I give the quill a bemused look. Keeping it gripped in my hand, I lay my head back and listen to the beast that’s drawing closer. Stupid thing is confident that it has killed its prey. Stupid bitch. Would this quill work against it? Is it immune to its own poison?
Carrying anything with you can be cumbersome, so you learn quickly that if something doesn’t fit in your pocket, it’s not worth taking. It’ll slow you down, catch on something, or prevent youfrom getting through a small space, and any short seconds that it impedes your progress will almost guarantee your life.
One of the few things I carry on me is a thick, durable elastic band. It wraps around my waist three times before being tied off. Because it’s so close to my skin, it rarely becomes a hindrance when I run.
Time to use it like a slingshot. If this thing is going to take me out, I’m at least going to have fun with it first. I’m going to make it work extra hard for its meal.
I tie it off into a loop then wrap it around the shorter tomb in front of me. Every slight movement of my leg has me gasping. The feeling of pins driving into my bones is intense, instantly bringing tears to my eyes. I’ve never felt pain like this. What a cruel way to kill your meal.
As I get into position, I realize that the quill beast must have the ability to digest its own poison since it consumes its meal once it dies by quill injection. That’s a little disheartening. But what if it’s injected as well? Is there even any poison left in this thing?
And really, why is it wasting its time on me? I’m not going to be enough for a big meal like breakfast for this thing, though I suppose when you’re that big, every bite counts.
I brace my foot against the base of the stone and push myself backward. From where it’s lurking, about dozens of tombstones away, the thing sees me. I swear, the new clacking sound it makes means it’s laughing at me.
Joke’s on you, fucker.I pull back as far as I can, take aim, and let the thing go.
It watches me the entire time. Studying me. Waiting to see what I’m going to do. Like I’m an animal it’s trying to figure out.
I end its entertainment when the quill embeds in its neck. The beast rises on its back legs and screams into the air.
I haul myself to my feet, grab my elastic band, and take off as fast as I can. My adrenaline is the only thing keeping me on my feet through the pain. Stones get hurled in my direction. More quills are shot, slamming into graves and trees. The only reason I’m not hit is because I’m not running in a straight line.
My luck runs out when a stone slams into my back. I hit the ground hard, the impact jarring my brain and making the world spin. I roll until I’m pressed against an altar-shaped stone.
Now that I’m down, the pain in my leg permeates my adrenaline. The poison has moved into my hip now. I roll in time to vomit beside me instead of on myself. The world around me becomes murky, blurry. I hear my heart in my ears, loudly thumping in the forefront as the beast screams furiously.
It should be on me by now, but it’s… fighting? Or is it just mad at me? Angry that I threw its weapon back at it?
I’m about to pass out when a pair of hands wraps around my arm and haul me to my feet. “Up you go, human.”
The world isn’t steady though. Everything rocks violently.
“Woah. Okay, you’re worse than I thought. Come on, then.”
He takes my arm and wraps it around his shoulders. I’m half dragged and half running along with him while behind us, the quill beast continues to bellow its rage. There are stones flying and exploding against other stones.
But… not in this direction. Has Kaida rounded back this way?
Quickly, we move through the cemetery before practically tumbling down a grassy hill that opens on the end to a row of crypt doors. He throws one open and brings me inside, setting me on the ground to the left of the door.
I look up at him, and… he’s a monster. Okay, he looks human in shape, but his skin is glittering with a gold shimmer like he’s covered in golden sand. His eyes have a golden hue to them, and his hair is gold too. He has silver chains wrapped around hisarms and torso, which make a stunning contrast to his golden glow.
He stands just inside the door. A ray of sunlight moves into the doorway, illuminating him like a glowing beacon.
I’m at an angle where I can’t see outside, so I stare at the monster instead. He’s watching what’s happening outside, but I’m not sure what he’s looking at since the quill beast was behind the crypt we’re now sitting in.
He moves, and two others come running into the crypt. One slides, his laughter filling the air. The other feels like a dark cloud as he saunters in. Dark as night except for the cracks in his skin that glow white. They pulse and flicker as if there’s fire burning under his skin, and his eyes have the same shimmer.
The golden man slams the door shut and throws the bar to lock it just as something slams into it. Dust rains down on us, and a shiver runs through me.
It’s difficult to concentrate, though, since the pain in my leg is beginning to move through my body. Does adrenaline make it move more rapidly, or is it slowing it down? I’m contributing to the speed of my death right now, aren’t I?
Sunlight moves around the room, and the beast screams outside. Another slam shakes the walls of the crypt on the side of the hill.
I close my eyes, trying to keep whatever's left in my stomach from coming up. The sounds around me begin to fade as my pulse gets louder and louder in my ears. I can feel my heartbeat in a way that can’t be normal. In every limb. Every nerve ending. Every inch of my body pulses uncomfortably.
“There we go,” a voice says, and I open my eyes.
