Never run unless you want to be chased.
I scramble to grab my things and head back to the trail that will take me home, but the woods suddenly go silent. A chill creeps up my spine, and the sweat rolling down my arms feels like ice. The only sound is my heart pounding in my chest and the whoosh of blood in my ears with each heavy beat. I’ve spent my entire life in these woods, and I know that this is when I should be the most afraid. I ended someone’s life today, sent their life force fading out into the water, a gruesome calling card to whatever might feed off that vitality. Darkness calls to darkness.
Movement from the tree line appears from the corner of my eye.
Don’t look.
I know better than to look.
Mattie, don’t look. There’s no one out here with you.
I will every muscle in my neck not to turn my head. Instead, I move as calmly, but quickly, as I can up the trail to my cabin. It rips away any peace I might have found from the lake and my offering to it and replaces it with a sense of overwhelming dread. The wind skitters across the back of my neck, but the leaves on the trees stay motionless. A wave of nausea rolls through me with each step I take. Beads of sweat roll down my temples.
Keep moving.
I’m halfway there, so close that my body begs me to bolt to safety. The cabin’s back door is now visible through the trees. Just a little further. That’s when I hear it—loud at first, like someone is shouting in my ear.
“Hey!”
Nope, not today.
The voice is eerily familiar, the same raspy tone as the man from the lake. A lump bobs in my throat and I pick up my pace without breaking into a run, but it’s physically painful. I don’t want to give whatever is following me a reason to chase me. The voice continues growing gradually fainter until it’s almost a whisper. Ma will tell you the farther away the voice sounds, the closer it actually is. Every hair on the back of my neck stands up and my heart pounds hard enough to break free of its cage. The muscles in my back twitch. The pull to turn around is overwhelming and I strain to keep looking towards my cabin and continue at a steady pace.
I’m almost there. Fifty more steps. Thirty. Fifteen. Five. Three. One.
The porch creaks under my bare feet with each step, and I feel the surrounding air lighten. I’ve drawn something out of the woods with this kill and, for once, I hope it’s just my guilty conscience following me.
CHAPTER TWO
ripp
Aripple of energy rolls through me, turning my attention to whatever the source is behind me. I lift my head to allow the scent on the wind to invade the nostril holes in my skull. The bitter smell of human death mixes with the mustiness of lake water, but there’s an interesting sweetness to it too. My curiosity heightens at the prospect of an easy soul to harvest.
I change directions to drift to the nearest water source. The bramble opens before me, allowing a path through its thorny vines. The intensity of the scent grows, and a lake appears through the trees. The light from the setting sun reflects off the surface of the water then dances across the tree trunks. I creep as close as I can while still hiding in the shadows.
Movement in the middle of the lake draws my gaze. A beautiful creature glides through the water, her dark hair fanning out across the surface. It’s the same deep, earthy brown as wet soil after fresh rain. Behind her is the source of the wave of energy and the smell—an offering. The storm of shadow and mist around me builds into a hurricane of hunger.
I watch her crawl into the boat. She tediously attaches a rope and then a large block to her gift for me. The body drifts away from the small boat she found safety in before sinking uselessly into the depths below. Another breeze carries a final wave of vitality across the water, making its way to me. I inhale deeply, sinking my claws into the soft soil, and I have to will my magic to remain calm.
The tiny creature sinks to her knees, pawing at herself. She doesn’t know what she called to her. She’s only lost in her delicate human emotions. My interest peaks when she stands to jump back into the lake. Is she offering herself to me as well? Anticipation vibrates in my bones, and I hear a garbled scream. A rush of tiny bubbles speckle the water just before she comes up for air.
I need to leave before the incessant yearning inside me demands to be satiated. I turn to go just as I see her climb back into the boat and row to shore. The thought of her burns inside me. The call of her soul is impossible to ignore, a song that can’t be unheard. Its melody reverberates in my chest as I try to distance myself, but just as it fades, her scent carries to me again—an irresistible aroma that doesn’t fail to send me spiraling back into madness.
I move through the tight cluster of trees, stalking my prey, sticking to the edges of her vision. Her movements tense as she tries to control her urge to run. Fear floods from her. Strings of dark, liquid magic hang from my bony jaw like drool as I salivate at the thought of her running. I picture the way the muscles in her legs would contract and expand as she pumps them faster in a desperate attempt to flee. I run my tongue over my teeth, thinking of that delicious moment I finally descend on her.
“Hey!” I call out, and I wonder what voice she’s hearing. Is it a friend, maybe? A lover? The notion sends rage crashing through me. No, based on her thundering heartbeat and the look on her face, it’s a voice she shouldn’t be hearing.
“Hey!” I call again, starting to close the gap between us. She still doesn’t run. Each step she takes is stiff, forced. Once I’m parallel to her, still covered by the trees, I whisper once more to her. “Hey!”
I know she can feel how close I am. The hair on her neck sticks up and her breathing is uneven. We’re almost to a small cabin, just a few more steps left. Her relief cascades down her body when she finally reaches the porch. She has gotten away, for now.
Pangs of hunger stab at me as she bounds inside the cabin, disappearing behind the door. I whimper at the loss of her and turn to fade back into the woods. I need to find my next soul to siphon to fill the void she left. Maybe a fresh kill will taper this overwhelming burn of desire.
The insects buzzingin the surrounding woods are the only sounds in this still clearing. My body hums with electricity from the energy siphoned from my fresh kill. This shit never gets old. Every soul for the last thousand years has felt like the first. I thrive off the madness in the eyes of each human before they succumb to their final nightmare. It’s the only thrill keeping me in this world.
I lick the blood off each sharp, bony claw, savoring the coppery tang. I groan, reminiscing the moment the spark of light went out of his eyes and a cold, empty stare took its place. The bitterness of his soul as I sucked it in is still thick on my tongue.
I walk to where I’ve unceremoniously laid out my offering to whatever can feast upon the remains. The empty shell is a reminder of the weakness of humanity. Humans are all so fragile, insects waiting to be crushed.
