Page 89 of Midnight Reign
“There,” Addy whispers, pointing to a faint silvery glow in the distance. “The sacred spring.”
As we approach, the mist parts, revealing a small clearing. In the centre, a spring bubbles up from the ground, its waters shimmering with an eerie light.
“Okay,” Zephyr says, eyeing the spring warily. “How do we do this?”
Adelaide steps forward, taking the vial Zephyr pulled out of his pocket. “Not with death threats like last time. I’ll get the water. You two keep watch.”
Zephyr snorts but does as he’s told, his gaze snapping one way, mine going the other.
As Addy kneels by the spring, a sense of foreboding settles around us. It’s too quiet, too easy. After our experience at the bird sanctuary, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And drop it does.
Just as Adelaide fills the vial, the water in the spring ripples.
A figure bursts from under the surface, hissing and snarling, their fingers hooked into claws.
“Blue Water lady!” Adelaide shrieks as the very pissed-off water nymph launches at us, grabbing at the vial.
I react on instinct, lunging forward to grab Adelaide and yank her back just as the water nymph’s claws slash through the air where she had been. The vial flies from Adelaide’s hand, arcing through the air.
“Fuck!” Zephyr shouts, diving to catch it before it can shatter on the ground. He rolls, coming up with the vial clutched safely in his fist.
The water nymph shrieks, a sound like ice cracking, and launches herself at Zephyr. Her form is fluid, shifting between woman and water in a way that makes my eyes hurt to look at.
“Zeph, watch out!” I yell, pushing Adelaide behind me as I move to intercept the nymph.
But Zephyr is already moving. The nymph’s claws rake across the darkness of the magick surrounding him, sending up sparks of blue light but leaving Zephyr unharmed.
“We need to get out of here,” Adelaide says, her voice tight with tension. “Now.”
I nod, backing up slowly, keeping myself between Adelaide and the enraged nymph. “Zephyr, time to go.”
The nymph lets out another ear-piercing shriek. She’s not giving up that easily. As we back up, she lunges at us again, her watery form stretching impossibly as she reaches for the vial. I snarl, my fangs dropping fully, ready to tear into her.
But before I can move, Adelaide steps forward. The shadow pets swarm around her, their dark forms merging into a swirling vortex of shadows. The nymph hesitates, her liquid eyes widening in surprise.
“You remember me? Adelaide Black? From the first day?”
The nymph hisses but doesn’t strike.
Adelaide takes a deep breath. “We mean no harm to your spring or your woods. We need this water to save MistHallow - to save all of us. Please, let us go.”
For a moment, everything is still. The nymph hovers, her form rippling as she considers Adelaide’s words. Then, slowly, she nods. With a sound like a gentle wave, she sinks back into the spring, disappearing beneath the silvery surface.
“Fuck,” Zephyr mutters, still clutching the vial tightly.
But while the water nymph has given us leave, the rest of Whispering Woods isn’t in quite so forgiving a mood. A tree uproots itself and marches towards us.
“Holy shit,” Adelaide gasps, staring at it. “Run!”
Grabbing her hand, we dash through the woods, branches whipping at our faces, roots trying to trip us. The entire forest has come alive, determined to keep us from escaping with the sacred water.
Zephyr’s magick lashes out, clearing a path ahead of us. I can hear his laboured breathing. He is feeling the strain from using such power.
But just when I think we can’t go on much longer, we burst out of the treeline, stumbling onto the grounds of MistHallow. Behind us, the Whispering Woods roils and writhes, a dark mass of angry vegetation.
We collapse onto the grass, panting heavily.
