Him and my own eagerness to find out more about the human looking monster.
And now I know?
I’m not sure if I should believe him. It could all be lies. Or every word could be the truth. And none of it matters until we are well away from this place.
Cillian tilts his head.
I hold my breath, my nerves strumming with tension. I can’t hear anything over my own heartbeat. But I feel a tremor of something.
I exhale slowly and turn so we are back to back. Whatever is coming will have to face one of us.
“To your left,” he says.
I turn my head, hoping it’s our captor. At least then I know what I’d be facing. At first I don’t see anything in the shadows of the rocks, then eyes glint golden for a second and it’s enough to make me want to run.
While I’m used to hunting monsters, I’m also used to having a gun and knives in my hands. My grip tightens on the bone.
“How far will we get if we run?”
“Not far enough, and we aren’t anywhere near my bike.”
“Great,” I say through gritted teeth. “Where are we?”
“No idea.”
“Even better.” If we don’t find shelter and water come daylight, we’re fucked. “Any ideas?”
“Survive?”
“You’re not very good at the whole planning thing, are you?” I pass him the bone as three of the dannedd break out of the shadows and start mincing over the sand like crocodiles, but with long spindly legs. The starlight catches on their scales and they almost sparkle. If their teeth weren’t so big, and I wasn’t their dinner, they might have an ethereal beauty about them.
“You see that darkness between the rocks?”
“The shadow?”
“Look closer.”
I peer into the darkness and I feel like I’m about to fall over and get sucked in. I take a step back and bump into him. “What is it?”
“The breach.”
The dannedd are getting closer. Slinking over the sand. “Can we shoo them back in?”
He glances at me, then back at the dannedd. “I think they know where to go to get a feed.”
“This was a trap set for a rider.”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I should’ve realized something wasn’t right.”
“It was a good trap.” The man knew what he wanted, the necklace, and had planned a way to ensure it arrived in his hands. “But he didn’t expect me.”
“True.” Cillian smiles. “Got any ideas?”
“Don’t get eaten because I’m not dragging your corpse out of here.”
“Come daylight, that won’t be a problem, I’ll be dust.”
While that would make my life easy, I’d also be alone out here. I glare at him. “Don’t get any ideas.”
