Hunted by a Night Fae

Chapter 30

I stared at the place between the trees where Ronan had disappeared. A heavy quiet settled around me, like somehow the shadows had gotten taller and more person-like, and they sat in a hushed silence as they watched me. They flickered with every fluctuation of the firelight, inching closer and closer each time. My skin prickled, the wind around me settling into an uneasy stillness.

I remembered the moment that had transpired between Ronan and me before he ran off, and I lowered my head into my hands. A mixture of shame and disappointment rolled off me. I couldn't deny that I had wanted him to do it. For a few heartbeats, I had wanted him to kiss me.

I was an idiot. I needed to leave Faerie before I did something I would regret. I didn't want to start growing feelings for my faerie husband, it was the last thing I needed.

It was almost a good thing that something had alerted Ronan. I swallowed and lifted my head. I would make sure I didn't let it happen again.

"Heather."

I jolted. I saw nothing but shadows and trees around me. The sound of my name had been whispered in the wind, and though I couldn't find the source, I didn't doubt I had heard it. The voice carried a warning. Like it was trying to get my attention.

Green eyes reflected within the trees. I thought I saw a red wolf, its lips rising in a vicious snarl. But then more shadows moved in, obscuring it from sight.

Shadows that were thicker than what shadows should be. They wrapped around the trees with long spindly limbs.

I heard the crunch of leaves just beyond the tree line of our camp. My heart lept in my chest, and I scanned the darkness, hoping it was just Ronan returning. Instead, I saw the shape of a bird—a raven. It flew from one tree to the next. It let out a sharp caw, another answering it a few trees down.

An uneasy tingle ran over my skin. I stood. The trees swayed gently, but the shadows between their limbs didn't move.

I felt the heavy stare of a thousand eyes, watching me. I knew I wasn't alone.

Discreetly, I looked over the items still in our camp. Ronan had left some of his knives behind, only taking his sword and whatever had been on him. I quietly moved towards them, never letting my gaze sway from the warped shadows of the forest. I grabbed a long knife from the sheath on his bag and weighed it in my hands.

The wind blew. With it came a soft moan. The shadows shivered.

Every muscle in my body went tense. A thick wall of shadows moved closer to the line of light cast by the fire.

My heart beat a steady rhythm in my chest. Blood moved through my veins, pouring into my arms and legs, readying me for a fight.

I didn't know where Ronan was, but whatever was watching me wasn't him. I heard another caw, then another. Three more answered until all I heard was a violent cacophony around me.

Ca-caw, ca-caw, ca-caw, ca-caw.

The leaves rustled. The shadows pulsed, a thick mass of joined bodies, filling in every available space around the trees. I could no longer see anything beyond them. The darkness was too thick. But they were there, moving, swarming—alive.

I raised my knife. Something hummed deep within me, coursing through my blood. I crouched closer to the ground, feeling the strength in my limbs. There was a power to them that hadn't been there before

I didn't know where it came from, but I was glad to have it now.

The caws abruptly silenced, followed by a snickering laugh. It was feminine, and it echoed through the trees. One of the shadows parted, coming to the border of the flames. The light flickered, revealing a face as the figure paced back and forth along the edge, taking form as it walked. 

It had dull grey skin and white milky eyes. Though feminine, she looked like a walking corpse. She lifted her thin lips into a mocking smile, showing me her blackened gums and rotten teeth. A rancid scent wafted in from the shadows. It smelled like death and decay.

It reminded me of the smell of the Dead Forest.

A breeze flickered over my skin. The air seemed like it was tugging at me, urging me to do something.

"What makes you think you can kill a sluagh with your little knife, mortal? Even when I was human, you couldn't have touched me with that."

"Stay away," I said in a low hiss. I clenched my knife tighter.

Sluagh—I remembered them. It was hard not to, the long nights as a child where I could only sleep with a night light in the room. Beings of darkness, a vile horde of sinners who could never be forgiven for their deeds. Gran had told me about them as a warning, and I had never forgotten them. They were insatiable, hungry for the souls of the living.

And here I was, very much alive, surrounded by some of my worst nightmares.

I scanned the trees.

Ronan was gone. For all I knew, the sluagh had gotten him too.

The dead woman laughed, inching closer as the fire flickered. I turned to look at it. It was losing light as flame ate through the wood. I stepped back, keeping myself in the fire's light. I remembered that in my Gran's stories, the sluagh only hunted at night.

The sluagh paced back and forth. Her dead eyes followed me. She grinned hungrily, then threw back her head, taking in a deep breath.

"Ah, so sweet, your soul. I can smell it. So wild, healthy, and strong—alive." Her eyes flickered to the fire, a loud crack sounding as the flame ate through one of the thick pieces of wood, snapping it in half. The fire would be nothing but coals soon. With it, the safety of the light would be gone.

I was on my own.

"We can wait," she continued with a grin, and I swallowed thickly. My mind whirled, and I stood there trying to think of a way to fend them off. The sluagh seemed to sense my growing uncertainty. As the shadows pulsed, she stepped forward. She was so close now I could see the maggots crawling on her skin. Her hair, which had been covered in shadows caught the light, revealing a vibrant red.

"The darkness never goes away here in the land of always night. Your fire won't last much longer, mortal. And then you will be ours."