Page 32 of Hellish Witch

There’d be dangers the second I stepped within its embrace.

With a final look back at the Hybrid Kingdom and its mismatched wonder, I strode into the Bloodwood.

Chapter 11

Crickets chirped at me as I waded through the long grass.

A fallen pine created a gap in the leafy canopy, letting colourful wildflowers run riot in the moonlit clearing. Their earthy perfume calmed me, despite the blood-like sap dripping from the dominant redwoods forming a gory backdrop.

Stars peeked here and there through the cloud cover. Moonlight pierced the canopy, but shadows owned the Bloodwood. I’d been walking for hours since I fled my home this morning, and it wouldn’t be long before I’d have to set up camp for the night.

I hiked my pack higher, keeping my senses alert. The forest was eerily gorgeous, with tiny hints of colourful bioluminescence glowing from clustered petals.

Firebugs lazily buzzed through the air, helping illuminate the leaf litter. My night vision was nowhere near as good as most demons’, so I couldn’t help but thank the little critters for their help. As if they could feel my gratitude, a few more drifted into the path I took, creating a loose cloud of light in front of me.

Something inside me lit up too, a faint impression on the edges of my mind.

I frowned but ignored the sensation. Too many weird things were going on inside me as it was. I felt like I was going through a second puberty, and it was so unfair I wanted to hiss and stomp my foot like an actual teen.

I’d already undergone the most awkward sexual awakening for my succubus energy needs. I’d done my time.

I drew fresh air deep into my lungs. The moment I stepped into the human realm, I’d miss it. That and the balmy warmth of Hell.

A hungry energy buzzed through my chest, along with the dark undertone I’d come to fear. I chewed my lip as I walked, ignoring the nervous giggle trying to bubble up as a multitude of worries swept.

That hungry darkness was the whole reason I was traipsing through the Bloodwood. I’d do anything to keep my hybrid family safe.

A low growl rumbled through the trees.

I swallowed thickly, holding still as I scanned for the threat my instincts screamed was close.

Apparently, the “anything” might include getting eaten by one of the many beasties who called the Bloodwood home.

My magic hummed, as if it could sense the danger slinking closer.

The hungry darkness within writhed excitedly at the thought.

Through the trees, a creature appeared.

Shadows swathed its frame, hiding its true size. From this distance, I couldn’t tell if it was some feral beast or Night, another of Rex’s inner circle of enforcers. The brooding bastard was already topside, though, dealing with some other secretive mission.

The shadows tightened, condensing into a solid form on all fours, easily taller than I was and twice the bulk.

This was no friend of mine.

Invisible tendrils reached out from the magic inside me, tracing over the beast. The faint wisps tickled at my intuition.

“Fires.” The whispered curse fell from my lips.

Apparently, this must be the karma humans loved banging on about, since what remained of the deadly shadow boar’s kin was wrapped neatly in my pack.

Maybe it’d sniffed it out and come for revenge.

I held my hands out at my sides, preparing to swipe my knives from their sheathes around my hips and thighs. I’d laced half of them with beastbane, a rare poison from a pretty flower that Zoella had taken a liking to.

The other half was my own concoction from the bloodbores outside my house.

Slowly, so as not to startle the boar into attack, I unsheathed one of each type, savouring the knives’ scant weight in my palms.

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