Page 36 of Whispers of the Elderoak

He raised an eyebrow. “You must think I’m a fool if you think you can distract me with your questions.”

So much for that idea. She tried to ignore the dread working its way through her. The fear washing over her as she realized this was really happening. There was no more denial. No more explaining it away. Everything Luna had told her was true. Why her grandfather had been so paranoid, why theyalways moved around. They were hiding from whoever Henry was. Whatever Henry was.

“If this is true,” she began. “If magic and portals are real? Then why can’t you do magic?”

A female voice sounded from the trees. “Because magic barely works here,” said the voice as she emerged.

A stunning woman with long auburn hair and bright blue eyes sauntered up to Henry and kissed him. The two of them turned to her. “Andras used the small amount of magic he could muster to seduce you. To help us find the map and then the portal.”

He’d used magic to make her want him? Oh, god. It explained so much. Why she couldn’t get enough, why it felt like a drug every time they kissed. How she would lose herself in lust, like she was out of control. She thought it was passion, maybe even love, but it was magic.

She was a fucking idiot.

Ava attempted to scoot away, eyes wide as she took them in. Hands shaking, she tried to wiggle them out of the rope though it was too tight. “Who are you?” she whispered, though deep down she already knew, remembering what Luna had told her in her dream state.

The demon queen.

And Henry. She had referred to him as Andras. That must be his true name. Was he a demon also?

“You know who we are,” the woman answered. “You were so easy to manipulate.”

Ava tried not to cry, tried to appear strong, but underneath she was a weak terrified little girl who just wanted her mother. Her mother always knew what to do.

“You can open the portal, Ava. That’s why you’re here with us now,” Henry said. No, not Henry. Andras.

Ava looked at the two of them, standing intimately close to each other. The demon queen and her consort. This must bethe Deidamia that Andras mentioned.

“I can’t do magic,” Ava said. They ignored her.

Andras stalked toward her and kneeled.

He then hoisted her up by her armpit, dragging her over to an arch, her feet scraping the ground as she attempted to balance herself. The doorway to nowhere was engraved with symbols just like the pictures in the book.

“What is this place?” she asked, trying to bide herself more time.

If she could somehow get out of these bindings, she would run. Escape into the woods.

Andras continued to drag her closer to the archway, disregarding her questions, as she tried to pull from his grip.

They reached the archway, and he withdrew a knife from his pocket. Ava twisted harder in his grip, trembling as he brought the knife closer to her.

“Hold still,” he demanded.

She stopped squirming and looked at him. He leaned over her and as he got close enough, she head butted him, catching him by surprise, and used her bound hands to shove him down. She had hidden the fact that the rope around her ankles had come loose and wiggled free and took off running.

“You bitch!” he screamed as she hurtled into the forest.

It was difficult to see in the shadowy woods, the canopy so dense only slivers of moonlight penetrated the leaves. She tripped over a fallen branch, cursing as she scraped her hands and arose again to continue. She had to get back to the house, her car. Where was it? She had no clue which direction to go.

She barely made it twenty feet before the tall creature who had killed Eleanor was standing right in front of her, looming and primed to attack. The shadows swirled around it as it bared its teeth, grinning at her predicament.

She froze and backed away, not letting it out of her sight.

Searching for a way out, she glanced to her left, when thecreature lunged at her. She fell back over a log, sharp pain from her bruised ribs shooting through her side, and crawled away in a feeble attempt to escape. The creature stalked forward and raised its hand, full of claws. Ava closed her eyes, waiting for the killing blow.

A growling sounded from her right and something crashed through the brush. She opened her eyes as Luna leaped at the creature, claws out, piercing its leg with her canines.

Ava was on her feet in an instant and took off in the other direction, no idea where she was going. She didn’t think Luna would win this fight but at least it had given her time to run. As she darted through the trees, she heard a yelp and then the sound of something large coming after her.

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