Page 13 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

The banshee seized the opportunity.

Scuttling toward me, her jagged fingers gripped my hair.

A hot scream ripped through my lungs.

Tugging me backward, I fell to the ground.

Pain rattled through my mind, hardening the breath in my chest. I gasped for air.

“Help!” I called out, but the banshee ran at a pace the men had trouble keeping up with. Rocks and branches bruised my body as she dragged me deeper into the thick forest, ripping my hair from my head. The pain blinded me more than the darkness.

I grasped at anything to slow her down, but the small brush slipped through my wet fingers. Deep snow made it impossible for me to dig my heels in. Her rotting flesh brought acid to my throat. Gripping the hilt of my dagger, I thrust it into her abdomen, twisting through the aged flesh and bone. Howls of pain mixed with the sound of metal on bone echoed through the silent forest.

She released my hair and I scrambled to my feet.

Baring her rotting teeth, she sat back on her haunches, preparing to launch her decaying body at me.

A guttural screech rippled through my lungs, unleashing a rage long dormant—monsters didn’t scare me.

Just try to kill me, you bitch.I know you can hear me.

She lunged with all of her might, knocking me to the ground, jagged nails clawing at my face. I held her wrists to block herattacks, but the tips of her nails still scraped against my lips, drawing blood.

Thrusting my boot into her abdomen, she tumbled backward, hitting her empty head on a rock.

Pinning her down with my mind, I searched for any humanity left in her, but found none. No kernel of the person she had been. Not even an ancient memory of a life long gone.

Writhing in pain, she tried to free herself—scraping her claws wildly at my face. But decades of decay weakened her addled mind.

The hate in her hollow eyes dimmed as I slid my dagger into her side once more. Brittle bone cracking against cold hard dragon steel.

Her body spasmed as the last bit of life faded into oblivion.

Sinking to my knees, I let out a breath. My muscles still twitching. Whether it was from the withdrawal or the fight I did not know.

Caiden and Roderick trampled through the woods after me.

“Thanks for the help,” I said sarcastically, pointing my dagger coated in the banshee’s black blood at them—my chest heaving from the ordeal.

“You managed on your own.” Caiden leaned over to catch his breath.

Weary from the attack and the dust thinning in my blood, I hung my head between my knees. The cold earth sent a chill up my back.

Roderick handed me a handkerchief.

I wiped the dirt and blood away. Scratches seared my face. The sting of my screams still burned in my lungs. “We should bury her,” I said, tonguing the cut on my lip. The banshee had been human once. It seemed like the right thing to do.

“The longer we stay here, the more unwanted attention we’llattract. Digging a grave will only make it easier for others to track us,” Roderick said, touching the banshee with his boot.

I leaned down, saying a silent prayer in my mind. “Ammena, keep you,” I whispered to the body whose soul had left eons ago.

Another branch snapped deeper in the wood. My skin twitched with the urge to flee.

“It’s time to go,” Caiden said, hurrying me along.

Deep roots spread like veins underneath the snow, making our path treacherous as we trudged toward the road.

“Thank the Trinity you’re okay.” Amolie brightened at the sight of my bloodied face. Mixing a lightning bug potion, she hung them around our horses’ necks, lighting our way to the nearest village.

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