Page 15 of Witch Untold
How long has it been? Too long, and not long enough. Those bastards are a reminder of my otherness. Of the place that rejected me. Of Faerie. I haven’t used them in forever, and I don’t intend to start now. There has to be another way out of this mess. The walls are smooth as glass. This is totally fucked up, and…unnatural.
A shiver passes over my skin, unrelated to the actual chill.
An awareness of how messed up this is. Wait, what the feck is that? I stare at the hole, low and hidden in the shadows. It’s large enough to crawl into. Could be a way out. Could be a dead end. I could get trapped.
My back itches again.
As much as I hate to admit it, the sane thing to do is fly.
But I’m not sure I can after all this time. Not after keeping my wings bound. They’re probably too weak from disuse to carry my weight.
Hole it is.
It’s tight, but I can make it. Thank feck I’m not claustrophobic. There’s light up ahead, silvery and strange. What is this? The tunnel widens and then ends. For a moment I’m not sure what I’m seeing, and then my brain puts it together.
I’m hanging over a vast cavern lit by the Northern lights streaming in from an aperture high above. The light kisses the occupants of the cavern. Silvery-white bodies lay in heaps, curled up together, hugging one another. So many fucking bodies. Not human. No. The limbs are too long, and the fingers on each hand have extra joints and black nails that stretch and curve like tiny blades. The skin looks bloodless and rough, a furless hide. Like one of those hairless cats. I catch sight of long dark hair amidst the mass. A head, a human head, desiccated and old or…drained of life maybe? There are others. Human bodies amidst the mass, shrunken as if every ounce of goodness has been sapped from them.
Food.
Food for these…
Monsters.
The word blooms in my mind and terror punches me in the gut. The heat of adrenaline galvanizes me into action.
I need to back up.
I need to get out of here now!
I make to shuffle back, not caring that there’s no escape that way either, just wanting to get away.
The heap begins to move. It ripples like it’s one entity, shuddering and stretching. Limbs extend, hands grasp at the chilly air, and then several heads split open horizontally to reveal a mass of silver teeth. The air is filled with the intake of a singular breath and then every head turns to face my way.
Fuck.
I shuffle back fast, heart pounding like a jackhammer. Faster, faster. If my ass gets stuck, I’m fucked.
But the next moment I’m free, falling back into the original hole. I rip off my jacket because my wings aren’t strong enough to materialize through so many layers. Shit. It’s been too long, and regret at my decision not to use them is a bitter taste at the back of my tongue.
Please work. I need you. I fecking need you.
Sounds drift out from the tunnel, filling the hole.
They’re coming. They sense me and they’re coming. Terror is an animal tearing at my skin. Tearing like I know these monsters will if they get hold of me.
Wings, come on.
The itch in my back erupts into a burn, and then it’s as if someone has stabbed me between the shoulder blades. I bite back my scream, eyes burning as my wings burst from my back. Pain darkens the edges of my vision, then heat washes over me like the relief that comes from a good stretch after being squished into an awkward position for hours.
A screech drifts into the hole. Way too loud. Way too close.
I look up to the sky. “I’m sorry I was a bitch to you, wings. Get me out of this and I promise I’ll take care of you.”
My wings respond by beating the air. I grip my coat tightly as my boots leave the ground. I make it a meter and then drop. Shit.
“Come on. Come on.” I crouch, bunch my thighs, and leap. My wings catch the air and beat hard, leaving me higher this time. I can do this. I can make it. I reach for the sky and drop a few feet, but this time I manage to stay airborne.
But my back is burning. My wings are tired. Too weak. I won’t make it. My heart sinks as I drop another foot. The hole is filled with sound now. Sounds of the monsters waking up. They’ll come this way. They’ll use their talons as hooks to climb out of this hole. But not before they tear me to shreds. I drop another foot, halfway to the bottom now.
