With wide eyes, I sat up, mouth open.
I was lying on a path in a forest of flowering trees.
Far off in the distance, there were rolling green hills and a glittering blue lake.
There was a giant hole at the top of the mountain, and sunlight streamed through.
The nature wasinsidethe mountain.
It was magical.
Birds with long purple tails and yellow puffs on their heads spiraled lazily above in the pleasant air. Red monkey-like creatureshooted at each other as they raced atop the pink-covered tree branches.
The lake sparkled, and elk-like creatures with strange horns grazed on its banks. A creature with tentacles and a beak slithered out of the water and disappeared into the tall grasses.
Initiates entered and wandered in all directions, heads tipped back and mouths open.
A paradise in the middle of hell.
Smiling, feeling like Eve, I ambled to my feet. There was a low hair-raising growl to my right.
I froze.
A sleek orange cheetah-esque creature with fangs as long as my forearm crouched low and growled, muscles bunched, ready to pounce.
I looked around—it was just the two of us.
“Good kitty,” I whispered.
Dagger-like nails exploded from paws, and it hacked violently.
“Bad kitty?”
It snapped its wicked fangs three times, then turned and sprinted off into the forest.
“Wow,” Nyx hissed on my neck. “That cat really hatedyou.”
Jumping, I clutched my heart. “Or maybe she was growling at you.”
“Please,” Nyx scoffed like the idea was preposterous. “She gave me a nod of respect, before she told you to get lost or she’d eat your spine.”
“Wait”—I narrowed my eyes—“can you speak cheetah-thing?”
“No, I ad-libbed.”
Rolling my eyes, I pulled at her. “Okay, well she was probably threatened by your poisonous self, so get off me and slither around. Be free, birdy.”
I tried to throw Nyx into the air, but she wrapped around my arm like a vise.
“Ow, that hurts.” I yelped, grateful the rest of the initiates wereoff exploring so they wouldn’t have to watch me fight my invisible frenemy.
“Well, it hurts my feelings that you were going to throwme into the air like a common pigeon,” Nyx hissed as she refused to let go.
Grunting, I used my other hand to try to dislodge her from my forearm.
“Just meet me back here in a few hours,” I suggested like a reasonable adult.
She tightened until my hand turned purple. I lay on my back and used both feet.
