Page 10 of Heart of Dawn
I winced at the sound, my eardrums throbbing.
The creature grabbed the axe from the fae, taking off her head in one easy strike. It threw its head back, roaring into the sky like a wolf baying at the moon. My blood went cold, my fear as paralyzing as my injuries.
Oh, stars. Oh, stars. Oh, stars.
“Kill the fae…” a raspy voice hissed close by.
By watching the show on the slope, I failed to notice the two fae getting back on their feet, pink blood streaming from both their noses. One of them even had a broken hand, his fingers as twisted and broken as the trees of this forest.
“Kill the fae…” The closest one licked his lips, eyes flaring with pure murder. “Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.”
Crap. Crap. Crap. In desperation, I attempted to move and failed miserably, releasing a yelp as agony sizzled across my nervous system.
I wasn’t going anywhere, expect maybe to meet the stars.
To my left, the creature continued to slaughter the remaining undying fae. I heard the carnage, but kept my eyes on the man, his straggly hair trailing behind him in the wind.
He reached my feet, holding his axe above his head. The snowflakes seemed to beautify the situation, fanning around him in a white curtain to grant me a somewhat pretty sight to end my life on.
Hmmm. I wasn’t so sure about that, actually. Because when that axe came down, it would bury itself in my chest and hurt to the deepest of hells.
“Just… Just get it over with…” I breathed out, hating myself for accepting this.
The axe came down.
Goodbye, Miko.
Goodbye—
The white creature crashed into the fae, tumbling over the rock with him. My chest froze, my lungs forgetting to function amid the shock.
Screaming. Violent commotion. The breaking of bones.
The undying fae with the broken hand threw himself at me, cracking his head on the boulder. He landed on top of me, sending a riot of agony through my body to make my head spin.
“Stars!” I cried.
My vision blurred, the images melting together like a painting left out in the rain. I needed respite from this hurt, my veins and bones lava.
At least my cry kickstarted my lungs again.
The undying one hissed, his good fingers pawing at me as he sat on my legs, weight crushing me. His cold touch was slimy, his fingernails nicking at my skin.
His face loomed above mine, his breath a sewer. I gagged, struggling to free my poor legs. My vision snapped back into focus, prepared to witness my final moments clearly.
“Kill the fae…” he hissed, blood streaming down his chin, grabbing my neck.
Before he crushed my windpipe, the creature grabbed his head and tore it from his shoulders. It came off with a vile pop, a fountain of pink blood spraying in the air. I clamped my eyes and mouth shut against the downpour.
The creature roared, then stomped. The undying one’s weight came off me. I wiped my eyes with my good hand, seeing the furry beast toss the body away.
It looked down at me, covered in blood, yellow eyes like urine in the snow.
What now? My turn to have my head removed?
“Please…” I tried rather pathetically.
“You poor fae,” a soft woman’s voice responded.
