Half Blood

Prologue

The approaching darkness enclosed Lily like a coffin. If she didn't leave soon, she'd be forced to navigate her way home in the dark, which wasn't something she was particularly keen on doing. For most of the hour, Lily Davidson had been monitoring the parameters of a small, wooden cottage, but her vantage point in the crook of a tree was quickly becoming useless.

Whispered warnings of the oracle and threats from her own thoughts still rang fresh in her mind. She often wished that she could just turn them off like you could with a light - what would her life be like if she weren't plagued by the visions that haunted her mind? She saw so many people dying, although the more appropriate term would be murdered. She saw so many people murdered.

What made it worse was the fact that the most gruesome of deaths she'd envisioned would turn up, weeks later, in the newspaper. Every time that happened, a terrible guilt streamed through her veins, making her sick to her very stomach. The most recent was of Jonah Harrison, who was burned alive in an 'accidental' house fire. That was according to the article, but Lily knew better. She knew that Jonah's house had been set alight purposely, but what she didn't know was why.

Pulling herself from her reverie, Lily struck out her hand; she could barely see it. The night was getting darker, and as it became darker, her paranoia grew. She'd seen far too many deaths to ever feel safe anywhere. Especially here, in the very setting that many horror movies originated from.

Eden, her aunt, was probably going crazy right now. Lily sighed, just thinking of the lecture she was going to receive when she returned home made her feel sick. Tonight, Eden thought Lily was at Jacob's, and even her keen love towards Lily's best friend wouldn't deter her fury. Well, at least that's where she thought Lily was. Eden didn't know that her niece was following up on a vision she'd recently had that seemed to take place in this forest, because if she did, Lily wouldn't have liked to think of the repercussions for pulling this stunt.

For once, Lily's vision wasn't of an innocent dying, but of a boy, with black wings protruding from his back. She used the term 'boy' lightly, because he'd appeared around her age, if not older. The temptation was far too great for Lily to resist, which was why she was here tonight, when she'd much rather be at home, watching Netflix with Eden.

As of that moment, she hadn't caught sight of the boy. She guessed that he'd either walked through a different part of the forest, or perhaps she'd perceived her vision incorrectly, although the latter seemed unlikely; her visions were rarely, if ever, wrong. Lily breathed through her nose as she shifted into a more comfortable position.

Suddenly, her head snapped up at the sound of a light rustle in the shrubbery before her. A deer stared back at her, startled. Lily frowned, annoyed at the false alarm, although her heart still beat just as fast, as if it were trying to beat its way from her chest.

Calm down, she thought to herself, it was just a deer. A stupid deer - not an axe murderer or your mother trying to kill you again. She closed her eyes, laying her head against the branch she was leaning against. Lily opened her eyes again once realising that closing them wasn't particularly the safest thing to do.

A laugh suddenly broke through the sounds of nature. Lily jumped, frantically scanning her surroundings. Her heart beat faster - she was sure that deers could not laugh. Well, in Disney they could, but this was anything but a fairy tale. Lily was certain that whomever had laughed was not an animal, but a boy, perhaps around nineteen or twenty.

Lily's palms broke out into a sweat as she steadily lowered herself from the tree. She considered running, but she hadn't ran for months and was typically slower than even a turtle. Staying hidden would be better. Besides, she'd probably just imagined it. Yes, that was it. The laugh was a product of her paranoid mind-set. She wasn't going to run. Instead, Lily began walking, silently cursing herself for deciding to come out so far into the forest. It'd taken almost hours to reach that cabin.

Lily ignored the sound of leaves crunching from behind her, continuously telling herself that it was just another deer. They usually travelled in herds, and the deers around this forest were used to the sight of humans. It came as no surprise to Lily that they were here. In fact, she would have laughed at herself if she weren't so terrified.

Except it wasn't her laugh that she heard. It was a low rumble, mocking her, perhaps.... and it was closer than it had been before. Lily's golden eyes widened, and seconds later, she broke into a frantic run. Her legs soon began to ache at their sudden use, but Lily didn't want to be killed here. No, she wanted to confess to Jacob that it was she who accidentally cracked his phone. Well, maybe she wouldn't, but that wasn't a concern of hers at that precise moment.

Sweat began to gather, dripping slowly down Lily's forehead in riverlets as she ran faster, her heart beating to the rhythm of her footsteps. The sound of running feet followed from behind her, and Lily would have screamed if she'd had the breath to do so. Suddenly, she tripped over a rogue branch that was laying on the ground, falling face first into the various types of debris. The sharp twigs and the rough surface created burning cuts against her hands and knees. Lily cursed, pushing herself back up as the footsteps gradually grew closer.

She glanced up, and upon sight of the edge of the forest, Lily ran faster than she ever had before in her life. Her feet were clumsily finding foothold in the ground, and her ankles continuously got caught at various roots. She panted, her breath frigid in the thick air, as she suddenly reached the edge of the forest. An overwhelming feeling of safety instantly engulfed her; it was as if there were some invisible barrier, separating Lily from whatever had just been chasing her.

From across the road, Lily stared back into the thick shrubbery as if it held some type of answer. There was a flash of movement that she saw through her peripheral vision. Lily's heart dropped two feet when she found a pair of piercing eyes staring right back at her, their gaze strong and unwavering. It was the boy. His features were sharp, and time seemed to stand still as the two of them stood there, analysing one another's appearance. The boy blinked, breaking the connection that had been forged between them. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were narrowed, as if he was confused about something. Lily frowned in response.

And, then, the boy turned and left, seeming to disappear within a blink of an eye. The boy, whomever he was, left Lily feeling alone and utterly terrified.