Page 53 of Wraithwound

Four.

There were four winged demons perched in the trees around her. They had led her away from the camp by impersonating the creature she was looking for. She didn’t know why, but the eleuth was coming to her aid, just like it had done with Taryk. Lena looked back at it, her heart swelling a little, and wondered how she was going to get back to the camp. Its answer came in one slow blink.

Turn, it seemed to be telling her. Show me the monster.

But she couldn’t become that thing again, the one who ripped hearts clean out of human chests, that could kill without mercy or regret. The thing that had murdered people she loved and consumed the entirety of who they’d once been. Unlike the eleuth that seemed to be able to control the turn, she didn’t know how. A memory struck of her being locked inside her own mind, and she gave the creature a barely perceptible shake of the head.

No, that wasn’t an option.

Instead, she searched the ground for anything she could use to fight the bird-like creatures. There were boulders and stones nearby, as well as fallen branches that might be easy to swing. Lena had just decided on a branch when the eleuth screeched. She turned just in time to see it explode out of the tree next to her at an incoming creature, all sharp claws and teeth. In the split second before they collided mid-air, she observed the multi-winged creature led with its horns, glimmering with a wet sheen.

Poison.

Lena’s concern for the eleuth was cut short as the surrounding area grew even darker. What felt like a red-hot knife sliced into her arm. Lena cried out, whirling around, but failed to see the one that had attacked her. EverGods, it burned. It felt like her flesh was melting off. And maybe it was; she didn’t have time to check. She lifted the branch, ready to swing it at the sight of one of those creatures, when she received another slice on her exposed ribs. Tucking her arms in closer to her body, she continued searching the darkness, trying to temper her growing frustration. The wretched things moved in total silence and blended almost perfectly into their surroundings. A small slice on her cheek had her grunting in annoyance and swinging the branch wildly around her.

She had no idea how the poison might affect her or how much longer she had before it would incapacitate her. As if she’d summoned it with her thoughts, her arm began to tremble slightly.

Another screech from the eleuth let her know it was still alive, still fighting. Heart hammering in her chest, Lena filed through her options. The first attack was triggered by movement so running wasn’t an option. Not to mention she couldn’t run blindly through the ever-growing darkness. The pursuit would likely work the creatures into a frenzy, and shouting for help might bring on a fiercer attack or alert other creatures to her location.

The truth of her situation was inescapable. Lena was outnumbered and injured. Despite her improved eyesight in the dark, she couldn’t see well. She was going to die in this grove of trees if she didn’t act. But she couldn’t let the wraith in, couldn’t summon it beyond Henry’s boundary; it could hurt him, or worse, kill them both. Panic crept at the edge of her indecision.

The brush of wings through the unbound hair at her neck made her entire body convulse in repulsion, and Lena spun in a circle, swinging the branch. Her injured ankle almost gave out, and she had to stifle a cry of pain as she steadied herself on the other foot.

Wings brushed past her in coordinated fashion, alerting Lena to the creature’s strategy. They were testing her and would likely ambush her all at once after ensuring she wasn’t a threat. The attack was imminent.

Panic and fear swirled low in her gut. Even with the eleuth’s help, there were too many creatures to take on. She’d come too far to let herself be eaten by these half-rotted, winged monsters. Lena swallowed her fear as she accepted what she had to do.

She couldn’t risk letting the wraith in entirely and compromising Henry’s safety, but perhaps she’d be able to let some of it in. Lena scanned her consciousness for the darkness inside her and found it instantly.

A wisp of a glittering dark mass floated before her. Lena invited it closer. But a blast of golden light batted it away. Henry. Having delved inside herself, she distantly felt two more gashes open in her flesh, one on her hip and the other on her thigh. The pain pulsed dimly in her periphery. She was out of options and time.

Lena reached for the wisp of black once more, stilling as it slithered toward her. Suddenly, she was standing inside the dome, alone. A tunnel formed through the golden light. Henry was helping her. Letting a small part of the wraith in. She gasped as the wisp of black speared through her. The darkness that filled her was ruthless, brutal, and full of ancient knowledge. And then the dome shut, cutting off the rest. The dome disappeared from her mind’s eye, and she was back in her body.

