbling over the uneven ground after him.

“Because I’m invested,” he corrected, reaching back in time to catch me before I fell face first on the forest floor. He gripped my hand and waist firmly as he raised me back to my feet. “You are the clumsiest witch I’ve ever met.”

“I thought you only knew two witches,” I said, looking up at him a little breathlessly. The hood had fallen back from his face, and I could see his hair, the short side close to the scalp. The longer side looked silky, and I had to resist the urge to reach up and touch it.

“I do,” he said, still gripping my waist in one hand as he moved the other to my arm. “And you’re the clumsiest.” He smirked down at me, and my heart tripped a little as we stood there. Something heated flashed in his eyes, just for a moment.

“Listen, Red,” he said, taking a deep breath. Whatever he was going to say didn’t come, as an unearthly scream rent the air, shattering the peace we had been standing in. That dark thing inside of me fully awoke, alert to the danger.

“Fuck,” Hunt snarled, pulling his bow from his back and nocking an arrow. “Get behind me.”

Akela growled, prowling in front of me next to Hunt, and the two stood side by side, poised to attack whatever came out from the trees. A wailing moan came from the trees that chilled me to my core. I had heard that cry before.

“Leshy,” growled Hunt. “They’ve probably been tracking us since that first night.” He turned to me, giving me an appraising look.

“Please tell me you can climb,” he said, pushing me toward the nearest tree.

“I don’t know,” I said, panic rising as the howls grew nearer. “I’ve never had to.”

“Of course not,” Hunt grunted, dropping his bow and taking a knee. “Perfect time to learn.” He clasped his hands to form a step, nodding to my boot.

“Push with your legs,” he said. I placed my boot in his clasped hands and gasped as he lifted me with more force than I thought possible. I scrabbled up the tree, clinging to the bark with my nails while seeking purchase on a nearby branch.

“Move!” Hunt shouted, loosing an arrow below me as I began an agonizingly slow climb. The trees were spindly and the branches bare, but I was able to find enough of a foothold to boost myself higher. I was slow, and my nails caught and tore on the trunk as I tried to pull myself up.

“Push with your legs, Red,” Hunt growled below me. “Your arms won’t hold your weight.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I snapped at him, trying to follow the advice. He was right—it was far easier to push with my legs. But I would die before telling him so. A smack on my rear made me gasp, and I scrabbled to climb higher.

“Faster, Red,” Hunt shouted over the sounds of wailing moans that grew louder each second. Akela was growling below us, and a cracking and crunching told me that something large was coming through the forest toward us.

I estimated I was about twenty feet up when I ran out of branches to boost myself higher. I clung to the trunk like a barnacle, holding tight with my nails digging into the wood. Hunt swung out onto a branch below me like he had been born climbing trees, and he leveled his bow at the shaking trees before us.

I had spent some time imagining what leshy might look like since the night Hunt had stopped me from going after one, but my imagination had not done the creature justice. Being forest spirits, I assumed they would be tree-like in some way. I was very, very wrong.

Three huge, lumbering forms appeared from the woods, skin pale and gray and sickly. They stood at least seven feet tall, their faces obscured by what looked to be the skulls of some huge, antlered beasts. They appeared eyeless, the black sockets of the skulls giving way to nothing, and the blunted teeth of their heads were bloody. Two pale antlers protruded from each of their heads, resembling branches of the Bloodwood trees or some unearthly deer. The creatures made a sucking hissing noise that chilled me to my core.

Akela attacked, growling fiercely as he went for the closest creature's throat. Hunt began loosing arrows on the leshy, and a screech told me that Artemis was around. I saw her dive for one of the creatures, pecking at its eyeless features as the thing writhed and screamed in pain.

“Don’t look, Red,” Hunt shouted from below me. For once, I didn’t argue, turning my face away and squeezing my eyes shut against the horrible sounds of wailing and screaming and flesh tearing and arrows finding their marks. The shadowy magic was practically vibrating in my chest, aching to destroy whatever threatened me. I tamped it down and clung to the tree trunk.

I heard cracking and stumbling and a vicious growl from Akela. A loud thump told me one creature had fallen. A yelp and a high pitched whine made me flinch, as something hit the tree hard, shaking me where I perched. Hunt swore, firing more arrows, and another creature screamed, a loud thunk shaking the forest as it hit the ground. The sounds of cracking trees told me the third creature must be retreating. As suddenly as the attack had begun, it was over.

“Shit,” said Hunt below me, sliding down the trunk of the tree. I opened my eyes and looked down. Akela was lying still, body crumpled at the base of the tree.

I picked my way down slowly, panic making me slip and slide and almost fall more than once. I was shaking, and I was terrified of what I would find when I made it down the tree.

Hunt was crouched over Akela, a large hand on his face stroking gently. His muzzle was bloody, a huge gash across one eye blinding the loyal creature, and blood dribbled from his jaw in a steady stream.

“Oh no,” I breathed. Akela let out a faint, pathetic whine as I crouched down next to him, searching inside me for the magic I had inadvertently drawn on the night I had saved the child. I hadn’t used it since accidentally healing my arm, and the bright creature inside me was still sleepy and dozing, but I refused to allow Akela to die.

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