Page 45 of Soul of Thorns
I grab my backpack, still holding most of our supplies, just in case.
I climb up to the stone, which remains empty of life, and then in one instant, the misty darkness clears to expose a blond fae that takes my breath away.God, she’s beautiful.
Her hair tosses in the wind, her eyes a dull bronze, which she narrows as she examines me.
“What?” I ask.
She pauses, leaning in ever so slightly. “What was that look?”
My lips part—I don’t know. “I... was just thinking how beautiful you are.” I shrug, my neck growing warm.
She frowns in confusion and closes her eyes like those words have affected her deeply.
Caelynn’s eyes fly wide open, and then a rush of cold power washes over me. Her shadows curl around my back and grip me tightly, the darkness settling into my skin. I shiver. She motions for me to join her on the stone.
Together, we watch the pathway below as shadows shift. It’s so dark I have a hard time making out all the forms, but there is certainly something down there. A group of wraiths, perhaps?
All I can make out are silhouettes of ghoulish figures as they move to and fro. The pathway here is fairly busy, but I wouldn’t have expected this to be a central place of travel for the creatures in these lands. Hadn’t we heard that not many wraiths travel past the wall? Why would they all gather under it?
A gentle rumble begins in the distance. My breath catches. Is it that beast again? A hush settles over the valley, the silhouettes below growing still. The entire valley seems to hold a collective breath.
What are they waiting on?
Another boom vibrates through us.
“Do you think...”
Caelynn grips my forearm tightly, and I cut my words off. Her pulse throbs against my arm, eyes focused below. Can she see more than I can? Probably. Shadow fae see in the dark significantly better than most other fae as a general rule.
The mountains surrounding us shudder, trembling like they, too, are terrified of the coming beast. The thundering footsteps grow louder, closer.
My heart is in my throat as the roaring flames crackle then split with a crack like lightning.
My heart is in my throat as a monolith silhouette appears in the dark flames. Caelynn’s fingers dig deeper into my skin, and that’s my only hint that she’s also seen the creature.
“What is that?” I whisper.
The creature has to be fifty feet tall, with grey skin and red eyes. Black flames lick around its form where its skin still contacts the magical wall.
“Shh.” Caelynn sits up ever so slightly.
I stumble in closer as her shadow shield tightens. Her dark magic brushes up against my skin, sending a wave of pleasure over my body.
The creature’s chest and legs are as thick as trees, its skin nearly the same color as the mountains surrounding us, and massive black horns shoot from its skull and curl around its head.
The creature’s eyes glow as red as the flames behind it. They turn our direction. Then, it takes another deliberate step, shaking the earth along with it.
The creature stands up straight on its hind legs. I swear this thing is half the size of the damn mountain.
“Is that her?” I whisper.
Caelynn groans in annoyance at my refusal to remain quiet, but if the Night Terror has just joined us in this part of the Schorchedlands, that’s something I’d like to know. I suppose no matter who this creature is it can’t be good. I’m just wondering what level of bad we’re talking about.
The creature rumbles in what could be a laugh. As if this laugh was a signal, the wraiths restart their movement. Their groans grow into a thick wall of sound, surrounding us. Their smoke magic wafts through the hills and pathways below. And the creature just stands there.
For several minutes, we sit still as stone, cloaked by Caelynn’s magic while the wraiths dance to the song of their own groans around the massive horned being. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.
“You shouldn’t be here,” a hushed voice—so much closer than the others—whispers through the wind, low and eerie.
