Our Demonic Hearts - The Craven Pact Book 1

Chapter 25: Skirmish

"Judas! Show your face, you coward!"

She had been half-running, half-walking for five minutes now, but she was certain Judas had tricked her into getting lost in the woods. She hadn't heard a single sound since she became surrounded by the oak and maple trees. Not even a single bird or squirrel made a chirp, which meant they had fled and left her alone with a crazed lunatic.

"Give me my cat back, dammit!"

Bushes rustled, sticks broke, a large animal growled. Ana turned to the sound, her face pale as she had a sudden feeling of deja vu. Monster...forest...have I been here before?

She saw the yellow eyes before she saw what it was.

She threw herself to the ground as the animal lunged with a fierce growl. Ana screamed as it crashed into the honeysuckle bush behind her. She scrambled to her feet and took a good look at the animal that tried to attack her.

It was a panther, with a black shiny coat and a long, thin tail. It scrambled out of the bush and began to stalk around her, it's teeth barred.

What did my father say about panthers while we're out camping? Don't run, don't crouch, give it space—wait...hang on. There are no panthers in Mississippi. Not once has she seen a panther in the twenty-two years she's lived here. What the hell is going on?

She looked closer at the big cat, and for just a fraction of a second, she saw it flicker. It stopped trying to lunge at her, but it wasn't running away either. Panthers don't attack unless provoked, but...this wasn't a really panther. It was an illusion.

Just then, the panther flickered from sight, a bundle of flowers left in it's place. Confused, Ana walked over to the bundle and picked it up. I don't understand...

"Neat trick, huh? Perks of being the son of Crocell the Demon. Illusion, manipulation..." Judas stepped out from behind a tree, and Ana tensed. "Things your father can't even imagine doing. What did he give you, by the way? Shit location spells?"

She pulled her shoulders back. "Does it matter? At least he made an attempt to be in my life, unlike yours."

His eyes narrowed. He raised his right hand close to his chest, palm facing the sky. Ana watched as blue lines of mageia twirled around his wrist, and began to prepare her own spell. "Don't try to assume anything about my father. You barely know anything about your own."

Ana pulled up the amber shield just before his blaze of lighting could hit her. The shock of the blaze hitting her caused her to stumble back, but she grounded her feet and prepared for the next blow. Judas circled around her, inspecting the shield with anger.

"Did your father teach you that? You know why?" He reached behind his back and threw another blaze of lightning toward her. She managed to hold her place, but the shield was already beginning to crack. This was nothing like the soft energy blasts Marchosias used when they trained, Judas was putting all of his anger into his spells. "He knows it hurts him more than it hurts you! He wants you dead, but he want him to suffer more!"

Ana cried out as a bolt caught her off guard, veering to the right and forcing her to move the shield too fast. The veins in her wrist screamed in protest, not used to such fast and sudden movement. She tried to breath through the pain as she faced Judas again, gritting her teeth. "Tell me...tell me who it is then."

He smiled, spreading his hands out, letting the blue swirls flow from his hands and onto the ground like thick fog. "You want to know about the incident, or who you're hurting by using that simple spell. You can't have both. Who's the greedy one now?"