Page 18 of Forging Bonds: Part Two

“Of course,” she replies, and then clears her throat and straightens her skirts. “Now, enough of this. You kick ass today, you hear me.”

“I hear you,” I grin.

She nods sharply and then heads back out of the room, Castle opening the door for her and then locking it with magic once she’s gone.

“We need to head back to our room and make sure that we’ve got our weapons and things before we have to go to our trial,” Raiden says somewhat reluctantly.

I open my mouth to reply when the familiar magic builds in the air. I instinctively know that it’s the portal for my trial, and I call Asael and Betty to me, waving to the guys as I get pulled in.

Looking around me, I’m pleased to see that I’m in some kind of dense woodland, the trees don’t look like any that I have seen on the Earth Realm, but that doesn’t really mean much since I don’t really have that great knowledge of trees. Reaching behind me, I put Asael on my back, the harness for him immediately appearing, but although I know that a harness will appear for Betty if I do the same thing, I can’t quite allow myself to let go of her.

She’s my safety blanket, and always has been.

For now, she’s going to remain in my hands until I work out what exactly we’re dealing with here. I am aware that I need to protect Betty and not give away to anyone that she can make bullets that kill everything. At least I think that she can. We don’t really know until we’ve tested that, but that’s something that needs to wait until after the Choosing, and when we’re not being broadcast to realms of supernaturals.

I slowly take in my surroundings, aware that something is going to happen, because otherwise, what would be the point of the trial? As I do this, my mind drifts to Dimitri and Coen and the fact that they both saw my last trial. Logically, I know that I shouldn’t do what I do next. Dimitri is not the person that he once was, and allowing myself to pretend otherwise is only going to cause me pain.

I know that.

However, I can’t help myself, and as I slowly move forward, keeping my footsteps as light as possible, I flick my left hand, the one that isn’t gripping Betty tightly. To anyone watching, it would just look like I’m fidgeting, or nervous and that’s the way that my energy is showing itself, but to Coen andDimitri, it’s our sign, specifically a sign for each one, my way of thanking them both even though I can’t thank them in person.

For Dimitri, that’s because it wouldn’t be safe, and I would end up in some sort of emotional turmoil because of it. For Coen, that’s because I have no idea when I will see him next, and if I do see him, I can’t exactly thank him for helping me because of the response and questions that would elicit from Kylen.

So for now, this is the best that I can do. This is the only thanks that I can give them both, and if they are watching, they will understand what it means.

The sound of a branch snapping to my left and further back instantly tells me that I am being hunted by something.

I smile, now this is the kind of shit that I can deal with. Being hunted through strange woods by something unknown is something that I am far more comfortable with than anything emotional or from my past.

Bring it on.

My steps don’t falter as I move forward in exactly the same way that I was. My instincts tingle, telling me that I’m not being stalked by only one thing. I don’t know exactly how many more, but it certainly brings the excitement level up even higher.

My fingers flex on Betty as I glance up into the trees. I know that whatever is stalking me is doing so from the ground. I heard the underbrush moving, that doesn’t mean that whatever is following me can’t climb, but it does mean that I might get some kind of advantage if I go up into the trees.

Reaching behind me with the hand that is holding Betty, I hope that I’m right and that some sort of harness will appear to keep her strapped to me and next to Asael. When I don’t feel anything, I panic momentarily that I’m going to have to put her down and risk losing her here, before I remember that I should be able to send her home.

“Thank you, Betty. You may go home,” I whisper, barely any sound leaving my lips.

She disappears, and I allow myself a brief moment of relief before I start to swiftly climb up the nearest tree. It’s only after I touch it and begin to climb that I realize that, since I have no idea what kind of trees these are, or where I am, they could be poisonous. Thankfully, nothing happens, and I don’t immediately drop to the floor and start to scream in pain, so I consider that a win and just carry on climbing.

The canopy is so densely packed up here that I can easily move from one tree to another, without too much hardship on my part. The only real thing I need is balance, which I do have.

Just as I jump to get to the next tree, something jumps up from the ground and smacks into me, knocking me off my trajectory and sending me hurtling toward the ground. I prepare myself to roll to minimize the impact of the landing, and when I pop back up, my eyes widen.

Shit, it’s the backward knee walking things, that I came across is Luesidious, apart from there’s not just one this time. From the quick count I manage to do, I think there is around six. I seem to have run into a pack, one that is surrounding me quickly.

From past experience, I know that I do not want to find myself in the middle of them. Going up against one of them was difficult enough, and in fact, the only way that I managed to win was because Asael suddenly appeared under the bush next to me. If he hadn’t, I would have died. I pull Asael from his sheath on my back and silently request that he split into two so that I can better protect myself.

I need to get away from this grouping, which means I’m going to have to run. Before I have fully gotten my feet underneath me, I’m moving. The first head falls, which enrages the others even more, and the small gap that I had seen that I could escape through begins to close. I spin and I whirl my swordsstabbing and slicing as arms, and heads fall to the floor with a thump. Any bodies that fall, I make sure that the heads are kicked far away from them, still not willing to risk them being able to put themselves back together.

I know I haven’t killed them all, but I have killed enough of them that a pathway has opened up again, and before the last one can get its hands on me, I run. If these creatures can put themselves back together, then there is absolutely no way that I want to stay where I am. In this situation, I can’t risk it.

As I run, I glance over my shoulder, and I’m surprised to see that only one creature is still following me. I begin to slow, knowing that I can take on this last one, and hopefully clear this trial quickly.

Heat suddenly pulses from my chest, and it causes me to stumble at the shock of it. Glancing down, I realize that the heat must be emanating from my necklace, the gift from the imps. I’m so distracted by the absurdity of it that I realize too late that the backward knee creature has gotten far closer than I should have let it.

Lifting Asael, I know that I’m not going to move quickly enough, and that the creature is going to get a good swipe in.

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