The Night's Curse #3 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

Chapter 30

View of the ground closed in fast.

Waverly feared her bones would be smashed to crumbs when she connected with the hard earth. Nonetheless, she fell in the roughest tumble and collided into something extremely hard. A sharp groaned escaped her as her back exploded with aching pain but the feeling swiftly reduced until it was too dull to notice.

She lifted her head and glanced around. Just as she had guessed, the forest was swarming with gods. As a result of the unexpected explosion, a gaping crater the same size as the one she had buried Gruggun in stretched behind her, creating a wide barrier between herself and the gods but Waverly knew that something as trifle as a hole would not hinder them were they to attack.

It was quite overwhelming to see so many Nysan deities at once since she had never really met any other than Deusa though the goddess herself was considered neutral.

She scrambled to get away from the edge of the hole and the boulder she had bumped into because more earth began to break around the fissure, causing it to yawn even wider.

A hand suddenly closed around her arm from behind but before she could react, she was violently thrown back.

"Go and complete my will." Oculmus barked. His voice was raspy and angry. "I will deal with this one myself."

Waverly rose to her feet and reached for Calaire but tiny pieces of twigs suddenly lifted off the ground, entwined around the wristband and yanked it from her wrist. She watched in shock as the wristband sailed over the trees a hundred leagues to nowhere.

Her gaze darted forward to Judson who was slowly approaching. As he walked, the forest responded to his presence by ruffling and leaning inward but the vegetation only blackened and withered as they neared him.

"Crafted weapons will do you no good." He snarled.

Waverly watched his face as he came closer. It was a difficult task for her to wear out the feeling that her best friend, albeit controlled and manipulated by a great force of evil, dwelled in there somewhere. The evil snarl on Judson face, she feared, would haunt her dreams for the rest of her days.

She balled her fist, breathing through her mouth, and riled up every bit of godly strength she could muster.

"Jud! This is going to hurt." She muttered inaudibly.

She rushed toward him with a defiant scream and her fist connected with his face. She felt energy ripple outward and clearly heard the bones in his jaw crack.

Judson's flesh broke open but there was no sign of pain on his face. He spat out blood and glared at her indifferently. The gruesome injury sealed up in the blink of an eye.

"Weakling." He cursed.

Waverly tried not to whimper as darkness suddenly began to surround them both. It was so black and dense that she blinked several times to make sure her eyes were still open.

She threw a quick, desperate glance at the sky but it was shielded by black clouds and the moon was gone. Her heart raced unevenly.

Calm down. It is all but a ruse. She consoled herself.

Just then, she was grabbed by the throat and felt her body slam into something hard again. A tree trunk, by the feel of it.

Judson's small hand closed around her neck and he squeezed so hard that despite Waverly's constant struggle, she was unable to pry off a single finger. The constriction in her throat released tendrils of fiery pain up and down her chest. The lack of air was even more painful than the grip itself. Waverly gasped and wheezed in an attempt to breathe.