Page 12 of Voices in the Stars
I jerked from the sound, my hands slipping on the wet rocks as I tried to scramble backward. A scream ripped out of my throat as I fell into the water. Flashes of teeth and scales charged toward me.
“Areyou trying to get yourself killed?”
The question was screamed at me as a hand grabbed the back of my dress, pulling me out of the water. The sound of it tearing faintly registered in my mind.
“What…” My words came out in breathy stutters. “What were those things?”
He glanced back at the water. “The fish?”
“Those are not just fish.”
He shrugged. “Look like most fish I’ve seen.”
I blinked up at him, trying to figure out if he was lying or playing some prank on me. We must have been looking at two completely different creatures if he thought those were normal.
“Care to explain why you were trying to drown yourself?” he asked before I could argue further.
“Care to explain what you’re doing out here?” I shot back, my cheeks burning as it hit me that I was sitting here, arguing with a child.
“What?” He glanced down at himself, confusion pulling his boyish features tight. “Shit,” he cursed before dropping his bag, then kicked off his shoes. “Turn around,” he barked at me.
I quickly listened, turning back to face the creature infested water. My legs tucked underneath me to avoid even the risk of them touching the water. I winced as he let out a pain-laced grunt and several curses. There were several pops and what sounded like bones crunching beforea sudden silence stretched between us. His feet shuffled along the rocks before he spoke up.
“You can look now. Try to avoid yellin’. Don’t want them comin’ back.” His voice was much deeper than it had been moments ago. It was thick with an accent I’d never heard before.
I rolled my eyes, shakily getting to my feet so I could turn and look at him. My eyes widened as I quickly slapped my hand across my mouth, the sting faintly registering as I caught my scream.
The little boy was gone. In his place stood a monstrous creature. I took several steps back without much thought, the cold water lapped against the back of my heels.
Long, pointed ears stuck out from the side of his head, their tips drooped back toward the ground, creating an unnatural L shape. A long beard draped down from his dark green chin. There were leave and buttons were woven through his mud brown hair. Beads were woven through braids that started at the top of his head and ended around his elbows. Three long claws sat where his fingers had been moments ago. The backs of his hands were covered with small spikes that traveled along his arms and over his shoulders. The spikes dropped down across his forehead, creating an arrow that pointed at his crooked nose. His eyes were the same muddy green they had been while he was a child.
“What are you?” I mumbled around my hands. My eyes stung as I kept staring at him. An irrational fear filled me that blinking would either make him disappear or give him the power to move closer.
He huffed, crossing his arms over his round stomach. There wasn’t much of a height difference between the two versions of him. If anything, he seemed to be shorter in this form, causing him to have to look up to glare at me before turning away.
“If you’re coming with me, we need to leave. Now,” he continued.
I sucked in a deep breath. My knees shook before locking together, threatening to collapse under my weight. I threw my arms out as I started losing my balance. He was the only one I could trust right now. Shapeshifting aside, he hadn’t tried to kill me yet. I certainly wasn’t going to let him leave me with creatures that had already tried.
He jerked forward, grabbed my elbowsto keep me upright as I wobbled. I grabbed onto his shoulders, avoiding the spikes, a grateful smile spread as the shaking slowed. I was able to move, but every muscle felt sore. The leaves around us shook as a breeze started. My dress puffed up as the wind blew through the holes.
My face burned for a new reason as I looked down. It shouldn’t have been a priority after almost dying, but my dress was completely ruined. One half was completely shredded with only a few ribbons keeping it tied together. The bottom was stained brown from the mud. Tears were scattered throughout the rest of it. The sleeve, on the shoulder I had been scratched on, had been ripped off.
I sucked in a sharp breath as I saw the claw marks, a trembling finger traced over them. They were already healed in pink, raised scars. None of this made sense. It looked like someone put black dye into my veins. A new wave of nausea churned through me as I traced along the dark marks. I wasn’t sure which part freaked me out more—the markings on me or the fact that something that happened a few hours ago was now fully healed.
“Don’t move,” he muttered, pulling me from my thoughts.
I lowered my hand as he pulled a small knife out of his belt, cutting away at the bottom of my dress. The weight of the soaked fabric falling away had my shoulders sinking in relief.
He gave me an approving smile before walking off into the river. I just stood there for a moment, watching him wade through the water. Bright colored fish fled from him. It wasn’t until he looked back at me that I realized he wanted me to follow.
My eyes widened as I looked between him and the water. He wasn’t slowing, though. I had a choice. Follow and hope for the best, or die out here. They both seemed like horrible choices. My hands clenched and unclenched before I walked into the cold water.
The slow currents were enough to cause my steps to wobble again. Each time I raised one leg, the other threatened to get swept out from underneath me. The only thing keeping my breathing even was the fact that the water was shallow. It was only deep enough to brush against the bottom of my dress. Still, I didn’t want to end up face to face with thefish swimming away from us. My bare feet sliding along the rocks wasn’t helping me, either.
“Why aren’t we going through the forest?” I yelled as I slipped, barely catching myself in time.
A chill settled deep within me as the breeze picked up. My teeth clattered together between words as I trembled. My hands rubbed along my arms as I tried to keep some warmth.
