The Shadows Have No Face || 𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐑

Killing Me Will Be A Mistake

I was completely alone. The forest knew it, the monster within knew. And it seemed to revel in that fact.

When the beast turned its head in my direction, I ducked behind the tree and dropped to the ground, holding my sword against my chest. I closed my eyes and counted to force my breath into a steady rhythm. If my heart started pounding, there was nowhere to hide.

I must remember what they taught me. Remember what I learned. To disappear into another world, to hide my deeper self from outside, and let it all fade away into nothingness. Into numbness needed for survival. I was not free, not safe, and I needed to fight—to survive.

I poked my head out from behind the tree and watched it.

"Oh, you reek of the Cauldron," the bird said, twisting its head backward to look at me. I swallowed hard and jumped out of the way as it lunged, colliding with a tree.

The sound of wood snapping filled my ears, and I watched the tree it hit split in half and fall so hard against the ground that the earth beneath me shook. Snow kicked up around the black body.

Its head cracked up and its milky eyes blinked one at a time. The beast shook its head and clicked its beak before that tongue slipped out like a serpent.

"You smell like its power, and of death," it said, and I knew I was in deep shit now. It was staring at me, through me. "I can hear you—your blood, your breath. I wonder what it will look like when I rip out your beating heart."

Before it could attack again, I shot at it with a pulse of Illyrian magic. The electric power moved in an uneven line and split against the beast's head. Blood splattered onto the snow. A line of red crossed its face, but it simply clicked its beak again.

"So much power, and yet you will never use it again." It lifted a claw and swiped at me. It barely missed my stomach, but a strap of my leathers cut.

I started running. It seemed like a good thing to do. I ran as fast as I could, praying to the Mother that I wouldn't slip in the snow. I tried weaving through the trees to keep it from being able to catch up with me. But the sound of its feet hitting hard against the earth filled me with terror.

I tried to turn, when another figure appeared, falling out of a tree. Another beast—It looked just like the one that was following me. Its eyes held mine, milky white and reflective, showing an image of myself. There was blood on its beak.

"You're trapped now," the one in front of me said.

I stepped back and turned to see the other one was only a few feet away. Slowly, the one behind used its tail to sweep the ground in front of it, searching for where I stood.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Well, toy... we can't have you destroying the Cauldron, can we?" The one behind me said. "So, you know what will happen, I'm sure of it."

I had to find a way to give myself and the others more time. "No, actually. I don't know. You said something about making a deal. What kind of deal are we talking about?"

The one behind hissed a strange noise that sounded somewhere near a laugh. "There will be no deals for such a feeble creature. You will just get in our way, and we already have too much competition."

The one behind pushed me to the ground and raked a claw down my back, ripping through my leathers. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. I wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of hearing my pain.

It hooked its claw on my clothes and lifted me back up so I was on my feet. I stared down at the one in front of me. It snapped its head and came closer to me.