Page 48 of A Kiss From Death
Another spear flies through the air behind me, but it lands in a tree next to me as I weave in and out.Cut left,my brain screams at me, and, trusting my instinct, I plant my feet into the dirt and take a sharp left around a tree trunk, beelining sideways out of the forest in hopes of confusing them. Jade’s taunting laugh echoes behind me like a threat. After running left for a minute, I feel a pull to gostraight, and I turn right, going straight again. I’m gasping for air, but hope bubbles in my throat when I spot the trees opening in front of me. Seems my instincts did not lead me astray today.
I make it out of the trees, gasping for air, but I don’t slow down. Even though I can’t see them, I know they are not too far behind me. The cliff’s edge is not too far ahead of me, and now I need to figure out how the hell I’m going to safely get down it. I haven’t planned this far ahead, in hopes I could scope out the best route when I got here. I don’t have the luxury of time on my side as I barrel ahead full speed.
Screech!A Necroshriek’s piercing cry assaults my ears from above. Between Jade’s loud taunts and my screams of pain, it seems we’ve attracted an audience.
I love today!
Whoosh. Whoosh. Thump!
The Necroshriek glides down from the sky and lands hard on the ground in front of me, making four small craters where its talons dig deep into the dirt. I dig my feet into the ground, coming to an immediate halt in front of it, fully blocked off from the cliff’s edge now. I know it can’t see me, but it can hear me, and it can definitely smell the blood running down my arm. I hold back a whimper when it lets out a puff of rotting breath across my face, blowing my hair back. It’s at least twenty feet in front of me, but it’s so large, its breath reaches all the way to me, making me gag.
Think, Nyxi; how can I get out of this? Looking back, I still don’t spot Jade and Tank, and thank the Empress. I need a plan, fast. Looking around, I seek out anything I can use as a weapon. I come up empty handed when all I spot are fallen branches from nearby trees and rocks scattered about.
The Necroshriek lets out a loud wail again, probably alerting the other’s it found dinner. It takes one large step forward but doesn’t charge me. It swings its large, horned, bird-like head back and forth, sniffing around for any scent it can lock on. The mud caking my body from earlier must be masking my scent enough from this far away.
Looking back again, I confirm there’s still no Tank or Jade and slowly walk backwards as a plan hatches in my brain. As quietly as possible, I gather the materials needed while keeping my eyes alert for my competitors and the Necroshriek now spinning in circles, swinging its spiked tail, trying to find its prey. Apparently, they aren’t the smartest things.
That makes two of us, buddy, as I start to second guess myself yet again as to why I entered in this game of death born for entertainment.
I kneel behind a boulder with my supplies in hand and wait. I catch the smallest rustle of brush to my left that the Necroshriek hasn’t picked up on yet. Holding a stick in my hand, I draw backthe band wrapped around it I pulled from my hair and release, the rock wedged in it flying across the clearing, hitting the center of the tree just in front of where I heard movement.
The Necroshriek lets out another ear-shattering scream, running towards the sound I made where I know Tank and Jade are camped out. I watch as black smoky acid pours from its beak, disintegrating the tree to nothing in seconds. I fling into action, taking the opportunity to run for the cliff now that the Necroshriek is distracted and out of my way. I hear screams behind me, but I don’t turn around as I push my body to its limits.
I approach the cliff’s edge, and my brain scrambles for a plan I know it won’t be able to come up with this fast. There’s no good options here, but I pray there’s at least one that keeps me alive. A faint sensation makes meduck,and, listening to my instincts again, I catch more of that black acid fly over my head, almost turning me to nothing. It must have heard me running and turned around. I trip over my ankle as I scramble, catching my foot on a rock. My body flies forward, and then I’m falling, down, down, down, over the edge of the cliff to a certain death.
My body bounces like a rag doll the entire way down the hill, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I tuck myself into a tight ball the best I can, attempting to limit my injuries. Rocks dig into my body each time I hit the hard, unforgiving ground.
This is it. This is how I die. What a pathetic way to go. My first encounter with danger, and I fold like a blade of grass to an unforgiving wind storm. Theo would be disappointed in me. I’m disappointed in myself. After all this, to go out in the first round? I feel like I’m falling for hours, a never-ending cycle of floating through the air, bouncing harshly off the jagged ground, and then launching into the air once again. At least being melted by the Necroshriek would have been fast.
Brace yourself!my failing mind shouts at me, but my brain and body are no longer in sync. I’m tired and hurt, and I just want it tobe over.Make the pain stop, please, I beg in my head.You are going to be okay, it seems to say back to me, and I smile, knowing this is where it all ends. I embrace it happily. Relaxing my body, I connect with the ground, and everything goes black.
Tap.Tap. Tap.
Even in death, my body still screams at me in pain.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Apparently, I’m also not allowed peace in the afterlife, because my body is being poked and prodded in an annoying, consistent tapping pattern.
“Can a girl not have some peace after falling to her death?” I groan.
“Death?” a soft voice calls next to me. “Who died?”
`I sit quietly, hoping the annoyance will get bored and go pester some other dead soul, leaving me to wallow in my pain.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“For fuck’s sake!” Painfully slow, I peel one of my eyes open, ready to give hell to whoever won’t leave me alone. I hope they have Fire Water in the afterlife, because I need something stiff.
I blink a few times, and my vision clears. Staring down at me is the cutest little boy whose face I could never forget—Hudson, his small body expertly painted to blend in with his surroundings like a pro.
“Mommy always said never to say the wordfuck.” His lisp makes his words slur adorably.
Sitting up, I drag my hand down my face and sigh. “Fuck, sorry.” Hudson’s eyes turn to giant saucers, and I grunt, realizing my mistake. “Well, if you’re a big enough boy for her to let you enter the Crucible, I think you should be allowed to hear the word fuck too.” I add, “Andfuckit, you should be able to say it too,because who cares at this point?” I throw my hands up, shrugging, and gesture for him to let his mouth run wild.
He nervously licks his lips and then, at the top of his lungs, he screams, “FUCKKKKKKK!” Giggling to myself, I quickly slap my hand over his mouth, realizing my little escapade could backfire on us and bring danger our way. He takes the hint and stops screaming into my hand, and when I pull it away, it’s covered in spit.
“That feel good, little buddy?” He nods back to me with a giant smile on his face. “Next time, how about we do it a little quieter so we don’t draw any danger to us?” His smile drops from his face, but he nods back to me in understanding. “I’m all about sticking one to your mother, but I also don’t want us to die.” I still can’t wrap my brain around how his parents ever let him enter the Crucible. Did they force him?
