Curse - Book 1 of the Wexkia trilogy

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Standing in the stirrups and leaning forward over her horse’s neck, Nell burst from the rainforest. She ignored the scratches on her arms from the bushes. This was her first chance in two years. She was going to beat Sam to the end of the beach.

She glanced back and grinned. He was nowhere in sight. Urging Shrewdy faster, her hands relaxed on the reins and she kicked the mare on. All she had to do was get through the soft, deep sand onto the waterline’s hard, packed sand and no horse, not even one ridden by Sam could catch them.

About twenty metres from the forest, she glanced back again.

Sam on his brown pony moved like the wind.

Nell needed to get to the water as soon as she could. Sam’s horse was faster in the loose sand.

The earth firmed beneath as they raced along the rising tide. Finally into a full gallop, she felt Shrewdy slow and start to move sideways away from the water. Suddenly he sidestepped, nearly dropping her onto the ground. She fought to stay in the saddle and, just as she regained her seat, Shrewdy propped and came to a complete stop. Nell catapulted out of the saddle and over her mare’s neck. She groped with her fingers for handfuls of mane. Without a firm grasp, her body crashed onto the wet, sandy ground. Air burst from her lungs.

Pain filled her chest and senses as the tide surged and swirled around her head.

Fighting to gain control over her body, she gasped for a breath. A part of her knew the air would come as it always did when she was winded, but she still imagined her lungs were burst balloons. The sea sloshed in her ears and over her face. How long did it take to die?

She tried to take another breath. It still hurt but a little air flowed into her lungs. The balloons would inflate. She opened her eyes. Through the pain, she was aware she wasn’t alone in the water. A shark?

She sat up. The ocean heaved and parted. Her eyes and mouth gaped. A massive saltwater crocodile bobbed in the water less than two metres away.

Her throat slammed shut on her scream. Fear gripped her chest so tightly she expected her heart to stop beating, instead, it thundered against her ribs alerting the monster to her presence. Without taking her eyes off the salty, she turned and scrambled sideways and back like a crab. No matter how hard she tried to be quiet, her every movement shattered the silence of the beach. The dark-grey reptile moved closer and another cry choked in her throat; her heart raced faster than Shrewdy could ever gallop.

Terror sapped her strength. She stilled and sank down once more into the wet sand. Open-mouthed, she froze as the crocodile moved ever nearer with the tide. Her body refused to listen to her frantic orders to move. Although her tender lungs protested, she held her breath as, closer and closer, the wide snout approached. The water vibrated as it danced around the beast. Its gnarly nose touched Nell’s skin above her sock. She shuddered inwardly at the contact, but her body remained as still as a beached whale. Had the croc just purred?

It surged forward, wrapped its jaws around Nell’s waist and dragged her into the water. Still, she couldn’t move, couldn’t scream. What was wrong with me. I’m getting killed, Scream, you idiot. Under water now. Why was she still breathing. She checked, she wasn’t. But it felt like she was. She didn’t need air. Was she already dead?

The crocodile backed up and gazed at her with large, black orbs, not menacingly but with a penetrating interest. ‘You are not dead.’

The words touched her mind. She looked around. She and the crocodile were alone. Should she try to get away?