Page 59 of Primal Hunger
Syros can’tseehis opponent.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Syros
The Ech is known for its brutality.
Driven by an insatiable hunger not unlike the one Grims suffer, the creatures prowl across our land stealing resources and demolishing anything in their path. They aremindless, killing machines, whose only instinct is to survive… by any means necessary.
They have destroyed our world, reduced it to a rotting carcass of what it once was, and have killed many Grim.Too many.
And this one has set its sights on me.
If only I could say the same.
The Ech’s most powerful—and endlessly infuriating—attribute is that they are invisible, making them nearly impossible to fight. Impossible to kill.
The underbrush shifts suddenly, and I launch myself out of the way, rolling through the grass and twigs, and landing on my feet once again. My hackles raise and I growl, hoping the fury in my roar will scare the beast off. It doesn’t.
Instead, the creature makes an angry hissing noise and takes several thunderous steps to the right, readying to charge again.
Echs are notorious wanderers. The stench of rotting corpses clings to them, the most obvious sign when one is near. Their guttural bellows and clacking teeth are also giveaways. But aside from the impression of their footsteps in the underbrush, the small plants bending and crunching under their weight, I can’t see them.
Though I’m no stranger to Echs, I’ve only fought a few since they first appeared many years ago. They rarely venture into this part of the woods, mainly because all the life that once existed here is long dead.Except for me.
Perhaps it caught a whiff of my scent the last time I foraged for food, or maybe the thing somehow picked up Erin’s human scent. While the gollilock plant can mask her from other Grims, there’s a chance the invisible beast has an extraordinary sense of smell. Maybe it scented her beneath the strong florals. Maybe it showing up now, of all times, is merely chance.
Hopefully, the latter. My entire plan to keep Erin for myself depends on my ability to keep her hidden, and if the other beasts in this realm can track her easily… Keeping her hidden won’t be an option.
My tongue flicks out to taste the air in anticipation of the Ech’s next move.
I could run; Ech’s might be brutal when it comes to combat, but they aren’t faster than Grims. I could lead it away from the hovel and lose it somewhere in the trees, but I can’t. Not when Erin is tucked just inside the nearby stone structure, unable to protect herself. I won’t leave her defenseless.
I won’t leave her.
Thoughts of my little human have a fresh wave of adrenaline shooting through me, and my hands curl into fists. This time when the Ech lunges at me, I stand my ground, crouching low and leaping at the last second. I slam into a slender form wrapped in leathery, armor-like skin. With a howl, the beast staggers away clumsily, and I whirl around to track its uneven footsteps through the grass.
I lurch forward without a second though, swiping my claws at where the Ech stood half a heartbeat earlier. It jumps out of the way to avoid my attack, and I growl out my frustration.
This isn’t good. Unless I can wound it, the beast will simply dance around me until I wear out from exhaustion, biding its time until it can kill me and Erin. Until it can feast on our carcasses, drain the marrow from our bones.
We dance around one another, my senses on high alert while I wait for sudden movements. It’s getting too close to the house, too close toher.
I need to draw it away, deeper into the woods…
Movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, and my gaze flicks toward the fabric-covered entrance of my hovel.There, just visible in the darkness, is a wisp of silver hair and a sliver of Erin’s pale face.
No.
Erin is watching.
Erin is here, and the scent of the gollilock plant will only protect her for as long as it takes me to die.
My flash of distraction costs me everything, and the Ech slams into me full force, knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, the air ripping from my lungs, and slide to a top with the weight of the invisible beast crushing down on me. I snap my jaws up at the empty space above me, hoping to grab any part of the creature between my teeth, but something wraps around my horn and slams my head against the ground.
I swipe at the beast with my claws, swinging my limbs and bucking against its hold, but I miss every time. Fury boils my blood, but everything around me shatters when white-hot pain rips through my side. Something hard like bone sinks between my ribs, and I roar, my rage exploding out of me.
