Page 69 of Curse of Thorns
The wraith shifts so I can see Rev lit up like a freaking star. He dims and grabs skeletons one by one and tosses them into a pile behind him.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a fae make it that far.”
“Of course, you’d say that now,” I mutter, continuing my march forward.
“Stop, foolish girl. You must realize you cannot reach him. He’ll either live or die by his own abilities.”
“Yes, but then you won’t have learned an important lesson.” I curl my lip. Refusing to help Rev was the wrong way to start a friendship, or whatever this creature thinks will become of us.
“What’s that? You’re a fool? You’ve made that quite clear.” He shifts awkwardly. I hadn’t realized wraiths had enough emotional capacity to feel nervous. I was clearly wrong.
“That Rev’s life is more important than mine.”
“Hush, child. You do not know what you speak of.”
More skeletons leap onto Rev’s back in the distance. My heart aches.God, why wasn’t I with him?He fights his way out, light flashing here and there. The details are hard to make out, but he seems to be using the bones at his feet to climb up and over the bank. His body slowly shifts upwards, despite the bones clawing to his back.
The moment he disappears over the edge I let out a dramatic breath in relief and stop walking.
“Very good,” the wraith’s rumbling voice says in obvious relief. “Now, turn around, you stubborn infant.”
“Stop insulting me, wraith,” I yell.
“Stop acting like a child, and I will. Maybe.”
Rev
My whole body achesas I fall to the flat and solid ground. The living bones still reach for me, clawing and moaning, but they don’t dare push past the boundary of their sewage prison.
That was almost my fate.
What a way to spend eternity in that pit of sewage. Picked apart by savage scavengers and left to nothing but bones. I twist to face the sky, which is solid grey as if there were nothing beyond this place. No sun, no blue sky, no clouds, no future, no hope. For most of the beings here, that’s true. This is their final resting place. Eternal prison.
I sit up slowly. My head throbs worse than it did this morning. I dig for a vitality potion and swallow it quickly. I used a lot of magic to escape those creatures, much more than I should have, but with a little luck, I should have enough to pass through the next obstacle. I can’t afford to stop my journey for the day. After all, it’s not even midday yet. There is a lot of time left in the day.
You can do this,I coach myself.Be the hero your father never thought you could be.