Her senses slammed into her, and Lena’s perception of her surroundings widened. The heaviness of the darkness pressed in on her, and the scent of rotting flesh and something else like pheromones, putrid and reeking, hung in the stale air. The near silent rush of air beneath a pair of wings reached her ears. And with that she sensed, more than heard, one of the creatures diving for her.

With only a second to spare before taking another injury, Lena swung the branch with every bit of strength she could muster. She was rewarded with the crack of bone. An ear-piercing shriek ruptured the unnatural silence around her, and Lena whirled, eyes raised, looking for the other two creatures.

A yelp of pain from behind startled her, and she spun again, looking for the eleuth. The distraction cost her. The remaining creatures launched their attack. White-hot pain at her shoulder and opposite arm left her gasping for air. She heard the eleuth cry out once more followed by a whimper. Lena went out of her mind with panic, searching for the furry creature who’d been fighting at her side. The creature Henry had instructed her to find.

She stumbled through the darkness searching for it, the thick branch falling from her hand before understanding crashed over her. It likely wasn’t the eleuth at all. They were mimicking it, bouncing the sound around the same way they’d lured her into the forest.

Two more slices were delivered simultaneously, the last one cutting into the flesh above her throbbing ankle. It was this last blow that flipped the switch. The wisp of darkness she’d invited in became a torrent, breaking through the dome, aimed at the burning core in the center. Lena drew it toward her instead, finally understanding she was present inside herself in two forms. Her consciousness appeared as a mirror version of herself, a human standing inside a dome of glowing light. And the burning core represented her heart. The thing the wraith fought to infect.

Lena took in more of the wraith than she wanted but managed to intercept the torrent, sparing the burning core. She was able to block some of it too, but the force continued its onslaught. She thought of Henry, his perseverance and light, and this seemed to strengthen the dome. Strengthen her.

Her whole body was trembling now, both inside her conscious mind and outside of it, as the poison seeped deeper into her muscles. A deep cut to the back of her thigh sent a spike of pain that cut through her consciousness, and her leg gave out. She lost her balance and fell, hitting her head on a small boulder. The torrent of glimmering black ceased. Back in her body, she rolled over and clutched her head.

Lena pushed herself up from the ground, anger rising swiftly within her. First at herself for being so foolish and weak, and then at the wraith now starting to roil inside her for thinking it could just commandeer her body.

The rage seemed to sharpen her senses to a finer degree, the details of her surroundings becoming clearer. The pain of her injuries dimmed, and time slowed. Lena rose to her full height, the burning in her veins easing as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She was likely going to die, but before she did, she’d be damned to hell if she didn’t make sure every single one of these creatures accompanied her into the depthless abyss.

On the exhale, she perceived a disturbance in the air—no, two of them. They came from opposite directions, horns angled to inflict the most damage. In response to the threat, her nails extended further out of her fingertips, becoming claws, as she reached into the air to snatch the closest creature from where it flew. She shredded through layers of leathery wings as she squeezed. Lena ripped the wretched thing’s head clean off the rotting body, ignoring the sting of pain as it bit into her hand.

Discarding the mutilated creature, she went still, ready to snatch the other one out of the air, when the eleuth flew in from her periphery and pinned the remaining creature into a tree. It pulled its head back and extended its jaw before ripping a small, black heart out its chest. A smile of satisfaction at the savage kill pulled the corners of her lips up.

The rage felt so good. It was freeing. Until she realized it wasn’t hers, but the wraith’s. She was on the verge of losing herself, teetering at the edge of a cliff so tall that if she fell, it would be the end of her. The end of them.

Fighting to stay in control, she sought to expel the darkness she’d taken in. It coursed through her, looking for a way in, a way to shake the little control she’d managed. Lena looked at the eleuth, eyes wide with fear.