And before she could take another step, before she could throw her body against the golden doors … the raphon landed before her on the forest floor.
She nearly lost all control of her body as she stood face to face with the beast.
It wasn’t as large as she’d expected it to be, its beak level with her face.
But there was no mistaking the threat.
A low growl emanated from its throat; the catlike sound carried out through its curved black beak.
Its body rippled with muscle and silken fur. Beautiful, feathered black wings protruded from its shoulder blades, the feathers as long as swords. Its tail twitched back and forth as the raphon lowered itself into a crouch.
Oh, gods.
She knew that motion.
She’d seen it countless times, for it was the gesture every cat made before it pounced.
Shehatedcats.
And now she was to die by the devil’s version of one.
Slowly, it stalked towards her.
Strands of her hair pulled away from her face as it breathed in through the slits on its enormous beak. There was a massive, jagged white scar that ran across it, like lightning in a black night. She could hear the rumble deep in its chest, a low growl as it breathed her scent back out.
It smelled like blood.
It smelled like death.
I’m afraid, Ervos,Ezer thought.
A line, cast out to the only person that had ever loved her.
The thought of him was an anchor, the only thing she could cling to when she was lost in a raging storm. The ghost of Ervos’s voice whispered into her mind: along with a memory, the last time she’d spoken to him.
He’d stood on the front steps of Rendegard, one large boot already planted on the recruiting wagon that would carry him away from her.He had a worn leather bag in his hands and a desolate smile on his face.
‘Of course you’re afraid, Little Bird,’he’d said, as he placed a warm, calloused hand on her scarred cheek. ‘Fear is a part of life.’
He’d said it like he felt it too.
But he had embraced the feeling when Ezer had not.
‘We cannot erase fear. We certainly cannot kill it, for it will follow us all the days of our lives, stalking us like a panther stalks its prey.’
‘Then what am I to do?’Ezer had asked. She wanted to hold on to him, to grab onto his leg like she did when she was a child, doing her best to keep him from walking out the front door.
‘Do it in spite of the fear,’he said to her. ‘Do it afraid. All of it. Every moment in life. That’s how you beat the fear. You do it all afraid, and suddenly, it isn’t so scary anymore.’
She didn’t know what he meant then, as he climbed aboard the wagon and left her behind.
But some part of her understood now, as she lifted her hands before her. They formed a pathetic shield between her and the raphon, but it was all she had.
Blood glistened on her palms, still wet from wiping her broken nose. She didn’t know what her bare hands could do, but she knew she’d at least be remembered as someone who did not kneel in the face of death.
‘Go ahead,’she whispered, as she locked eyes with the monster, darkness incarnate. And curled her lips in a snarl. ‘Make it count.’
The beast leaned forward.
