Page 47 of A Kiss From Death
The Empress’ sinister smile brings me out of my thoughts as she spins in a slow circle, making eye contact with each of my competitors and then landing on me. She holds my gaze as she continues her speech. “Only eight of you willcome home to the castle tonight. Time will only tell which ones of you are too weak for this competition and need purged. Only the strongest among you shall prevail. Do not disappoint me; I’m always watching, and my vote has a large sway in the rankings. Good luck!”
With that, she signals to the Fabricant and lifts her dress to stride away to safety, leaving my competitors and I to stare death in the face. I take long, deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, but the adrenaline pumping through my veins has me slightly shaking and on edge. That, paired with the way it felt like the Empress was talking directly to me, holding my gaze when she uttered that the weak will be purged, and there’s no doubt in my mind she’s not my biggest fan.
The Vanquisher with fabricant magic takes the Empress’ place in the center of the Bubble, an equally sinister smile splayed across his face with the promise of mayhem. Hade follows closely behind the Empress, heading out of the Bubble to stand beside her throne propped up high just outside for her viewing pleasure.
The sun beats down on us, the Bubble’s force field providing no reprieve from the harsh elements. My body casts a large shadow in the sand as I shield my eyes with my hand from the sun sitting high in the sky. As I turn my head down and away from the sun to rest my eyes, my brain plays tricks on me. I almost thought I imagined my shadow moving from the ground, slithering up my leg.
Shaking my head, I bring my focus back to the Fabricant, who has both his hands held high above his head, his eyes closed with focus. A blinding white light shoots out from his hands, growing bigger by the second. My eyes grow wide as the magic builds and builds, looking like it’s about to explode. I reach up to scratch a persistent tickle on the outer shell of my ear as my eyes are torn bouncing back and forth between Hade’s retreating back and the Fabricant.
“Don’t die on me, Nightmare. I’m not done playing with you quite yet,” Hade’s raspy voice whispers into my ear as I staredumbfounded at his back all the way on the opposite side of the Bubble.
A quiet gasp leaves my throat at the shock of his words. Looking down, I do, in fact, see my shadow travel back down to the sand below me again. He controlled my shadow to talk through it to me…all the way from the other side of the Bubble.
I don’t have a second to process his words when I’m blinded by a giant white ball of magic exploding around us, knocking me off my feet. I’m launched backwards, flying through the air until my head connects with something hard. When I come to, a dark blanket of stars is in place of the Bubble’s force field, surrounded by thick, hilly terrain and giant trees too tall to see over.
There goes my plans of teaming up; there’s not a single soul remotely close to me. Looks like I’m in it alone for this trial. I set off in search of shelter.
Trudging through the dense terrain, my feet grow tired from having to pull them out of deep mud with each step. I’m hoping the section I got thrown into is the only place with this mud, or else it’s going to be a long, brutal game. I use my hands to part the tall grass around me, batting it away like it wronged me.
I’m in a foul mood, and the fact that the back of my head felt wet when I touched it earlier isn’t helping. I have a raging headache from the giant boulder I was flung against, and I’m sure the wetness is blood. It can’t be too bad, or I would have passed out by now, but I also know all head injuries, no matter how small, can have huge effects on the body.
The bodysuit Des made me keeps me covered from sharp greenery and branches. I have a few small cuts on my hands and wrists, and I’m sure there are a few scattered on my face as well from my fall.
The fake night sky illusion above makes it dark and hard to see my surroundings. The giant moon above casts faint light down on the tops of the trees. The grass opens up to a dirt path leading intoa dark forest with more trees that tower far above me. I decide this is my best bet at survival, using the closely sprouted trees as cover from any Necroshrieks above. I’ve heard a couple screeches here and there, but for the most part, they have stayed quiet as they stalk their prey.
Gripping the thick base of one of the trees, I wrap my body around it the best I can and start to shimmy my way up the trunk. My nails dig into the bark, making me hiss in pain each time a sliver of wood wedges under my nails. Slowly, I make my way up the tree until I find a branch big enough to hold my weight.
I slowly press my foot on the branch, testing it out. It doesn’t move an inch, which makes me feel like it’s safe to slide onto and rest my body. I straddle the branch, and my shoulders sag with relief. They were starting to burn from holding myself up for so long. I peek around the remaining branches above me, making a game plan on which ones I can trust to get myself to the very top. If I can make it up there, it will give me the height advantage I need to be able to look over the entire playing field and see where the best place to hide is.
