Page 9 of Shadowed Summer Sun
Badb cawed at me, annoyed but agreeing.
Do not follow strange lights into the woods.
I stepped into the evergreen glade and toward the glowing lights that now hummed their soft light in waves, leading the way. Doom or fortune awaited those that followed the Ol’ Willowies in equal measure. They merely showed the destined path, offering no guidance or control, and so I followed, knowing full well an In-Between lay ahead.
Beneath the too-tall trees and through the too-cool forest, shadows hung thick, casting everything in a teal twilight that never ended. I focused on the protective stones that encircled my fingers and filled my pack. Retrieving the thistle flower and holding it tight, I looked for the next light, following it deeper into the darkened wood.
I couldn’t see the sky through the thick canopy, and the black Shadows lengthened as I followed the Ol’ Willowies past a stand of massive willow trees. Their long, swaying branches created curtains that hid what lay beyond. As if the place under the trees was a separate realm altogether. Knowing the Fae, it likely was. A demi-plane pocket of reality that existed just past the borders of the Mortal Realm and a potent In-Between.
The lights dimmed and danced too quickly, and I lost sight of my true path. Turned around beneath the willow branches, I couldn’t find the way forward through the trees. My heart pounded, and sweat broke across my forehead, chilled by the cool Green Lands air.
Reaching for the willow tree’s trunk, I fell against the bark, tripping over a hidden root. I put my forehead on the tree, the rush of my pulse thundering in my skull.
“Willow, guide me.”
Badb crowed behind me, an edge of alarm in her call. I spun around.
“You’re not supposed to be in here. What is it?”
I looked around the small space beneath the tree, unable to make out anything in the Darkness beyond the branches.
Cursing with a huff, I looked back at my crow. “What is—“
The black shadow under the branches grew, swelling up from the Earth and coalescing into something tangible. The ropes of Shadow wrapped around the long willow branches, moving them across the air toward me.
I tried to flee, but the magicked branches were too quick, and several snaked around my arms and legs, lifting me from the ground. I felt the claws then, the grim realization that the In-Between had acted as a doorway once more. He’d found me within the shadows, seeking me out like a hunter stalking prey.
His claws dug into my scalp as the willow branches and Shadows squeezed down on my biceps and thighs. Suspended in the air, I held the thistle tight and worked to summon up some flame from deep within.
Gripping my hair and pulling my head backward, his invisible Highness dragged a hand down my neck, palming my throat and cutting off my air. I fought uselessly against his hold as the branches pushed me back against the willow trunk, my conjured fire dying in my fingertips. The King’s claws released my hair as I came flush against the scratchy bark. He slid his massive hand down my body, taking my breast in his grip and squeezing.
I groaned at the pain and intimacy swirling together. Cracking my lids in yet another attempt to see him, see what he was doing, I was met with the sight of my body trussed up against the broad tree as more Shadows crept up from the forest floor and moved toward me.
They slithered across my skin, taking in every inch of me and slipping under my skirts. The King’s grip on my throat released, and I heaved in a breath.
“Stop,” I gritted out, “I have no time for this.”
“Miiiiine.”
His words in my unconscious were like bathing in frigid water, slicing into me and drawing out goosebumps. I quivered, shaking from the depth of Shadow caressing my skin. Struggling against the branches, I stilled when a small portion of the King’s Shadows seemed to melt into my arm. I prepared for pain, for Death, and it was there.
But it was mine.
At once, I saw the Ol’ Willowies’ path, the blinking lights frozen in place light lanterns leading the way to Bluestack Jack deep within the Green Lands. I saw his hut in shambles, innocently waiting for someone fool enough to approach. I saw what I needed to do.
Unceremoniously I was dropped to the ground, landing on my hands and knees in the soft moss beneath the willow tree. The Shadows receded, but that tiny bit that had seeped into me remained pulsing through my veins. It was cold, hard, and tinged with the endlessness of Death.
And it was mine.
Catching my breath, Badb hopped toward me, looking up at me from the Earth with worry.
“I’m… I’m all right.”
She cawed.
“I don’t know what that was!”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my mind away from the wetness between my thighs.
