Page 3 of A Touch Of Death

But Ezra has a point when he says he doesn't know what the reasoning behind my sudden urge to trek through the forest is. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure either, but the need to go held me captive, and I couldn't deny it. I don't understand why the incubus was adamant about joining me, but I'm sure it has to do with the same feeling I had before we left.

"It's more than that, and you know it. Just quit your complaining for a few minutes, man. You're giving me a headache," I growl, quickly losing my temper with the grumpy asshole.

Ezra turns, opening his mouth to retaliate, but before he can, Spencer doubles over with a pained groan. Zayn follows suit, and then Ezra falls to the floor writhing in agony. A sudden pain in my back tears an agonised growl from me, and I fall to my knees, panting heavily through the pain. It's over as quickly as it happens, but my heartbeat stutters, and a wave of adrenaline courses through me. The same panicked feeling I experienced when I woke up bubbles in my gut, and when I look at the others, it's to find them all looking around the forest with the same sense of worry.

"What the hell was that?" Spencer whispers, his breaths coming in fast while his entire body trembles. He removes his hat to run a hand through his blonde hair shakily before shoving it back onto his head with jerky movements.

I look around stiffly, anxiety clawing at me. Just as I hear Ezra reply that he has no idea, I spot a flickering light ten feet in front of me. It's a small light hovering just above the ground, but the orb isn't strong. It looks weak as it flickers, as though the light's strength is wavering somehow. Zayn, observant as ever, notices me staring at the spot between the trees.

"What is it, Phoenix?" His voice is quiet and controlled, but I can hear the concern he can't quite disguise.

I nod towards the light that looks as though it's fading and say, "Can you see that, or is it just me?"

Zayn's head turns towards where I’ve locked my gaze, and he inhales sharply. He stands and walks closer to the dimming light. "That's a will-o'-the-wisp. What the hell is that doing here?"

Movement sounds behind me, and I know Spencer and Ezra have moved to take a closer look, finally noticing the unusual glow. We're all silent for a moment, and that's when I feel the tugging in my chest. The same pull that brought me to the forest tugs me closer to the light. "You guys are feeling that, right?"

As an answer, all three of them walk closer to the wisp, nodding their heads in confirmation. Relief comes quick knowing I'm not going crazy and the others finally feel the same sensation to follow the unknown. Even Ezra draws closer to the light without question.

Just as we get closer, the light vanishes, and another springs up a foot behind it. We walk closer to the wisp, our feet shuffling the debris on the forest floor. Once again, just as we get close enough to the wisp, it vanishes, and another appears further away. The glows are looking less and less vibrant, the brightness fading with every wisp that appears. We follow each one, the tugging in my chest growing more prominent the further into the woods the wisps lead us.

With the last wisp, the light flickers even more, and there's barely a glow to it. It looks like the wisp isdying. However, that's not what has my heart shooting up into my throat, my palms growing clammy, and dizziness clouding my brain. No, it's the body that lies motionless under the last faintly glowing wisp.

The four of us are quiet as we watch the wisp lower over the body until the skin of the stranger absorbs the last of the light. With the light gone, we all walk closer to the body that's lying half in and half out of the water of the river. I hadn't even noticed with my focus on the wisps only. Now that I'm paying attention, I take a look at my surroundings and find that the stranger is lying on a relatively wide river with muddy banking. I can hear the sound of a crashing waterfall in the distance, the sound of water pelting water loud to my oversensitive hearing. How I didn't hear that before, I’ll never know, but now it's a prominent sound in the otherwise quiet forest.

My focus snaps back to the stranger in the water when there's a stuttering inhale and a choked noise. I slowly walk closer to the body, aware of the others not too far behind me. Looking over the slim body, I note that the stranger is definitely a woman. A very naked woman, with worryingly pale skin and soaked blonde hair. She's stick thin with her ribs poking out under her skin and hollow cheeks that sharpen her cheek bones. Her lips are an alarming shade of blue, and her eyes look bruised, purple and blue hues covering her eyelids and staining her under eyes.

She looks half dead already.

