Page 24 of To Hunt a Demon King

“Just lovely,” I growled, letting him lead me forward. I heard him chuckle darkly as we waded the rest of the way across the river without further incident.

“There,” Hunt said as we reached the opposite bank. Akela gave a huge shake, sending water droplets flying all over us and soaking Hunt again. My laugh quickly became a scream as icy fingers gripped me again, and I crashed backward into the river.

The rusalka had been waiting, and they were completely horrifying. Two of them, green skinned and blue haired, bodies spindly and sharp, gripped my ankles. They dragged me down the river, grinning at me with sharp, bloody teeth as they seemed to cackle. A third appeared, grasping my wrist as I struggled to keep my head above the water. My lungs burned as I took in icy river water. I tried to cough to no avail. I heard distant shouting and howling, but it became harder and harder to concentrate as I struggled to take in a breath.

I kicked out as hard as I could, dislodging the rusalka at my ankles long enough to get my head above water and cough. I saw Akela and Hunt surging toward me as I was pulled back under, the rusalka winding their spindly fingers around me more tightly as they pulled me down. Icy water filled my lungs, and the world began to go black as a strong arm grabbed my waist.

“Don’t you dare drown, Red,” Hunt shouted, pulling me out of the river as Akela growled and tore into the rusalka who held my wrist. The creature screamed as the wolf tore its arm from its body, flinging it back into the icy depths. The two rusalka who had my ankles must have lost their nerve, because I suddenly felt their weight fall away as I was lifted from the water. I coughed, gasping to pull in air as Hunt dragged me to the river bank, Akela whining at me as he followed.

Hunt pulled me far back on the bank of the river as I coughed and spluttered. I was freezing, and I noticed the tips of my fingers were faintly blue, either from the cold or the lack of oxygen. Maybe both.

“Breathe, Red,” Hunt growled, crouching next to me and dripping water onto my face from his soaked hair.

“I’m trying,” I wheezed out, and he rewarded me with a heavy thump on my back. I coughed again, more water leaving my lungs as I started to really feel the cold from the river as the adrenaline of the attack receded.

“Fuck,” Hunt growled, taking off his cloak and wrapping it around me. I realized that my own cloak, and the basket of food and spell supplies, must have been swept away by the river. “You’re freezing.”

I tried and failed to come up with a witty reply, teeth chattering violently as I shivered. With another curse, Hunt scooped me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing and stalked off into the woods again.

“Where are we going?” I asked, shivering too much to care about the indignity of being carried.

“To see the only other witch I know,” he replied.

Chapter 10

I must have dozed off for a while, because when my eyes next opened the sky was much darker. I was still in Hunt’s arms as he carried me like a child, wrapped in his cloak that smelled like winter trees.

“You can put me down,” I rasped, shivering a bit in his arms.

“No chance,” Hunt said, continuing to crash through the trees as his arms tightened to hold me in place. Akela whined a little behind him, and a hoot above me told me that Artemis was nearby too. “You’ll slow us down.”

“I won’t,” I protested, feeling awkward and embarrassed that this man, basically a stranger, was carrying me through the forest. “You must be freezing.”

“I’m fine,” Hunt said, ignoring my continued attempts to free myself. “Besides, we’re almost there.”

“Almost where?” I asked between chattering teeth.

The trees had begun to thin a little, and I craned my neck to see what we were moving toward. It was the oddest sight I had ever seen. A tiny cottage with a neatly thatched roof sat in a small clearing, surrounded by bright spring flowers and perfectly trimmed hedges. A little cobblestone path led to its door, which had been painted a sky blue. It was so out of place in the middle of the Bloodwood that I let out a snort of laughter.

“Don’t let the Hag hear you laughing at her cottage,” Hunt said.

“The what?” I asked, still shivering.

“What in the name of the Goddess and the Horned God have you brought to me today, Huntsman?” came an annoyed, ancient sounding voice from the direction of the cottage. Hunt stopped, grimacing a little.

“A witch who needs your help, Hag,” he shouted back. I winced.

“That’s a horrible name,” I hissed, trying to wriggle free of his grasp again as shivers wracked my body.

“She chose it,” he replied with a shrug. “Stop squirming, Red.”

“A witch in the Bloodwood?” came the voice. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, and I looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint its source. Akela whined next to Hunt, and the ancient voice let out a cackle.

“Bring her inside then, Huntsman,” said the voice. “And ready your payment.”

“What payment?” I hissed, feeling panic rise in me. I had lost my supplies, and I definitely had no gold. And I was so very, very cold.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hunt replied, gruffly. “I’ll pay it.”

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