Page 39 of The Endless Dance

I fucking bolt.

My bladder squeals and I might have pissed myself a little, but I didn’t fucking care. I’d piss in front of the entire Light Court right now if it meant putting distance between myself and that thing.

Cries of battle sound from behind me, followed by another piercing shriek from the Nuckelavee. I put my head down and fucking run. I close my fists and pump them at my sides, then open them straight, not quite remembering how the Olympians on Earth used their hands to improve their speed.

I don’t think it mattered anyway. Deep down, I knew that once the Nuckelavee was done with the fae, it would be after me. With that thought in mind, I change direction at a sharp angle. Shake it off. Shake it off. I repeat the mantra to myself over and over as I run at a pace I don’t think I have ever run in my entire life, zigzagging through the forest.

I don’t know how long I run for, but eventually I slow to a jog, then a walk, before coming to a complete standstill. I hold my breath, even as my lungs scream for relief, listening intently.

I couldn’t hear the battle anymore. There was no sound of pursuit. It didn’t mean I was safe. But I would take it.

I let myself breathe again as I turn and back myself into a tree, eyeing every shadow as if the Nuckelavee was going to burst from it at any moment. My body, I realise, is shuddering. Great, terrified tremors wrack my every nerve. I don’t think I had been this terrified even when the Skraeming Dhevilkin was chasing at my heels.

I swallow thickly and curse myself for dropping the water flask earlier. I could really do with a lick of water right now.

I let myself fall into a squat, though my thighs remain primed and alert, ready to leap into action at a split second’s notice. And that’s when it hits me. I’m alone in the Wylden forest. I wasn’t ever truly alone during The Hunt, even before I had found Akari. There were thousands of women lost among the trees. And even if I had remained alone, I had known the males were practically frothing at the bit in preparation to hunt us down.

Now, there was no one to save me. My captors were either dead or dying at the hands and hooves of the Nuckelavee. No one else knew where I was. A tiny spark of hope latches onto the memory of this ‘she’ the fae had discussed earlier, but even that flame dims when I realise that even though she had a way to find Szarzàa and the rest, there was no way for the female to find me. I was on my own and completely at the mercy of the forest and its inhabitants.

What the fuck was I supposed to do now? I let my head loll back and glance up into the branches, seemingly hundreds of metres high in the tree. During the Hunt, I had climbed a tree to get a better vantage point. I snort as I remember my stupid plan to find the clearing and return to the tents and hide in plain sight until the Hunt ended, and I was free to go home. As if they were ever going to let me go, anyway. It had been fruitless. Not only was the view of trees, trees and more trees, but the fae camp had been hours away and impossible to reach in the time frame before the males were let loose.

I quickly decide against climbing this tree. My stomach was squirming and telling me to move. Groaning, I push myself back to my feet and start walking. Right now, that was my best option. Keep moving. Get as far away from the Nuckelavee as possible.

And I prayed that I was not heading into a lair even worse than the one I had just left.

Chapter Eighteen

By the time the sun began to set, I was still wandering aimlessly, though as each hour passes my stomach squirms with anxiousness. I needed to find shelter for the night. So far, I had come upon nothing that could protect me from the creatures of the night.

As the last flickers of sunlight catch in the branches to the west, I stop where I am and look around. There was nothing else for it. I would have to climb a tree and hope that the height would be enough to keep me hidden throughout the night. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about my scent. No mud to roll in, like last time. I turn in a circle and eye the surrounding trees. Too short. No handholds. No leaves to keep me hidden.

I continue on for a few more minutes, checking for the ideal tree when suddenly the sky darkens with the sun’s departure. Well, there was nothing for it then. I walked to the closest tree and climbed it. With the sky darkening, my vision was limited, but somehow, I manage to climb the slim trunk, right up into its abundantly filled branches. I climb past the first few, then settle myself between two branches that just so happen to curl around themselves, creating an ideal nest for me to lie within without fearing too much that I would roll off.

It doesn’t take long for the branches to dig into my body, but I force myself to lie still. Especially after a horrible chorus of laughter rings through the air.

And that’s how I spend the night. Frozen and bruising, staring wide-eyed into the canopy of my tree, too scared to close my eyes as laughter, shrieks, groans, growls, snapping branches, and whispering leaves fill the night in an endless chorus. At one point, I swear something huge had picked up my scent. Great gurgling, popping noises filled the air as the massive creature circled my tree a dozen times before it sneezed and continued on its path.

When the sun finally rises, I find myself unwilling to move. I feel completely drained. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, loath to leave the temporary safety of my tree.

Unbelievably, I find myself jolting awake to a bright midday sun, a rumbling stomach, and a bursting bladder.

I wait a few minutes, listening intently. When I don’t sense any nearby movement, I push my screaming body up and lean over hesitantly. Again, I watch and listen, ears straining to catch even the smallest hint of motion, but nothing comes.

When my bladder gives an urgent tug, I decide it was time to get moving. The journey down the tree seems to take forever. My fingers scream from the timid holds against the trunk I found, but it is nothing compared to the knot in my shoulder where I had rested against a hard stump during the night.

When I reach the earth, I spin quickly, putting my back to the tree and listening intently.

Silence.

It’s eerie, especially after the loud night that had just passed. But I would take the silence.

I duck behind a shrub, even though no one is near to watch me squat and piddle in the woods. Finding another clump of moss, I pat myself dry again, then choose a direction and walk.

The afternoon drags. My throat is dry, and my stomach is hollow. But I don’t find water or fruit anywhere.

When night approaches again, I find myself another tree to climb. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t have a nest for me to lie in, so I find myself propped up with my back against the trunk and my legs straddling the branch I sit on.

The night is as long and noisy as the first, and I don’t get a wink of sleep. This time, when the sun rises and the nocturnal beasts disappear to wherever they spend their days, I get down from the tree quickly. I couldn’t waste time sleeping today. My body wouldn’t last much longer without food and water, let alone proper rest.