My heart picks up pace, and the thudding quickly overrides the sound of the waterfall. I tear my backpack off and throw it towards Spencer, who catches it easily. Without much thought, I launch myself onto the muddy bank, my feet sinking into the wet sludge, but my only goal is to reach the deathly pale woman who doesn't look to have taken a breath since the last one I heard.

I force myself through the sludge and the water until I reach her side, not hesitating to slide my hands carefully underneath her and pick her up in my arms, cradling her to my chest gently. Water seeps into my shirt, but I couldn't care less. My focus is on the woman in my arms. I shuffle her slightly, so she's in a comfortable position, and notice how little she weighs. She's light, too light. There's hardly any meat on her bones, and my chest constricts painfully.

I turn carefully in the water and trudge up the bank where Zayn stands. He looks as anxious to look over the woman as I am. With slow movements, I lower the woman to the soft grass where Zayn stands. Before the woman even touches the ground, Zayn is on her.

"She's not breathing. I just heard her breathing stop. Move over, Nix." He puts a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I move over to make room for him. Kneeling on the grass beside the woman, I watch Zayn push down on her chest, providing CPR. "She's taken in too much water. Nix, continue with the compressions."

I do as I'm told, immediately taking up the position and pushing on the woman's chest. Zayn leans over to breathe into the woman's mouth, pinching her nose while he does so. Nothing changes, and my anxiety grows.

It’s a few more seconds before the woman coughs and splutters as she empties the water from her body. Zayn moves back a fraction in shock. The woman struggles to turn her head and can't seem to move her body, so Spencer rushes over to roll her slightly, helping her rid herself of the water onto the grass beside her. He brushes the hair out of her face and rubs her bare back in soothing motions. An unusual gesture for the mage who's usually withdrawn with strangers.

Just as she finishes emptying her stomach, her eyes fly open, and my gaze meets the most unusual set of eyes I've ever seen. Her left eye is the colour of ice with deep blue hues that ring her iris. Her right eye is the colour of grass in the spring. Bright and vibrant, with deep emerald flecks throughout. They're stunning, and I can't look away.

She stares at me for a moment, mismatched eyes wide open but slightly dazed, like she isn’t all completely aware of what’s going on around her. With a rasp, she asks, "You saved me?"

I nod, my eyes never leaving hers. Knowing she's breathing and alive, I joke, "Yeah, looked like you needed saving. Hope you don't mind."

She pauses and then cracks the smallest of smiles, flashing the briefest hint of straight, pearly white teeth. Her eyelids begin to droop, and her smile fades. Before she's unconscious again, she whispers a soft joke in return, "My hero."

Zayn rushes back to her side to check her over more thoroughly now that we know she's not lying at death's door. "She seems fine. No vital injuries, only scratches and a few deeper cuts along her body. Her feet are pretty banged up. There's a puncture mark in her shoulder. Looks like something pierced the skin pretty deep."

His eyebrows draw down in confusion. I know that look. Being a vampire who can read the minds of those around him comes in handy sometimes. He's peering into her mind while she sleeps. Normally I'd object, but given the state of the woman before me, I think having all the information we can get would help greatly. A swift inhale announces Zayn's return from the woman's head. "It was a tranq dart. Someone shot her with a sedative, so she can't move for a little while until it wears off."

"Someone shot her? What the fuck?" There's a growl in Ezra's voice that shocks me despite feeling a little growly myself at the thought of someone shooting this woman. My head snaps up from her pale face to see him watching the unconscious stranger on the grass intently. I've never seen him look so murderous before. Seems he’s feeling the same as me.

"I don't know. I can't see much more. Her head is clouded. I only saw bits and pieces that aren't making sense, but I definitely saw a tranq dart and a figure holding a gun." Zayn's posture is rigid, and his jaw clenches. I notice Spencer is watching the woman just as intently as the others, just as intently asme. What the hell is going on?

With furrowed eyebrows, I look at the guys. There's a tingle in my chest that reminds me of the tugging sensation I've felt since waking up. The feeling isn't as strong as it was, but it's there, right under the skin above my heart. It's less of a tugging pull, but more of a comfortable warmth that's settled under my ribcage. My eyes widen as realisation barrels into me like an oncoming train. I move my gaze go to the woman, and my mouth parts in shock. I turn to the others, but they're all still watching the unconscious stranger intently.

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