Page 28 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

I was about to question what she was talking about when my magic lit up inside me, churning viciously. Maybe it was still areaction to her, or maybe it was something else. Either way, I wasn’t going to wait around to find out.

“Thank you,” I told the witch before turning back down the street at a quick pace.

I continued making my way back out of the market, only a few vendors remained, the rest having closed up shop long ago.

How long had I been with the witch Scribe?

As I continued to make my way through the winding streets, the hairs on the back of my neck raised.

I had the distinct feeling I was being followed.

I knew it was risky to travel alone to this part of Cel Nox at this time of night. I only hoped I wouldn’t pay for my stupidity. I took a random turn down an alley, hoping to brush them off my scent if they were in fact, following me.

I wasn’t familiar enough with this part of the city to use my enhanced speed, the streets were too close together. I’d have to stop every few feet to ensure I didn’t run into anything. Once I got back to the main part of the city I’d have a clear shot back to the palace.

But as I returned to the main road, the feeling continued.Fuck.

I decided to risk it. I used my speed, stopping a few feet ahead, before moving again.

Still, the presence followed.

A rancid smell filled my nostrils as I continued and a rustling sound filled my ears as I approached the entrance to an alley. I should have continued forward, I was almost at the stretch where I would be home free to the palace, but I looked down the alley.

A form cast in shadows was bent over a body lying in ribbons on the ground. Blood pooled around them, dripping down the cobblestones and the stench—that was where the smell was coming from. I covered my nose with the back of my hand.

I needed to get out of here. There was no saving whoever that was.

I backed down the alley, unable to look away from the scene before me. I stumbled, catching myself on the side of the building as my foot hit a crate. Causing the person to look over their shoulder at me.

No.

Not a person.

A creature or something. I didn’t know what this thing was.Something not natural.The witch Scribe had said. This was certainly not natural.

Its body resembled a Fae, but it was all wrong. They were all skin and bones and long, gangly limbs. Even under the dark light, I could tell they were not alive, or not fully alive anymore. Their skin was the ashen color of a corpse. Had they somehow been brought back to life?

A growl left the creature’s lips as it surveyed me. Giving me only a moment’s notice before it bounded towards me.

I ran.

Even as I ran away from the creature, its smell followed me. It reeked of death and decay.

I used my enhanced speed, appearing at the end of an alley instead of the street.Fuck.

I cursed as I came to a dead end. In an instant, the creature was on me. Its long nails dug into my back as it leaped for me, pushing me to the ground. A groan fell from my lips as I landed on the bricks.

I rolled to my back and kicked my legs out, hitting the creature in the chest, pushing it back an inch, giving me the space I needed to reach for my sword at my back.

Blood spilled from the creature’s lips from its last victim, landing in droplets on my face. He hissed as its claws ripped into my side, exposing the irregularly long fangs protruding from its mouth. I gritted my teeth against the pain in my side as I kickedagain, this time pushing the creature back far enough so I could roll out from under it.

I rose to a crouch as the creature turned its attention back on me, its eyes were hollowed and rimmed in red. Its pupils wholly black. Whatever in the goddess name this thing was, it needed to die right fucking now.

The creature charged towards me again, flashing those impossibly long fangs and claws.

With one swift arc of my sword, the creature’s head fell from its neck. Black rotted blood spurting me in the process.

I didn’t care to stay and see if the thing was dead.

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