I’m officially out of breath, my hands bleeding from the fifteen branches I managed to drag my body onto, but I successfully make it to the top. I lean my back against the trunk, giving myself a second to catch my breath. If I weren’t currently fighting for my life, I would find this peaceful. The starry night twinkling above calms the adrenaline high. The dense forest reminds me of the trees that surround Squatters Village, where I would walk every single day home to Theo. It’s quiet, which slightly puts me on edge, because looking around, I don’t spot a single Necroshriek.
Necroshrieks are controlled by their bonded Vanquisher and live to please. I wouldn’t be surprised if their three bonded Vanquishers are sitting right outside the Bubble, telling them exactly what to do and where to go.
My breathing is back to its normal cadence, and I wiggle myself further down the branch to look over my surroundings. There’s a small pond of water up to my right, but the water is an abnormal shade of black, making me think it’s poisonous. Every now and then, a ripple glides across the top; some nasty creature lurks inside. I would rather not get anywhere near that and be forced to dive in it if danger presents itself.
Straight ahead, just outside the edge of the trees, is a maze of a garden that looks like it’s been possessed. Thorny vines tangle together in big clusters, making it next to impossible to run through. Giant flowers that have to be bigger than me are scattered throughout the vines, and now that I take a closer look, I realize they’re moving. Their petals bloom open and shut, baring sharp teeth with thorns inside each time they open. Magic never ceases to amaze me, even after everything I’ve witnessed.
To my left sits the edge of a rocky cliff. Looks like I was spit out at the highest point of the playing field. At the bottom of the hill sits a shallow-looking cave tucked away in the corner of the Bubble. If I can safely make my way to the bottom of the cliff, I will have cover from above and shelter to my back. That only leaves the cave’s mouth to guard from danger.
Looking over my three options, I feel a nudge in the back of my brain to goleftand pray I don’t run into anyone on my way. Then, I just need to safely lower myself down the cliff without injuring myself. In theory, it sounds simple, but I know it will be anything but. I’m still on guard—I haven’t seen a single Necroshriek yet, or any of my competitors, for that matter. Hopefully, none of them are hiding out in the cave I intend to make my new home.
My legs shake, and I let out a loud huff when my feet make contact with the ground. I head left in the direction towards the cliff, taking the shortest route to get out of the dense trees. My body grows more tired with each step, but I remain aware of my surroundings, scanning for danger.
I estimate I’m about halfway to the cliff now, my lungs burning and muscles aching from the long, hilly walk. I roll my sleeves all the way up, trying to cool off my overheating limbs. A twig snaps behind me, making me spin and duck low. I search my surroundings for any sounds or movements for a few minutes, but I spot nothing. Standing back up, I decide I’m being paranoid and set back off on my trek.
I take one step forward, but I freeze when I hear a small grunt and the sound of somethingwhooshingthrough the air behind me. Spinning on my heels, something lodges itself deep in my arm that was intended to be a killing blow to my back. I hiss through my teeth, using my other arm to cover my mouth. I would rather not give away my location, no matter how bad my arm is pulsing in pain.
Of course, the spear would hit me in the one place I’m not protected by my suit currently thanks to my overheating limbs.
I spot Tank with Jade propped up on his shoulders a little ways back, holding a handmade spear made out of a long branch, a carved stone arrow head attached to it using a vine. They both see me plain as day, and with the looks on their faces, they easily think they have me beat. Clearly, they haven’t learned how much of a stubborn bitch I am. Too stubborn to die by their hands today, that’s for certain.
Without hesitating, I rip the arrow from my arm. This time, I do let out an ear shattering scream, noticing they decided to wrap the arrow in a thorny vine, each thorn catching on my skin the entire way out. Blood pours from my arm, making me light headed, but it’s the least of my worries. I normally wouldn’t rip something from a wound, but I had no choice; it would have been impossible to run with the bulky spear hanging from my arm. It probably would have caught on something anyways and ripped away moreskin than I just did.
Holding my hand to the wound to help stop the blood the best I can, I catch Tank and Jade stomping towards me as I spin and take off in a full sprint towards the cliff. Lucky for me, I’ve already scoped out the land and know exactly where I’m headed, giving me a slight advantage over them. Plus, Tanks huge size will slow them down, even paired against my wounds and aching muscles.
“You’re mine, bitch!” I hear Jade scream behind me as I create more distance between us. I’m fading fast and need to get to the cave as soon as possible. It’s my only option for survival now, and if I create enough distance, I’m hoping they won’t know what direction I went. If they find the cave, then my odds aren’t great. With zero weapons and an injured arm, the odds are stacked against me.
Honestly, what’s new?
