A screech in the air and athwackand my lips part, my mouth falling open. It swings its head around, roaring, and another arrow finds purchase in its throat.The fuck?
The stumble turns into a crash, and then I gasp as an arrow of fire explodes through the air, hitting the monster with a burst of flames. Its heavy form slams to the ground, creating a silence that leaves my ears ringing.
Three arrows protrude from the creature as flame and smoke curl around it. It’s still and, I hope to hell, dead. It’s gotta be, right? Flames like that seem like kiln levels of hot.
With ragged breaths, I reach out to Jamie, my shaky hand latching onto his leg.
“What happened?” he whispers.
I dare not take my attention off the purple creature. Who knows if those arrows have killed it or not? Jesus, its brain could be in its arse for all I know.
“Someone did us a solid and took it down.” I squint at the arrows, trying to get a better look at them. They don’t look like they’re made of carbon or even aluminium.
“Who?”
I shake my head and finally risk looking around. “I don’t?—”
“Come.” The gruff voice takes me by surprise. I don’t even have enough time to lift my shotgun before the raspy “There will be more.Klaustrashunt in packs. That will have been its scout” has me turning in circles, searching for the source.
A flicker of light in the shadows catches my eye. Movement follows, and then I freeze, gawping like a kangaroo who just spotted a dingo wearing a koala costume.
“You and the human child—come with me if you want to live.”
A bubble of amusement, completely inappropriate given the situation, clogs my throat. Did he really go all Arnie on me?
“Uncle Jack.”
I quickly turn to Jamie, and my humour dissipates. The colour has drained from his face, but fuck if the determination staring back at me doesn’t get me to move my arse.
This… person… creature… monster—who knows what the fuck he is, though I am sure it’s male—killed theklaus-thingy, which is the reason that Jamie and I are still breathing.
“We need to move.” He, the monster with pearlescent horns protruding from his head, looks at the destruction the six-legged creature left behind. His muscles tense, and fuck if there aren’t a shitload of those muscles on display beneath his deep red skin.
His gaze moves to mine, and I hold my breath. While I have no idea what this guy’s species is, he has two eyes, albeit large ones and with no eyebrows or lashes, and he’s humanoid—well,he is walking on two legs—and that means I need to make eye contact. I give myself the barest of seconds to meet his gaze and hope to God I can trust him.
Vibrant golden orbs peer back at me. They’re beautiful, incandescent. Whether that means he’s leading us into a trap or not, who the hell knows. But for now, the odds of us being safer with him are as good a bet as any.
“Okay.” I mount Geralt, finding comfort in settling on his saddle. That my horse isn’t freaking out and going wild at the red creature’s proximity has to mean something, too, right?
“Stay close,” I say to Jamie as I get Geralt moving.
We weave carefully through the trees, the almost-fiery strands floating from our rescuer’s head a beacon in the diminishing light. He’s moving fast, though, and easier than I could through the trees. And even faster than us on the horses.
We weave through strange-shaped plants and foliage and trees that I struggle to make sense of. We do so accompanied by nothing but the sound of our horses’ hooves on the sandy ground. I have no idea how long we’ve been moving, but the “Not far” makes me jolt. His unusually accented words drift behind him, catching on the breeze as we continue to follow. The sound sends a ripple over my skin, goose bumps following in its wake.
“You speak English,” I say, my voice rough with nerves when he slows his pace as we reach a point where it’s necessary for Jamie and me to dismount. With our feet now on the ground, we’re slower.
“Yes” drifts back to me, sending the small hairs on my skin into overdrive, but he doesn’t stop pushing through the dense trees.
He doesn’t offer more, and even without instruction, I figure he needs us to stay quiet.
A loud thud followed by a crash reaches us. The creature stills and raises his four-fingered hand. Jamie and I stop instantly,our breaths catching, though I rub soothing circles on Geralt’s neck, hoping to calm him—or me—while I reach for Jamie’s hand. It trembles in mine.
Fear tries to crawl up my throat, and it takes every semblance of control I have to swallow it down. I need to be strong for Jamie. The poor kid’s teeth are practically chattering despite his straight back and the way he’s lifted his chin.
A gravelled “Wait” has me swallowing hard as I watch the red-skinned creature walk away from us, his footfalls impossibly light for someone his size.
Tension vibrates through my limbs, and I’m tempted to ask where the hell he’s going while also feeling the need to plead for him not to abandon us. Out of my depth and beyond confused, I still need to protect Jamie, survive, and not freak out completely. I don’t think I can do this alone.
